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

[IM2]

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.​

Judge Napolitano: “We’ve learned that federal prosecutors here in New York City, not Bob Mueller and his team in Washington, D.C., career prosecutors here in New York City, have evidence that the president of the United States committed a felony by ordering and paying Michael Cohen to break the law,”

Fox News’ Judge Napolitano: We Now Know Trump ‘Committed a Felony’

We don't know any such thing. Napolitano has been acting like a deep state douchebag lately. It's hard to believe that he calls himself a libertarian.

But we do know. You just can't accept it.

 

[Lesh]

Michael Cohen’s Non-Crime: Prosecutor Twists Campaign-Finance Law | National Review
The settlements in this hypothetical are made “for the purpose of influencing the election,” yet they are not “expenditures” under the Federal Election Campaign Act. Indeed, if they were, the candidate would have to pay for them with campaign funds. Thus, an unscrupulous but popular businessman could declare his candidacy, gather contributions from the public, use those contributions to settle various preexisting lawsuits, and then withdraw from the race. A nice trick!

But in fact, the contrary rule prevails, because the candidate’s obligation to resolve the business’s lawsuits exists “irrespective” of the campaign. Similarly, any payments made to women by Mr. Trump or his associates are independent of the campaign.

From that aticle

Donald Trump’s wayward counsel, Michael Cohen, was sentenced today as part of a plea bargain with the government. As part of that settlement, Cohen has admitted to criminal violations of federal campaign-finance law and has implicated President Trump in those violations.

And then the idiot goes on to claim it had nothing to do with the election. Of course we know for a fact that Trump conspired with Pecker at AMI and Cohen TO influence the election so...

Yea...go away

 

[Mr.Blonde]

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.

Wow. What a crock of shit. Trump is welcome anytime to try to prosecute Hillary Clinton about anything. Sure, Trump & you Russian loving dickheads think the President should just call the DOJ & prosecute their political adversaries.

Mueller is NOT a political adversary ypu God damn wortheless stupid shit. He is a Republican appointed by Trump's own DOJ.

Jesus Christ you are a fucking moron.

He's an establishment RINO Republican, which means he's indistinguishable from a Democrat. One thing is certain, he believes his job it to destroy Trump any way he can. He doesn't give a damn about justice or the law.

So you say. Anyone who stands up for their values are considered establishment. You have no clue what you are talking about.

Mueller values are so above approach that he hired Andrew Weissmann.


If you lay down with dogs you get fleas

 

[IM2]

Michael Cohen’s Non-Crime: Prosecutor Twists Campaign-Finance Law | National Review
The settlements in this hypothetical are made “for the purpose of influencing the election,” yet they are not “expenditures” under the Federal Election Campaign Act. Indeed, if they were, the candidate would have to pay for them with campaign funds. Thus, an unscrupulous but popular businessman could declare his candidacy, gather contributions from the public, use those contributions to settle various preexisting lawsuits, and then withdraw from the race. A nice trick!

But in fact, the contrary rule prevails, because the candidate’s obligation to resolve the business’s lawsuits exists “irrespective” of the campaign. Similarly, any payments made to women by Mr. Trump or his associates are independent of the campaign.

Any lie and excuse will now be made up.

 

[Manonthestreet]

Michael Cohen’s Non-Crime: Prosecutor Twists Campaign-Finance Law | National Review
The settlements in this hypothetical are made “for the purpose of influencing the election,” yet they are not “expenditures” under the Federal Election Campaign Act. Indeed, if they were, the candidate would have to pay for them with campaign funds. Thus, an unscrupulous but popular businessman could declare his candidacy, gather contributions from the public, use those contributions to settle various preexisting lawsuits, and then withdraw from the race. A nice trick!

But in fact, the contrary rule prevails, because the candidate’s obligation to resolve the business’s lawsuits exists “irrespective” of the campaign. Similarly, any payments made to women by Mr. Trump or his associates are independent of the campaign.

From that aticle

Donald Trump’s wayward counsel, Michael Cohen, was sentenced today as part of a plea bargain with the government. As part of that settlement, Cohen has admitted to criminal violations of federal campaign-finance law and has implicated President Trump in those violations.

