{"id":2291537,"date":"2024-07-09T21:08:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-fec-chairman-bragg-campaign-finance-claims-against-trump-are-laughable-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-09T21:13:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:13:31","slug":"former-fec-chairman-bragg-campaign-finance-claims-against-trump-are-laughable-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-fec-chairman-bragg-campaign-finance-claims-against-trump-are-laughable-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Former FEC chairman: Bragg campaign finance claims against Trump are \u2018laughable\u2019 &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-fec-chairman-bragg-campaign-finance-claims-against-trump-are-laughable-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2291537&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former FEC chairman Bradley Smith testified to Congress that the hush money charges against former President Donald Trump \u2063by\u200c Manhattan District Attorney Alvin \u200cBragg are &#8220;laughable.&#8221;\u200b Smith identified legal errors in Bragg&#8217;s case, arguing that\u200c the claim Trump violated campaign finance laws to pay off \u200bStormy Daniels could \u2062not have affected the 2016 election. Smith criticized the charges and explained that the \u2062payment to Daniels should \u2063not be considered a campaign expenditure. He expressed disappointment at not being able to testify at Trump&#8217;s trial and provide relevant context to jurors. Another FEC commissioner, Trey Trainor, also criticized Bragg for bringing \u2063federal campaign finance laws into a state case. \u200cBragg&#8217;s actions have attracted scrutiny for allegedly attaching a New \u200dYork election violation to Trump&#8217;s \u2063charges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">\n<div class=\"tdb-search-form-inner\"><input class=\"tdb-head-search-form-input\" placeholder=\" \" type=\"text\" value name=\"s\" autocomplete=\"off\"><button class=\"wpb_button wpb_btn-inverse btn tdb-head-search-form-btn\" title=\"Search\" type=\"submit\"><span>Search<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Former FEC chairman: Bragg campaign finance claims against Trump are \u2018laughable\u2019<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> <a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/ashley-oliver\/\">Ashley Oliver<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-07-09T18:53:28-04:00\">July 9, 2024 6:53 pm<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1698797\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/federal-election-commission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Federal Election Commission<\/a> chairman testified to Congress on Tuesday that the Manhattan district attorney\u2019s hush money charges against former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> were \u201csimply laughable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bradley Smith, who was originally set to appear as a defense witness in Trump\u2019s New York trial, identified for lawmakers what he viewed as legal errors in District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s case.<\/p>\n<p>In a lengthy written opening <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/Smith%20Testimony.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement<\/a>, Smith mapped out in detail how Bragg\u2019s claim that Trump violated campaign finance laws to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels could not have amounted to, as Bragg alleged, a conspiracy to throw the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg, an elected Democrat, secured a felony conviction against Trump for falsifying records of the Daniels payment. Trump\u2019s former attorney Michael Cohen issued the payment from his own personal bank account days ahead of the election, and then the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen beginning in 2017 after Trump took office. Bragg was able to elevate Trump\u2019s charges of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-the-charges-brought-against-the-trump-organizations-cfo-part-of-a-witch-hunt-experts-weigh-in\/\" title=\"Are The Charges Brought Against The Trump Organization\u2019s CFO Part Of A Witch Hunt? Experts Weigh In\">falsifying business records<\/a>, which are normally misdemeanors, to felonies in part by alleging the Daniels payment amounted to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-blocked-hunter-laptop-story-after-intelligence-officials-shared-hack-rumors\/\" title=\"Twitter Blocked Hunter Laptop Story After Intelligence Officials Shared Hack \u2018Rumors\u2019\">illegal campaign contribution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Smith said the payment could not have been categorized as campaign related and that \u201ceven assuming the expense was a campaign expenditure, no public disclosure of the expense would have been legally required before the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A nefarious plot to hide the expenditure until after the election was impossible because of these deadlines, Smith said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis undercuts the entire theory of the case offered by the prosecution,\u201d Smith said, observing how prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors that Cohen\u2019s payment to Daniels, which was made as part of a nondisclosure agreement to suppress her story about an alleged affair with Trump, was an \u201cillegal payment\u201d and \u201celection fraud, pure and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith added that to him, the \u201cmost important principle of campaign finance law\u201d dictates that any payments to Daniels \u201cwere not, and should not be, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-strongest-new-york-defense-has-nothing-to-do-with-alvin-bragg-or-judge-merchan\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s Best Defense in New York Doesn&#039;t Involve Alvin Bragg or Judge Merchan\">considered campaign expenditures<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A payment to her therefore \u201ccannot support a finding of a [Federal Election Campaign Act] violation,\u201d Smith testified.