Lot’s of confusion swirling around about whether “Cash” is really “Cash”, which “David” is “David”, and who the heck is “Charleston Pam”? And it’s all interesting speculation, but it is important to take note of what the Trump/Cohen tape establishes beyond any reasonable doubt.
- Trump and Cohen tape relates to the $150K payment that Pecker (AMI) made to Karen McDougal. This establishes that Trump knew about the payment before the election.
- Trump and Cohen agreed that they intend to pay off Pecker before the election. This establishes that Trump recognized it as a campaign financial liability.
- It does not matter whether whether the plan was to pay with actual green currency or by check.
- Giuliani says the payment was never made. This is actually worse for Trump, because it means he accepted an illegal “in kind” campaign contribution from Pecker way above the legal limit.
The Trump strategy is to throw up all sorts of confusing and contradictory information to muddy the water and distract from the simple facts. Focusing just on what the tape does clearly establish is enough to show a clear felony campaign violation. Is there more? A criminal conspiracy? Maybe, but what is irrefutable from the tape is trouble enough.
See also:
Further Evidence Trump Committed 'Felony Campaign Finance Violation' as Cohen Releases Hush Money Tape: "This tape is more evidence that Donald Trump himself was directly involved in a campaign finance law violation."