The payment was not reported to the Federal Election Commission, which apparently set off alarm bells for the feds once they learned about it. It’s easy to see why. Trump was battling with Hillary Clinton for the presidency when this emerged, so the government seems to consider the payment to Daniels as a possible “in kind” campaign donation that should have been reported to the FEC.
The theory seems to be that because Cohen used a private source of financing instead of campaign money, he must have been hiding the money from the FEC. The transaction was therefore “bank fraud” because a bank was involved. Some speculate this must not have been properly reported on his taxes.
Okay, now get ready for the mother of all “What about” questions. Remember all those women who came out around that same time (October of 2016) accusing candidate Trump of sexual harassment? Turns out that a lawyer sympathetic to candidate Clinton contacted Clinton donors for money with which to pay some of these women to accuse Trump right before the election.
If Paying Stormy Daniels Was A Crime, The Clinton Campaign Committed It Too
The theory seems to be that because Cohen used a private source of financing instead of campaign money, he must have been hiding the money from the FEC. The transaction was therefore “bank fraud” because a bank was involved. Some speculate this must not have been properly reported on his taxes.
Okay, now get ready for the mother of all “What about” questions. Remember all those women who came out around that same time (October of 2016) accusing candidate Trump of sexual harassment? Turns out that a lawyer sympathetic to candidate Clinton contacted Clinton donors for money with which to pay some of these women to accuse Trump right before the election.
If Paying Stormy Daniels Was A Crime, The Clinton Campaign Committed It Too