President Trump says payments to women were 'private transaction,' not criminal offense

[DonViejo]

Source: USA Today


David Jackson, USA TODAY Published 7:46 a.m. ET Dec. 10, 2018

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed payments to alleged mistresses just before the 2016 presidential election as "a simple private transaction," disputing claims by prosecutors that they amounted to a conspiracy to evade campaign finance laws.

While some congressional Democrats cast the payments as potential cause for impeachment, Trump said prosecutors are looking for something to pin on him because they have been unable to prove any collusion with Russians who sought to influence his presidential election.

"So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution," Trump said during a series of early morning tweets.

Even if the payments amounted to campaign contributions, Trump said in another tweet, they would constitute a civil case, not a criminal one, and "there would not even be a fine."

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/12/10/donald-trump-payments/2262446002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomwashington-topstories

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Trump Tweets: ‘Democrats Can’t Find a Smocking Gun Tying the Trump Campaign to Russia’

by Colby Hall | Dec 10th, 2018, 6:57 am

President Donald Trump is starting the week on the front foot. At least judging by his early Monday morning tweet that has been part of a continued effort to undermine the ongoing investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his debasing of former FBI Director James Comey’s private testimony to House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees.

In what appears to be a quote from a Fox & Friends segment that aired Monday morning, the Commander in Chief wrote “No Smocking (sic) Gun…No Collusion.” The apparent typo has not yet been addressed unless he was referring to “smocking” which is a decoration on a garment created by gathering a section of the material into tight pleats and holding them together with parallel stitches in an ornamental pattern.

Trump tweeted:

Link to tweet

Trump followed with:

Link to tweet

###

https://www.mediaite.com/online/trump-tweets-democrats-cant-find-a-smocking-gun-tying-the-trump-campaign-to-russia/

[PJMcK]

1. Didn't he say he didn't know anything about the payments?

I'm confused. Is Trump now admitting that he knew about the payments?

Does this mean that his claims that he didn't have affairs were also false?

I'm shocked!

[DetlefK]

9. I am shocked!

[moriah]

29. I am smocked! ;) nt

[PJMcK]

33. Wow

Well played, moriah!

[MaryMagdaline]

27. So private even he didn't know about them

[moose65]

56. I see what you did there!

[htuttle]

2. Looks like he's not trying to deny it outright anymore

It always goes that way with him.

Three Stages of Trump Lies
1. "I didn't do it, you did it."
2. "You can't prove I did it."
3. "So what if I did it, it's not illegal."

[PatSeg]

10. Yes

It is becoming a very predictable pattern with Trump.

[lagomorph777]

30. He's already on Step 4: "OK it's illegal but there's only a fine, no jail time."

[RobinA]

61. I Might Add To That

3. "So what if I did it, it's not illegal, and if it is illegal it was his fault not mine."
4. "But Obama..."

[Renew Deal]

3. You have the right to remain silent...

[YessirAtsaFact]

18. That requires the self discipline to remain silent

Trump doesn’t have that.

[Renew Deal]

20. Yup. That's why they couldn't let him testify

He’d be locked up within the hour

[trusty elf]

4. dream on, dumb ass

[marylandblue]

5. Who among us hasn't had their lawyer set up a shell company

to funnel campaign funds to their ex-mistresses?

[not fooled]

49. And during a presidential campaign

to keep the fake xtians happy?

[forgotmylogin]

53. I know my simple personal transactions always involve a lawyer

and a shell company and an NDA...

[Scarsdale]

6. Well then, that

makes everything alright. I am sure his "wife" feels much better about this now. I am sure she got plenty of "payments" before their marriage for services rendered.

[onetexan]

7. LOL this has become so comical it's insane

more fodder for SNL

[duforsure]

8. He hide the payments and lied about them

Because he was well aware of the campaign finance laws, and he intentionally broke the law anyway. They'll be more than enough proof of criminal intent, and of others conspiring with him to do this and keep it hidden by lying about it. This is just the tip of the ice berg of payoffs to many others for their silence about crimes. he's trying in desperation to project his innocence now for his base, and they'll be running from him soon too.

[Freethinker65]

22. Yep. Payment for silence of crimes. Easy to compromise this fool by blackmailing him to do anything.

Trump is compromised and (potentially) owned by those that know of his crimes.

[thesquanderer]

23. Interesting point about his previous lying about it.

The lying itself is not illegal (i.e. he was not under oath, it was not perjury), but it could provide evidence of intent. That is, if he thought there was nothing wrong with it, why did he try so hard to distance himself from it? But his defense of that early lies could be to spare embarrassment and/or hide the facts from Melania, and then the later lies were made so as no to contradict the earlier lies. Or maybe it's that he lies at any time he wants, just to say what sounds good a the time, because that's who he is. Either way, I don't think his lies about his can really provide much evidence of intent. I think there will be plenty of other evidence, though...

[lagomorph777]

34. The act is not a crime without intent; the lies are not a crime by themselves...

...but put them together and what have you got? The act and evidence of intent. A crime!

