Yesterday, I blogged about a NYT report claiming the FBI searched Michael Cohen’s office (Trump’s longtime attorney) in search of information connected to Trump’s alleged relationship with porn star Stormy Daniel.
Today, we have a little more insight into what investigators may be targeting. According to new reports, investigators are digging into correspondence between Cohen and executives at American Media, Inc, the publisher of the National Enquirer.
Clearly, none of this is related to Russia, but as Professor Jacobson has noted repeatedly, Mueller is taking full advantage of his mandate to look under every pebble and stone for process crimes.
So why is the FBI digging into alleged hush money payments made by the Trump camp to people claiming to have had sexual relationships with Trump before he took office? Federal investigators seem to be suggesting the payments could be in-kind campaign contributions.
Monday, Mark Levin interviewed former FEC Chair, Professor Bradley Smith who explained why any hush money (as it’s being called) paid to these alleged paramours falls outside of the definition of ‘in-kind contributions.’
“When the FEC wrote the regulation that says what constitutes campaign expenditures and what constitutes personal use, it rejected specifically the idea that a campaign expenditure was anything related to a campaign, and instead says it has to be something that exists only because of the campaign and solely for that reason,” Smith explained.
In the backdrop, another story broke, alleging a doorman with knowledge of an illegitimate child fathered by Trump also received a handsome $30,000 payoff to keep quiet.
Anti-Trumpers are now attempting to connect the latest story to the in-kind campaign contribution angle.
Again, not one single bit of this has anything to do with Russia.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY