Trump's History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New Defense

[DonViejo]

Trump says today that he doesn’t know campaign finance law. But he became acquainted with it years ago as a donor—by breaking it.

Dean Obeidallah
12.15.18 9:35 PM ET

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 Trump’s long history of being investigated and even fined for violating campaign laws.

We heard this new defense on Thursday in response to Trump’s 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.’” (It’s 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 it’s 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 lawyer’s advice and had no idea that the conduct may have been criminal.

The reality is that Trump can’t 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.

Let’s start in 2011, when Trump was “testing the waters” to possibly seek the 2012 GOP nomination for president. Cohen, yes that Michael Cohen, was then serving as executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump when he co-created a website, “Should Trump Run.com” that “was initially used to poll readers to gauge their support of Trump as a presidential candidate.” In March 2011, Cohen even flew to Iowa to meet GOP officials and the media about a possible Trump presidential run. After Cohen’s visit to Iowa, Trump publicly bragged, “My representative was swamped by supporters when he we went to Iowa.”

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