How a sentence to a lawyer Trump will affect the US president

Former lawyer Donald Trump and the person involved in the case of Russia's interference in the elections in the United States received a three-year term. The verdict provoked discussions about the impeachment of the president, but experts indicate that there is not enough reason yet.

Photo: Facebook / The White House

What was tried ex-lawyer Trump

12 December: Michael Cohen, who from 2006 of the year to May 2018 was Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and was in his closest circle, the court sentenced by three years of imprisonment for violating the rules of campaign finance and giving false testimony to Congress. 52-year-old Cohen became the first person from the Trump team to have received such a long time in connection with the investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the US presidential election in 2016 that Special Prosecutor Robert Muller is leading.

Photo: CNN Screenshot

Former lawyer Trump asked not to impose a punishment involving imprisonment. He argued his position by pleading guilty and cooperating with the investigation. The prosecution said that Cohen provided useful information that can help Mueller’s main mission - to prove that someone from the Trump team with Russia had influenced the election results, writes The Washington Post.

Before the announcement of the verdict, Cohen declared that he was taking responsibility for all the crimes imputed to him. “My duty was to cover his dirty business,” he said about his work with Trump (quoted by The Washington Post).

In 2016, Cohen helped organize payouts to Stormie Daniels' porn actress and Playboy magazine models Karen McDougall to keep silent about their intimate relationships with Trump.

Stormy Daniels. Photo: instagram.com/thestormydaniels

According to Cohen, in 2016, Daniels received $ 130 thousand from him. Karen Magdugal received $ 150 thousand from American Media Inc. in agreement with the representatives of the Trump staff, including Cohen. Go

According to US federal law, financial transactions aimed at protecting the image of a candidate for a political office are regarded as spending as part of his campaign. At the same time, the limit on the size of the individual contribution to the campaign was set at $ 2,7 thousand. Cohen’s payments exceeded these amounts and, moreover, were not officially declared to the federal election commission.

Cohen was also convicted of providing false data to the Senate Intelligence Committee. He did not say that in 2016, he was preparing Trump's trip to Russia and, through the press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov, he wanted to offer the Kremlin a project to build the Trump Tower tower in Moscow. “As a lawyer, Mr. Cohen could have known better [the laws],” the judge said at the announcement of the verdict.

Who of Trump's entourage is under investigation

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, the former head of Trump's campaign headquarters and his business partner. They were charged with the work of foreign agents without proper registration and money laundering.

Paul Manafort. Photo: YouTube / MSNBC

Michael Flynn, ex-adviser to the president on national security. He is accused of giving false testimony about contacts with the Russian ambassador. He has already admitted his guilt. The sentence should be passed soon. Flynn asked the court not to give him a prison sentence, but to replace him with the year of conditional and 200 hours of community service. Muller had previously also recommended that the court not imprison Flynn.

Michael Flynn. twitter / General Flynn @GenFlynn

All three went to a deal with the investigation.

George Papadopoulos, Trump's campaign lawyer. In September, he received 14 prison days and 200 community service hours for giving false testimony.

How the sentence will affect Trump

At the end of the summer, giving a confession, Cohen said that it was Trump who ordered him to pay two women for silence and that this was done in violation of campaign finance rules. The President has repeatedly said that he did not know about the payments made by his lawyer. On December 13, he once again wrote in a series of tweets that Cohen acted on his own and slandered his boss to shorten his prison sentence.

Photo: Facebook / The White House

If the prosecution manages to prove that the president really knew about Cohen’s unlawful actions, this could be grounds for impeachment, as it would mean that Trump had broken the law. On the eve of the sentencing, Cohen Trump told Reuters that he was not afraid of impeachment. “If this happens, people will rebel,” he said. 13 December, NBC, citing sources surrounded by the president of the United States, said that he was increasingly concerned about the possibility of impeachment.

A few days ago, John Dean, presidential adviser Richard Nixon and one of the central figures in the Watergate scandal (was the White House legal counsel in 1970 – 1973, was sentenced to four months in prison for obstructing justice, according to a Watergate case investigation) after Cohen’s confession, the congress has no choice but to raise the issue of trump’s impeachment. Although the crimes were committed when Trump was not yet president, they were aiming to get a fraudulent post, the congressman said okrat Gerald Nadler. In the new composition of the House of Representatives, which will begin work on January 3, he will receive the post of chairman of the legal committee. However, the congressman reminded, in order to initiate the impeachment procedure, it will be necessary to answer a lot of questions, including how serious the crimes were.

Even if Trump knew about Cohen’s illegal activities, this could not be grounds for impeachment, Philippe Bobbit, an expert on constitutional law, a professor at Columbia University, expressed his opinion in a conversation with the Washington Post. He believes that for this the president must commit a very serious crime, for example, if it is proved that he won the elections with the assistance of foreign intelligence. To recognize the elections illegitimate, it must be established that Trump has repeatedly violated the electoral law. “While this is a separate episode, I do not think that it can be a sufficient basis [for impeachment],” said Bobbit.

There is also a possibility that Trump may be charged after his term ends. December 11 Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff, the future head of the intelligence committee in the House of Representatives, said that there was a real prospect that the Justice Department would indict the president as soon as he ceased to be president and would face a prison sentence.

According to a poll conducted at the end of August (a few days after Cohen’s confession) ABC News and the Washington Post, 49% of Americans support the president’s impeachment, 46% opposes. 63% of respondents expressed support for the work of the Muller Special Commission.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Not worked out: who this year left the team Trump

'People will riot': why Trump is not afraid of impeachment

What did Special Prosecutor Muller manage for the year of investigation of the Russian interference

How much did it cost a year to investigate Russian intervention in US elections

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