[karynnj]

68. Even the idea that he did it to hide it from Melania makes no sense

Melania, after all, was his thrd wife with whom he cheated on his second wife and knew that he cheated with his second wife when married to his first wife. Not to mention, she was a nude model before marriage. It is very hard to turn her into the innocent wife who would be troubled because her husband was playing around.

Not to mention, he did not privately pay for this -- the Trump corporation he and then his kids headed did - labelling it a business expense. He and anyone who signed off on that income tax form is quilty of tax fraud.

[Autumn]

11. You know what else is private? A blow job between consenting adults. No money involved.

Fuck off orange ass.

[rzemanfl]

19. Exactly. n/t

[dalton99a]

28. +1

[Kaleva]

62. Lying under oath is what got Clinton into trouble.

"Article I

In his conduct while President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has willfully corrupted and manipulated the judicial process of the United States for his personal gain and exoneration, impeding the administration of justice, in that:

On August 17, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before a Federal grand jury of the United States. Contrary to that oath, William Jefferson Clinton willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony to the grand jury concerning one or more of the following: (1) the nature and details of his relationship with a subordinate Government employee; (2) prior perjurious, false and misleading testimony he gave in a Federal civil rights action brought against him; (3) prior false and misleading statements he allowed his attorney to make to a Federal judge in that civil rights action; and (4) his corrupt efforts to influence the testimony of witnesses and to impede the discovery of evidence in that civil rights action."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/articles122098.htm?noredirect=on#full1

"Article III


The means used to implement this course of conduct or scheme included one or more of the following acts:

(1) On or about December 17, 1997, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly encouraged a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him to execute a sworn affidavit in that proceeding that he knew to be perjurious, false and misleading.

(2) On or about December 17, 1997, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly encouraged a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him to give perjurious, false and misleading testimony if and when called to testify personally in that proceeding.

(3) On or about December 28, 1997, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly engaged in, encouraged or supported a scheme to conceal evidence that had been subpoenaed in a Federal civil rights action brought against him.

(4) Beginning on or about December 7, 1997, and continuing through and including January 14, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton intensified and succeeded in an effort to secure job assistance to a witness in a Federal civil rights action brought against him in order to corruptly prevent the truthful testimony of that witness in that proceeding at a time when the truthful testimony of that witness would have been harmful to him.

(5) On January 17, 1998, at his deposition in a Federal civil rights action brought against him, William Jefferson Clinton corruptly allowed his attorney to make false and misleading statements to a Federal judge characterizing an affidavit, in order to prevent questioning deemed relevant by the judge. Such false and misleading statements were subsequently acknowledged by his attorney in a communication to that judge.

(6) On or about January 18 and January 20-21, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton related a false and misleading account of events relevant to a Federal civil rights action brought against him to a potential witness in that proceeding, in order to corruptly influence the testimony of that witness.

(7) On or about January 21, 23 and 26, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton made false and misleading statements to potential witnesses in a Federal grand jury proceeding in order to corruptly influence the testimony of those witnesses. The false and misleading statements made by William Jefferson Clinton were repeated by the witnesses to the grand jury, causing the grand jury to receive false and misleading information.

In all of this, William Jefferson Clinton has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, has betrayed his trust as President and has acted in a manner subversive of the rule of law and justice, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

Wherefore, William Jefferson Clinton, by such conduct, warrants impeachment and trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States. "

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/articles122098.htm#full3

[Autumn]

63. Yeah it was, the point is Clinton didn't use campaign money to pay off a woman to keep

her mouth shut.

[PatSeg]

12. Similar to Nixon,

in Trump's mind, "If Trump does it, its not illegal".

[Scarsdale]

13. Wasn't the interaction between

Bill Clinton and Lewinsky a "private" one? The gop raised all kinds of hell over that between two consenting ADULTS. Why is tRump so special?

[Vinca]

14. You can't help but wonder if he paid off anyone in the Epstein scandal.Bet Mueller knows.

[tanyev]

15. Nope, a simple private transaction would come out of your own funds and go directly to the woman.

Try again, Donnie.

[chowder66]

37. Yep!

[Botany]

42. "A simple private transaction."

No it was multiple transactions from taking campaign funds and then
running them through Trump's properties, then into a shell corporation
that was set up by his fixer, Michael Cohen, and then had checks cut to
two different women as hush money.

[Racerdog1]

16. Let me try that one at home

You think the wife would go for that?

[True Blue American]

46. My advice?

Do not try it!!!

[Moostache]

59. It depends...

Are you TRYING to get divorced and fleeced in court?

If "yes", give it try.
If "no", I would probably advise against the "she's just a whore getting paid for services, privately" defense.

[sinkingfeeling]

17. So bribery isn't a crime. Spoken like a true Mafia man.

[marble falls]

21. Simple private transactions he he carried out in a Byzantine manner and denied knowing ...

about before the fact.

[PeeJ52]

24. So It's True... Melania Doesn't Really Care About Anything, Except The Money

Why else would she stay with a guy that would admit cheating on her with two women while she was carrying his child? Such a sad woman, or else really in love.

