Brad Parscale and Donald Trump campaign accused of money laundering
Eleven days ago it was reported that the Donald Trump campaign was internally investigating financial transactions made by then-campaign manager Brad Parscale, for potential improprieties. Now, in a new development that may be related, a watchdog group is accusing Parscale and the Trump campaign of “laundering” more than a hundred million dollars of campaign money to the pockets of Trump’s pals.
The Campaign Legal Center has filed an FEC complaint asserting that Parscale and the Trump campaign were running an “illegal” scheme to funnel this money into the wrong hands. The FEC itself is somewhat toothless when it comes to these kinds of things, but if it concludes that campaign finance crimes were committed, it can refer the matter to the DOJ. While Bill Barr could potentially block prosecution for now, that will all change if Trump loses.
We’ll see where the evidence leads, but to be clear, this is a serious accusation. Michael Cohen went to prison for a much smaller violation of campaign finance law than what’s being alleged here. It’s worth noting that while Brad Parscale has been demoted, he still has a job with the Trump campaign. We’ll see whether or not that changes in light of these allegations becoming public.
