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How were similar cases treated in the past? One case that keeps being discussed is the John Edwards case. Edwards was a presidential candidate; he had an affa
by efitz 4y ago
How were similar cases treated in the past? One case that keeps being discussed is the John Edwards case. Edwards was a presidential candidate; he had an affair with his videographer and had a child by her while his wife was dying of cancer. He paid a very large sum to the woman as hush money and was charged similarly with campaign finance violations. He specifically solicited money from wealthy donors to pay the hush money. Jury acquitted him on one charge and deadlocked on the rest; the DOJ dropped the rest of the charges.
Similarly the DOJ looked at the Trump hush money case and declined to prosecute.
Campaign finance laws in the US are a land mine and need reform. There is too much prosecutorial discretion and not enough clarity for people to know whether they are breaking the law. Campaign finance laws have become a way to fish for a crime against political enemies.
To wit: Bragg actively campaigned for his position promising to investigate Trump.
Rule of law should be about observing and then prosecuting crimes, not about spending years and millions investigating people looking for a crime that they committed.
- sanderjd 4y agoI think this is the best comment here! It helps resolve the dissonance I feel here where I really don't love that this is the thing he's being charged for, but I also hate the idea that things that are illegal can't be prosecuted due to purely political considerations. But your point about prosecutorial discretion in campaign finance cases helps square this circle for me. But I'd still say that we need to see more details of the case than have been released yet before drawing any conclusions.
- yamtaddle 4y agoWe. Don't. Know. What. The. Charges. Are. Yet.
- efitz 4y agoWe do; they’ve been leaked to media. 30ish counts of falsifying business records related to if/how Trump reimbursed Cohen.