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Jersey Girl wrote:Giuliani has got his fingers in it now. Watch for the level of ____ to ratchet up significantly.

Personal gifts and loans
If any person, including a relative or friend of the candidate, gives or loans the candidate money “for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office,” the funds are not considered personal funds of the candidate even if they are given to the candidate directly. Instead, the gift or loan is considered a contribution from the donor to the campaign, subject to the per-election limit and reportable by the campaign. This is true even if the candidate uses the funds for personal living expenses while campaigning.

Hawkeye wrote:

Jersey Girl wrote:Giuliani has got his fingers in it now. Watch for the level of ____ to ratchet up significantly.

Giuliani is spinning this as a political issue that is not longer a legal matter. That's what he keep saying about the campaign finance law. These people seem to think that no law could have been broken so long as the money doesn't come directly out of the campaign's account. They're ignoring the fact that Cohen as a private citizen was only permitted to contribute $2700 and he exceeded that by $127,300. They want us to believe it isn't a campaign contribution unless he just writes a check to the Trump campaign, but a campaign contribution is defined as any deed or service given that benefits the campaign, and they've already admitted that this was the only reason this money was given. To benefit the campaign. Hence, it is an obvious campaign contribution and a clearly violation of the law. But you won't hear Rudy of Sean talk about any of this. You'll just get hand waving and subgenius level dismissals that intentionally miss the point.

Conflicting Statements About the Payment to Stormy Daniels

By KAREN YOURISH UPDATED May 3, 2018

President Trump, his lawyers and his press secretary, while maintaining that there was no affair, have made contradictory statements about a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford, a pornographic film actress known as Stormy Daniels. Related article »

Jan. 12 | Michael D. Cohen, on the alleged affair

“President Trump once again vehemently denies any such occurrence.”

In an email sent to The New York Times after The Wall Street Journal reported about the payment, Mr. Cohen, the president’s longtime personal lawyer, did not address the payment but denied that Ms. Clifford and Mr. Trump had had an affair.

Jan. 17 | Michael D. Cohen, on the alleged affair

“It’s old news that wasn’t true then and not true now.”

After In Touch magazine published excerpts from a 2011 interview with Ms. Clifford in which she said she had a sexual relationship with Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen again denied that such a relationship existed. “This is not breaking news,” he said in an email to The New York Times.

Feb. 13 | Michael D. Cohen

“I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford.”

In a statement to The New York Times, Mr. Cohen acknowledged for the first time that he had a role in the payment, adding, “Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms. Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly.”

March 7 | Sarah Huckabee Sanders

“There was no knowledge of any payments from the president.”

“I’ve had conversations with the president about this,” said Ms. Sanders, the White House press secretary. “He has denied all these allegations.”

April 5 | President Trump

“No.”

This was Mr. Trump’s response when he was asked by a reporter if he knew about the payment to Ms. Clifford. In what were his first public remarks about the matter, Mr. Trump denied knowing about the $130,000 payment. He added, “You’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.”

April 26 | President Trump

“He represents me, like with this crazy Stormy Daniels deal, he represented me.”

In a telephone call to “Fox & Friends,” Mr. Trump distanced himself from Mr. Cohen but acknowledged that Mr. Cohen represented him in connection with Ms. Clifford.

May 2 | Rudolph W. Giuliani

“The president repaid it.”

Mr. Giuliani, one of the president’s lawyers, told Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, that Mr. Trump reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment. Mr. Giuliani also referred to the payment as a “retainer.” The statement contradicted what Mr. Cohen said about using his own money to pay Ms. Clifford. It also contradicted Mr. Trump’s statement that he was not aware of the payment.

May 2 | Rudolph W. Giuliani

“They set up a reimbursement, $35,000 a month.”

In an interview with The New York Times shortly after his Fox News appearance, Mr. Giuliani said that over all, Mr. Cohen was paid $460,000 or $470,000 out of Mr. Trump’s “personal family account” after the campaign was over. He did not use the word “retainer” in relation to these payments, which he said also included money for “incidental expenses” that Mr. Cohen had incurred on Mr. Trump’s behalf.

May 3 | President Trump

“Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer.”

In a series of Twitter posts, Mr. Trump said the money for Ms. Clifford was paid out of a retainer, which appeared to contradict Mr. Giuliani’s initial description of a monthly reimbursement plan out of his personal family account.

May 3 | President Trump

“Having nothing to do with the campaign.”

The president also said that the money was in no way related to the campaign. “Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no” role in the transaction, Mr. Trump tweeted.

May 3 | Rudolph W. Giuliani

“Imagine if that came out on Oct.15, 2016, in the middle of the, you know, last debate with Hillary Clinton.”

Mr. Giuliani, in an early morning interview with “Fox & Friends,” seemed to speculate over what would have happened if allegations of the affair resurfaced during the campaign. He appeared to suggest that timing of the payment was connected to the contentious presidential election, contradicting Mr. Trump’s Twitter statements, as well as his own. Mr. Giuliani said Mr. Cohen was just doing his job by making it “go away.”

Eileen Sullivan contributed reporting.

Jersey Girl wrote:Every. single. day. it's one outburst after another, another tawdry scandal, another denial, another distraction, another game of bait and switch, another law suit, another bold claim, another brag, another easily disproven lie, another blight on this country's reputation--all courtesy of our so-called President

DarkHelmet wrote:
And the funny thing is for most of us the daily chaos coming out of the white house was totally predictable because that's who Donald Trump is, and he's been this way since at least the 80s. Like you, I also hoped that Trump would treat the office with the respect it deserves, and take his job seriously. Unfortunately, he is treating it like a reality show, or just another business he can run into the ground, and then sue everyone around him.