…from Politico….
The firm that owns the National Enquirer has agreed to pay $187,500 to the Federal Election Commission to settle complaints that it unlawfully aided Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 by suppressing the story of an actress who said she had a sexual relationship with Trump.
The FEC concluded that American Media Inc., now known as A360 Media LLC, made an illegal corporate contribution to Trump’s campaign by paying Karen McDougal $150,000 to give up the rights to her story about Trump.
AMI and its former chief, David Pecker, initially argued through attorneys that they acted as journalists in making the deal with McDougal. However, in 2018 the firm and Pecker entered into a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in New York, stipulating that the arrangement was intended to influence the 2016 presidential election.
The FEC concluded that contradicted the earlier claims that the Enquirer was simply acting as a news outlet….