The Manhattan DA’s Charges and Trump’s Defenses: A Detailed Preview

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg is apparently on the verge of charging Donald J. Trump under New York state’s business records statute for concealing hush money payments that may have affected the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. In the first essay in this series, as well as in some of the authors’ prior writing, we analyzed the applicable facts and law and predicted that charges were likely. In this next installment, we dive into a particular sticking point: the legal bases for elevating the misdemeanor business records violation to a possible felony. To our knowledge, no in-depth review of these bases has yet been made publicly available, and so we walk through them here. We also analyze Trump’s likely defenses, and conclude by addressing his inflammatory recent calls to action and what the DA will do next.
https://www.justsecurity.org/85581/the-manhattan-das-charges-and-trumps-defenses-a-detailed-preview/
This is a MUST-READ for anyone who wants to truly understand the complex legal issues of this potential indictment...
Ultimately, whether or not some of these charges will stick will be up to a Judge's Interpretation of certain "ambiguous" portions of the relevant statutes...
The DA could throw the kitchen sink at Trump, just to see how many charges actually stick...
Should be very interesting...

 

Just ONE "Thorny Issue" (Subject to Judicial Discretion):
2. State Campaign Finance Crimes
New York has a robust set of laws regulating elections that purport to apply broadly, including explicitly to “federal” contests. New York’s campaign finance laws also apply broadly to candidates who seek election “to any public office” (emphasis added). As a result, crimes outlined in New York’s state campaign finance laws might appear on their face to apply to candidates equally whether running for federal or state office—including for the presidency.
But the reality is more complex. To see why, take one such crime: N.Y. Elec. Law § 14-126(6). It states that any person who, “acting on behalf of a candidate … make expenditures in connection with the … election of any candidate … for the purpose of evading the contribution limitations of this article, shall be guilty of a class E felony.” That the hush money payments were campaign expenditures seems relatively clear (as demonstrated, in good part, by Cohen’s conviction of those offenses at the federal level). They transgressed applicable state (and federal) limits and/or reporting rules. Moreover, the evidence supports the proposition that Trump was aware of that. For example, one of Cohen’s audio recordings of Trump indicates that Trump knew about the payments that would violate campaign finance laws. The audio recording also supports the contention that Trump knew the hush money payments were being made through a shell company that Cohen would be setting up.
In the recording, Cohen says, “I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David.” (David apparently refers to David Pecker, who was involved in the hush money scheme and appears to have testified in front of the Manhattan grand jury investigating Trump.) In proceedings with the federal government, Pecker’s company admitted that the scheme was set up “to ensure that a woman did not publicize damaging allegations about that candidate before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election” (AMI non-prosecution agreement). So, section 14-126(6) appears to apply to Trump’s conduct.
Nevertheless, a potential problem for prosecutors is found in a separate New York state campaign finance law that states that the “filing requirements and the expenditure, contribution and receipt limits” under state law “shall not apply to any candidate” when that candidate is required to file statements at the federal level, “provided a copy of each such statement or report is filed in the office of the state board of elections.” (The provision is a reflection of the federal preemption issues which we shall cover in more detail in the next subsection.) Perhaps DA Bragg could argue that the appropriate statement or report was not really filed in the office of the state board of elections because it omitted any reference to the hush money payment. Essentially, the argument would be that if you lie to the federal authorities, then you are no longer subject to the exception under state law. We have found no case law assessing such an argument in New York—we will have to see what a judge decides.

 

Why isn’t everyone who ever rented a Stormy Daniels porn being charged?? Huh huh??

 

Bragg is a massive failure as a Soros-Owned DA, and is more interested in being lionized by other progressives than actually doing his job as real crime skyrockets in NYC

 

Always a conspiracy theory behind trumps problems.
Answer is never maybe trump did something wrong

 

It's a good distraction from his incompetence from actually doing anything about violent crime in NYC. The sharks (his constituents) smell the blood of the bad orange man on the water and they are salivating for a morsel of his flesh.

 

If you actually could understand what i wrote, you'd know your response is irrelevant to what I said. @Overitall called it correctly

 

Since DA Bragg isn't responsible for all violent crime in NYC, that really hurts

P.S. NYC is doing just fine recently, in case you were interested in those ancient things called numbers...

https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/news/...uary 2023 also saw the,same period a year ago.

On topic.. interesting article from Just Security. I recommend you read it to be prepared for when/if the time comes....

Differentiate yourself!

 

A presidential campaign isn't a corporation. The end.

 

Bragg promised to stop prosecuting certain crimes. i.e. he refused to enforce the law. That violates his oath of office.

 

Violent crimes?

And the voters of Manhattan get to express their opinion of that promise in November 2025.

 

My comments were on topic. Since I have no idea what your point is about "Just Security" I can't confirm that it is.

Bragg is known to be soft on crime. Since he's not supportive of the LEO of NYC the drop in crime rates could be due to them slacking off on arrests. Less arrests, less data to report. I didn't say he was directly responsible for the crime in his city, but he is responsible for prosecuting them. No prosecution of crimes, no LEO motivation to arrest criminals. So, indirectly, he is responsible for crime in his city as the leading LEO.

 

The Trump org IS. Is repaying a lawyer for sex worker hush money a valid business expense?

 

Except crime isn't "skyrocketing" in NYC.

 

yeah its all safe warm and fuzzy. face the fact, that DA sucketh as the Amish would say. He's a woke piece of buffalo dung

 

My moot court national team mate is an attorney in NYC. My brother runs a major league architecture firm in Manhattan. My brother is a big Biden supporter. the attorney, she's more a hard core libertarian. Both claim it's far less safe than it was several years ago. And yes, I suspect it is because arrests are down.

 

NYC isn't even in the top 100 of dangerous cities in the US.
I see you dislike the DA based on total disinformation. Nothing anyone can do for you.

 

Is he not a woke leftist with Soros support?

 

These two posts are the best I have seen regarding the stormy daniels hush money situation by any poster. Very little politics, but the nit and gritty on legal issues can get very complicated. If he is charged in NY State, it will continue until Trump is elected POTUS again, But that is a big maybe. If Trump is not elected as the GOP nominee or does not win the presidential election, then trial will commence and he will have to provide a defense, maybe an affirmative defense. And that will be the most watched trial in the 21st century.

I think the DA is pursuing where the evidence leads. The most important question is whether or not he violated state campaign laws. Federal campaign laws have been overrun by the foxes guarding the henhouse while inside the henhouse. It was good when it was first proposed by Congress but has dwindled to practically nothing. New York state campaign laws is a different matter and that will be key to a felony or not.

 

Maybe you should get an apartment up there and dare them criminals to enter your property so you can take em out John Wick style like you said you did numerous times.

 

So you are afraid of a word that no red can define and a 92 year old man? LOL, I'm sorry bruh. Thoughts and prayers to ya.

 

Why not? If Trump Inc. did business with Michael Cohen, that's between them. The Trump Campaign isn't party to that transaction.

If Donald Trump paid Cohen, that's between them and the Trump Campaign isn't party.

Where's the crime?

 

And yet you weren’t charged! Equal justice!

 

An elected official's guilt, or innocence isn't decided by referendum.

 

It’s illegal to write off payments to sex workers as business expenses lol