Dershowitz: Cohen Doesn't Seem to Understand the Difference Between 'Wrong' and 'Illegal'

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Poindexter, Dec 14, 2018.

  1. Poindexter

    Poindexter

    Dershowitz: Cohen Doesn't Seem to Understand the Difference Between 'Wrong' and 'Illegal'
    Warns against 'criminalizing political sins.'

    December 14, 2018

    Alan Dershowitz said former Trump attorney Michael Cohen doesn't seem to understand the difference between what's wrong and what's illegal.

    The Harvard Law professor emeritus and author of "The Case Against Impeaching Trump" appeared on "America's Newsroom" Friday to weigh in on a new "Good Morning America" interview in which President Trump's self-described former "fixer" said that the president knew hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal were wrong.

    Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday for a range of crimes, including tax evasion, campaign-finance violations and lying to Congress.

    When asked by host George Stephanopoulos if Trump knew it was wrong to make the payments, Cohen replied, “Of course,” and added that the purpose was to “help [Trump] and his campaign.”

    "Reasonable people can disagree about whether it's wrong to pay hush money to somebody to stop them from disclosing alleged improprieties sexually. Reasonable people can say that's wrong or that's right. It's not illegal," Dershowitz said.

    He explained that a presidential candidate could give cash to an individual and explicitly state not only that the payment is to buy their silence about alleged improprieties, but also that it is specifically designed to help their campaign, and that still would not be a crime.

    "Whether you think it's wrong or right, I don't understand the case for how it's illegal," Dershowitz said. "If you look at the very, very complicated campaign laws, the one thing that comes out simply is that a candidate may himself or herself contribute as much as they want to a campaign."

    He warned against "criminalizing political sins," arguing that blurring the line between "wrong" and "crime" endangers the rule of law.

    http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/12/...mp-knew-payments-women-were-wrong-not-illegal
     
  2. piezoe

    piezoe

    That however is a total mischaracterization of the transaction. It omits the illegal aspect. Dershowitz knows this of course. He knows that he is being misleading when he says things like that that are absolutely correct but at the same time mischaracterize the actual transaction making people with little understanding of U.S. election law think that nothing illegal was done.. So what is it with this Dershowitz character? He has turned out to be lacking in integrity. He's word is ruined now.

    I have a question for you, Poindexter. Why do you keep posting this crap?
    https://www.vox.com/2018/12/12/18138213/trump-illegal-hush-payments-women-explained
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2018
  3. Poindexter

    Poindexter

    I marvel at your moonbattery. Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:
     
    Tom B likes this.
  4. gwb-trading

    gwb-trading

    Considering that Congress paid out $17 million in tax payer money for having sex with staffers and not a single politician got in criminal legal trouble for it -- I don't expect Donald Trump will be in criminal legal trouble for paying out his own money to women who made claims about having sex with him. Especially since similar federal action again John Edwards completely failed.
     
  5. And what has happened to the full disclosure, full transparency the left is always clamoring for? Who are the people in Congress that paid that hush money?
     
  6. destriero

    destriero

    Title should read, "Dershowitz Doesn't Seem to Understand the Difference Between 'Wrong' and 'Illegal'"
     
    piezoe and Tony Stark like this.
  7. The fed goon squad has done to Cohen what they did to Flynn. Take advantage of their ignorance of obscure laws which are open to interpretation. Happens all the time with lazy and corrupt prosecutors and law enforcement looking for plea deals.
     
    Poindexter likes this.
  8. gwb-trading

    gwb-trading

    Exactly... why do we know so little about that hush money ... as the CNN article (linked in my post above) asks.

    Congress has no transparency about its payments for sexual harassment. Until they fully disclose the details on all of the payments (over 268 minimum) and are transparent about each of them -- then anyone in Congress has little business criticizing the sexual payouts of others.
     
    vanzandt and CaptainObvious like this.
  9. Squeeze the truth out of them?
     
  10. Fortunately for those involved, the justice system will be able to sort it all out.

    upload_2018-12-14_13-50-11.png
     
    #10     Dec 14, 2018
    Tony Stark and piezoe like this.