Clinton donors gave $700k to Trump accusers: Report
Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s supporters paid up to $700,000 to accusers of US President Donald Trump, her Republican rival in the 2016 presidential race, a new report has revealed.
The donors handed the money to women's rights lawyer, Lisa Bloom, in the final stages of the White House race as she tried to publicize sexual misconduct allegations by several women against Trump, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Of the hefty sum, $200,000 was funded by American Bridge, a group associated with Democratic operative and Clinton ally David Brock, while fashion entrepreneur Susie Tompkins Buell, a longtime donor to Brock, shelled out the remaining $500,000, the Times noted.
The plan fell flat, however, as none of the alleged victims stepped forward. Bloom told the Times that one of the accusers demanded $2 million to speak up.
Citing Democratic donors familiar with Bloom's efforts, the report said the lawyer kept American Bridge’s $200,000 but returned the rest of the donations.
Bloom was quick to issue a statement and deny her ties with the Clinton campaign, out of fear that the revelations would put the former secretary in more trouble. She also denied that the accusers needed payments to come forward.
“It doesn’t cost anything to publicly air allegations,” Bloom said. “Security and relocation are expensive and were sorely needed in a case of this magnitude, in a country filled with so much anger, hate and violence.”
So far, at least 16 women have accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances. The Republican head of state, however, has dismissed the claims as part of a politically motivated smear campaign.
A report by the Hill last month had revealed that Bloom offered to sell the stories of Trump's alleged victims in return for a commission for herself, and offered some victims as much as $750,000 in compensation.
She told the Hill that all of the donations she received went to her firm’s operational costs.
The report is expected to stir more controversy amid an ongoing investigation about Trump’s ties to Russia.
The high profile investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller has brought to surface new details about the Clinton campaign’s efforts to smear Trump by paying Russian agents for a so-called “Trump dossier” that contains info about the president’s relations with Moscow.
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