And then the idiot goes on to claim it had nothing to do with the election. Of course we know for a fact that Trump conspired with Pecker at AMI and Cohen TO influence the election so...

Yea...go away

Intro to article which they go on to destroy...…...idiot

 

[Oddball]

1) 5 counts of tax fraud. Cohen evaded taxes on his personal income from 2012 through 2016.

2) 1 count of making false statements to a financial institution. This is the same crime Republican Speaker of the House Denny Hastert committed when he paid off the boy he raped. Cohen committed this particular crime at the direction of Cowardly Lyin' Trump.

3) 1 count of unlawful corporate contributions. Cohen arranged the $130,000 payment to the porn star from June through October 2016. Note the timing.

4) 1 count of excessive campaign contributions. Cohen made the payment of $130,000 to Daniels, at the direction of Cowardly Lyin' Trump, on October 27, 2016. Again, note the timing.

Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005

The Access Hollywood recording made a YUGE splash in early October.

The GOP Establishment considered right then and there cutting and running from Trump.

Trump then held a presser with Clinton's women in Vegas.

If Stormy Daniels had broken her silence right then, Trump would have been toast.

Thus the payment on October 27.


Without Cohen violating the law and paying off Daniels, and without Putin lending a hand to Trump by releasing the DNC emails, Trump would not be President today.

And that's a fact.

Because as you pointed out yourself at the time, bripat, those emails caused one third of Hillary's voters to abandon her.

Those DNC emails and hiding Stormy put Cowardly Lyin' Donald over the top.


It says a lot about our country that this election was decided by which candidate was the most sleazy.

And not one, single, (1) goddamn RUSSIAN! to be found.

Another highly deserving recipient....

 

[Lesh]

Intro to article which they go on to destroy...…...idiot

And then the idiot goes on to claim it had nothing to do with the election. Of course we know for a fact that Trump conspired with Pecker at AMI and Cohen TO influence the election so...

Oh...

 

[easyt65]

How many times do we have to go through this same routine of having to hear Democrats and snowflakes declare 'THIS TIME we've got him...THIS TIME we have evidence he broke the law...' And here we are 2 years later with not 1 of those panning out for the snowflakes?!

Bwuhahahaha.....

'This time'.... any day now.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

And not one, single, (1) goddamn RUSSIAN! to be found.

Haha, you are really setting yourself up for embarrassment.

 

[IM2]

How many times do we have to go through this same routine of having to hear Democrats and snowflakes declare 'THIS TIME we've got him...THIS TIME we have evidence he broke the law...' And here we are 2 years later with not 1 of those panning out for the snowflakes?!

Bwuhahahaha.....

'This time'.... any day now.

Except that has not been said. And the truth is, he has broken the law.

The investigation still goes on.

 

[Claudette]

Oh and since when is it illegal to pay off someone accusing you of having an affair with your own money??

Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment. So how could it have been his own money?

[/QUOT

Oh and since when is it illegal to pay off someone accusing you of having an affair with your own money??

Trump said he didn't know about the $130,000 payment. So how could it have been his own money?

Sure before the election.

Giuliani told The Washington Post that Trump did not know about the payment at the time it was made in October 2016. He also said he did not know when Trump learned of it. He said he spoke to Trump “about two weeks ago” about the payment, and it was at that time that Trump “probably” got “the full picture for the first time” about the payment.

You just blew your own question out of the water!

The payment to Stormy was therefore an illegal campaign contribution.

Well if that's so then the money the DNC and Hitlery paid to Steele for the fake Trump dossier should be considered a campaign contribution.

They paid for a report on Donald Trump. It is not a campaign contribution.

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

 

[nat4900]

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

 

[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.

 

[Lesh]

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"

 

[Lesh]

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

 

[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.

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

Not as stupid as you dumbass.

 

[nat4900]

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

Continue proving on here that you're a fucking idiot.....

A. Purchasing "opposition research" is NOT a campaign donation, nitwit

B. All of Hillary's expenditures were reported

C. Paying off a playboy slut to keep quiet is NOT the same as "opposition research"

D. NOT reporting the payoff IS a campaign finance felony

Go back to bed and keep taking some GED classes.

 

[nat4900]

YOU are stupid

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

 

[rightwinger]

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.

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

 

[Claudette]

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.