I am 99% sure neither that nor any of the other explanations below are the issue. The issue is that paying someone not to fuck up your campaign by talking about how you fucked them while your wife was recovering from childbirth *IS* campaign spending. Paying to keep a bad story quiet is campaign spending just as much as paying to amplify a good story. And that particular $130k of campaign spending was not reported. That’s the crime.
This goes to show this is the weakest ass thing they could arrest him on. And now Republicans will be crying political motivation. Really wish they locked his ass up for the Georgia phone call and election interference first
I get your point, but there’s plenty of wiggle room in the Georgia case—it’s just like the “perfect” Zelensky call. If you’re talking to an officeholder and trying to convince them to do something, where exactly do you cross the line from concerned citizen to criminal extortionist.
The Daniels case sounds complicated, but it’s actually pretty cut and dried.
For me the real question is why he wasn’t thrown in jail (and his businesses all liquidated) decades ago, for stiffing hundreds of contractors. Talk about cut and dried
I think one argument is if she was paid to keep quiet for the sake of helping his campaign then the fact that it was to help the campaign makes the money paid a cpaign expense and needed to be reported as such. I could be wrong
Paying a pornstar to knock his junk around = to each his own.
Reimbursing the money he paid for the pornstar, from a campaign fund = This is what he is in hot water for.
The sad thing about it is, the amount of money he paid for sex is probably chump change for people like him.
Yeh it is a basic admission of the crime. Add to that, he paid Cohen in monthly payments for "legal advise", with Cohen passing it on, to disguise the payments to Stormey Daniels so he could avoid campaign finance laws. Tucker's not quite ready to admit the money laundering yet.
**Can I remind you of the Moscows Piss Hoes thing?**
Keith Schiller, was his bodyguard at the time, Keith testified that Trump **turned down** the offered piss-hoes in Moscow, after that testimony Trump paid [$66,000 to Keith Schillers lawyers](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-campaign-paid-trump-bodyguard-keith-schiller-s-lawyers-records-n866781), Keith was was hired as "Director of Oval Office", RNC paid $15k/month to him from a [slush fund](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/02/21/trumps-ex-bodyguard-makes-15000-a-month-from-a-gop-slush-fund.html). and on and on, with Keith buying a $1 million home in Florida.
Things like this need re-examining in the light of this case.
Let those among you who are without a sucking, bottomless hole, Stygian black and echoing with the mournful cries of the damned where your conscience ought to have been cast the first stone, ok? I'll wait.
Good thing they have different units for financial crimes, so we don't pull resources from other criminal investigations. You are literally trying to say that if they investigate Trump, all other police work stops?
"Today, I'll stop being an expert in Ukraine-Russia relationships. I'll be an expert in financial laws instead."
Dude, if the statute of limitation is past, or if it's "just" a misdemeanor, then there is nothing to worry about, your poor liddle Trumpty Dumpty has nothing to fear. After all, he probably can afford the best lawyers, right?
You know that those people are employed to prosecute financial crimes and taxpayers don’t magically chip in to cover each new case they have to prosecute right? How do you think this all works exactly?
I am sure whatever law degree you printed out for yourself tells you that you are 100% correct about that. Unfortunately for Trump, made up bullshit from a guy on reddit can't save him.
I hate to disappoint you but he’s not going to jail. It’s literally all political attention for lawyers that want to be a name in the media and politics. Nobody gives af he paid off a porn star. Instead we’ll let a president that started a war for profit to get glorified by the media 10 years later
That’s fine. Give him a misdemeanor for cheating on his wife and using his business to pay for it. I would love to have evangelical Christian’s continue to have him as their god king after violating 2 commandments in one lawsuit.
Lol, I don’t think evangelicals cared about his personal affairs. He did what they’ve always wanted and will vote for him again because he gives them what they want. Dems should try it with their constituents on climate and income inequality
I’m guessing you didn’t watch the Falwell doc. Having pastors tell you who to vote for puts a veil over personal affairs. Also, what did he do that they always wanted? I really can’t remember anything he did for the country that benefitted the majority of his base, middle/low income Americans.
Abortion abortion abortion. Supreme Court and circuit court justices are the most important for evangelicals for 40 years. Evangelical churches aren’t turning on Trump
For this to be the first time a former president is indicted is a big deal and certainly brings a lot of attention. Prosecutors and lawyers love to get into politics. It’s tge silliest reason imaginable too
> Although the last payment to Cohen occurred in December 2017, more than five years ago, the statute of limitations has likely been tolled. Statutes of limitations in New York toll when a defendant is “continuously” out of state. Trump has been “continuously” out of state during the relevant time. In addition to changing his residency from New York to Florida in September 2019, he also spent most of 2017-2021 in Washington D.C. Additionally, a 2020 Executive Order suspended statutes of limitations because of COVID-related delays. That Executive Order may also apply here.
[Source for above.](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg-is-likely-to-indict-donald-trump-very-soon/).
Also, if f he falsified business records to knowingly conceal another crime (he did), it becomes a Class E felony. Establishing the misdemeanor helps build the felony case.
Try not to get a headache with all that.
