Posted on 12/10/2018 7:14:43 AM PST by ETL
President Trump on Monday denied the hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election were campaign contributions, instead calling them a "simple private transaction.”
“So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,” Trump tweeted.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, recently admitted in a plea deal to violating federal campaign finance laws by arranging payments to Daniels and McDougal on Trump's behalf, according to the plea. Prosecutors on Friday released a sentencing memo calling for Cohen to a “substantial term of imprisonment” for the president’s former fixer.
On Monday, Trump took aim at Cohen, saying that if a mistake was made and it was considered a contribution, the “liability” should be with the lawyer.
“Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced,” Trump tweeted. “WITCH HUNT!”
Meanwhile, an expert campaign finance lawyer said in an interview published Monday that he is not impressed with the Department of Justice's evidence that effectively links Trump to campaign finance violations after the recent release of the Cohen sentencing memo.
Dan Backer, the lawyer, told Forbes that there appears to be no evidence to corroborate the DOJ’s apparent assertion of any illegality on Trump's part.
Backer, a veteran campaign counsel, said it is common practice for high-profile individuals and companies to take part in these kinds of payment arrangements. He said Trump is a brand, he has carried out similar payments for years and these so-called "hush-buys" will likely continue.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The major takeaway from the 40-page sentencing memorandum filed by federal prosecutors Friday for Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, is this: The president is very likely to be indicted on a charge of violating federal campaign finance laws.
It has been obvious for some time that President Trump is the principal subject of the investigation still being conducted by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Cohen earlier pleaded guilty to multiple counts of business and tax fraud, violating campaign finance law, and making false statements to Congress regarding unsuccessful efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Yes, Cohen has stated he did the hands-on work in orchestrating hush-money payments to two women who claim to have had sexual liaisons with Trump many years ago (liaisons Trump denies).
But when Cohen pleaded guilty in August, prosecutors induced him to make an extraordinary statement in open court: the payments to the women were made “in coordination with and at the direction of” the candidate for federal office – Donald Trump.
Prosecutors would not have done this if the president was not on their radar screen. Indeed, if the president was not implicated, I suspect they would not have prosecuted Cohen for campaign finance violations at all. Those charges had a negligible impact on the jail time Cohen faces, which is driven by the more serious offenses of tax and financial institution fraud, involving millions of dollars. ..."
In marked contrast, though, when it was discovered that Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was guilty of violations involving nearly $2 million – an amount that dwarfs the $280,000 in Cohen’s case – the Obama Justice Department decided not to prosecute. Instead, the matter was quietly disposed of by a $375,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
When will John Edwards be re-indicted for the campaign finance violation that he was exonerated of in a court of law? When will David Letterman be indicted for admitting that he was being extorted for sex he had with women on his staff that he wanted to keep quiet?
Ball’s in your court, Andrew McCarthy fan.
p.s. Loved him in “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
This is only a scare tactic by the Dems. Campaign contribution violations are usually only paid off by fines (as was Obama’s $2 million). Furthermore, it’s a very minor crime to pursue a president with.
Additionally, Trump not only has several ways to delay this until he leaves office, but Cohen himself has proven to be a liar, so the prosecution’s case itself is suspect.
I think Trump will simply threaten that information on sexual harassment payments by Congress might be leaked somehow, and then the whole thing will disappear.
Said “payouts” were long before Trump even went on the campaign trail so any REASONABLE justice would throw their charge out.
“Campaign contribution violations are usually only paid off by fines (as was Obama’s $2 million).”
Unless you’re a republican in the crosshairs. Ask Dinesh D’Souza, or now Donald Trump.
The implications are WAY too far-reaching for the demonrats to seriously consider. There’s the $17 million congress critters paid out that Trump will rail against them for and, aside from that, it implies that anyone in politics who pays ANYONE else to sign an NDA is, therefore, committing a crime. That will uncover nearly every rock in Washington.
Stormy Daniels wasn’t running for office.
Who's an Andrew McCarthy fan? And who added "nevertrump" to the keywords?
Sorry, libstripper, obviously didn't look closely enough before posting the same article.
Someone looked at the ration of the BIG PAYOUT compared to Trump’s net worth.
It’s the equivalent to you or I giving someone $20.
As a long retired radio financial host used to say, “If you can buy your way out of a problem, you don’t have a problem.”
I don’t believe writing a GO AWAY check along with a NDA is an admission of guilt. It’s a “you’re a parasite, shut up and leave.”
Any Congressman or Senator who had a sexual harassment settlement payment out of federal funds should be forced to recuse themselves from any pending impeachment/removal action.
ration=ratio
Call me old fashioned if you will, but it seems that PDJT is the only party to the Stormy Daniels deal that is actually acting in accordance with the non-disclosure agreement. He refuses to admit to or otherwise acknowledge that the tryst ever happened. I strongly suspect that the terms of the non-disclosure deal require this action. Everyone else, including Michael Cohen, is running around spouting off about their role in the deal. Not PDJT. I suspect that as soon as he opens his mouth acknowledging the deal, the lid comes off and he is liable for the $1 million penalty PER OCCURANCE penalty clause. I think I read not long ago that Stormy is sitting on a $20 million penalty liability right now for just this reason.
Bottom line, he paid the $130,000 and she took it, swearing in an affidavit that the event never happened. He also swore that the event never happened. Case closed.
I will now stand before the court of FREEPER lawyers and quietly accept whatever punishment you have to offer.
You are probably right. America is collapsing from within. They impeach Trump, it doesn’t stop there. They will go after Pence next. The problem they have is we the Trump supporting people will never accept anyone else as being legitimate, no matter which side of the aisle wins. They are all thieves and traitors.
“Any Congressman or Senator who had a sexual harassment settlement payment out of federal funds should be forced to recuse themselves from any pending impeachment/removal action.”
That’s the best proposal I’ve heard yet.
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