Former election commissioner: Cohen and Trump didn't violate campaign finance law

[Claudette]

Keep deluding yourself if it makes you feel better. Trump will never be indicted for violating campaign contribution laws.

Actually, the entire trump criminal enterprise may be a risk. Even after your orange king leaves office, the Feds and the States are going to investigate the trump shell game to death. He didn't want to win. He didn't think he would win. NOw he is in a corner....he is getting more and more desperate every day.

Your fantasies may be ridiculous, but that's what makes them so entertaining.

Funny how it wasn't the "Trump criminal enterprise" when he was giving money to Democrats and on "The Apprentice".

Why would he have thought he couldn't win against a woman who lost the 08 and 16 primaries?

Do you really want to open the door to go after a president or any other politician after he leaves office?

Can the government go after Obama for Fast and Furious and Anwar al-Awlaki?

Remember how the lefties were all screaming in unison that Trump couldn't prosecute Hillary because she was his political opponent. Now they are all screaming that they can go after Trump precisely because he is their political opponent.

Dims are all Stalinist scum.

Going after Trump because he broke the law

Oh and just what law did he break??

 

[Lesh]

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

And yet Cohen pled guilty and is going to jail.

Odd huh?

You are NOT funny. You are disturbingly sad

 

[The Original Tree]

Cohen Cracks me up. Typical sleazy lawyer that imo, Trump should not have been dealing with at all.

 

[JimH52]

The purpose of election campaign laws is to make matters transparent and equal for all the candidates. Voters are entitled to knowing the facts about each candidate. trump and Cohen took the voter's opportunity away to knowing the facts about the orange idiot's affairs. The money was paid to hide who would have been a very embarrassing story, shortly before the election.

If Hillary or a campaign associate had paid the media to hide the issue about her computer server, she would have been guilty of campaign finance law. Does that help? Naw, trumpettes are always going to be trumpettes....

Keep deluding yourself if it makes you feel better. Trump will never be indicted for violating campaign contribution laws.

Actually, the entire trump criminal enterprise may be a risk. Even after your orange king leaves office, the Feds and the States are going to investigate the trump shell game to death. He didn't want to win. He didn't think he would win. NOw he is in a corner....he is getting more and more desperate every day.

Your fantasies may be ridiculous, but that's what makes them so entertaining.

More crimes and more investigations every day. The curtain in coming down on the trump regime...

More parking tickets, jaywalking, yada, yada, yada.

Conspiracy to commit federal election violations....going back to 2015 after trump announced his candidacy is a MAJOR FELONY.....and the funny thing is.....Mueller is still to spill his dirt. Then heads will roll.

 

[Claudette]

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

And yet Cohen pled guilty and is going to jail.

Odd huh?

You are NOT funny. You are disturbingly sad

Yeah for tax problems.

Odd huh??

You are NOT funny in fact you are a jackass.

 

[Dragonlady]

Whoops! Another snowflake scheme to get Trump gets shot out of the saddle.

Former election commissioner: Cohen and Trump didn't violate campaign finance law

Trump-haters hoping the president’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, will provide the evidence needed to impeach the president and perhaps even “lock him up” are likely headed for a bitter disappointment. The Cohen guilty pleas are likely irrelevant to the fate of President Trump.

That’s because in my judgment – as someone who served for two years as a member of the Federal Election Commission – the campaign finance law violations Cohen pleaded guilty to committing, allegedly at Donald Trump’s direction, aren’t really violations.

If I’m right – that is, if Cohen didn’t really violate campaign finance law, despite his ill-advised guilty plea – then it would be impossible for Trump to have violated campaign finance law by directing Cohen to take a perfectly legal action.

Confused? That’s understandable, because the media lump all the charges Cohen pleaded guilty to together when explaining this complex case. But in reality, Cohen was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New York City on several separate and unrelated charges.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison by a federal judge and was also ordered to pay almost $2 million in fines, restitution and forfeitures after earlier pleading guilty to multiple counts of business and tax fraud. Those crimes have absolutely nothing to do with Trump, but rather involve Cohen’s own business dealings.

