https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/26/fusion-gps-scandal-clinton-dnc-broke-campaign-finance-law-with-dossier-funding-complaint-says.html

Fusion GPS scandal: Clinton, DNC broke campaign finance law with dossier funding, complaint says

October 26th, 2017

The revelation that Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund a salacious anti-Trump dossier last year is raising new legal questions for the Clinton team — with a watchdog group filing a formal complaint alleging they hid the payments from public view.

The Campaign Legal Center filed the complaint Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the DNC and Clinton’s campaign committee of breaking campaign finance law by failing to accurately disclose the money spent on the Trump-Russia dossier.

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“Questions about who paid for this dossier are the subject of intense public interest, and this is precisely the information that FEC reports are supposed to provide,” Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center said in a statement to Fox News.

The Washington Post reported this week — and Fox News confirmed — that the political consulting firm Fusion GPS was retained last year by Marc E. Elias, an attorney representing the DNC and the Clinton campaign. The firm then hired former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele to write the now-infamous dossier.

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According to the Post, that money was routed from the Clinton campaign and the DNC through the law firm Perkins Coie and described on FEC reports as legal services. The Clinton campaign reportedly paid the law firm nearly $6 million from June 2015 to December 2016, while the DNC paid $3.6 million, though it’s unclear how much money went to Fusion GPS.

Responding to the revelations, Clinton’s former campaign spokesman Brian Fallon compared the project to the kind of “oppo research” that “happens on every campaign.”

But the Campaign Legal Center described the FEC reporting as “misleading.”

“Payments by a campaign or party committee to an opposition research firm are legal, as long as those payments are accurately disclosed,” Fischer said. “But describing payments for opposition research as ‘legal services’ is entirely misleading and subverts the reporting requirements.”

The controversial dossier contained unverified and lurid allegations about dirt the Russians had on Trump and his campaign’s possible connections to Moscow.

Critics argued the latest revelation makes it harder for Democrats to accuse the Trump campaign of collusion.

“Kremlin gave info to Christopher Steele,” tweeted Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush. “His oppo-research was paid for by the Clinton campaign. If that’s not collusion, what is?”

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Scott Morrison is new Australian PM as Malcolm Turnbull ousted

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-45292637

Scott Morrison has become Australia's new prime minister after Malcolm Turnbull was forced out by party rivals in a bruising leadership contest.

Mr Turnbull had been under pressure from poor polling and what he described as an "insurgency" by conservative MPs.

Mr Morrison, the treasurer, won an internal ballot 45-40 over former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton - who had been Mr Turnbull's most vocal threat.

Mr Turnbull is the fourth Australian PM in a decade to be ousted by colleagues.

"It has been such a privilege to be the leader of this great nation. I love Australia. I love Australians," he said on Friday.

With an election looming, MPs were nervous about the government's poor opinion polling and recent by-election defeats.

Last week, a row over energy policy ignited long-existing tensions between Mr Turnbull, a moderate, and his party's conservative wing.

Mr Dutton, a conservative, then unsuccessfully challenged Mr Turnbull on Tuesday, but his narrow defeat only stoked further discord.

Mr Morrison entered the race after Mr Turnbull lost key backers. After a majority of MPs called for a leadership "spill", Mr Turnbull agreed to step down.

To further complicate matters, Mr Turnbull has signalled he would resign from parliament, which would force a by-election and potentially put the government's one-seat majority at risk and force the new premier to call early elections.

However, Mr Morrison, who was sworn in on Friday, told reporters there were no plans to do this any time soon.

His government, he said, would be in place by next week.

Who is Morrison?

Mr Morrison, a former Tourism Australia official, entered parliament in 2007 and has since held three key ministerial portfolios.

A social conservative who appeals to the moderate elements of the Liberal party

Rose to national prominence as immigration minister in Tony Abbott's government

Built a reputation as a tough operator in enforcing Australia's hardline "stop the boats" policy

Drew criticism over the controversial asylum seeker policies and offshore detention centres

Seen as a pragmatic, ambitious politician who has long eyed the top job

The 50-year old father-of-two is a leading religious conservative and opposed last year's same-sex marriage bill.

Speaking to reporters after the vote on Friday, Mr Morrison said he would be working to "bring our party back together which has been bruised and battered this week" and bring the country together.

He also said dealing with a severe drought, which has hit parts of eastern Australia, would be "our most urgent and pressing need right now".

The rise of Scott Morrison, Australia's new PM

How has everyone reacted?

With a mixture of bemusement, anger and sheer frustration: many have described this week as one of the most chaotic in Australian political history

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