Fact-Checking Trump's First-Day Hush Money Trial Claims

Spintendo

A quick assessment of several claims Trump made after the conclusion of the first day of testimony in his hush money trial, in the order in which he made them:
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“This is a case where you pay a lawyer, he’s a lawyer, and they call it a legal expense. That’s the exact term they use, legal expenses, in the books. And another thing that wasn’t even said was, we never even deducted it as a tax deduction.”

Legal fees are often tax deductible. The fact that the Trump Organization did not take a tax deduction for the hush money payments is a possible red flag that these payments were handled improperly. Trump generally has taken as many tax deductions as possible. For instance, the Donald J. Trump Foundation — which Trump shut down after allegations he used it for his personal and political benefit — recorded a $7 foundation gift to the Boy Scouts. That matched the amount required to enroll a boy in the Scouts the year his son Donald Trump Jr. was 11.

"Michael Cohen is a lawyer, represented a lot of people over the years. I’m not the only one, and he wasn’t very good in a lot of ways in terms of misrepresentation.”

Trump now knocks his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who is expected to testify that he arranged the hush money payments at Trump’s behest, as not “very good.” That raises the question of why Cohen ended up working for Trump for 12 years, including 10 as vice president of the Trump Organization and then as Trump’s personal attorney after Trump was elected president.

“He [Cohen] got in trouble for things that had nothing to do with me.”

This is false. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges, including two — “causing an unlawful corporate contribution” and “making an excessive campaign contribution” — that directly relate to the hush money case now being litigated in Manhattan criminal court. The charges laid out how “Individual-1” (Trump) began a presidential campaign in 2016 and how Cohen worked with the National Enquirer to squelch potentially damaging stories about alleged affairs with adult-film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. His payoffs were reimbursed by the Trump Organization.

“The other thing is: If this were such a great case, why didn’t the Southern District [of New York] bring it, who looked at it and turned it down?”

In his memoir, “Holding the Line,” Berman says the case ended under pressure from Attorney General William P. Barr. The office, with Cohen’s cooperation in hand, began to investigate whether others should be charged in the hush money case. After Barr became attorney general in 2019, he ordered a review of the Cohen case, suggesting that the campaign finance charges be reversed — even though Cohen had pleaded guilty six months before. Specifically, he asked the Office of Legal Counsel to review whether there was a legal basis for the campaign finance changes. That froze any further investigation: “Not a single investigative step could be taken, not a single document in our possession could be reviewed until the issue was resolved,” Berman wrote, saying Barr’s intervention so long after a guilty plea was “highly unusual, if not unprecedented.” Barr eventually was convinced not to seek dismissal of the Cohen charges. But no additional charges were brought.

“Very importantly, why didn’t the Federal Elections [Commission] do anything? Federal Elections took a total pass on it. They said essentially nothing was done wrong or they would have done something about it. They’re tough. … Actually, if you read their letter, they couldn’t even believe it. They were incredulous.”

This is false. The Federal Election Commission staff, in a December 2020 report by the general counsel, said it had found “reason to believe” violations of campaign finance law were made “knowingly and willfully” by the Trump campaign. The report said that Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Daniels was far in excess of the legal limit for individual contributions of $2,700. “The available information indicates that Michael Cohen paid Stephanie Clifford [Daniels’s real name] $130,000 at the direction of 2016 presidential candidate Donald J. Trump, with Trump’s express promise of repayment, for the purpose of influencing the 2016 election,” the report said. The FEC by law is made up of six commissioners split evenly between Republicans and Democrats. In 2021, the FEC on a party-line vote of 2-2 dropped the case; there was one vacancy and one Republican recusal. Democrats wanted to pursue the case, but Republicans said the public record was complete, given Cohen’s punishment.

blablarg18

@Spintendo Meanwhile, prosecutors said 2016 election was stolen.

Yes they did. But Mueller Report said 1) No votes changed or even affected, 2) No collusion.

Did you fact check prosecutors?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahha you

blablarg18

‘This Is Embarrassing’: Turley Says He Is In ‘Utter Disbelief’ Over Bragg Trial Opening Statements

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said he is in “utter disbelief” over the opening statements of the trial brought forth by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Former President Donald Trump arrived at the courthouse Monday to hear opening statements from the prosecution and defense teams over the 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged hush money payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels. It is alleged that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep an alleged extramarital affair between her and Trump undisclosed ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

“What is clear is in this case, Trump is right,” Turley said. “I mean, this is an embarrassment. I mean, the fact that we are actually talking about this case being presented in a New York courtroom leaves me in utter disbelief. I mean, the arguments today did in fact capture all the problems here. You know, you had this misdemeanor under state law that had run out. This is going back to the 2016 election. And they zapped it back into life by alleging that there was a campaign finance under the federal laws that doesn’t exist. The Department of Justice doesn’t view it this way.”

Turley compared the allegations against Trump to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whose campaign funded the Steele Dossier to investigate the now-discredited claims that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. (RELATED: Trump Defense Attorney Says Bragg’s Charges Are Really Just 34 ‘Pieces Of Paper’)

“But also keep in mind, this is what Hillary Clinton’s people did. Remember, when they funded the Steele Dossier, which they denied to reporters. They put it as a legal expense, and then they fought the eventual fine that they received from the federal government saying ‘well it was a legal expense.’ But now you’ve got some of the same Democrats supporting this same bizarre theory,” Turley continued.

Fox News’ John Roberts pointed out that the prosecution is “being led in part” by Michael Colangelo, who served as the U.S. Associate Attorney General under President Joe Biden’s administration, then left his position to become a state prosecutor for Bragg’s office. Turley said Colangelo’s role supports Trump’s accusations that the case is “coordinated.”

“The fact is that most people in most courts would be, like, ‘woah, lets nots start with the former Biden Justice [Department] attorney to make this argument. But in New York, it doesn’t matter, because not much else matters except the name of the defendant on the caption, Donald Trump,” he added.

Colangelo accused Trump during his opening statement of formulating a “long-running conspiracy” to interfere in the 2016 election, according to The Associated Press.

“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” Colangelo reportedly said.

Todd Blanche, a defense attorney representing Trump, affirmed the former’s president’s innocence, the outlet reported.

“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” Todd Blanche reportedly said.

Trump’s legal team is prepared to paint Daniels and Cohen as liars who are motivated by finances and grudges, court documents show, CNN reported. The prosecution reportedly aims to look into whether the former president violated federal and state election laws or state tax laws in the manner how he reimbursed Cohen.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts during an April 4, 2023, court appearance.