Former US president Donald Trump was impeached for incitement that led to a riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 where his supporters sought to overturn the result of the presidential election won by Joe Biden
Former US president Donald Trump was impeached for incitement that led to a riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 where his supporters sought to overturn the result of the presidential election won by Joe Biden

The Federal Election Commission has fined the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., for its role in a hush-money payment during the 2016 campaign to former Playboy model Karen MacDougal for her alleged affair with former President Donald Trump, according to documents made public Wednesday by watchdog group Common Cause.

American Media Inc., whose successor is A360 Media, was fined $187,500 for "knowingly and willfully" violating election law.

Trump has denied an affair with McDougal and has also denied an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, facilitated the $150,000 payment for McDougal to waive the rights of her story. Cohen, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation, responded on Twitter to the FEC fine.

“AMI and [former CEO David J.] Pecker appear to have violated the Act by making and consenting to making a corporate contribution in the form of a payment from AMI to McDougal," the FEC wrote in a statement.

While the National Enquirer, long known for its sensationalist content, was involved in the hush-money payments, Trump has remained unscathed by the latest development.

Washington, D.C.-based Common Cause noted in 2018 that “Trump has never been held culpable for the payoff to McDougal and similar payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.”

“Michael Cohen went to prison for these violations. AMI has been fined. But the former president has not yet been held accountable,” said Paul Ryan, Common Cause’s vice president for policy and litigation.

"It's absurd that Trump and the Trump Campaign were not found to be in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act," Katie Phang, an MSNBC Legal Contributor, posted on Twitter.

Democrats had pursued taking action against Trump but Republicans on the FEC committee said that since Cohen was punished, “pursuing these matters further was not the best use of agency resources.”

Trump and A360 Media have not released statements about the FEC fine.