Posted on 12/15/2018 10:29:52 AM PST by Jim Robinson
President Donald Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, may have been convinced by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to plead guilty to a supposed violation of campaign finance law, but that doesn’t mean that what happened is actually a federal crime.
In fact, neither the Federal Election Commission—which is the independent agency tasked with enforcing the Federal Election Campaign Act—nor its former commissioners would likely agree with the overaggressive view that the Southern District is taking. Indeed, the Southern District’s aggressive stance on this issue might have violated the Justice Department’s own policy.
Robert Khuzami, the acting U.S. attorney standing in for Geoffrey Berman, who has recused himself from the Cohen case, says in the government’s sentencing memorandum that Cohen committed a campaign finance violation by arranging payments from corporations to two women—Woman-1 and Woman-2 (Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, respectively), who claimed they had affairs with Trump—in order to buy their silence. Cohen eventually invoiced the Trump Organization for the Daniels payment.
Khuzami asserts these were illegal corporate contributions to the Trump campaign because they were made with “the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election.” Thus, he claims, they were campaign-related expenses and all of the rules governing federal campaigns apply to the payments.
First, his theory that anything intended to “influence” an election is a campaign-related expense fails to take into account the statutory limitation on this definition. FECA (52 U.S.C. 30114 (b)(2)) specifically says that campaign-related expenses do not include any expenditures “used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign.”
These payments were relatively small given Trump’s net worth—the kind of nuisance settlement that celebrities often make to protect their reputations...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
Thanks, Jim, for posting this reality that the MSM is ignoring.
If you oppose the Left you are guilty. That’s what the Left’s playbook is built around. These senseless investigations won’t end. America in some ways isn’t a first world country anymore. Hope we can restore an honest government.
Michael Cohen is a dishonest and despicable human being. Violated the very core principle of his profession.
Good article by von Spakovsky, he knows of what he speaks.
Congress could have made NDAs illegal. Will never happen. Rich and powerful people need to protect themselves from indiscretions.
It ain’t about ideology.
If it’s found that these are not campaign violations, does Cohen still stay in jail ? Is his plea agreement invalid ?
Since the discussion regarding these hush payments started in 2014, it would seem it would not be unlawful campaign contributions.
I think I read that the only corporations prohibited from donating are the federal government corporations (TVA, etc.).
Sorry, I don’t have time to check again.
It’s in the FEC digest of federal election laws PDF.
And even if federal law were violated, as long as Trump told Cohen to do something that could be done in a legal manner, Trump would not be criminally liable.
And even then, probably not.
Tillerson alleged that Trump asked him to do illegal things.
Tillerson explained to Trump why he couldn’t.
If a non-lawyer CEO could do that, so could a lawyer.
It’s any “any corporation whatever” “in connection with any election at which presidential and vice presidential electors or a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress are to be voted for”
Disregard my previous comment.
Ҥ 30118. Contributions or expenditures by national banks,
corporations, or labor organizations (a) In general. It is unlawful for any national bank, or any
corporation organized by authority of any law of Congress, to make a contribution or expenditure in connection with any election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, or for any corporation whatever, or any labor organization, to make a
contribution or expenditure in connection with any election at which presidential and vice presidential electors or a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, Congress are to be voted for, or in connection with any primary election or political
convention or caucus held to select candidates for any of the foregoing offices, or for any candidate, political committee, or other person knowingly to accept or receive any contribution prohibited by this section, or any officer or any director of any corporation or any national bank or any officer of any labor organization to consent to any contribution or expenditure by the corporation, national bank, or labor organization, as the case may be, prohibited by this section.”
There’s the “make a contribution” part to be considered.
Cohen’s shell corporation was used only to hide the trail of payment.
That corporation “made” as much contribution as the banks used by Clinton donors - zilch.
There’s also the matter that states decide on Presidential electors.
The State of New York could simply appoint Bill Clinton and friends to be New York’s electors if the state’s constitution allowed it.
There is no longer any rule of law. The deep state has decided to drop the pretense that their was any rule of law in the first place. This was due to their Queen being defeated by Trump. Technically it’s the tax evasion that always gets these guys. The plea agreement dont really matter to Cohen.
Michael Cohen is a dishonest and despicable human being. Violated the very core principle of his profession.
He a lawyer ... being a dishonest and despicable human being IS the very core principle of that profession.
Mueller knows it and Cohen knows it, that there is no violation. The deal was that Cohen got less time for the real crimes by pleading guilty on the faux crime ginned up to get Trump.
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