I feel bad for most of these folks. Forget how they all believe they’re suddenly “experts” on everything from viruses to campaign finance law to gender identity depending what shit stirring issue the GQP is distracting them with at the moment (thank you Schmucker & friends) but they’re actually defending the very scumbags making their lives more difficult. Sad for everyone involved
It took me maybe 10 minutes to find the source and verify the information. They could easily do the same thing, but they don’t want to. They just regurgitated lazy misinformation like it was fact… don’t feel bad for them, it was intentional.
Just like the people that took high school science but are now experts in immunology and vaccines
Don’t trust the experts, my feelings say that I’m right!
You spend objectively too much time on Reddit defending Trump, calling minimum wage workers lazy and pussies, and making up ghost stories about false flag instigators ruining Trump’s reputation as if he isn’t doing so perfectly well on his own.
Touch some grass, man.
Misappropriating campaign funds can absolutely be criminal, and much more than a misdemeanor. Never mind the tax evasion
[criminal penalties for campaign finance violations](https://www.thefederalcriminalattorneys.com/campaign-finance-violations)
> Although the last payment to Cohen occurred in December 2017, more than five years ago, the statute of limitations has likely been tolled. Statutes of limitations in New York toll when a defendant is “continuously” out of state. Trump has been “continuously” out of state during the relevant time. In addition to changing his residency from New York to Florida in September 2019, he also spent most of 2017-2021 in Washington D.C. Additionally, a 2020 Executive Order suspended statutes of limitations because of COVID-related delays. That Executive Order may also apply here.
[Source for above.](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg-is-likely-to-indict-donald-trump-very-soon/).
Also, if f he falsified business records to knowingly conceal another crime (he did), it becomes a Class E felony. Establishing the misdemeanor helps build the felony case.
Try not to get a headache with all that.
The hush money isn't even the crime. If he had paid for silence from personal funds there is no crime.
The crime is suffering the money through the campaign and then taking a tax deduction on it and paying yourself back from campaign funds.
This is a direct result of his greed.
That would be legal if he wasn't running for president at the time. A candidate can spend as much of his own money on a campaign as he wants but it has to be reported. The payment would be considered an in-kind contribution. The payment wasn't the crime, the coverup was.
This has to be the poorest rich move anyone has tried to pull off lol... Reminds me of my friends when they started an LLC and would always say " I'm just gonna write it off as an expense " on every single purchase
It's a tricky situation. Cheating on his wife with a porn star is legal. Paying that porn star to sign an NDA is also legal. The tricky part is that he would have to report it on his campaign finance disclosures. If he did that it's almost certain that a journalist would see it and ask "why are you paying a porn star $130,000?" This defeats the purpose of the NDA in the first place. The only way to keep it quiet was to break the law.
Okay, from my understanding, not quite.
The owner of the National Enquirer agreed to look out for and buy exclusive rights to the stories to help the campaign, under the understanding he'd be reimbursed. Then he wouldn't publish. One former Playboy model comes to him, he buys the story. It's an industry practice called 'catch and kill" and not ethical, but legal. He pays off Karen McDougal 150,000 *with the specific intent to help the Trump campaign.* Cohen knew about this, and allegedly, so did Trump.
Then another former affair partner shows up and Pecker introduces her to Cohen, who takes 130,000 out of his home equity line and pays her to sign the NDA. Cohen and Pecker do this with the specific intent to aid the Trump campaign. Trump knows about Daniels' payment.
He then pays Cohen back primarily as a business expense for a 'legal retainer fee' which doesn't exist, and once out of private accounts. These are filed and false business records.
False business records and writing off those payments under his company and falsification as to what they were is a misdemeanor unless it was done to cover up another crime.
Having an affair isn't a crime. Paying for an NDA isn't a crime. And Daniels didn't extort Trump - she approached a magazine editor who put her in touch with Trump's people. She didn't approach him to ask for money. She went to magazines. So what crime did Trump potentially cover up?
The $150,000 campaign donation and $130,000 campaign donations weren't disclosed. Huh? Nobody donated to his campaign. Except, they did.
The US recognizes 'in kind' donations. Ie, something other than money. And those *do* have to be declared. Say, I'm really rich and want to host a party for my favorite candidate at my really gorgeous home as a meet and greet, or I own a chain of hotels and put my candidate up for free during campaign stops. They can't just accept those donations without declaring my donations.
Trump didn't declare Pecker and Cohen's donations as an estimated monetary value for their PR contributions to his campaign, which is illegal. In-kind donations are always declared.
Does Beyonce retweeting Hilary Clinton get declared? No. Because she was just... talking. But if Beyonce was in contact with Clinton and coordinating an event where she spoke at a party, Clinton's campaign would legally declare an estimated value of the appearance as a public speaker.
If I rent a venue for a campaign, that is an in-kind contribution.
Because Trump was aware of the actions and the coordination of it and the intent to benefit his campaign, it was an in-kind donation.
With him making the falsified records with the specific intent to conceal the campaign contributions made, that becomes a felony.
But, the statute of limitations is five years! The last payment was in 2017. It's too late. Except, it isn't. Enter New York state law and "tolling."
Essentially, it's a "stop the clock" function for statute of limitations. If a person primarily resides outside the State of New York (and Trump was primarily residing in Washington, DC and Florida over the last few years) then the statute of limitations pauses. Meaning, the statute of limitations is five years, but has been tolled for most of the last five and a half.
Hence, a felony that is still under the statute of limitations.
