It’s Been 5 Years Since Russian Cash Was Allegedly Funneled Into The Trump Campaign. Why Wasn’t It Charged Until Now?

Erin Chlopak, director of campaign finance strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, told TPM that the lack of civil campaign finance enforcement meant that the DOJ had to pick up more of the slack, but also that there was less monitoring of campaign finance disclosures by government authorities. Another possibility for delay generally would be a complex case that presented prosecutors with hurdles to investigating the matter. But the Benton and Wead allegations are fairly straightforward: the Russian wired the money to Benton, who then reimbursed himself for the $25,000 campaign contribution with that money.

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