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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   28013 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of May 27, 2024

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If Trump paid back Cohen, then Cohen no longer made a campaign contribution since he was acting as Trump’s agent… it also isn’t close to clear that cohen made a campaign contribution

This is not how the FEC understands campaign contributions:

Similarly, when a person pays for goods or services on the committee’s behalf, the payment is an in-kind contribution. An expenditure made by any person in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate’s campaign is also considered an in-kind contribution to the candidate.

Now, a campaign can transform an in-kind contribution into an operating expense by reimbursing the person making the in-kind contribution, but the Trump campaign never did that. Cohen was reimbursed by the Trump organization instead.

It seems really weird you are arguing Trump exposed himself to criminal liability to try to help Cohen…

I mean, it helped himself too. Otherwise Daniel (or Cohen) might have gone public much earlier to unknown effect.

Also you have zero evidence connecting Trump to this scheme except the partial testimony of Cohen (he doesn’t even testify to all needed elements) with no corroboration. So you are using the word of a serial perjurer to send someone potentially to jail.

This is not correct. Trump himself signed some of the reimbursement checks to Cohen.

This is not how the FEC understands campaign contributions:

We could have had testimony on how the FEC understands these things, but Judge Merchan explicitly ruled that Brad Smith couldn't testify to anything substantive on that front, because allegedly only the Court had jurisdiction to rule on legal interpretations like the meaning of statutes and regulations - even ones outside the Court's proper jurisdiction, apparently.

Except for you know allowing Cohen to offer testimony on it.

I will respond to the others when I have time but with the latter signing a check is not the same as saying Trump had a scheme to book things a certain way because they were worried about campaign finance laws. All it says is that Trump agreed to pay money to Cohen presumably in part as reimbursement.

It doesn’t at all go to scheme.

It means that Trump knew about the reimbursement Cohen. Coming from his business. And presumably how it was booked. If there was also no retainer or other legal work Cohen had done (and Trump knew that) it goes to his intent to commit fraud.

See you use words like “presumably.” There is zero evidence of Trump knowing how or why it was booked a certain way. You are making a leap.

And Trump is saying Cohen worked for years on an oral retainer. No evidence to the contrary to my knowledge.

And again none of that goes to the point that that says zero about Trump’s intent to commit the predicate.

1)There was a person at the trial who could have provided insight on Trump's intent - Donald Trump. He and his defence team elected not to have him testify.

2)When you sign cheques, you are responsible for understanding where you are sending the money.

Okay. You don’t believe in civil liberties. Got it. You also don’t believe in the burden of proof.

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