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Campaign Finance Violations

All articles tagged with #campaign finance violations

politics1 year ago

Wisconsin Ethics Commission Recommends Felony Prosecution for Trump Fundraising Committee

The bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission has recommended prosecutors pursue felony charges against a fundraising group allied with former President Donald Trump for allegedly circumventing state campaign finance laws in a failed effort to oust a powerful state GOP leader in 2022. The investigation alleges that Save America PAC, alongside several Wisconsin state and local GOP officials, coordinated to evade a cap on campaign donations to funnel money to a candidate challenging Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos. The commission's documents reveal a plan to circumvent donation limits, and while the investigation is not a criminal inquiry, those involved could face up to 42 months in prison and fines up to $10,000 if found guilty.

via CBS News|
#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump#politics
politics1 year ago

Wisconsin Ethics Panel Recommends Felony Charges for Trump Fundraising Group

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission has recommended felony charges against a fundraising committee aligned with former President Donald Trump for allegedly conspiring to improperly direct funds to a Trump-endorsed candidate's campaign in violation of campaign finance laws. The bipartisan ethics panel found evidence of a scheme to funnel money to the campaign of Adam Steen, who unsuccessfully ran to unseat Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. The commission referred three county Republican parties, Steen's campaign, eight individuals, and Trump's leadership PAC, Save America, to law enforcement for felony campaign finance violations. If district attorneys in the three counties decline to investigate within 60 days, the state attorney general will have the opportunity to take up the cases.

via ABC News|
#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump#felony-charges
legal2 years ago

Judge Questions Validity of Cases Cited by Michael Cohen's Lawyer

Former President Donald Trump's former fixer, Michael Cohen, sought an early end to his supervised release based on case law that may not exist, according to a federal judge in New York. Cohen cited three decisions in his petition, but the judge and the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could not find any evidence of these cases. The judge has ordered Cohen's former lawyer to provide copies of the cases and explain whether Cohen was involved in the apparent deception.

via ABC News|
#campaign-finance-violations#case-law#judge-jesse-furman
politics2 years ago

Santos Faces Ethics Complaints and Historic Expulsion from Congress

Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in a vote by the House of Representatives, has vowed to file ethics complaints against several of his former colleagues. Santos plans to file complaints against Nicole Malliotakis, Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, and Rob Menendez, accusing them of campaign finance violations and stock trading irregularities. Santos, who has been indicted on multiple charges, including wire fraud and identity theft, has pleaded not guilty. The House's vote against Santos marked the first expulsion of a House lawmaker in over 20 years.

via Fox News|
#campaign-finance-violations#ethics-complaints#expulsion
politics2 years ago

"Speaker Johnson and George Santos Discuss 'Options' Amidst Looming Expulsion"

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed that he spoke with Rep. George Santos (R-NY) "about his options" ahead of a potential vote to expel Santos from Congress. Santos is facing a third expulsion vote following a damning ethics report detailing his abuse of campaign funds, including lavish trips, luxury goods, and X-rated OnlyFans subscriptions. The expulsion resolution requires a two-thirds vote to pass, and Democrats may file their own expulsion resolution. Santos has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of campaign finance fraud and has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024.

via New York Post |
#campaign-finance-violations#expulsion#george-santos
politics2 years ago

"Former Tennessee Senator Brian Kelsey sentenced to prison"

Former Tennessee state Senator Brian Kelsey has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for campaign finance violations. Kelsey pleaded guilty to illegally moving money from his state campaign account to pay for political advertising during his failed 2016 congressional campaign. Despite attempting to retract his guilty plea, Kelsey was sentenced by a federal judge who emphasized the importance of upholding federal election laws. Kelsey's sentence also includes three years of supervised release. Former Tennessee Representative Jeremy Durham, who was involved in the campaign finance scheme, received a non-prosecution agreement.

via Tennessean|
#brian-kelsey#campaign-finance-violations#guilty-plea
politics2 years ago

Colombian government in crisis over wiretapping scandal.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro's administration is in crisis after a scandal involving his chief of staff and the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela. The scandal began with allegations of illegal wiretapping and stolen cash, and escalated with the publication of expletive-laden audio messages in which the former ambassador threatened to reveal incriminating evidence about Petro's presidential campaign. The scandal has halted debates on the administration's proposed social reforms and attracted scrutiny for other signs of instability. Petro's popularity has slumped, and analysts speculate that his broad ambitions for political change will be harder to achieve because of the scandal.

via Al Jazeera English|
#campaign-finance-violations#colombia#petro-administration
crime2 years ago

Fugees Rapper Pras Michel Convicted in Illegal Lobbying Scheme.

