Rudy Giuliani says Trump's alleged campaign finance violations are fine because 'nobody got killed'
Among allies of President Trump, "he did not break the law" has quickly evolved into "even if he did, who cares?"
Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told The Daily Beast in a story published Friday that the ongoing controversy over possible campaign finance violations isn't a big deal because "Nobody got killed, nobody got robbed," adding, "this was not a big crime." He went on to compare paying hush money to two alleged mistresses shortly before a presidential election to not paying parking tickets.
Trump's lawyer had previously argued that the payments were not related to the campaign and were "personal," and therefore were not in violation of campaign finance law, per The Washington Post. But this argument has become increasingly dubious in recent days considering American Media Inc., the publisher of the National Enquirer, said this week that it paid Karen McDougal $150,000 to keep her silent about her alleged affair with Trump for the sole purpose of ensuring she did not affect the election. Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has also said the payments had everything to do with the election.
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Giuliani separately told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that even if Trump did violate campaign finance law, it's not big deal. "It's campaign finance, my God," he said. "Everybody pays a fine to the FEC that is in politics. You can’t follow all the rules.”
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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