[EL] “Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates Donald Trump in a Felony”

Thu Aug 23 17:23:25 PDT 2018

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Mark

(Sorry for bothering the list. I didn't want anyone to think I had ignored
Fredric's apology.)

Prof. Mark S. Scarberry
Pepperdine Univ. School of Law

On Thu, Aug 23, 2018 at 11:19 AM, Fredric Woocher <fwoocher at strumwooch.com>
wrote:

> Mark,
>
>
>
> I apologize if my posting offended you.  I was not intending to impugn
> your motives (and am not even sure I understand what you mean by that).  My
> point was that -- while we can have nice academic discussions and analyses
> about whether what “might have” occurred would or should be considered a
> violation of the election laws or a crime – what actually occurred here, by
> the pretty clear evidence (if not Trump’s own admission), is that the Trump
> corporation made the reimbursement, so it’s a much cleaner case than any of
> these proffered hypotheticals.  I don’t see how that was “impugning your
> motives,” but if you perceived it that way, I apologize.
>
>
>
> Fredric D. Woocher
>
> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP
>
> 10940 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2000
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> Los Angeles, CA 90024
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> fwoocher at strumwooch.com
>
> (310) 576-1233
>
> *From:* Mark Scarberry [mailto:mark.scarberry at pepperdine.edu]
> *Sent:* Thursday, August 23, 2018 9:43 AM
> *To:* Fredric Woocher; Election Law Listserv
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] “Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates
> Donald Trump in a Felony”
>
>
>
> You are free to impugn my motives. I will not impugn yours. Enough said.
>
>
>
> Prof. Mark S. Scarberry
>
> Pepperdine Univ. School of Law
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Fredric Woocher <fwoocher at strumwooch.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 22, 2018 6:31:13 PM
> *To:* Mark Scarberry; Election Law Listserv
> *Subject:* RE: [EL] “Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates
> Donald Trump in a Felony”
>
>
>
> Mark,
>
>
>
> Why are you struggling to put such a benign face on this, with all of your
> hypotheticals about whether this would be legal if Trump “promptly
> reimbursed” the Organization or the campaign for these expenditures?  He
> didn’t.  Trump doesn’t pay for anything out of his own pocket, even when he
> is legally obligated to do so, much less when he is trying to cover it up.
> The Information makes clear that the Trump Organization made the
> reimbursements to Cohen through phony “retainer” payments over the course
> of two years, well after the expenses were incurred by Cohen.
>
>
>
> Fredric D. Woocher
>
> Strumwasser & Woocher LLP
>
> 10940 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 2000
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> Los Angeles, CA 90024
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=10940+Wilshire+Blvd.,+Ste.+2000+%0D%0A+Los+Angeles,+CA+90024&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> fwoocher at strumwooch.com
>
> (310) 576-1233
>
> *From:* Law-election [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu]
> *On Behalf Of *Mark Scarberry
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 22, 2018 2:20 PM
> *To:* Election Law Listserv
> *Subject:* Re: [EL] “Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates
> Donald Trump in a Felony”
>
>
>
> As Adam helpfully noted, the federal felony "Information" setting out the
> charges against Cohen can be found here:
>
>
>
> https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4779531-Information-Felony.html.
>
>
>
> Here are some comments, based on an initial reading (and repeating some of
> what I said in an earlier post). I hope I have understood the information
> correctly. Others may be able to correct any mistakes.
>
>
>
> Counts 1-5 are tax evasion. Count 6 is for defrauding banks. As far as I
> can tell, these counts are unrelated to Pres. Trump or his campaign.
>
>
>
> Count 7 is for causing a corporation to make, in effect, an illegal
> contribution to Pres. Trump's campaign by paying hush money.
>
>
>
> Count 8 is a charge that Cohen himself made a contribution to the campaign
> in excess of the statutory limits on contributions, by paying hush money
> "in cooperation, consultation, and concert with, and at the request and
> suggestion of one or more members of the campaign."
>
>
>
> I need to read the information again more carefully, but I think only
> Count 8 involves alleged involvement of the campaign (beyond Cohen's own
> role in the campaign). I also don't think there is an allegation that any
> failure to disclose any of these matters was a crime.
>
>
>
> I wonder whether Counts 7 and 8 are sustainable if the corporation or
> Cohen acted as Trump's agent in making payments and then received prompt
> reimbursement from Trump, or from campaign funds legally raised by the
> campaign. I don't remember whether Trump has admitted making such
> reimbursements.
>
>
>
> Campaign expenses are generally, I think, incurred by agents, including
> corporations, such as ad agencies, with reimbursement expected either under
> agency law or pursuant to an express promise of reimbursement. I don't
> think a promptly reimbursed expenditure by an agent should be treated as a
> loan, but I could be wrong (as I often am). If the candidate promptly
> reimburses the agent, I think Buckley protects the expenditure and
> reimbursement. If the campaign reimburses the agent with properly raised
> campaign funds, it also seems that there is no crime. If Trump did
> reimburse these expenditures, but not promptly, I suppose we could say that
> the agent made a loan. I suppose that for Cohen or the corporation to be an
> agent, they would have had to act with Trump's authorization; I don't know
> whether that was the case.
>
>
>
> Again, this is based on a first-reading of the information and my perhaps
> idiosyncratic reading of the law..
>
>
>
> Mark
>
>
>
> Prof. Mark S. Scarberry
>
> Pepperdine Univ. School of Law
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 22, 2018 at 12:36 PM, Adam Bonin <adam at boninlaw.com> wrote:
>
> The felony information is here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/
> 4779531-Information-Felony.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Adam C. Bonin
>
> The Law Office of Adam C. Bonin
>
> 121 S. Broad Street, Suite 400
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=121+S.+Broad+Street,+Suite+400+Philadelphia,+PA%C2%A0+19107&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
> Philadelphia, PA  19107
> <https://maps.google.com/?q=121+S.+Broad+Street,+Suite+400+Philadelphia,+PA%C2%A0+19107&entry=gmail&source=g>
>
>
>
> (267) 242-5014 (c)
>
> (215) 701-2321 (f)
>
> adam at boninlaw.com
>
> http://www.boninlaw.com
>
>
>
>
>
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