Experts say feds unlikely to pursue alleged payoff
“I have real doubts that the Department of Justice has the independence and the fortitude to go after this.” Peter Zeidenberg Former prosecutor
WASHINGTON – A presidential candidate is accused of arranging hush money to conceal a mistress in a sensational story ripped straight from the tabloids.
Sound familiar?
Six years ago, federal prosecutors put two-time Democratic presidential contender John Edwards on trial for that and failed to convict the North Carolina politician. Now, the watchdog group Common Cause wants the Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Congress to investigate a $130,000 payment that President Trump’s lawyer allegedly arranged weeks before the 2016 election for a former porn actress in an attempt to cover up her purported affair with Trump.
Campaign-finance experts said these cases are tricky, and Washington politics — the Justice Department, the Federal Election Commission and Congress all are controlled by the president’s party — seem likely to doom any inquiry into whether federal laws were violated. “I have real doubts that the Department of Justice has the independence and the fortitude to go after this,” said Peter Zeidenberg, a prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section under President George W. Bush.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from a federal investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in the 2016 election already has caused a deep rift in his relationship with Trump.
“I think Jeff Sessions is scared to death about losing his job,” Zeidenberg said. “He’s trying to curry favor with the president at every turn, and I think that he would think that this a bridge too far” for his agency to investigate.
In its complaints to the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission, Common Cause argues that the alleged payment to Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels, probably violated federal campaign-finance laws as an unreported, in-kind donation to Trump’s campaign.
Campaign contribution limits during the 2016 election capped direct dona- tions to a candidate at $2,700 for a primary or general election. Corporations were prohibited from giving campaign donations to congressional and presidential candidates.
Tuesday, Common Cause asked the House and Senate Judiciary committees to take up the matter.
Justice Department officials did not immediately respond Tuesday to an inquiry about the Common Cause request. An FEC spokesman said agency officials cannot comment on complaints.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer who was identified by The Wall Street
Journal as having allegedly arranged the payment to the actress through a limited liability company, said the complaints lack merit. “The Common Cause complaint is baseless along with the allegation that President Trump filed a false report to the F.E.C.,” he said in an email.
In an earlier statement, Cohen said the president “vehemently denies” a relationship with Daniels.