Smart Zach Roth for MSNBC:

Donald Trump has made his opposition to the flood of big money in politics a centerpiece of his front-running campaign, frequently lamenting the role of super PACs and the outsized sway of wealthy donors like the Koch brothers. But Trump’s top campaign lawyer, veteran Republican election attorney Donald McGahn, was a crucial player in creating the out-of-control campaign finance system that his boss now denounces.

McGahn helped broker Monday’s meeting between Trump and Republican congressional leaders, which took place at the Washington offices of the law and lobbying firm Jones Day, where McGahn is a partner. To date, the Trump campaign has paid Jones Day more than $500,000, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.

McGahn’s key role on Team Trump undercuts the brash businessman’s claim that he’ll reduce the political influence of billionaires and special interests. And it suggests that Trump’s campaign may intend to tap into other sources of big money, using McGahn’s expertise to push the boundaries of the law.

As a member of the FEC from 2008 to 2013, campaign finance reformers say, McGahn led the successful conservative effort to neuter the agency, with the result that today it is unable to respond to even seemingly egregious violations of campaign finance law. Soon after McGahn joined the FEC as its chair, its three Republican-appointed commissioners have consistently voted as a bloc against enforcement, stymieing the agency from taking action — a situation that has continued since he left.