In addition, Cohen was sentenced on his guilty pleas to violating campaign finance law on Trump’s behalf – an action that, as I will explain, I believe was not really a crime at all.​

Right........So, the prosecution was WRONG.....the Judge was WRONG and Cohen's plea (and his attorney) were all WRONG.......

.....and Trump is just this poor picked on clown........Right...........LOL

The judge simply accepted the plea. That's what he's supposed to do. Cohen is doing what the prosecutor demanded, whether it was the truth or not. The prosecutor is definitely a leftwing scumbag. He's dead wrong.

Judges don't "simply accepted the plea" and the prosecution has to present the court with its evidence of the crime. Contrary to what your idiot President says, people don't just make stuff up and plead to it to "embarass" him. You have to provide prosecutors with physical evidence to back up your plea.

Prosecutors are getting people to plead to things they didn't do. That would be against the law. Donald Trump is still lying to you, and fool that you are, you still believe him.

 

[Lesh]

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

And yet Cohen pled guilty and is going to jail.

Odd huh?

You are NOT funny. You are disturbingly sad

Yeah for tax problems.

Odd huh??

You are NOT funny in fact you are a jackass.

He pled guilty to two counts of campaign finance breaches

jackass

 

[RealDave]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

MORON........First, I'm glad that you....at least....admit that Trump "paid for silence".....The law is then BROKEN when you do not report it as a campaign contribution.

Paint yourself in a corner with your cereal box knowledge of the law?....LOL

The money the DNC and Hitlery paid Steele should be considered a campaign donation by your reckoning.

You sure are stupid.

Look moron, if the Clinton campaign listed the money it aid the opposition research firm, all is legal.

It would be like your fat assed orange buddy if Clinton paid for it out of her own money & not listed it as a campaign donation.

You people are just plain retarded.

 

[Claudette]

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

And yet Cohen pled guilty and is going to jail.

Odd huh?

You are NOT funny. You are disturbingly sad

Yeah for tax problems.

Odd huh??

You are NOT funny in fact you are a jackass.

He pled guilty to two counts of campaign finance breaches

jackass

Well the FEC won't rule on any of that until 2020 so I wonder why he pled guilty. Oh and they aren't felonies.

 

[RealDave]

Actually, the entire trump criminal enterprise may be a risk. Even after your orange king leaves office, the Feds and the States are going to investigate the trump shell game to death. He didn't want to win. He didn't think he would win. NOw he is in a corner....he is getting more and more desperate every day.

Your fantasies may be ridiculous, but that's what makes them so entertaining.

Funny how it wasn't the "Trump criminal enterprise" when he was giving money to Democrats and on "The Apprentice".

Why would he have thought he couldn't win against a woman who lost the 08 and 16 primaries?

Do you really want to open the door to go after a president or any other politician after he leaves office?

Can the government go after Obama for Fast and Furious and Anwar al-Awlaki?

Remember how the lefties were all screaming in unison that Trump couldn't prosecute Hillary because she was his political opponent. Now they are all screaming that they can go after Trump precisely because he is their political opponent.

Dims are all Stalinist scum.

Going after Trump because he broke the law

Oh and just what law did he break??

Funneled money into his campaign without reporting it.

 

[Faun]

YOU are stupid

....and that is very kind of you to label that moron just "stupid".....

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

You lefty loons sure are funny.

LOLOL

The case is over. Cohen’s already been convicted of and sentenced for, among other things, illegal campaign contributions for paying more than $2,700 to help trump’s campaign by silencing porn stars who were looking to go public with their respective stories.

 

[Claudette]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

MORON........First, I'm glad that you....at least....admit that Trump "paid for silence".....The law is then BROKEN when you do not report it as a campaign contribution.

Paint yourself in a corner with your cereal box knowledge of the law?....LOL

The money the DNC and Hitlery paid Steele should be considered a campaign donation by your reckoning.

You sure are stupid.