Pras Michel, a founding member of the hip-hop group The Fugees, has been found guilty of orchestrating an international conspiracy that used millions of dollars worth of foreign money for illegal lobbying and campaign contributions. Michel was accused of accepting $865,000 from a Malaysian financier and giving that money to a network of straw donors who used it to make campaign contributions to former President Barack Obama in 2012. Michel was convicted of 10 criminal counts including money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, and campaign finance violations. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

via The New York Times|
#campaign-finance-violations#crime#fugees
politics2 years ago

The Legal Woes of Donald Trump: What's Next?

Former President Donald Trump's indictment on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York City faces significant legal hurdles, according to experts. The case relies heavily on the testimony of Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen, who has been convicted of lying to Congress and campaign finance violations. The indictment alleges that Trump intended to commit or conceal a second crime, but it doesn't state what this crime is. The case may face challenges due to the credibility of Cohen and the statute of limitations. However, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg enjoys a home-court advantage in Manhattan.

via Fox News|
#alvin-bragg#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump
politics2 years ago

Trump's $500m Lawsuit Against Michael Cohen for Breach of Attorney-Client Relationship

Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against his former attorney, Michael Cohen, for more than $500 million, claiming Cohen breached his "fiduciary duty" and attorney-client privileges in order to be "unjustly enriched." The suit comes after the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges last week. Cohen is a key witness in that case. Cohen says he ceased to be Trump's lawyer in 2017, and pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other charges, stating as part of his guilty plea that he and Trump arranged the payment to Daniels to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

via CBS News|
#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump#fiduciary-duty
politics2 years ago

Trump Enlists White-Collar Defense Lawyer for NY Indictment and Arraignment.

Former President Trump has hired Todd Blanche, a top white-collar criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, as his lead counsel in the Manhattan criminal case involving campaign finance violations. Blanche has experience investigating and defending cases involving a range of white-collar crimes, including bank fraud and wire fraud. He recently represented Rudy Guiliani associate Igor Fruman in a campaign finance case and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in a federal prosecution resulting from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

via The Hill|
#campaign-finance-violations#federal-prosecutor#manhattan-criminal-case
entertainment2 years ago

DiCaprio testifies in trial of Fugees' Pras Michél.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio testified in federal court in Washington in the trial of former hip-hop star Prakazrel “Pras” Michél, who is accused of illegal financial dealings with fugitive Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho. DiCaprio is expected to testify about his business and social interactions with Low, who used part of his ill-gotten fortune to start a production company that put up $100 million to make the Oscar-nominated 2013 movie "The Wolf of Wall Street." Michél has pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment charging him with money laundering, campaign-finance violations, acting as an unregistered agent for foreign nationals, witness tampering and lying to banks.

via The Washington Post|
#campaign-finance-violations#entertainment#leonardo-dicaprio
entertainment2 years ago

Jimmy Kimmel's Burning Question: When Will Trump Be Arrested?

Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Al Franken joked about the ongoing anticipation of former President Donald Trump's potential arrest for campaign finance violations. Kimmel poked fun at Trump's reported excitement for the possibility of being handcuffed and paraded in front of cameras, while Fallon joked about the disappointment of finding Hunt's ketchup in jail. Franken broke down the multiple investigations into Trump's actions, including a federal case on his handling of classified documents.

via The Guardian|
#arrest#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump
politics2 years ago

"Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's Potential Trump Indictment Sparks Controversy"

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who oversaw the Trump investigation, saw the case against former President Donald Trump as potentially "charge ready" years ago, according to a 2020 interview with CBS News. Bragg noted the "Individual-1" moniker in the charging document against Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, and said that if the evidence was there, the case could be "accurate and charge ready." Bragg inherited the Trump investigation from his predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., and secured a guilty plea from former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in August 2022. The investigation has since returned to the $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with Cohen as the prosecution's apparent star witness.

via CBS News|
#alvin-bragg#campaign-finance-violations#donald-trump