Trump vs. Obama Campaign Finance Violation

https://www.snopes.com/news/2018/08/22/election-law-violations-compared-obama-2008-vs-trump-2016/

Summary: There has been debate as to if Donald Trump has violated campaign finance laws, and additionally the difference between the laws he violated and Obama’s finance infractions from 2008. Back in 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign was fined 375,000 for violations of reporting. This included reporting around 1,300 donations outside of the 48 hour window that totaled up to $1.3 million dollars. Additionally, other violations were outlined such as unclear donation dates and late returns of donations exceeding the legal limit. The fines given to the Obama campaign were the biggest given to any presidential campaign, which sounds shocking and shady. After further examination and context, this fine from the FEC isn’t unusual. In relation to the amount of money involved with the campaign, the first to ever exceed $1 billion, making the fine proportionally minor. As for Trump, his charges were significantly different. Obama’s were civil and directly from the FEC, whereas Trump and his layer Cohen were charged criminally by the Department of Justice, which only happens when crimes are deemed intentional and serious. Cohen pled guilty to several criminal charges, two of which involved the payment of “hush money” at the direction of Donald Trump, which has criminal intent.

Connection: This connects to learning about campaign finance, and all of the different and confusing laws. The fact that Trump hasn’t been criminally prosecuted or faced legal consequences shows that things aren’t clear.

Questions:

1. Do you believe that Trump will be charged criminally?

2. Should campaign finance laws be altered to close loopholes so presidents can't get away with these types of violations?

Trump opts out of releasing Russia probe documents

Link to article

President Trump intended to declassify and release documents connected to the FBI's investigation of Russia, only to quickly abandon those plans after receiving concerns from certain allies about the release of such sensitive material. Within those documents was surveillance of campaign advisor Carter Page, interview notes of a DOJ top official, and text messages sent by the former FBI Director. The FBI has been investigating whether Trump's ties with Russia influenced his election in 2016, and the documents were Trump's attack back at the intelligence service. Many Democrats argue that conflict between the FBI and Trump would endanger foreign intelligence partnerships, and the release of the documents is part of a GOP plan to drum up supporters in the upcoming November midterms. On the other hand, conservatives argue that Trump's desire to expose the FBI is warranted because of supposed corruption and bias within the intelligence organization.

Questions:
1. Should Trump feel justified striking back at proponents of Russia-Trump collusion?

2. Why do you think Trump decided to stop the release of the documents?

Trump is confident amid devastating hurricanes; A good sign for Americans?

Trump cancels rally in Mississippi, however... (Note that CBS may not be a reliable source to everyone :/) <Video>

Los Angeles Times takes on Trump's words and how it may be key to politics in the future <Article>


(Images by the New York Times)

Summary-
President Donald Trump is doing better, feeling optimistic, and empathetic towards the people affected in the current hurricane. After the sub-par handling of the aftermath of  Hurricane Maria by Trump, Hurricane Florence is another challenge that Trump should be aware about and respond accordingly so that he doesn't become a Stoned Bush. So far the hurricane has left eighteen people dead, and for Trump, his administration and FEMA have been "totally prepared" in protecting citizens and communities. On the contrary, the House remains open on how the hurricane can swing away from the Republicans. However, many voters nationwide could see how Trump reacting and handling Hurricane Florence could be a key role to Trump winning a possible re-election. His confidence and calm character has made him an arrogant or rather a selfish man by the Democratic Party, whereas the Republican Party would see it as a way for Trump to express patriotism and confidence set by the American people. So far Trump has been heavily active on Twitter, sending condolences towards the victims of the disaster. He is also planning to visit the affected zone once his visit will not be disturb any rescue efforts. People have a capacity for selective perception, which is paying attention to things that those people already agree with. Trump's campaign and promises upon the recovery and the feeling that everything will be "under control" reinforces trust in the President as well as increasing the likeliness of selective perception.

QQ: Can being too confident cause trouble among diplomatic relationships or even among the citizens of the United States?

Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is in Trouble.

