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Trump's New York Indictment Turns One Hush Payment Into 34 Felonies
Reason ^ | 4.4.2023 6:35 PM | JACOB SULLUM

Posted on 04/04/2023 5:23:36 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Prosecutors are counting each record misrepresenting the former president's reimbursement of that payment as a separate crime.

The New York indictment of former President Donald Trump, which was unsealed on Tuesday, includes 34 felony counts. All of them are related to a 2016 payment aimed at keeping porn star Stormy Daniels from telling the press about her alleged 2006 affair with Trump.

Although there was nothing inherently criminal about that hush payment, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, has transformed it into nearly three dozen felonies through a tricky two-step process. First, Bragg portrays the payment as a violation of federal election law. Second, he claims Trump repeatedly falsified business records to cover up that uncharged and unproven crime. Yet the underlying conduct, while salacious, still does not seem serious enough to justify the first-ever prosecution of a former U.S. president, especially when the defendant is seeking that office again by running against an incumbent who is a member of the district attorney's party.

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her story out of the press, and Trump later reimbursed him with a series of checks. Federal prosecutors viewed the payment to Daniels as an excessive campaign contribution, a characterization that Cohen accepted in a 2018 guilty plea. But although Cohen said he was acting at Trump's behest, the Justice Department never prosecuted Trump, even after he left office. In 2021, an evenly divided Federal Election Commission (FEC) declined to pursue charges against Trump, his business, or his campaign.

The New York indictment nevertheless alleges that Trump "violated election laws" when he instructed Cohen to pay Daniels. That claim is based on the assumption that the payment was aimed at influencing the election rather than avoiding...

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: abelrenya; bragg; desantisshills; desantistouts; trump; trumparraignment; trumpindictment
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1 posted on 04/04/2023 5:23:36 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Hurr-durr! Hurr-durr!

Trump kermitted 64 bazillion felonies! Hurr-durr!

2 posted on 04/04/2023 5:25:40 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Prove Yer Innocence, Trump!!


3 posted on 04/04/2023 5:27:51 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

All they need is 1 of 34. That’s the game


4 posted on 04/04/2023 5:28:54 PM PDT by llevrok (Pronouns: Me/myself/& I)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I’ve yet to have someone explain to me how as State court has Jurisdiction to try someone for a violation of a Federal Campaign finance law.


5 posted on 04/04/2023 5:29:33 PM PDT by apillar
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

They all succeed or fail together.


6 posted on 04/04/2023 5:29:38 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to keep her story out of the press, and Trump later reimbursed him with a series of checks”

Totaling $460,000.


7 posted on 04/04/2023 5:30:35 PM PDT by TexasGator
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To: llevrok

yeah but they are all the same except date and amount


8 posted on 04/04/2023 5:31:21 PM PDT by joshua c (to disrupt the system, we must disrupt our lives, cut the cable tv)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

That is just silly, and it should be thrown out of court immediately.

As a bean counter, I can see that the alleged payments were made by the Trump Revocable Trust. Where is the tie to Trump’s Election Campaign?

Without that tie, there can be no crime to which Trump would be allegedly trying to conceal.

With no crime to conceal, how could Trump possibly intend to commit fraud?

The prosecutors case is very weak indeed.


9 posted on 04/04/2023 5:31:43 PM PDT by beancounter13 (A Republic, if you can keep it.)
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To: apillar

“I’ve yet to have someone explain to me how as State court has Jurisdiction to try someone for a violation of a Federal Campaign finance law.”

He is not being tried on violation of campaign finance laws.


10 posted on 04/04/2023 5:31:49 PM PDT by TexasGator
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
First, Bragg portrays the payment as a violation of federal election law. Second, he claims Trump repeatedly falsified business records to cover up that uncharged and unproven crime.

As far as I can see, the "crime" is "influencing an election". Like, when a candidate runs an ad on TV, or holds a rally, or delivers a a good speech. These are all attempts to influence an election and are now illegal (when a Republican does it).

11 posted on 04/04/2023 5:32:35 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (“You want it one way, but it's the other way”)
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To: TexasGator

that is how bragg leveraged a misdemeanor into a felony


12 posted on 04/04/2023 5:32:57 PM PDT by joshua c (to disrupt the system, we must disrupt our lives, cut the cable tv)
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They just took a piece of paper and typed “orange man bad” on it 34 times


13 posted on 04/04/2023 5:34:16 PM PDT by dsrtsage ( Complexity is just simple lacking imagination)
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To: kiryandil

Powerline sums it up nicely: a nothingburger.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/04/trump-indictment-as-bad-as-we-thought.php


14 posted on 04/04/2023 5:35:34 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: TexasGator
Bucking for another timeout today, I see.

Did you figure out the "17th century biologists" post yet, Dad?       

15 posted on 04/04/2023 5:36:01 PM PDT by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So if I’m accused of doing X, which I didn’t do, and then interviewed by the police, and 34 times I’m accused of X, and each time I deny it...

I can now be indicted on 34 counts of lying to the police, even though X is not proven.


16 posted on 04/04/2023 5:36:19 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: llevrok
No description available.

 

https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1643344497974165504

17 posted on 04/04/2023 5:36:54 PM PDT by Enlightened1
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Payment to his barber and taylor should be investigated next because they help his election.


18 posted on 04/04/2023 5:37:39 PM PDT by Raycpa
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Cohen said repeatedly to his attorneys that Trump didn’t even know it was happening and that Cohen just paid it and then got reimbursed by basically padding the bill.


19 posted on 04/04/2023 5:37:51 PM PDT by Prince of Space (Let’s Go, Brandon! )
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To: joshua c

“that is how bragg leveraged a misdemeanor into a felony”

Cohen has plead guilty to making the illegal campaign contribution and is the star witness.


20 posted on 04/04/2023 5:41:56 PM PDT by TexasGator
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