Is Trump too sleazy to be guilty?

The $130,000 payment made to Stormy Daniels as hush money has been a hot topic over the last few weeks.  Was this an illegal campaign contribution or not?   Did Trump know about the payment or not?   Did Trump reimburse his attorney or not?

If the payment was made in order to influence the election, or prevent negative influence over the election, then it was a campaign contribution unless Trump made it himself.   But Trump had stated that he did not know about the payment at the time.  He has stated that Cohen represented him. 

Much has been made over the fact that an attorney cannot settle a case without his client’s approval.  If Trump did not know about it, how could he have approved it? 

There is one scenario that has not been explored:

If covering up bad behavior was something that happened regularly going back way before the campaign, then it is entirely reasonable that Trump could have instructed his attorney to handle all such issues and could have authorized Cohen to confidentially settle them up to a certain dollar amount without further authorization.  His ongoing $35,000 monthly retainer payments to Cohen actually bolster this argument.   He essentially budgeted $35,000 per month to cover any consequences from his sleazy behavior.  $35,000 per month to a billionaire is about the same as $25 to people like you and me.

Personally, I can easily believe that Trump had just such an arrangement with Cohen.   After all, Cohen was his “fixer”.   Remember, Trump was caught on tape bragging that since he was a celebrity, he could randomly grab women by their private parts.  I think it’s safe to assume he actually did do that to women on occasion.  He also bragged about walking into women’s dressing rooms whenever he wanted as well.

While there is NO EXCUSE for that kind of behavior, we all know that there are some women that would have willingly accepted his assaults and returned the “affection”.   Others would have silently acquiesced out of fear or intimidation.  Others might have slapped him or slugged him.   Finally, it stands to reason that at least some of them would have taken some sort of legal action.  Given that the Billy Bush conversation happened almost 15 years ago, this does show a pattern of bad behavior going back decades.  Does anyone really believe that Stormy Daniels and the Playmate were the only two who complained?   And isn’t also likely that even Trump has occasionally been falsely accused by someone just looking to make money?   

I do NOT know for sure if this was what really happened or not.  But it DOES explain the actions of both Cohen and Trump, and explains how Trump really might not have known about the specific payments. 

If this WAS the case, and these types of settlements were so routine that his attorney was authorized to settle up to a certain amount without even contacting Trump, that pretty much negates the campaign contribution issue.

It kind of comes down to this:  If this was an isolated incident that required a payment right before the election, a crime probably was committed.  But, if Trump was so sleazy and immoral that these settlements were routine, then he probably did NOT violate election finance laws.

Hijacked!

I am a life-long Republican,

I believe in the values under which our party was founded almost two hundred years ago.  It distresses me that in the past 50 years or so, factions with agendas of their own have managed to hijack the Republican Party for their own corrupt purposes.  They have twisted our core values so much, that in many ways, current GOP leaders are taking positions that are completely in opposition to these very core values.  This is a CANCER in our party that must be eliminated before it destroys our party completely.

For example, our founding fathers specified in the Constitution that Federal Judges would be appointed for life.  This was to ensure that these judges would remain above and outside of party politics, and follow the rule of law when rendering their decisions.  As a check on this power, our founding fathers provided that BOTH of the other branches would have to individually approve EVERY Federal judge before he could take office.  As a further check, all decisions at the highest levels of our courts must be made by a majority from a panel of judges. 

But, right now, we have a candidate seeking the party’s nomination to the House of Representatives, who has stated that, if elected, she plans to try to usurp the checks and balances put into place, and use to improperly the impeachment power of Congress to remove Federal Judges who make decisions that she does not agree with.  Congress was granted the power of impeachment to remove corruption, not enable it!  This is a blaring example of the CANCER that has infiltrated our party and that needs to be excised as quickly as possible. 

WHAT DO I BELIEVE?

Our founding fathers put into place a brilliant system of government, with power divided between three separate branches, complete with checks and balances that ensure that democracy will always prevail and tyranny can never again rear its ugly head. 

But for our governmental to work, we must insist on integrity, unimpeachable ethical standards, and irreproachable personal conduct from all people in government. We need  to demand that honesty be an indispensable requirement of public service. We need to vigilantly root out corruption whenever and wherever it appears.

I believe THAT THE FREE ENTERPRISE SYSTEM IS THE MOST PRODUCTIVE SUPPLIER OF HUMAN NEEDS AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE.   This is the essence of Capitalism, and is the philosophy upon with our entire economic system is built.  As Republicans, we must protect the FREE MARKET. Government regulation of business is not inherently bad.  Indeed, while we must protect the free market from UNNECESSARY government interference, we must also use the government’s power to prevent immoral businesses from using their size and wealth to inhibit that same free market.

I believe THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS ARE ENTITLED TO EQUAL RIGHTS, JUSTICE, AND OPPORTUNITIES AND SHOULD ASSUME THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS CITIZENS IN A FREE SOCIETY. I believe that ALL citizens should be encouraged to vote, and we should do everything we can to make the voting process easily accessible to every citizen. I believe that Gerrymandering of any type that puts any race at a disadvantage is illegal and immoral.  I believe that discrimination of any type is immoral, including discrimination by age, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or familial status.

I believe THAT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND BUDGETARY RESTRAINTS MUST BE EXERCISED AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT.  We must operate under an overall balanced budget. The government should be extremely frugal when spending the people’s money, and must be able to justify every dollar that it spends.  At the same time, failing to impose taxes at a rate that will ensure a balanced budget during times of economic growth is fiscally irresponsible. The ONLY time a deficit is acceptable is during a national emergency or during times of economic recession. During times of economic growth, such as now, our budget must generate a SURPLUS that can be used to cover any deficits that are necessary during times of economic recession. Taxing power is a necessary evil that must be used fairly and responsibly to ensure that our government can meet its fiscal responsibilities.

I believe THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST PRESERVE INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY BY OBSERVING CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS.  Our country was founded on the belief that we all have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s our individual liberties that allows us to exercise these rights. Our Constitution must always be interpreted to ensure that these rights are preserved, not impeded. We shall not tolerate those who attempt to twist the Constitution in order LIMIT the individual liberties of others.

I believe THAT PEACE IS BEST PRESERVED THROUGH A STRONG NATIONAL DEFENSE. This not only includes properly maintaining our military to the highest standards, but ensuring that our State Department should work hand-in-hand with our military to implement a comprehensive, consistent, and clear foreign policy using diplomacy to avoid war, but being ready, willing, and able to back up our policies with force with diplomacy fails.

I believe THAT FAITH IN GOD, AS RECOGNIZED BY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS, IS ESSENTIAL TO THE MORAL FIBER OF THE NATION. Just as our government is of the people, it is the collective moral fiber of our citizens that gives our nation its moral fiber – not the other way around. We do NOT use the government to force our personal religious beliefs on others. It means that we lead our own lives, guided by our own faith in God, to set an example for others. This is why the First Amendment guarantees each of us freedom of Religion. A government that mandates religion in any way cannot guarantee religious freedom. That is why our Founding Fathers made sure that adhering to any specific religion shall never be a requirement to hold public office.