The payment to actress Stephanie Clifford, who uses the stage name Stormy Daniels, has drawn comparisons to the scandal that enveloped former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) after his 2008 presidential campaign. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images American Bridge boosts pressure on FEC to investigate Stormy Daniels payment

A liberal group on Thursday ramped up its push for the Federal Election Commission to investigate a $130,000 payment Donald Trump’s personal lawyer made in 2016 to an adult film actress who says she once had an affair with the president.

The regulatory body had already received requests to determine whether lawyer Michael Cohen violated campaign finance laws with the payment to actress Stephanie Clifford, who uses the stage name Stormy Daniels, after the incident was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.


But after Cohen acknowledged to The New York Times this week that he made the payment, American Bridge President Bradley Beychok argued in a new filing Thursday that the FEC now has more cause to investigate whether Cohen violated strict limits on contributions to presidential campaigns.

“Unless funded by Mr. Trump directly, [the payment] was a clear illegal in-kind contribution,” American Bridge wrote in the supplemental complaint filed Thursday.

"Cohen's payment looks like an illegal contribution, and we believe the President should be held accountable,” said David Brock, founder of American Bridge.

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Cohen told The New York Times the payment was “lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.” It was his first acknowledgment that he played a role in the $130,000 payment, which was made shortly before the 2016 election.

Cohen did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO on Thursday.

Cohen told the Times that the FEC was looking into the payment, but it was not clear whether the commission would launch a full investigation. The often-divided FEC currently has four commissioners — only one a Democrat — all of whom would have to agree to proceed with an investigation.

“You would have to have all four commissioners unanimously agree to start an investigation that could result in a subpoena of the president of the United States — I don’t think that’s likely,” said campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel, who is a partner at Akerman LLP.

The complaint filed Thursday also argues that, if Trump gave Cohen the go-ahead to make his public statement this week, “Mr. Trump waived attorney-client privilege on this subject matter for all future investigations.”

“As this situation is investigated further, Mr. Trump will no longer be able to claim attorney-client privilege when discussing the payment and the surrounding circumstances,” Beychok wrote in the complaint.

Campaign finance violations could be difficult to prove. The payment to Clifford has drawn comparisons to the scandal that enveloped former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) after his 2008 presidential campaign. Edwards was indicted following accusations that donors made close to $1 million in improper payments to videographer Rielle Hunter after she became pregnant with Edwards’ child. Edwards was acquitted on one charge, and a jury did not reach a verdict on others.

Because the payments to Daniels were allegedly made to keep her from going to the media, the case is stronger that it was an in-kind contribution to Trump’s campaign, Kappel said, “but by no means is it a slam dunk.”



CORRECTION: This story is updated to correct the spelling of Akerman LLP.