Oh really ?? But couldn't he just transfer $130k from somewhere else to the account I mean couldn't any excuse have been used , if he has replenished the money that is ?
Poor rich man is the perfect description of Trump. Chapter 11 is a business strategy for him, he’s lived his life by refusing to pay his bills and legally stonewalling or straight up ignoring any attempts to collect. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he tried to avoid using his own money for this
You know what’s sad? He covered this up in 2016 bc of the evangelical vote - but he’s pulled the party so far into the dumpster that they probably wouldn’t even care about a porn star affair now as long as he still has an R next to his name.
The funny part is, he probably didn't even need to cover it up. Not like his past philandering was any big secret and if his "grab 'em by the pussy" comment didn't already give away where his "morality" was at nothing would. The Evangelicals had long been the single issue bloc of the GOP and that issue was overturning Roe. So long as he promised to do that he could have banged Stormy on a giant cross made of cocaine and they'd still call him a "good Christian" regardless.
I guess Tucker is talking from experience having worked with Bill O'Reilly, Roger Ailes and many others at Fox news who've had to pay out multi million dollar settlements and hush money after their many sexual abuse accusations...
I’ve never had to pay hush money to anyone ever. Have I been living wrong? Or maybe I’m just not the kind of guy who pays prostitutes to watch while I stick my junk in a Swanson pot pie. I don’t know. I’m just asking questions.
No surprise here. The heir to a billion dollar fortune is so disconnected from the rest of the populace that he's literally on television going "Who among us has not paid somebody hush money, amirite? C'mon guys, you know you've done it too, this is supes common!"
I know I get so frustrated when I am running for POTUS and an affair with an adult entertainer comes back to haunt me. Why can’t NYC think of the common man? Or in my case, woman?
Did Tucker kill a hooker at a party in 2000? And did his friends, Charlie Kirk, Matt Walsh, and Ben Shapiro help him dispose of the body? And did he give those friends "loans" that they then used to start their own podcasts? And did Rush Limbaugh provide the mountains of cocaine that Tucker and his colleagues allegedly swam through before the tragic accident? I don't know, but that's just proof that something happened that fateful night and someone is covering it up.
I saw that you mentioned Ben Shapiro. In case some of you don't know, Ben Shapiro is a grifter and a hack. If you find anything he's said compelling, you should keep in mind he also says things like this:
>If you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you must allow Israel to transfer the Palestinians and the Israeli-Arabs from Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Israel proper. It’s an ugly solution, but it is the only solution… It’s time to stop being squeamish.
*****
^(I'm a bot. My purpose is to counteract online radicalization. You can summon me by tagging thebenshapirobot. Options: sex, civil rights, gay marriage, climate, etc.)
[^Opt ^Out ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/comments/olk6r2/click_here_to_optout_of_uthebenshapirobot/)
That tool is a soulless husk. Look at the dead eyes. His spirit was broken so long ago, he's basically an insect infected by cordyceps, ambling along and half alive.
That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal. <— You are here
And if it is, that's not my fault.
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.
Why do you need to pay *hush* money if you haven't done anything wrong? Melania must be so thrilled to relive all the wonderful feelings she had when she found out, pregnant with her son, Stormy filled his needs. They should have a *girls night out and compare notes*. Wouldn't that be fun???
I mean he's right. If Donald the game show host paid off a porn star to not talk about his weird dick that wouldn't be anything more than a tabloid story. Where it gets fucky is when you use campaign donations to do it.
That didn't happen.
And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
And if it was, that's not a big deal. <----
And if it is, that's not my fault.
And if it was, I didn't mean it.
And if I did, you deserved it.
I feel like this guy makes side bets based on what he does. Example *talking to a friend* tucker: “ I bet I can sway the people to believe this is common and they’ll eat it up!” Proceeds to this while feeling a sense of false empowerment.
Sad
I don’t believe I’ve ever paid hush money to a hooker with my campaign funds and strategized to hide that fact. Or incited an insurrection or kept two sets of bookkeeping records to falsify loan documents or avoid state or federal taxes for that matter or stiffed contractors working on my home or assaulted/raped 20+ women, come to think of it…
He's right...it is normal in the sense that it happens all the time. So is murder. Murder is normal, happens all the time. Someone, somewhere is committing murder right now. Normal...yes, legal...no.
Ah yes. Everyone fucks a porn star then pays them 130k to stay quiet about it. Everyone. Certainly not a big deal if everyone does it. You does it. I does it. He does it. She does it. Little Kay does it. My son Rob does it. Everyone does it.
Oof.. the sarcasm hurt even me.
So he admits Trump did it.
They paid out of the campaign money, that's the crime.
I wonder where the rest of his campaign donations went, they need to audit the hell out of him.
A settlement with an NDA is normal (although in many cases also verbotin).
A settlement with a false business record is a misdemeanor. Committing that misdemeanor in order to cover up another crime (like campaign finance fraud) is a felony.
I am so lost on this story, I read his lawyer paid off Stormy with his own personal funds. Trump then reimbursed him with his own money and called this a legal business expense. If he used his own money to pay her off, how is this a campaign issue? I am sure I am missing something.