Look moron, if the Clinton campaign listed the money it aid the opposition research firm, all is legal.

It would be like your fat assed orange buddy if Clinton paid for it out of her own money & not listed it as a campaign donation.

You people are just plain retarded.

Well according to this neither nor Cohen broke any laws.


A candidate is free to contribute to his or her own campaign. It also is not criminal for a candidate to pay hush money to women whose disclosures might endanger his campaign. So if candidate Trump paid hush money to his two accusers, there would be no violation of any campaign or other laws. To be sure, if he did so for the purpose of helping his campaign, as distinguished from helping his marriage, his campaign would have to disclose any such contribution, and failure to do so might be a violation of a campaign law, but the payments themselves would be entirely lawful.


Did President Trump violate campaign finance laws?

If, on the other hand, Cohen made the payments by himself, without direction from the president, that would constitute an impermissible campaign contribution from a third party. But if Cohen was merely acting as a lawyer for Trump and advancing the payments, with an expectation of repayment, then it would be hard to find a campaign finance crime other than failure to report by the campaign.

Failure to report all campaign contributions is fairly common in political circles.

Obama did the same. Didn't see anyone trying to say he committed a felony.

 

[RealDave]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

MORON........First, I'm glad that you....at least....admit that Trump "paid for silence".....The law is then BROKEN when you do not report it as a campaign contribution.

Paint yourself in a corner with your cereal box knowledge of the law?....LOL

The money the DNC and Hitlery paid Steele should be considered a campaign donation by your reckoning.

You sure are stupid.

Look moron, if the Clinton campaign listed the money it aid the opposition research firm, all is legal.

It would be like your fat assed orange buddy if Clinton paid for it out of her own money & not listed it as a campaign donation.

You people are just plain retarded.

Well according to this neither nor Cohen broke any laws.


A candidate is free to contribute to his or her own campaign. It also is not criminal for a candidate to pay hush money to women whose disclosures might endanger his campaign. So if candidate Trump paid hush money to his two accusers, there would be no violation of any campaign or other laws. To be sure, if he did so for the purpose of helping his campaign, as distinguished from helping his marriage, his campaign would have to disclose any such contribution, and failure to do so might be a violation of a campaign law, but the payments themselves would be entirely lawful.


Did President Trump violate campaign finance laws?
If, on the other hand, Cohen made the payments by himself, without direction from the president, that would constitute an impermissible campaign contribution from a third party. But if Cohen was merely acting as a lawyer for Trump and advancing the payments, with an expectation of repayment, then it would be hard to find a campaign finance crime other than failure to report by the campaign.

Failure to report all campaign contributions is fairly common in political

Unreported donations & unreported expenditures.

 

[Claudette]

Your fantasies may be ridiculous, but that's what makes them so entertaining.

Funny how it wasn't the "Trump criminal enterprise" when he was giving money to Democrats and on "The Apprentice".

Why would he have thought he couldn't win against a woman who lost the 08 and 16 primaries?

Do you really want to open the door to go after a president or any other politician after he leaves office?

Can the government go after Obama for Fast and Furious and Anwar al-Awlaki?

Remember how the lefties were all screaming in unison that Trump couldn't prosecute Hillary because she was his political opponent. Now they are all screaming that they can go after Trump precisely because he is their political opponent.

Dims are all Stalinist scum.

Going after Trump because he broke the law

Oh and just what law did he break??

Funneled money into his campaign without reporting it.

Yup and apparently its a pretty common thing in political circles. Barry did the same and paid a fine.

Don't remember you calling him a criminal.

 

[bripat9643]

Keep deluding yourself if it makes you feel better. Trump will never be indicted for violating campaign contribution laws.

Actually, the entire trump criminal enterprise may be a risk. Even after your orange king leaves office, the Feds and the States are going to investigate the trump shell game to death. He didn't want to win. He didn't think he would win. NOw he is in a corner....he is getting more and more desperate every day.

Your fantasies may be ridiculous, but that's what makes them so entertaining.

