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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Hush Money Nightmare Ramps up as New Prosecutors Revive the Stormy Daniels Case
Trumps Hush Money Nightmare Ramps up as New Prosecutors Revive the Stormy Daniels Case
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/node/85885
Federal prosecutors appear to have wrapped up the investigation into the 2016 Trump campaigns criminal hush money payments for unknown reasons, potentially related to the Justice Departments policy against indicting a sitting president. But another team of prosecutors has picked up the case, and according to the New York Times, it has already subpoenaed the Trump Organization in its investigation.
The new probe was started by the district attorneys office in Manhattan.
These prosecutors can bring criminal charges based on state law, so they do not have the jurisdiction to bring a federal campaign finance case, which is what took down Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. He has pleaded guilty for illegally arranging hush money payments to two women, Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, on Donald Trumps behalf in the run-up to the 2016 election and in violation of campaign finance law.
But as the Times points out, the criminal hush money payments may have involved other illegal activity as well that Manhattan prosecutors could charge. It is a state crime, for example, to falsify business records. And some have argued that the Trump Organization and some of its executives may be implicated in such a crime when they reimbursed Cohen for the hush money he paid from his own funds.
These repayments were disguised as a legal retainer, Cohen has said.
Trump Organization lawyer Marc Mukasey seemed to confirm the existence of the investigation to the Times, calling it a political hit job.
He added: Its just harassment of the president, his family and his business, using subpoenas as weapons. We will respond as appropriate.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)awesomerwb1
(4,268 posts)dajoki
(10,678 posts)vance has a history of not prosecuting certain people.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-didnt-manhattan-da-cyrus-vance-prosecute-the-trumps-or-harvey-weinstein
Well, you just destroyed my little bit of hope I had there.
Mind you, it was extreeemely tiny.
dajoki
(10,678 posts)maybe he will be pressured to do the right thing.
sir pball
(4,756 posts)No way would this investigation have been opened without his OK, not to mention if it ended up being a whitewashing of the criminal cabal, he'd most likely get completely steamrolled in the next DA primary. He definitely cozies up to the rich and powerful, but he's also a politician as much as a prosecutor.
sir pball
(4,756 posts)I'm sure Billy Boy will try to do something, but it's a pretty cut-and-dry state issue; I doubt he'll be any more effective at crushing it than he has been with Letitia James' work.