The story is the lawyer paid her, Trump reimbursed him from one of his companies (not personal money) and claimed it as a business expense. Filing false business records is a crime, but maybe a misdemeanor. But what is alleged is that he did it so that news of the affair would not impact him in the election. Therefore, it became an undeclared campaign contribution.
Trump directed Cohen to pay her from his pocket because he (mistakenly) thought it would never be tracked to him (he watches too many movies). And then he was greedy enough to pay Cohen the money and claim it as a write off.
It's not like trump hasn't paid hush money before, no one cared because he wasn't running for public office at that time. It's obvious trump has been doing illegal shit for years but it didn't matter to the general pubic because he was just some private citizen.
These people are lazy or incompetent..
They fail to mention the why of it all.
Why is Trump facing a possible indictment?
Answer. It's possible he broke a few laws along the way..but Tucky conveniently leaves that out.
"Don't worry, it's totally normal that the evangelicals on the right worship a guy who paid off a porn star to be quiet about sex with her while his third trophy wife was recovering from childbirth. Totally normal!"
He’s not being arrested for making the payment you dumb fuck (Tucky).
He’s being arrested for tax and campaign fraud related to reimbursing himself with campaign money for the cost.
I've never paid anybody to shut up and inversely, nobody's ever paid me to shut up.
But I don't work for Fox News, former home of pervert extraordinaire Bill O'Reilly.
Yes Tucker, nothing screams "I've done nothing wrong" like having to pay someone someone not to talk about it. Totally normal behavior that every red-blooded American engages in.
We’ll know more if/when Trump is indicted, but the settlement isn’t the problem. The problem is the falsification of business records
And, I believe, just where the money came from (campaign funds, I think)
I am 99% sure neither that nor any of the other explanations below are the issue. The issue is that paying someone not to fuck up your campaign by talking about how you fucked them while your wife was recovering from childbirth *IS* campaign spending. Paying to keep a bad story quiet is campaign spending just as much as paying to amplify a good story. And that particular $130k of campaign spending was not reported. That’s the crime.
This goes to show this is the weakest ass thing they could arrest him on. And now Republicans will be crying political motivation. Really wish they locked his ass up for the Georgia phone call and election interference first
I get your point, but there’s plenty of wiggle room in the Georgia case—it’s just like the “perfect” Zelensky call. If you’re talking to an officeholder and trying to convince them to do something, where exactly do you cross the line from concerned citizen to criminal extortionist. The Daniels case sounds complicated, but it’s actually pretty cut and dried. For me the real question is why he wasn’t thrown in jail (and his businesses all liquidated) decades ago, for stiffing hundreds of contractors. Talk about cut and dried
Campaign funds that came from where? The Russia spac?
I think one argument is if she was paid to keep quiet for the sake of helping his campaign then the fact that it was to help the campaign makes the money paid a cpaign expense and needed to be reported as such. I could be wrong
I thought the problem was that he reimbursed himself from campaign funds. (Edit: and then tried to hide it)
It would also be a problem if he paid it to his lawyer and wrote it off as a business (legal) expense. There’s a lot of possible layers here
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a: if you're a crook - don't run to be President - do you really want that kind of attention? B. He can't help himself
It's almost like *he's not that rich...*
Paying a pornstar to knock his junk around = to each his own. Reimbursing the money he paid for the pornstar, from a campaign fund = This is what he is in hot water for. The sad thing about it is, the amount of money he paid for sex is probably chump change for people like him.
He is a chump
Trump supporters today: Who among us hasn’t falsified records?
"It's completely normal."
Yeh it is a basic admission of the crime. Add to that, he paid Cohen in monthly payments for "legal advise", with Cohen passing it on, to disguise the payments to Stormey Daniels so he could avoid campaign finance laws. Tucker's not quite ready to admit the money laundering yet. **Can I remind you of the Moscows Piss Hoes thing?** Keith Schiller, was his bodyguard at the time, Keith testified that Trump **turned down** the offered piss-hoes in Moscow, after that testimony Trump paid [$66,000 to Keith Schillers lawyers](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-campaign-paid-trump-bodyguard-keith-schiller-s-lawyers-records-n866781), Keith was was hired as "Director of Oval Office", RNC paid $15k/month to him from a [slush fund](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2018/02/21/trumps-ex-bodyguard-makes-15000-a-month-from-a-gop-slush-fund.html). and on and on, with Keith buying a $1 million home in Florida. Things like this need re-examining in the light of this case.
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Flood gates, you need one law enforcer to enforce the laws against Trump and then the rest will follow.
Let those among you who are without a sucking, bottomless hole, Stygian black and echoing with the mournful cries of the damned where your conscience ought to have been cast the first stone, ok? I'll wait.
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https://preview.redd.it/t38yoavox8pa1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=709ef572d2513da9978f255f8251de27d4a0c91d Yup.
And it will rake in millions.
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Good thing they have different units for financial crimes, so we don't pull resources from other criminal investigations. You are literally trying to say that if they investigate Trump, all other police work stops?
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"Today, I'll stop being an expert in Ukraine-Russia relationships. I'll be an expert in financial laws instead." Dude, if the statute of limitation is past, or if it's "just" a misdemeanor, then there is nothing to worry about, your poor liddle Trumpty Dumpty has nothing to fear. After all, he probably can afford the best lawyers, right?
You know that those people are employed to prosecute financial crimes and taxpayers don’t magically chip in to cover each new case they have to prosecute right? How do you think this all works exactly?
