[EL] Sex, Lies, and (Trump) Videotape

[Schultz, David A.]

Hi all:

Attached is a piece I did earlier this week on the ethical problems Trump's
attorney faces.  I did this piece before the most recent story about Ms.
Daniel's lawsuit came out.

However,   I think that it may not matter whether Trump signed the
contract. Detrimental reliance argument is good.  Did all the parties act
in a way that they assumed there was a contract?

Second, I am still questioning whether there was a contract from the start
that is enforceable.    By that, if the contract was made where money was
exchanged for the purposes of silencing Ms. Daniels, that very contract may
be illegal and void.  How so?  The exchange of money to silence her was
done so with the intent of affecting the 2016 election.  If that is the
case and it was not reported as a campaign expenditure, this is a contract
for an illegal purpose.  Conversely, if Ms. Daniels  was  paid money to
remain silent about her sexual relationship with Trump, this may be a form
of bribery meant to influence individuals to vote in a specific way, or to
vote at all.  The quid is silence about the sexual relationship, the money
is the quo, and the purpose is to affect voters.  Trump and his attorney
bribed Ms. Daniels to remain silent about a sexual relationship in other to
affect voting.  It is awkward, but a possible bribery case case be made
here.

Finally, remember agency law.  Except in rare cases, we attribute the
actions of lawyers to their clients.  Trump may be estopped from arguing
that he did not know that his lawyer was doing all this unless he can show
there was neither explicit not implicit authority from him for his attorney
to bribe Ms. Daniels.


-- 
David Schultz, Professor
Hamline University
Department of Political Science
1536 Hewitt Ave
MS B 1805
St. Paul, Minnesota 55104
651.523.2858 (voice)
651.523.3170 (fax)
http://davidschultz.efoliomn.com/
http://works.bepress.com/david_schultz/
http://schultzstake.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  @ProfDSchultz
My latest book:  Presidential Swing States:  Why Only Ten Matter
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739195246/Presidential-Swing-States-Why-Only-Ten-Matter
FacultyRow SuperProfessor, 2012, 2013, 2014
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