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Fusion GPS and the Dossier Bill: Clinton Campaign and DNC Fined for Calling It 'Legal Services'

The Federal Election Commission fined Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign and the DNC $113,000 for reporting payments that funded the Steele dossier as legal services. The money ran through the law firm Perkins Coie to Fusion GPS, which hired Christopher Steele. The fine drew little attention, and NBC's Chuck Todd interviewed Clinton days later without asking about it.

Mar 31, 2022
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Whose side it served: Democrats

Light coverage spared the 2016 Democratic nominee questions about how the dossier was paid for.

What the record shows

The Clinton campaign and DNC hired Perkins Coie, which hired Fusion GPS, which paid Steele and his firm Orbis. The FEC fined the DNC $105,000 and the Clinton campaign $8,000 for describing the spending as 'legal services' and 'legal and compliance consulting.' The complaint was filed in 2018 by the Coolidge Reagan Foundation. Both committees settled without admitting the description was wrong, and the FEC dismissed a complaint against Steele himself. The AP, CBS News and NBC News published online stories on March 31, 2022. Law professor Jonathan Turley noted that NBC's Chuck Todd interviewed Clinton days later without asking about the fine. No measured count of broadcast airtime on the fine was found.

The other side

The penalty was a modest campaign-finance fine settled without admission, and opposition research is legal. Major outlets did report it the day it became public.

Sources

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