The Arguments for Trump’s Guilt

Bragg’s case is complicated, but it is strong

Here is the best defense I have seen of the charges against Trump. It looks very convincing to me. What Trump did would ordinarily be considered a misdemeanor i.e. he mislabeled the hush money as legal expenses. However, the law says this case is a felony because the act was done to cover up a felony i.e. mislabeling a campaign contribution. It may seem doubtful that the hush money was a campaign contribution. John Edwards was not convicted for a similar charge. (He was not acquitted either. There was a hung jury, and then the Justice Department declined to refile the charges) However, A federal court has already ruled that Trump’s hush money was a felony, and Michael Cohen was sent to prison for it. It makes no sense to say Trump is not guilty for paying Cohen to do something that has been ruled a felony. If Cohen is guilty, then Trump has to be guilty.

What complicates this is that Cohen is being was convicted for a different crime than Trump is being indicted for. Cohen broke a federal law by mislabeling a campaign contribution. Trump broke a New York law by mislabeling a business expense. The New York law is ordinarily a misdemeanor, but because the federal courts ruled that the mislabeling was done in service of a felony, The New York law says the mislabeling is also a felony. Bragg does not have the right to prosecute for breaking the Federal Law, but he does have the right to prosecute for breaking the state law.