Washington Post: Are the Trump hush-money payments the most significant campaign finance violation ever?

Washington Post: Are the Trump hush-money payments the most significant campaign finance violation ever?

“The FEC has found violations significantly larger in amount than the two Trump hush payments, and has a few more complaints still pending that allege much larger amounts in violation,” said Paul Ryan, an election law expert at Common Cause.

Last week, former acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal said the hush-money payments allegedly made on President Trump’s behalf could be the biggest campaign finance violation in U.S. history. They could be “the most significant campaign contributions ever,” he told CNN.

This is news to Trump and his backers, who’ve downplayed the significance of the breach. They have compared it with the $375,000 in penalties imposed on Barack Obama’s campaign or the violation John Edwards was accused of but never convicted of when it came to the $1 million in payments he allegedly made to his mistress and the mother of his child, Rielle Hunter.

So who’s closer to the truth? Is this really the biggest campaign finance violation ever?

By dollar amount, the answer is no. …

“The FEC has found violations significantly larger in amount than the two Trump hush payments, and has a few more complaints still pending that allege much larger amounts in violation,” said Paul Ryan, an election law expert at Common Cause.