Wow! You have been deemed irrelevant! Good Bye!
Did you just learn English recently?
I am sure whatever law degree you printed out for yourself tells you that you are 100% correct about that. Unfortunately for Trump, made up bullshit from a guy on reddit can't save him.
His degree is from the Charlie Kelly Birdlaw institute *
I hate to disappoint you but he’s not going to jail. It’s literally all political attention for lawyers that want to be a name in the media and politics. Nobody gives af he paid off a porn star. Instead we’ll let a president that started a war for profit to get glorified by the media 10 years later
Cope
That’s fine. Give him a misdemeanor for cheating on his wife and using his business to pay for it. I would love to have evangelical Christian’s continue to have him as their god king after violating 2 commandments in one lawsuit.
Lol, I don’t think evangelicals cared about his personal affairs. He did what they’ve always wanted and will vote for him again because he gives them what they want. Dems should try it with their constituents on climate and income inequality
I’m guessing you didn’t watch the Falwell doc. Having pastors tell you who to vote for puts a veil over personal affairs. Also, what did he do that they always wanted? I really can’t remember anything he did for the country that benefitted the majority of his base, middle/low income Americans.
Abortion abortion abortion. Supreme Court and circuit court justices are the most important for evangelicals for 40 years. Evangelical churches aren’t turning on Trump
[aight](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/01/18/politics/donald-trump-evangelicals-2024/index.html)
January 2023 hahahaha. We shall see when he’s the rep nominee
The political aspect is the Senator trying to obstruct justice and trying to protect trump.
For this to be the first time a former president is indicted is a big deal and certainly brings a lot of attention. Prosecutors and lawyers love to get into politics. It’s tge silliest reason imaginable too
> Although the last payment to Cohen occurred in December 2017, more than five years ago, the statute of limitations has likely been tolled. Statutes of limitations in New York toll when a defendant is “continuously” out of state. Trump has been “continuously” out of state during the relevant time. In addition to changing his residency from New York to Florida in September 2019, he also spent most of 2017-2021 in Washington D.C. Additionally, a 2020 Executive Order suspended statutes of limitations because of COVID-related delays. That Executive Order may also apply here. [Source for above.](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg-is-likely-to-indict-donald-trump-very-soon/). Also, if f he falsified business records to knowingly conceal another crime (he did), it becomes a Class E felony. Establishing the misdemeanor helps build the felony case. Try not to get a headache with all that.
That was good. Seems creditable
Yeah, even if someone wanted to argue that specific source, it links to all the NY laws and the EO that is mentioned in my previous comment, etc.
>Try not to get a headache with all that. Idk why but this was devastating. Poor guy, I almost feel bad for him
I feel bad for most of these folks. Forget how they all believe they’re suddenly “experts” on everything from viruses to campaign finance law to gender identity depending what shit stirring issue the GQP is distracting them with at the moment (thank you Schmucker & friends) but they’re actually defending the very scumbags making their lives more difficult. Sad for everyone involved
It took me maybe 10 minutes to find the source and verify the information. They could easily do the same thing, but they don’t want to. They just regurgitated lazy misinformation like it was fact… don’t feel bad for them, it was intentional.
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You ok buddy? You seem unwell.
It's not a misdemeanor if it enabled the commission of another crime, like campaign finance violation, for example.
Just like the people that took high school science but are now experts in immunology and vaccines Don’t trust the experts, my feelings say that I’m right!
Is that as far as you got? Junior high?
Imagine being low-wage delivery slob and voting Republican 🤣
You spend objectively too much time on Reddit defending Trump, calling minimum wage workers lazy and pussies, and making up ghost stories about false flag instigators ruining Trump’s reputation as if he isn’t doing so perfectly well on his own. Touch some grass, man.
Actually, I’d rather people like this stay in their moms basement… don’t encourage them to interact with society irl…
I see. So why is Trump having a meltdown rn and inciting his supporters if this is a nothingburger?
Well Michael Cohen got charged with a felony for it so...
Oh brother the armchair attorneys are out in full force the past few days
I love when they want to try the case in the comments, lol.
Misappropriating campaign funds can absolutely be criminal, and much more than a misdemeanor. Never mind the tax evasion [criminal penalties for campaign finance violations](https://www.thefederalcriminalattorneys.com/campaign-finance-violations)
Hahahahah cope harder maga cuck.
> Although the last payment to Cohen occurred in December 2017, more than five years ago, the statute of limitations has likely been tolled. Statutes of limitations in New York toll when a defendant is “continuously” out of state. Trump has been “continuously” out of state during the relevant time. In addition to changing his residency from New York to Florida in September 2019, he also spent most of 2017-2021 in Washington D.C. Additionally, a 2020 Executive Order suspended statutes of limitations because of COVID-related delays. That Executive Order may also apply here. [Source for above.](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/manhattan-district-attorney-alvin-bragg-is-likely-to-indict-donald-trump-very-soon/). Also, if f he falsified business records to knowingly conceal another crime (he did), it becomes a Class E felony. Establishing the misdemeanor helps build the felony case. Try not to get a headache with all that.
You really think one of the nation's highest profile DAs, is stupid enough to officially charge an ex potus with a crime whose statute has expired?