Link to Article


The quest to confirm President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has just became even more controversial. Christine Ford, a Psychology Professor at Palo Alto University, California, came forward publicly with allegations that around 30 years ago, Kavanaugh, sexually assaulted her. She asserts that as teenagers, they had met at a house party where Kavanaugh, who was drunk, took her up into a bedroom (with his friend) where he proceeded to hold her down, cover her mouth from screaming, and grope her as his friend watched. Eventually, she would escape, but she claims the event caused serious emotional trauma. Senate Republicans and the White House have responded by comparing this to Anita Hill's accusations against Justice Thomas years ago, saying that it's a partisan hit-job from registered-Democrat Ford. Furthermore, the White House released a letter from 65 women Kavanugh knew in high school that all agree Kavanaugh treated women, "with decency and respect." Democrats such as Dianne Feinstein responded, claiming that this accusation should disqualify him from being confirmed. Kavanaugh himself has denied the accusation completely. Some Republican Senators such as Jeff Flake have come out and said that they don't feel comfortable voting for Kavanaugh until Ford testifies her case to the Senate. Other Republicans are saying that The claims are bogus since this is the sixth time in 20 years that Kavanaugh has been vetted by the FBI and the first time this incident has been brought to light. Democrats point to the fact that a retired FBI agent polygraphed Ford and said there was no deception indicated.
1. Do you think that the Senate should vote now on Kavanaugh's nomination (since this issue is dividing the country), or should they wait until the mid-term elections (which Republicans are projected to keep control of the Senate in)?

2. What similarities does this situation have with the Anita Hill sexual misconduct accusation of Justice Clarence Thomas?

Article Link

Campaign finance laws have always been hard to enforce, and the penalties of breaking these laws have almost no impact on the candidates themselves. Recently, two campaigns have violated these rules. Obama, in the 2008 presidential race, failed to report the identities of over 1000 donors who have contributed over $2 million in the final weeks leading up to election day. However, not only did the FEC prosecute his campaign much later than the violation itself, he received only a fine of $375 thousand, a minuscule amount for a person of his wealth. On the other hand, Trump's campaign was found guilty under the acts of Michael Cohen, who arranged to cooperate with corporation AMI to cover up the story of a playboy model, and used his personal money to pay Stormy Daniels to ensure that she would not damage Trump's campaign. The Washington Post article investigates the campaign finance violations between these two campaigns, thoroughly examining the specifics of each of their actions. The rules behind campaign finance seem to be really loose and hard to control, so are they really making elections fair?

1. Which of these campaigns do you think committed bigger crimes against campaign finance?

2. Should the rules behind campaign finance be changed? Why or why not? How?

The Recent Leftward Shift of the Democratic Party

Take a look at the full article

In the last one and ½ months Fox News has published 5 stories about “democratic-socialists”.  
The articles focus on the idea that Democrats have moved far left with candidates such
as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Bernie Sanders (I-VM).  The Democratic Socialists
of America (DSA) are not a political party, but do have key beliefs on their website including
“universal housing and health care, free public college education, and an economy where the
worker is the priority.”  An ASU professor calls the DSA “pragmatic” and reinforces the negative
connotation of socialism while saying  the DSA must be “anti-socialist” in order to be popular.
The article points out that any reference to Cold War anti-communist fervor is a winning strategy,
especially by tapping into a sentiment that Democrats will create a government that “ hands over
all aspects of our lives to a government that can barely provide services competently.”  That being
said, the DSA claims that they have won 22 out of 30 elections in the last year. Ocasio-Cortez’s
primary victory to take a solidly Democratic seat in the House this fall reflects the idea that
Democratic Socialists will work from “within the Democratic establishment” to push their
agenda of increasing the power of “labor and the left.”  The Democratic Party remembers
the divide between Hillary and Bernie supporters, with the party still somewhat searching for
its identity. As such, it’s not surprising that a DNC spokesperson said, the DNC's mission is
to elect Democrats from the school board to the oval office, and we welcome the help of all
organizations to achieve that goal.” It remains to be seen how much the party moves to the
left and how that plays out in 2018 and beyond.

1. Do you think moving to the left will be a winning strategy for the Democratic Party

(be specific in your references/examples)?

2. Is the DSA a fringe organization or does it have significant influence on the political process?

3. Has the Democratic Party moved to the left since the 1980s/1990s (toughest question

because the article doesn’t address this)?