The DNC was fined $105,000 and the Clinton campaign $8,000,
According to the letter The Federal Election Commission sent him to a conservative group that requested an investigation.
Candidates and political groups are required to publicly disclose their spending to the Federal Election Commission, and they must explain the purpose of any specific expenditures over $200. The FEC concluded that the Clinton campaign and the DNC misreported the funds that funded the file, disguising them as “legal services” and “legal advice and compliance” rather than opposition research.
The file was compiled by retired British spy Christopher Steele. It contained unverified obscene allegations about Donald Trump, including allegations that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin to win the 2016 election. Trump’s campaign had numerous contacts with Russian agents, and embraced Russian assistance, but
No one has ever been formally charged to conspire with Russia.
The money trail behind the steel file It has been the subject of intense political scrutiny for years. More than $1 million flowed from the Clinton campaign and the DNC to the law firm Perkins Coie, which then hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS. That company later hired Steele and told him to use his outside contacts to research dirt about Trump’s ties to Russia.
Steele asserted that his research had not been verified, required further investigation and it was
Not intended for public disclosure. But
His notes were leaked In January 2017, weeks before Trump took office. Over the years, a series of investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of Steele’s central allegations of collusion and exposed the unreliability of
steel sources.
In the letter announcing the fines, the FEC also revealed that it had dismissed related complaints against Steele, Perkins Coe and Fusion GPS, all of which have previously denied wrongdoing.
According to the FEC’s letter, the Clinton campaign and the DNC have never admitted to violating campaign finance laws, but have agreed to drop their response and accept civil fines.
A DNC spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday that it “resolved aging and ridiculous complaints” to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about 2016.
A lawyer such as the Clinton campaign in the FEC case did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Both entities previously said they did not know the details of Steele’s work in real time. They’ve also said that the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia pose a national security risk — the same conclusion that A.
Bipartisan Senate investigation in the year 2020.
