The Michael Cohen plea agreement (full pdf here) is a total of eight counts claimed by the SDNY as unlawful activity. However, one count is entirely political and not supported by the Federal Election Commission. Guess which one the media focus on?
Yeah, let’s review.
Within the plea agreement the first five charges relate to tax avoidance, or tax evasion. Each count relates to a specific tax year: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. The sixth charge, a bank fraud charge, relates to lying on a credit application. These six charges appear valid, documented and agreed in the plea. The seventh charge, relates to structuring financial transactions through the use of a corporation. This charge is tenuous, but arguable.
However, the eighth charge is the one the media are focused on. The charge of an illegal campaign contribution:
This Count Eight transaction surrounds a payment to Stephanie Clifford (Stormy Daniels) of $130,000 for a nuisance claim. Who says it is a campaign contribution? The SDNY does, no-one else. Not even the FEC considers this a campaign contribution.
Count eight is a political charge/plea specifically included for the purpose of pulling Donald Trump into the SDNY Cohen case. There is no FEC violation here. *Note it is not the Federal Election Commission making the claim, only the SDNY prosecutors.
Despite the media hype it is not a campaign contribution for a candidate to instruct his attorney to pay-off a nuisance claim to avoid any issues or embarrassment. It is not a campaign donation for Donald Trump to reimburse his attorney for paying the claim.
♦The issue of the Cohen payment being an “in kind” campaign contribution is the bottom line question which underpins the charge.
There is no FEC rule or law that says a candidate cannot pay-off an accuser to avoid further issues, a nuisance claim. Paying an accuser to avoid controversy or embarrassment, is no different than a candidate buying an American made car -with personal funds- to gain the beneficial public optics of not driving a foreign car. Neither expense example makes the payment an aspect of am “in kind” campaign contribution.
There is no connected claim that President Trump used campaign funds to repay his attorney for eliminating the nuisance claim. President Trump, a businessman, used his own business income to repay his attorney; an attorney on a monthly retainer.
The entire charge of Cohen making a campaign contribution, or campaign finance violation, is a manufactured claim, made only by the SDNY, for political benefit.
Former FEC Chairman Bradley Smith explains the details of the non-issue to radio host Mark Levin. Watch/Listen:
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Here is the plea agreement:
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Is the charge that Cohen exceeded HIS contribution limit, or that Trump failed to report a campaign expenditure HE paid for ultimately?
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I believe the former, although I am seeing some conflation of the two. And some bitter acknowledgement that Trump did report the expenditure ‘when he finally got around to it’.
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Also I read the Plea Agreement and there is NO mention in it that Trump requested him to do it. It only says that Cohen violated a campaign law. It’s the plea deal that was signed by the Prosecuters of the SDNY. It’s just another way to smear Trump (if it even happened in court).
But the Legal Document mentions none of this and that’s what counts in court!
And
So Mueller and the SDNY are saying that if Hillary or any Candidate Donated 10 Million $$$ of their OWN money to a Charity to help children who needed prosthetics one month before the election – That would be a Campaign Contribution because it would have helped to effect the election and thus a violation of Campaign Laws. Right ?
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My expectation.. nothing sticks Teflon Don
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Love it😎
My favorite-
* James Clapper: At The End Of The Day… if you keep rubbing your forehead and tugging your earlobes your face is going to stay like that.
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Wrong place☹️
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He looks like a Star Trek Creature – But hey that might be Looks Shaming 🙂 My Bad Hahahahahahahahah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I think it’s time that we wake sessions up. We need to hammer his phone lines, talk to him at dinner, email him. Along with every other Repub but Sessions needs to be the focus.
Even if he is planning things behind the sene he is hurting America and his supporters. We are watching businesses band conservatives, now MasterCard and visa have stopped doing business with David Horowitz, the list of attack’s goes on. We won but if we knew that that would mean open season on conservatives was it worth it? Who would have thought those we voted for would run and hide when needed most.
I think Obama opened the NSA and Co they left gathered blackmail on everyone they could. I truly believe sessions is deciding if his lifestyle is more important then America.
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Well, Hillary’s family lawyer just said that he has no new information and that it could come down to Cohen’s word vs Trumps. He also confirmed the Cohen never went to Pruge (so?).
So, Mueller hands off this case knowing there is no collusion to a Clinton lawyer who gets Cohen to admitt he committed and crime that isn’t a crime. Media, HOA’s (haters of America) and the right (me included) all take it to another level.
I hate Clinton and all her sleezy friends. There is no new news and the dossier has once again been proven fake. We need some one to hack these clowns because I bet this was all planned by Mueller to get trump to give aa interview. It has got to be illegal to force somw one into committing to a crime he didn’t commit.
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And the Dossier is proven false by a Hillary B_tt Muncher. Hahahahahaha !!!!!!!!!
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Cohen has to sell out for the $$$. Afterall felons get disbarred.
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https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/08/cohen-attorney-lanny-davis-is-registered-foreign-agent-for-pro-russian-oligarch-wanted-by-us-government-and-linked-to-putin/
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Gosh, ya’ think?
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hey, guys, I’m following these developments from Kenya..and I’m glad many are seeing through the circus of this Mueller nonsense..I have reason to believe that Cohen guilty pleas, especially on campaign violations, were lead by his lawyer Lanny Davis (who is a known Trump critic that has openly been seeking Trump impeachment) -I’m I the only one seeing a motive here?
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