[PJMcK]

32. Contractual obligations, perhaps?

To be clear, this is my own idle speculation but it fits with some circumstantial evidence we know about Trump.

Everyone in Trump's orbit signs a non-disclosure agreement containing privacy provisions. His wives all signed pre-nuptial agreements which probably had all kinds of personal restrictions as well. For example, Wife No.2, Marla Maples, had a "timer" on her marriage: if it lasted longer than 5 years (I think) her payout would be substantially higher than if the marriage dissolved earlier. Of course, Cheapskate Trump divorced her before the timer expired.

One can only guess what Melania's deal looks like but it must have bummed her out when Trump won the election! Or maybe not if her "timer" hasn't expired yet.

[PeeJ52]

43. So he just buys his wives? Kinda like he buys his suits?

... and the evangelicals all love him? Wow... what an effed up country.

[TommyCelt]

36. Be Best. n/t

[Paladin]

25. Thanks for that admission of guilt, trump. Now go SMOCK yourself. (nt)

[LakeSuperiorView]

26. How long before a tRumper John uses this when he tries to pay an undercover cop for sex?

[dalton99a]

31. A simple private transaction

[beachbum bob]

35. lol, a payoff that effects an election is a payoff and not declared on FEC docs is crime

[bluestarone]

38. His next excuse will be

It wasn't American money. It was Russian Rubles!!

[IronLionZion]

39. He's so pro-woman that he sometimes gives large sums of money to women

to make up for income inequality because he's generous like that.

[The Liberal Lion]

40. I still remember when he said collusion wasn't illegal.

[Glamrock]

41. I feel ya Donnie.

When I buy weed it's a private transaction, not a drug deal. This justice department and their "laws".....Amiright?

[Honeycombe8]

50. Sounds good to me! If Beto is elected, he is for legalizing marijuana in the country.

Doesn't mean he'll run or should be elected, but I do point that out, since that sounds good to me. Not being much of boozer, I wouldn't mind being able to purchase a little pot to ease the pain of growing old.

[Glamrock]

52. Yep yep

I wasn’t much of a boozer either...then I had to give up the weed for a job.

[PeeJ52]

44. So, Donnie's trying to say he pays women for private sexual transactions?

[elias7]

45. They impeached Clinton for lying about an affair too

And he didn't even pay anyone off illegally


The pure hypocrisy ("What will we tell the kids!!!??!!!" )

[Calista241]

47. Clinton lied under oath. Trump wasn't sworn in when making any of these statements

[SunSeeker]

65. You don't have to be "sworn in" to commit a campaign finance felony.

Trump defrauded the American public about these payments in order to get elected and subvert our democracy. Bill Clinton lied about a blow job between consenting adults after he was in office. Hardly the same gravity.

[Honeycombe8]

48. Then make that case before a Judge. I'm not a lawyer.

All I know is it that the lawyers and one Court say that's a crime.

[Calista241]

51. My thought is if he can show he's done this type of thing before

Then he’ll be in the clear. So if he’s made a legal agreement and payment to someone, and used a shell company to do it, he’ll probably get off.

As long as he didn’t use campaign contributions to make the actual payment.

[Firestorm49]

54. Wait a minute! Wait a minute!

Is this the same President who denied any involvement whatsoever related to paying off port stars a few months ago? Oh, wait. I do believe that I see EGG ON HIS FACE. But then, that would be an improvement.

[EarthFirst]

55. Doesn't everyone set up a LLC for simple private transactions?

A simple private transaction is sending a cash-app payment to a friend for your share of the bill at dinner.

Setting up a LLC to mask payment hardly qualifies as a ‘Simple Private Transaction’

[Turbineguy]

57. Well, there you have it.

Nothingburger after all.*















*Kindly forget all the previous lies.

[Snellius]

58. He should quit while there's still a place to tie his tie. nt

[jmowreader]

60. "A simple private transaction"

So that’s what we’re calling laundering hush money illegally diverted from your donors’ campaign contributions.

[uppityperson]

64. Thank you Don, I couldn't tell which of his crimes that was about

[Nitram]

66. That's an expensive roll in the hay...

[karynnj]

67. So, if they were just a private Trump expense, why were they treated as a legit expense of his

company. He and his company commited tax fraud by labelling as an expense for legal work. Certainly not a legitimate business expense.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

69. I'm confused. Is he talking about his marriages now? nt

[angrychair]

70. What civil case, like Obama

Is he talking about?!?

I’m completely unaware of Obama setting up a shell company to pay off his lawyer for hush money to women during his election?

[littlemissmartypants]

71. "President Trump Says"

Three little words that signal it's time to change the channel and stop listening or don your rain gear to protect yourself from the incoming bullshit.

[louis-t]

72. Hmm, I didn't know a private transaction can't be illegal.

Now I can legally go out and buy heroin and hookers and get away with it.

[Talitha]

73. The only thing they could pin on Capone was tax evasion - but he still went to prison.

Doesn't matter what the crime is - delirious donnie needs to be put behind bars.