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?
Karina Mori
ReplyDelete1. I do not believe that Trump will be charged criminally for this. As he holds one of the highest positions, I think that he will be viewed differently and that he always blames things on other people, so there would need to be very sufficient evidence.
2. Yes, campaign finance laws should be altered to close these loopholes. A law is only a law if it is enforced, so if we think this to be a problem than we should change the law to make it more specific.
Sophia McMaster
ReplyDelete1. Trump will not be charged criminally due to the position he holds in office. He is of high power, so the crime would have to be very significant for him to be charged.
2. Yes, there should be no loopholes for presidents to get away with illegal campaign financing. There should be more strict laws regarding this so that the problem can be avoided. The public compares these presidents charges to determine their ideas of them which isn't accurate.
1. I doubt Trump will be charged for it because of his position. The only way he would be charged would be if his crime were severe enough.
ReplyDelete2. I firmly believe that loopholes should be closed so as to prevent unfair and illegal campaign financing.
1. Because Cohen is being charged by the DOJ with a criminal violation, the infraction must have been “intentional and serious”. Because Cohen admitted to violating campaign finance laws on behalf of Trump, I believe that Trump should charged for instigating the silence of individuals to influence a campaign, but it is unlikely given his high status.
ReplyDelete2. The loopholes are unlikely to be closed because people who violate campaign finance laws will find a way around it, regardless of additional restrictions. Additionally, making campaign finance laws even stricter reduces the ability to people to express themselves, which contradicts the precedent of Citizens United v. FEC.
1. Cohen had been charged with a criminal violation and admitted to violating the campaign finance laws on behalf of Trump. In my opinion Trump should be charged criminally, however due to his position he was not.
ReplyDelete2. Yes loopholes should be dealt with, and the laws of campaign finance should be altered, in order to prevent any future president canidates from violating any campaign laws.
1. At this point, Trump would not be charged criminally unless more severe information were to be brought forth. Putting our president at risk of criminal charges would make the US look bad in many ways.
ReplyDelete2. Even when campaign finance laws have recently become more and more strict, there are still loopholes apparent that seem to be placed purposely. Although this is a problem that is better fixed, the process of closing these loopholes would prove to be very hard and don't seem like they will be fixed anytime soon.
1) I don't think Trump will be charged criminally, there is not enough solid information to do so. As we have seen campaign finance is crazy and can get out of hand and people don't get in trouble often.
ReplyDelete2) I think that if campaign finance laws were changed to close loopholes there would just be more loopholes no matter what and it turns into a never ending cycle.
1. I do not think Trump will be charged criminally, it will be very hard to prove that he is guiltly. The John Edwards case was much clearer and he was not convicted. I think it will just be used as campaign material in 2020.
ReplyDelete2. It would be very difficult to close "loopholes" regarding in kind contributions. I also don't consider this a loophole, if it was just normal activity it would not even constitute a campaign expenditure.
1. I do not think Trump will be charged criminally as there is not sufficient evidence to prove he was guilty. Even if he was, it would be very hard to prove given his stature in society.
ReplyDelete2. I think effective laws to change campaign finance laws currently would be very hard to implement given there are always loopholes. If anything a constitutional amendment might be the most forceful, but the likelihood of that happening is next to none.
Jessica Masterson
ReplyDelete1. I do not believe that Trump will be charged criminally because if he were to be, he would have faced punishment at the same time as Cohen (unless significant evidence is found that holds him responsible). I believe that he was not charged because Cohen was held responsible, and his status as the president makes it very hard to have him charged.
2. Campaign finance laws should definitely be altered to close loopholes, but it very hard to change them and it is unlikely anything will be done; campaign finance laws have been altered in the past, yet loopholes still exist.
1. I don't think Trump will be charged for this because of his high position.
ReplyDelete2. Loopholes should be closed but it would be really hard because people that use these loopholes generally find ways to get away with it.