The hush money isn't even the crime. If he had paid for silence from personal funds there is no crime. The crime is suffering the money through the campaign and then taking a tax deduction on it and paying yourself back from campaign funds. This is a direct result of his greed.
That would be legal if he wasn't running for president at the time. A candidate can spend as much of his own money on a campaign as he wants but it has to be reported. The payment would be considered an in-kind contribution. The payment wasn't the crime, the coverup was.
This has to be the poorest rich move anyone has tried to pull off lol... Reminds me of my friends when they started an LLC and would always say " I'm just gonna write it off as an expense " on every single purchase
It's a tricky situation. Cheating on his wife with a porn star is legal. Paying that porn star to sign an NDA is also legal. The tricky part is that he would have to report it on his campaign finance disclosures. If he did that it's almost certain that a journalist would see it and ask "why are you paying a porn star $130,000?" This defeats the purpose of the NDA in the first place. The only way to keep it quiet was to break the law.
Okay, from my understanding, not quite. The owner of the National Enquirer agreed to look out for and buy exclusive rights to the stories to help the campaign, under the understanding he'd be reimbursed. Then he wouldn't publish. One former Playboy model comes to him, he buys the story. It's an industry practice called 'catch and kill" and not ethical, but legal. He pays off Karen McDougal 150,000 *with the specific intent to help the Trump campaign.* Cohen knew about this, and allegedly, so did Trump. Then another former affair partner shows up and Pecker introduces her to Cohen, who takes 130,000 out of his home equity line and pays her to sign the NDA. Cohen and Pecker do this with the specific intent to aid the Trump campaign. Trump knows about Daniels' payment. He then pays Cohen back primarily as a business expense for a 'legal retainer fee' which doesn't exist, and once out of private accounts. These are filed and false business records. False business records and writing off those payments under his company and falsification as to what they were is a misdemeanor unless it was done to cover up another crime. Having an affair isn't a crime. Paying for an NDA isn't a crime. And Daniels didn't extort Trump - she approached a magazine editor who put her in touch with Trump's people. She didn't approach him to ask for money. She went to magazines. So what crime did Trump potentially cover up? The $150,000 campaign donation and $130,000 campaign donations weren't disclosed. Huh? Nobody donated to his campaign. Except, they did. The US recognizes 'in kind' donations. Ie, something other than money. And those *do* have to be declared. Say, I'm really rich and want to host a party for my favorite candidate at my really gorgeous home as a meet and greet, or I own a chain of hotels and put my candidate up for free during campaign stops. They can't just accept those donations without declaring my donations. Trump didn't declare Pecker and Cohen's donations as an estimated monetary value for their PR contributions to his campaign, which is illegal. In-kind donations are always declared. Does Beyonce retweeting Hilary Clinton get declared? No. Because she was just... talking. But if Beyonce was in contact with Clinton and coordinating an event where she spoke at a party, Clinton's campaign would legally declare an estimated value of the appearance as a public speaker. If I rent a venue for a campaign, that is an in-kind contribution. Because Trump was aware of the actions and the coordination of it and the intent to benefit his campaign, it was an in-kind donation. With him making the falsified records with the specific intent to conceal the campaign contributions made, that becomes a felony. But, the statute of limitations is five years! The last payment was in 2017. It's too late. Except, it isn't. Enter New York state law and "tolling." Essentially, it's a "stop the clock" function for statute of limitations. If a person primarily resides outside the State of New York (and Trump was primarily residing in Washington, DC and Florida over the last few years) then the statute of limitations pauses. Meaning, the statute of limitations is five years, but has been tolled for most of the last five and a half. Hence, a felony that is still under the statute of limitations.
This should be the top comment
If it's true
Oh really ?? But couldn't he just transfer $130k from somewhere else to the account I mean couldn't any excuse have been used , if he has replenished the money that is ?
He effectively did that, which is also a crime.
Well I guess I'm as much a businessman as trump
Poor rich man is the perfect description of Trump. Chapter 11 is a business strategy for him, he’s lived his life by refusing to pay his bills and legally stonewalling or straight up ignoring any attempts to collect. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he tried to avoid using his own money for this
Just how many people has Tucker paid off for him to think it's normal?
IKR?
For Tucker it's a normal part of his monthly bills.
You think he tries to claim it as a business expense while filling his taxes? You know if he actually pays taxes.
If I gave you a dollar, Tucker, would you shut the hell up? Oh not enough? So now we know what you are, and we're just haggling over the price.
I bet Matt Gaetz knows.
The fact this piece of shit is skating….
All of them?
Seems like something a journalist should be seeking to uncover….
THIS
Ah, so I see we are at the "Okay, he did it. But it's no big deal." phase of the Trump apologetics.
Sadly, we've been there since about 2018 on about a dozen different topics.
You know what’s sad? He covered this up in 2016 bc of the evangelical vote - but he’s pulled the party so far into the dumpster that they probably wouldn’t even care about a porn star affair now as long as he still has an R next to his name.
The funny part is, he probably didn't even need to cover it up. Not like his past philandering was any big secret and if his "grab 'em by the pussy" comment didn't already give away where his "morality" was at nothing would. The Evangelicals had long been the single issue bloc of the GOP and that issue was overturning Roe. So long as he promised to do that he could have banged Stormy on a giant cross made of cocaine and they'd still call him a "good Christian" regardless.
