Hillary Clinton campaign

CNN
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s move to prosecute the expected Republican presidential candidate once again highlights the Democrats’ persistent pursuit of holding Trump accountable.
Concerns

CNN
This development underscores concerns about the perceived disparities in the U.S. justice system, particularly when contrasting the actions taken by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential election, which form the foundation of Bragg’s case against Donald Trump.
Concealing payments

CNN
Despite revelations of Clinton and the DNC’s involvement in concealing significant payments to Fusion GPS via the Perkins Coie law firm to fund the unverified Steele dossier, they evaded criminal charges and only faced a nominal penalty of $113,000.
Russia investigation

PBS
The dossier’s role in triggering the Russia investigation, followed by a 22-month probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller into Trump, adds complexity to the broader context of these legal and political maneuvers.
Brooklyn

PBS
An interesting point to consider is that the Clinton campaign was headquartered in Brooklyn, potentially providing a link that prosecutors could have explored to pursue charges against her in New York, especially if the focus is now on purported federal campaign finance violations from 2016.
Bragg’s office

PBS
According to allegations from Bragg’s office, Trump, through his personal attorney Michael Cohen, reportedly made a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the election cycle as part of a confidentiality agreement regarding an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.
Trump Organization

Fox News
Bragg asserted that the Trump Organization later repaid this amount, which exceeded the federal campaign contribution limit. However, it’s important to note that the $130,000 payment was not directed towards Trump’s presidential campaign, and the alleged reimbursement did not originate from campaign funds either.
Private

Fox News
Furthermore, Trump may have had other reasons for wanting to keep Stormy Daniels’ allegations private beyond just the potential impact on his presidential campaign.
Legal action

Fox News
Prior to the indictment brought by Bragg last spring, both federal prosecutors and the Federal Election Commission had reviewed the payments made to Daniels and had chosen not to pursue legal action against Trump.
Prosecutors

Fox News
Initially, Bragg had also followed this approach until two of his prosecutors, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned and publicly campaigned for a change in the DA’s stance, which eventually occurred. This shift in position was highlighted by George Washington Law School professor Jonathan Turley in a recent opinion piece published in the New York Post.
Trump’s adversaries

Fox News
The current circumstances appear to be turning in favor of Trump’s adversaries. Judge Juan Merchan, who backed President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and has a daughter employed as a political consultant for a company linked to Biden, has ordered Donald Trump to be physically present in court for the entirety of his trial.
Six to eight weeks

Fox News
According to CBS News, the trial is expected to last between six to eight weeks, with the next election looming just months away.Additionally, the judge warned the ex-president that his absence from any part of the trial could lead to his apprehension. Many legal experts have described Bragg’s case as weak and clearly influenced by political considerations.
Violations

Fox News
At the core of the case are minor business record violations that have been escalated to felony charges based on claims of hiding further unlawful actions. Turley drew parallels between the accusations leveled against Trump and the apparent wrongdoings carried out by the Clinton campaign and the DNC.
John Podesta

Fox News
“John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, was called before congressional investigators and denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS [through Perkins Coie]. Sitting beside him was [Marc] Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress,” Turley wrote.
Chief lawyer

Fox News
As per The Washington Post, Elias, who held the position of chief lawyer for the Clinton campaign and was employed at Perkins Coie at the time, enlisted Fusion GPS to conduct the investigation for the Steele dossier. Turley concluded, “Yet, there were no charges stemming from the hiding of the funding, though it was all part of the campaign budget.”

Annabelle-R
July 13, 2024 at 1:44 am
Very interesting topic, regards for posting.Leadership