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Asked on Air Force One if he knew about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, Trump say 'no'. Asked why Cohen would make the payment Trump said you would have to ask him.

So I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on television, but Trump's statement raises a couple of questions:

If Trump knew nothing about the arrangement, how can he claim legal standing under the arrangement? How can he claim damages in court from Daniels violating the agreement if he was not a party to the agreement?

How does Cohen claim to represent Donald Trump in an agreement that Donald Trump knew nothing about? With respect to Cohen's status as an officer of the court, what are the rules of conduct about signing and paying for an agreement in your client's name without your client's knowledge?

The reporter asked the wrong question. The right question is: did you give Cohen the authority to negotiate NDAs on your behalf with people who had potential claims against you? And if so, what limits did you place on that authority? Without knowing the answers to those questions, I don’t think anyone can answer yours.

Res Ipsa wrote:The reporter asked the wrong question. The right question is: did you give Cohen the authority to negotiate NDAs on your behalf with people who had potential claims against you? And if so, what limits did you place on that authority? Without knowing the answers to those questions, I don’t think anyone can answer yours.

Good points. I still think it might be possible, with respect to Cohen's status as an office of the court, that he would have to show, or Trump would have to stipulate that such a carte blanche agreement existed (or whatever the legal term is for such an agreement) with respect to NDA's, in order for the agreements to have standing.

MeDotOrg wrote:If Trump knew nothing about the arrangement, how can he claim legal standing under the arrangement?

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but Trump lies about a great many things, especially if it involves escaping blame or for self-aggrandizement purposes.

MeDotOrg wrote:If Trump knew nothing about the arrangement, how can he claim legal standing under the arrangement?

Can you provide a reference where Trump makes this legal claim? I can not find any evidence to support this specific claim.

MeDotOrg wrote:How can he claim damages in court from Daniels violating the agreement if he was not a party to the agreement?

Can you provide a reference where Trump makes this legal claim? I can not find any evidence to support this specific claim.

MeDotOrg wrote:How does Cohen claim to represent Donald Trump in an agreement that Donald Trump knew nothing about?

Can you provide a reference where Cohen claims he represents Trump in the context of the agreement? I can not find any evidence to support this specific claim.

MeDotOrg wrote: With respect to Cohen's status as an officer of the court, what are the rules of conduct about signing and paying for an agreement in your client's name without your client's knowledge?

It is called procuration...and then of course, "power of attorney".

moksha wrote:

MeDotOrg wrote:If Trump knew nothing about the arrangement, how can he claim legal standing under the arrangement?

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but Trump lies about a great many things, especially if it involves escaping blame or for self-aggrandizement purposes.

I often wonder how he can claim just about everything that comes out of his black hole, and yet he does it anyway. He must understand on some level that his fans have contempt for reality like he does.

Some Schmo wrote:He must understand on some level that his fans have contempt for reality like he does.

LBJ understood that about American Federation of Teachers...they surely did not care about his philandering....did, or do, JFK's fans care about Marilyn?....nope.

https://Twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/sta ... 4747056133

Trump's attorney, has violated the rules of professional conduct for attorneys in the state of New York by forming this LLC without, supposedly, Trump's knowledge. Also, the LLC by Cohen was very likely an illegal act, covering up adultery, which is a crime in New York. If Cohen loses his license to practice law and is subject to criminal prosecution, then what has Trump offered Cohen in exchange that is worth more than his license to practice law?

- Doc

New York State Rules of Professional Conduct

a) A lawyer shall:
(1) promptly inform the client of:
(i) any decision or circumstance with respect to
which the client’s informed consent, as defined in
Rule 1.0(j), is required by these Rules;
-5-
(ii) any information required by court rule or other
law to be communicated to a client; and
(iii) material developments in the matter including
settlement or plea offers.
(3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status
of the matter;

PDF http://www.nycourts.gov/rules/jointappe ... t-1200.pdf

It might've been the WSJ (maybe NYT) where I read something about Cohen complaining that Trump has stiffed him on the $130k. Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't Trump just not do or say anything other than what he's said and that's that? I'm fairly certain he's not smart enough to have specifically directed that campaign funds be used to pay his accuser off. At best he'd just tell Cohen to make it go away and he'll cover him on the back end. I just don't think Trump is a details guy.

- Doc