Trump's History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New Defense
Trumps History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New Defense
Trump says today that he doesnt know campaign finance law. But he became acquainted with it years ago as a donor by breaking it.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-history-of-campaign-finance-wrongdoing-destroys-his-new-defense?via=twitter_page
Donald Trump, the man who once bragged on national television in 2015 about his remarkable knowledge surrounding campaign donations, declaring, I know more about contributions than anybody, now has a brand new defense to his alleged federal election crimes: He suddenly claims to know nothing about how campaign donations work. The problem with this defense, though, is this thing called Google, which details Trumps long history of being investigated and even fined for violating campaign laws.
We heard this new defense on Thursday in response to Trumps long-time lawyer Michael Cohen telling prosecutors that Trump directed him to violate federal campaign laws. Trump stated via Twitter, I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law. He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called advice of counsel. (Its like the end of an episode of Law & Order when both suspects claim the other is the real ring leader.)
This may come as a surprise to some, but advice of counsel is an actual legal defense that people have utilized effectively to shield themselves from criminal liability, although its a longshot. But if Trump were to have any chance with this defense in a courtroom, he must show that in good faith he relied on his lawyers advice and had no idea that the conduct may have been criminal.
The reality is that Trump cant in good faith claim he was oblivious to the rigors of campaign finance laws, because he was personally investigated from 2011 through 2013 for possible campaign violations by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Add to that, in 2000, Trump paid a then-record fine for violating New York lobbying laws for failing to report that he was the person secretly financing a campaign. These experiences would clearly seem to put Trump on notice that any effort to undermine transparency when it comes to campaigns is not only wrong but could result in civil or criminal penalties.
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