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, a Republican, is a professor at Capital University Law School who was appointed to the FEC by former President Bill Clinton. He has frequently been tapped as an election expert for testimonies and other speaking engagements.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s defense team initially planned to call Smith to testify at trial, but defense attorneys reversed course after Judge Juan Merchan narrowed the scope of what Smith could speak about from the witness stand. Merchan warned that as an expert witness, which is what Merchan deemed Smith, the former FEC official could not reference any facts about Trump\u2019s case and could instead speak only in general terms.<\/p>\n<p>Smith told lawmakers that if he had been called to the witness stand and had enough leeway from Merchan, he would have provided \u201crelevant context\u201d about FEC deadlines to jurors that he believes would have led them to acquit Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s brutal assessment of Bragg comes after Trey Trainor, another FEC commissioner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3043962\/bragg-usurped-federal-law-to-charge-trump-fec-commissioner-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>testified<\/a> last month to Congress that he believed Bragg \u201cusurped\u201d federal law when he tried to bring federal campaign finance laws into a state case that the FEC had already vetted.<\/p>\n<p>The two election law experts\u2019 criticisms of Bragg follow the district attorney attracting scrutiny for taking the rare step of attaching, or \u201cbootstrapping,\u201d a New York election violation to Trump\u2019s falsifying records charges to overcome statutes of limitations and strengthen the charges to felonies.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg alleged Trump violated New York election law\u2019s section 17-152. The statute states that it is against the law to conspire to influence an election \u201cby unlawful means.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bragg gave the jury three options for what those unlawful means could have been. One of the options was that Trump violated FECA. The other two options were additional falsifications of records or tax violations. The jury did not have to agree on what unlawful means Trump used to violate section 17-152, only that he violated the overarching state law.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trump is expected to appeal his conviction on numerous grounds, and some legal experts have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3043962\/bragg-usurped-federal-law-to-charge-trump-fec-commissioner-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>speculated<\/a> that one could be that Bragg inappropriately incorporated federal campaign finance laws into a state prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1698797\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1698797\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><a class=\"tdb-logo-a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" title=\"Washington Examiner\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-img-wrap\"><\/span><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-logo-text-title\">Washington Examiner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former chairman of the Federal Election Commission testified to Congress that the campaign finance claims made against former President Donald Trump by the Manhattan district attorney are ridiculous. Bradley Smith, who was supposed to be a defense witness in Trump&#8217;s trial, pointed out legal errors in District Attorney Alvin Bragg&#8217;s case. Smith explained in detail how Bragg&#8217;s allegations that Trump violated campaign finance laws to pay off Stormy Daniels could not have been a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Smith argued that the payment to Daniels was not campaign-related and that there was no legal requirement to disclose the expense before the election. He criticized the prosecution&#8217;s theory of the case and emphasized that payments to Daniels should not be considered campaign expenditures. Smith&#8217;s criticism of Bragg follows similar remarks made by another FEC commissioner, Trey Trainor, who accused Bragg of overstepping federal law in the case. Trump is expected to appeal his conviction, with some legal experts suggesting that Bragg improperly included federal campaign finance laws in a state prosecution. Bragg&#8217;s office did not respond to requests for comment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2291538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24103679433248.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[22119,33926,34461,3634],"class_list":["post-2291537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bragg","tag-campaign-finance","tag-former-fec-chairman","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24103679433248.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2291537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2291538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2291537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2291537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}