Canadian Billionaire To Pay Record Fine For Steering Illegal Donations To Trump, Lobbied Trump On Tariffs

The New York Times reports:

A Canadian steel industry billionaire illegally helped steer $1.75 million in donations to a pro-Trump super PAC and has agreed to pay one of the largest fines ever levied by the Federal Election Commission to settle the case, the commission said on Friday.

The $975,000 fine will be paid by entities controlled by Barry Zekelman, a steel industry executive from Ontario who had lobbied the Trump administration to use its power to tighten import restrictions on Mr. Zekelman’s competitors from around the world.

Mr. Zekelman’s donations in 2018 to the America First Action super PAC helped him secure an invitation to a private dinner with President Donald J. Trump at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, where Mr. Zekelman personally pushed Mr. Trump about the steel tariffs and other matters.

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The FEC investigation came as a result of a NYT story about this contribution. https://t.co/K5Q5vkWvpF

— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) April 8, 2022