The Federal Election Commission will fine the National Enquirer $187,500 for paying Karen McDougal $150,000 to suppress her story of an alleged affair with former President Donald Trump.
Trump, by contrast, will avoid punishment as part of the settlement with A360, the tabloid’s parent company that previously went by the name American Media Inc., in an agreement that was made public on Tuesday via a letter from the commission released by watchdog group Common Cause.
The commission found the publication “knowingly and willfully” violated campaign election laws by making a corporate contribution to influence the 2016 election. A360 acknowledged it made the payment for the purpose of “suppress[ing] the model’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election” but said it did not violate the law knowingly or willfully.
The group stated, however, that it would not be fining Trump, stating, “There were an insufficient number of votes to find reason to believe that the remaining respondents violated the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.”
The leadership of the FEC is currently ideologically split, with membership comprising three Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, said in a guilty plea in August 2018 that he had helped coordinate the payment, as well as one to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, at Trump’s behest.
In December 2020, the FEC issued an internal report stating there was “reason to believe” the Trump campaign “knowingly and willfully” violated campaign finance law with the alleged Daniels payment.
The commission announced in May it had dropped its case relating to that payment, with two Republicans voting to drop the matter, two Democrats voting to continue, one GOP member recusing himself, and the sole independent member absent from the proceedings.
“In sum, the public record is complete with respect to the conduct at issue in these complaints, and Mr. Cohen has been punished by the government of the United States for the conduct at issue in these matters,” the Republicans said in a statement. “Thus, we concluded that pursuing these matters further was not the best use of agency resources.”
Trump celebrated the news, calling the case “phony.”
“The Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C., has totally dropped the phony case against me concerning payments to women relative to the 2016 Presidential Election,” he said.
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While Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation for Common Cause, not to be confused with the former speaker of the House, felt “vindicated” by the $187,500 fine for the National Enquirer, he said he felt frustrated that Trump would not be penalized.
“He’s the only one not to be held accountable,” Ryan told the New York Times, calling Trump “the mastermind of the illegal scheme.”