Funny how it wasn't the "Trump criminal enterprise" when he was giving money to Democrats and on "The Apprentice".

Why would he have thought he couldn't win against a woman who lost the 08 and 16 primaries?

Do you really want to open the door to go after a president or any other politician after he leaves office?

Can the government go after Obama for Fast and Furious and Anwar al-Awlaki?

Remember how the lefties were all screaming in unison that Trump couldn't prosecute Hillary because she was his political opponent. Now they are all screaming that they can go after Trump precisely because he is their political opponent.

Dims are all Stalinist scum.

Going after Trump because he broke the law

ROFL! Snowflakes are so delusional. They even believe their own horseshit.

 

[bripat9643]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

MORON........First, I'm glad that you....at least....admit that Trump "paid for silence".....The law is then BROKEN when you do not report it as a campaign contribution.

Paint yourself in a corner with your cereal box knowledge of the law?....LOL

The money the DNC and Hitlery paid Steele should be considered a campaign donation by your reckoning.

You sure are stupid.

Look moron, if the Clinton campaign listed the money it aid the opposition research firm, all is legal.

It would be like your fat assed orange buddy if Clinton paid for it out of her own money & not listed it as a campaign donation.

You people are just plain retarded.

Well according to this neither nor Cohen broke any laws.


A candidate is free to contribute to his or her own campaign. It also is not criminal for a candidate to pay hush money to women whose disclosures might endanger his campaign. So if candidate Trump paid hush money to his two accusers, there would be no violation of any campaign or other laws. To be sure, if he did so for the purpose of helping his campaign, as distinguished from helping his marriage, his campaign would have to disclose any such contribution, and failure to do so might be a violation of a campaign law, but the payments themselves would be entirely lawful.


Did President Trump violate campaign finance laws?
If, on the other hand, Cohen made the payments by himself, without direction from the president, that would constitute an impermissible campaign contribution from a third party. But if Cohen was merely acting as a lawyer for Trump and advancing the payments, with an expectation of repayment, then it would be hard to find a campaign finance crime other than failure to report by the campaign.

Failure to report all campaign contributions is fairly common in political

Unreported donations & unreported expenditures.

It's neither, dumbass. The New York AG should start worrying about solving crimes in New York instead of conducting a witch hunt against politicians she doesn't like.

 

[bripat9643]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

MORON........First, I'm glad that you....at least....admit that Trump "paid for silence".....The law is then BROKEN when you do not report it as a campaign contribution.

Paint yourself in a corner with your cereal box knowledge of the law?....LOL

The money the DNC and Hitlery paid Steele should be considered a campaign donation by your reckoning.

You sure are stupid.

You seem to have it backwards. Had Steele done it for free it would have been a campaign contribution.

The DNC paid Steele's employer...for a service. I have heard no one claim it wasn't a reported EXPENSE...

YOU are stupid

It's illegal to pay foreigners to work on your campaign, moron. Clinton knows that, and her law firm knows that, so it's an open and shut case.

 

[bripat9643]

Well Trump paid for silence that's not a campaign contribution either.

Yea...it is if it's done to aid his election chances...and it was. We know this because of what witnesses and tapes tell us

How far you fuckers have sunk though.

You have gone from "It never happened...these women are lying"....

To "yea it happened and yea he paid them to cover it up but it was no big deal"

How many times do you dumbasses have to be told that it can't have any other private purpose, and it obviously does?

 

[nat4900]

Well the FEC doesn't agree with him. In fact the case won't be heard until 2020.

Morons like you will see that the ass kissing FEC may change its tune once brought in to testify under oath before a House committee this spring.......NO ONE is above the law.

 

[Faun]

Well the FEC won't rule on any of that until 2020 so I wonder why he pled guilty. Oh and they aren't felonies.

I’m tellin’ ya, you rightwing freaks are dumber than dirt...

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump's longtime personal attorney and adviser pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two felony campaign finance violations. Those are crimes. And he confessed to them under oath, saying he willfully violated those laws at Trump's direction.​