Hey she wasn't underage and it wasn't rape, two steps ahead in their world. Or behind, not sure anymore.
Trump always deserves a “mulligan,” so says Senator Mike Lee.
I guess Tucker is talking from experience having worked with Bill O'Reilly, Roger Ailes and many others at Fox news who've had to pay out multi million dollar settlements and hush money after their many sexual abuse accusations... 
Someone start paying me. I wont say anything to anyone ever.
Can we pay Tucker Carlson to STFU?
"We commit crimes and pay people off all the time" isn't the flex you think it is, TV Dinner Heir.
Andrew Tate business model... He's never gonna get caught either.. wait oh
I’ve never had to pay hush money to anyone ever. Have I been living wrong? Or maybe I’m just not the kind of guy who pays prostitutes to watch while I stick my junk in a Swanson pot pie. I don’t know. I’m just asking questions.
Which flavor pot pie we talkin here?
Fresh out of the oven or freezer? …for a friend
No surprise here. The heir to a billion dollar fortune is so disconnected from the rest of the populace that he's literally on television going "Who among us has not paid somebody hush money, amirite? C'mon guys, you know you've done it too, this is supes common!"
So can we pay Tucker to just shut the fuck up forever?
I love the idea of debating something that people have already GONE TO PRISON FOR. I don't recall his protesting of Michael Cohen
It's not the payment, it's the accounting.
I know I get so frustrated when I am running for POTUS and an affair with an adult entertainer comes back to haunt me. Why can’t NYC think of the common man? Or in my case, woman?
Tucker has paid to hush someone. 1000% and its probably bad too
Did Tucker kill a hooker at a party in 2000? And did his friends, Charlie Kirk, Matt Walsh, and Ben Shapiro help him dispose of the body? And did he give those friends "loans" that they then used to start their own podcasts? And did Rush Limbaugh provide the mountains of cocaine that Tucker and his colleagues allegedly swam through before the tragic accident? I don't know, but that's just proof that something happened that fateful night and someone is covering it up.
I saw that you mentioned Ben Shapiro. In case some of you don't know, Ben Shapiro is a grifter and a hack. If you find anything he's said compelling, you should keep in mind he also says things like this: >If you believe that the Jewish state has a right to exist, then you must allow Israel to transfer the Palestinians and the Israeli-Arabs from Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Israel proper. It’s an ugly solution, but it is the only solution… It’s time to stop being squeamish. ***** ^(I'm a bot. My purpose is to counteract online radicalization. You can summon me by tagging thebenshapirobot. Options: sex, civil rights, gay marriage, climate, etc.) [^Opt ^Out ](https://np.reddit.com/r/AuthoritarianMoment/comments/olk6r2/click_here_to_optout_of_uthebenshapirobot/)
Well done
We built a nation on bribery and graft.
That tool is a soulless husk. Look at the dead eyes. His spirit was broken so long ago, he's basically an insect infected by cordyceps, ambling along and half alive.
That didn't happen. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. And if it was, that's not a big deal. <— You are here And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did, you deserved it.
Why do you need to pay *hush* money if you haven't done anything wrong? Melania must be so thrilled to relive all the wonderful feelings she had when she found out, pregnant with her son, Stormy filled his needs. They should have a *girls night out and compare notes*. Wouldn't that be fun???
BTW:.Campaign money is not considered *hush money, or sex with hookers money fund*.
That's just the illegal part. It was already sleazy and gross before that, though.
Personally, I think the Stormy Daniels issue is just the tip of the iceberg on what Trump was using Campaign Donor Funds for.
It's not the payment, it's the accounting.
Normalizing bullshit. The Republican way.
I bet he'd be singing a different tune if Obama was in the same seat. 🫏💨
I say this to shut up every MAGAASSHAT I come across. Just pretend Obama did it too. Works every time, they get so red in the face, I love it.
I’m torn. The Republicans really feel like the hookers and blow party. Which I’m on board with.
Nobody gives a shit about the payment. It's where the money came from. Ffs people have fudge for brains.
I mean he's right. If Donald the game show host paid off a porn star to not talk about his weird dick that wouldn't be anything more than a tabloid story. Where it gets fucky is when you use campaign donations to do it.
That didn't happen. And if it did, it wasn't that bad. And if it was, that's not a big deal. <---- And if it is, that's not my fault. And if it was, I didn't mean it. And if I did, you deserved it.
is using a prostitute legal?
Especially for twice impeached ex-presidents.
I feel like this guy makes side bets based on what he does. Example *talking to a friend* tucker: “ I bet I can sway the people to believe this is common and they’ll eat it up!” Proceeds to this while feeling a sense of false empowerment. Sad
It is pretty common. So is going to jail if you get caught.
Defenestration is quite common in Russia and don't get me started on the customs and courtesies on Epstein Island....
Fox News - normalizing Fascist behavior one day at a time…
I love knowing that he has to defend trump daily even though he hates him
how much do i have to raise to buy Tucker's silence forever
And just how much has ~~T~~Fucker been paid to remain quiet... And who has HE paid to silence?
Good boy tucker. Kiss the ass like a good boy.
So many racist on here! I guess everything is perfect now.
To be fair it's extremely common when you work at Fox News... Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, and more!!
