Posted on 12/09/2018 8:29:55 AM PST by ETL
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 ...
Yes, after I hit Post. I’m slow sometimes.
It’s hard to explain to morons who don’t take all the factors in consideration and who see only what they want to see. They also don’t have concrete knowledge other that what they read/see in the media.
Generally cut and paste shills
We can cut them a break on what they don’t have access too but hope they can process it when they are given what can be stated.
For the deep state to remove Trump from office would be at least ten times as difficult, both politically and physically, as Trump’s current task of draining the swamp.
Ok.
But what about his family? His bodyguards? His cook?
Everyone connected to Trump is in the cross hairs. What happens when his hairdresser takes a razor and attacks him? When a cook starts trying to poison him?
I do agree, one way or another Trump’s only option is to go scorched earth. But that leaves the corpse of the Republic a mess.
We were already there. We need a hail Mary pass...
I don’t understand why the President doesn’t fire Mueller and end this nonsense.
McCarthy is not talking about indicting Trump while he is in office. They won’t do that because it is against DOJ policy.
What he’s saying is if he loses re-election in 2021, there is nothing that prevents private citizen Trump from being indicting. The statue of limitations on these campaign finance violation don’t expire till 5 years after so we are talking October 2021.
Trump will have to win reelection to prevent indictment.
I fully expect the democrats and the New York State Attorney General to fully terrorize Trump for the rest of his life after he leaves the White House. It is what they plan to do for the Crime of beating Hillary.
With that said, Trump committed no crime. He has 2 very simple defenses.
1) He expected his lawyer to handle the payments in a legal way. There is nothing out there saying Trump instructed Cohen to take a home equity line of credit to pay Stormy out of his own money. In fact, all the reporting says he couldn’t get in touch with Trump in the final days of the campaign and did this scheme all by himself as a way of loyalty or whatever.
2) It’s perfectly legal to do NDA’s for personal reasons. It’s very likely that Trump has settled similar “claims” in the past. As long as his attorneys can prove that he has done this before for personal reasons to protect his brand, marriage from these allegations, he should be fine.
They did fail to convict John Edwards and he used DONOR money to pay off his mistress. This is all about Trump’s own money and he was legally able to contribute as much as he wanted to his campaign.
Except they have changed the rules every step of the way. They are above the law and are determined.
The hush-money thing is backwards. They are saying that the hush money, which could not have legally been paid for with campaign funds, is a violation because it represents an undeclared donation.
So how is this any different then the secret hush-hush fund created by Congress to payoff women/men who have claimed sexual abuse. Why the payoffs other than to keep sexual assault claims quiet to keep an offender in office?
I want to see this list showing who these politicians are, when and how much was paid, and for what reason.
Oh there are a couple of people there that will work to prevent it.
You're defeatist attitude goes counter to your tag line.
I spent years and a couple of hundred thousand miles for a few years going to a couple hundred of tea parties.
People said that would do no good.
So are you going activate your tagline and be one of those good men or let the triumph of evil occur?
It doesn't take much.
Did you know that only 3% of the population fought in the war that ended up founding our country?
Step up.
I can’t figure out your post.
True, the NDAs ought to have the weight of law, but a LOT of things that ought to be happening — aren’t — because...Trump.
It’s maddening. We may have to take to the streets to protect him.
I think it was once considered Required Reading for aspiring FReepers.
The leftists and government are going to spark a revolution and cause the Constitution to be invoked.
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