Quote: @"medaille" said:
Can someone explain to me how this works? I guess I don’t really get what the “Illegal Campaign
Contributions” aspect of this is.
From what I understand, there’s two aspects of this: The campaign contribution aspect of the
payments, and the illegal donation to a campaign part of it.
There is no 'illegal campaign contribution'. And no 'illegal donation'.
You are rightfully confused. Neither aspect you point out, was subject to discovery/challenge(s) when a plea-deal is struck.
Highly unusual/unethical for a federal court to make political statements during news of a plea deal.
But these are unusual times. Your questions are the sounds made when a swamp is drained. Keep asking. 
Payment in kind is defined in the campaign finance laws. Its why the national enqurirer made the plea deal. So up to the end of Nov. We have had 33 trump associates either indicteded or have admitted guilt. This has been campaign managers, attorneys, cabinet member, deputy finance director of the republican party..., so I'm a bit skeptical of your opinions when it comes to technicalities of the law. My opinion is your arguments are not based on knowledge but just opinion, hard to win a court case with mere assertions, sorry.
Not running away from him? Tell that to the new Governors in Wisconsin and Michigan. Two very big states that carried Trump, 5 other states as well. The Dems flipped 6 state houses in the process. Some in heavy Trump states. Yeah there was some backlash or running away. The R's took (narrowly) a Senate seat from a 76 year old man here in Florida. Another in ND. All in all I don't see how that night could be described any other way then Trump remorse.
Quote: @"savannahskol" said:
@"MaroonBells" said:
I think it's wrong to characterize this as a red/blue divide. So many on the right are just as horrified by Trump as those of us on the left. It's more MAGA'merica...vs. everyone else.
Uh...no.
Gallup's weekly presidential tracking showed Trump's GOP approval at low 80's % right after the '16 election to low 90's right before the mid-terms. A gain of 10 points.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/pres...trump.aspx
And I can tell you why. Trump delivered in his first two years, and swayed many Never-Trumpers....in addition to the grossly unfair Mueller farce/coup.
I didn't say most; I said many. But yes, among the 20-some percent who still consider themselves republicans, he's still very popular. I'd say among that crowd, he could slaughter a young, healthy child of one in the middle of 5th Avenue, roast it on spit, have it for dinner and not lose a single voter. But show me a reasonable, intellectual republican who thinks he's good for the party and I'll show you someone suffering from severe delusions.
Yeah its *probably* just a big conspiracy against Donald by hundreds of people multiple levels of government and law enforcement. Crazy how people are pleading guilty and going to prison. Thats some dedication to the bit right there.
Neveind Trump, I am curious about Mitch taking $3.5m from a russian oligarch. Thats going to get REAL interesting.
Protip: invest in Orville Redenbacher
The midterms senate wise didn’t provide a very good map for democrats.... But every single other indicator was a massive victory for them. The size of which is unprecedented in our nations history. 40 seats in the house. 7 governorships. Hundreds of state legislature seats, majority of state attourney general positions.... and more. Keep telling yourself that everything is just fine.... and wait until people do their taxes coming up. Those tax breaks weren’t permanent.
Oh also the senate map in 2020 and 2022 look VERY good for dems. You think republican strategists aren’t looking at the trends of the last election and see Donald Trump as a millstone around their neck?
Bear in mind none of this is about policy for me. We can all argue about how we think the country can and should be run. This for me is more about looking at the results, the current facts, what is coming down and where we are headed.
Oh Riiiiiight trump has an ace up his sleeve that he is just waiting to play. He has just decided to leave all the people wrapped up in this out to dry because...........??????
We were told the redacted memo was going to be groundbreaking in favor of the Trump administration.... And that failed massively. But now there is the new threat that if the undedacted version came out (though if you remember dems and others were begging for the original unredacted version to come out instead) that it would be damning to a war decorated lifelong republican investigator....
Sure. Right. Get back to me on that one.
One of Trumps biggest mistakes was to insult and disparrage law enforcement on multiple levels.
The hits just keep coming daily.....
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trump-was-room-during-hush-money-discussions-nbc-news-confirms-n947536
Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, NBC News has confirmed.
As part of a non-prosecution agreement disclosed Wednesday by federal prosecutors, American Media Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, admitted that "Pecker offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided."
The "Statement of Admitted Facts" says that AMI admitted making a $150,000 payment "in concert with the campaign," and says that Pecker, Cohen, and "at least one other member of the campaign" were in the meeting. According to a person familiar with the matter, the "other member" was Trump.
...and the beat goes on...man, you can't even write this stuff. It's comedy gold. "I have tickets to popular American rock band Styx. They are playing two sets at the Ramada Inn on I-95. They are yours if you get me into dinner hosted by NRA. I love Jesus, guns, bourbon, hunting, and older men...."
Maria Butina Pleads Guilty to Role in a Russian Effort to Influence Conservatives
WASHINGTON — To the conservative Americans she courted, Maria Butina was the right kind of Russian.
She loved guns and the church and networking with top officials in the National Rifle Association. She schmoozed with Republican presidential candidates, and became a supporter of Donald J. Trump. She spent Thanksgiving at a congressman’s country house, took a Trump campaign aide to see the rock band Styx and helped a Rockefeller heir organize “friendship dinners” with influential Washingtonians.
Let me see if I can summarize the potential illegal campaign contributions (background information available here: https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/handling-loans-debts-and-advances/personal-loans-candidate/)
- Except for the candidate, individuals/companies, etc. are limited to how much they can contribute to the candidate's campaign. This includes making loans or like kind contributions. The key is whether the money was "for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office.”
- In the present case, Cohen paid Stormy and National Enquirer paid McDougal -- if viewed as campaign contribution both were in excess of what is permit by law.
- The Trump Company says that they paid Cohen back for the payments but that still, arguably, was a loan by Cohen, Moreover, from what I understand, the money came from the Trump Company, not Trump personally, and that would still amount to an impermissible campaign contribution if it was "for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office.”
- Unclear whether National Enquirer was ever reimbursed and who reimbursed (Trump personally or the Trump Org.) Again, same above analysis applies.
- So, the only real question was whether these two payments were was "for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office.” Here are the facts to consider on that issue:
- One. Trump says it was to shield these purported affairs from his wife (which is the successful Edwards defense). Two, both Cohen and National Enquirer are locked in now to stating that the payments were primarily "for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office.” Three, the way the payments were made, through shell companies and third parties and without Trump being a party to the agreements, weighs against these payments being primarily to protect Trumps marriage because you didn't need to construct these transactions in such a manner to hide them from Melania.
So, really, the only remaining issue one needs to decide is whether these two payments were made primarily for the purposes of assisting Trump get elected. All the other facts are largely undisputed.
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