[EL] Media exemption and National Enquirer's "catch and kill" of McDougal story

[Thomas J. Cares]

I would think it hinges on whether there was coordination with the
candidate or his campaign, lest it would be, at worst, an independent
expenditure by a corporation, protected by Citizens United. Unless the
somewhat-novel argument could be made that it would be a form of
interference that doesn't quite constitute protected speech or political
activity.

-Tom Cares

On Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 5:55 PM, Kogan, Vladimir <kogan.18 at osu.edu> wrote:

> I apologize if this question was already discussed/answered, but the
> following portions of the *Washington Post*’s story
> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-probe-into-trumps-lawyer-seeks-records-about-two-women-who-alleged-affairs-with-the-president/2018/04/10/624104a2-3cda-11e8-a7d1-e4efec6389f0_story.html?utm_term=.f377af248b9f&wpisrc=nl_politics-pm&wpmm=1>
> caught my attention:
>
>
>
> “Investigators are also seeking all communications about Daniels and
> McDougal among Cohen, David Pecker — a friend of Trump and the chief
> executive of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer —
> and Dylan Howard, the chief content officer for American Media and a
> reporter there. …  The former Playmate has said she had a 10-month
> relationship with Trump beginning in 2006 and then sold her story to
> American Media for $150,000 about three months before the 2016 election. No
> story about McDougal ever appeared in the National Enquirer, a tabloid
> practice sometimes referred to as ‘catch and kill.’”
>
>
>
> If American Media Inc. used corporate general treasury funds to pay
> McDougal with the express goal of helping Trump AND assuming this is
> treated as an in-kind contribution to the campaign (which I realize is a
> big assumption), would the company be entitled to the press exemption?
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance for everyone’s thoughts!
>
>
>
> Vlad Kogan
>
>
>
> [image: The Ohio State University]
> *Vladimir Kogan*, Assistant Professor
> *Department of Political Science*
>
> 2004 Derby Hall | 154 N. Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210-1373
> 510/415-4074 Mobile
>
> 614/292-9498 Office
>
> 614/292-1146 Fax
>
> http://u.osu.edu/kogan.18/
> kogan.18 at osu.edu
>
>
>
>
>
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