WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Donald Trump played an active role in arranging hush-money deals with a model and an adult-film star ahead of the 2016 presidential election and may have violated campaign-finance laws, according to the Wall Street Journal. The two women, Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, say they had sexual affairs with Trump. The president has repeatedly denied involvement in deals arranged to keep the women silent, but the Journal said he was kept abreast nearly ever step of the way. The newspaper, a sister publication of MarketWatch, said its reporting drew on court papers, corporate records and interviews with dozens of people.