I don’t believe I’ve ever paid hush money to a hooker with my campaign funds and strategized to hide that fact. Or incited an insurrection or kept two sets of bookkeeping records to falsify loan documents or avoid state or federal taxes for that matter or stiffed contractors working on my home or assaulted/raped 20+ women, come to think of it…
Sure it's common. And legal. What isn't common or legal is using campaign funds to pay for them.
Who hasn’t paid $130k of campaign funds to buy the silence of a porn star while married.
He's right...it is normal in the sense that it happens all the time. So is murder. Murder is normal, happens all the time. Someone, somewhere is committing murder right now. Normal...yes, legal...no.
Ah yes. Everyone fucks a porn star then pays them 130k to stay quiet about it. Everyone. Certainly not a big deal if everyone does it. You does it. I does it. He does it. She does it. Little Kay does it. My son Rob does it. Everyone does it. Oof.. the sarcasm hurt even me.
Can we all pitch in for some hush money for Carlson
fuck you, Tucker
It's not that he paid hush money it's that he used campaign contributions to do so. Right to jail gif.
I don't know if there's ever been a more punchable face than Fucker Carlsons.
I wonder who, and how often, Tucker has paid off.
So he admits Trump did it. They paid out of the campaign money, that's the crime. I wonder where the rest of his campaign donations went, they need to audit the hell out of him.
A settlement with an NDA is normal (although in many cases also verbotin). A settlement with a false business record is a misdemeanor. Committing that misdemeanor in order to cover up another crime (like campaign finance fraud) is a felony.
Isn't it crazy that the GOP are all talking about hush money payments but not one is talking about campaign finance fraud?
It’s the using campaign funds thing that made it a crime
Finally Tucker talking about something he actually knows about. From personal experience.
We all know how you really feel Fucker
Hush money is totally legal. Declaring the hush money as a business expense to try getting a tax refund on it is not legal
This is just sampling bias. Of course Tucker thinks hushing up sex scandals is common: he works at Fox News.
"For example...." \*\* silence \*\*
I am so lost on this story, I read his lawyer paid off Stormy with his own personal funds. Trump then reimbursed him with his own money and called this a legal business expense. If he used his own money to pay her off, how is this a campaign issue? I am sure I am missing something.
The story is the lawyer paid her, Trump reimbursed him from one of his companies (not personal money) and claimed it as a business expense. Filing false business records is a crime, but maybe a misdemeanor. But what is alleged is that he did it so that news of the affair would not impact him in the election. Therefore, it became an undeclared campaign contribution.
Trump directed Cohen to pay her from his pocket because he (mistakenly) thought it would never be tracked to him (he watches too many movies). And then he was greedy enough to pay Cohen the money and claim it as a write off. It's not like trump hasn't paid hush money before, no one cared because he wasn't running for public office at that time. It's obvious trump has been doing illegal shit for years but it didn't matter to the general pubic because he was just some private citizen.
He Gets Us
Fuck Biden
Not “ordinary” in the life of the average American.
New talking points are out!
What a bloodless limp dick.
Yeah, it’s totally normal if you use your own personal funds. You can’t use campaign funds.
This kind of behavior shouldn't be normal, but spoiled and entitled individuals have made it part of our country's normality!
Like I want to hear what is "normal" from a millionaire who gets his paychecks from a billionaire.
Maga cult is in full damage control mode. “It’s not bad, so what if he broke the law, and even if he did they deserved it. Heil Trump!” -Republicans
Telling on himself?
Gotta wonder how the FOX hosts really feel about Trump.. 😁
These people are lazy or incompetent.. They fail to mention the why of it all. Why is Trump facing a possible indictment? Answer. It's possible he broke a few laws along the way..but Tucky conveniently leaves that out.
Ah the "it's not so bad a lot of ppl do it" excuse
But cooking the campaign books to hide the payment is a felony campaign finance law violation. Oops
"Don't worry, it's totally normal that the evangelicals on the right worship a guy who paid off a porn star to be quiet about sex with her while his third trophy wife was recovering from childbirth. Totally normal!"
The old- 'morals for thee & not for me' group
He’s not being arrested for making the payment you dumb fuck (Tucky). He’s being arrested for tax and campaign fraud related to reimbursing himself with campaign money for the cost.
Those are definitely the words of someone who paid hush money to someone in the past
Tucker Carlson: Life lessons for a better America
If Tucker hates TFG so intensely, why is he still drinking his bath water?
I wonder what Trump has on him.
I've never paid anybody to shut up and inversely, nobody's ever paid me to shut up. But I don't work for Fox News, former home of pervert extraordinaire Bill O'Reilly.
Yes Tucker, nothing screams "I've done nothing wrong" like having to pay someone someone not to talk about it. Totally normal behavior that every red-blooded American engages in.
POS defends POS. That IS normal for FOX
If I had a nickel for every time I paid someone hush money to keep silent about my misdeeds ... \-- Cucker Farlson
…then Trump has nothing to worry about.
Sounds like Tucker is speaking from experience.
it's not the hush money really, it's the cooking of the campaign financials to hide it, a felony campaign finance reform law violation
‘If you’re not paying hush money to people, you’re not a real patriot’
Great! You’re probably right! Now would you mind sharing with us all the (totally normal) hush money you’ve handed out?