No one is questioning the legitimacy of the guilty pleas Cohen entered Aug. 21 in federal court to six tax evasion and bank fraud charges. But those charges
have nothing to do with President Trump. They involve Cohen’s failure to report over $4 million in income from work with taxi companies, along with several hundred thousand dollars in other income, to the Internal Revenue Service.
But you have to wonder about the legal advice Cohen received when he pleaded guilty on the same day to two violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act – the law that governs the financing of federal elections campaigns. Many election law experts, including former commissioners on the Federal Election Commission (FEC), say his conduct, however sleazy, didn’t violate the law.
I’m one of those former commissioners and I’m also a former Justice Department attorney. Based on my experience serving in government and now as a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, it appears to me that Cohen was innocent of the campaign finance law violations.
The law Cohen pleaded guilty to violating bans campaign contributions by banks, corporations and labor unions. It also limits the amount that an individual can contribute to a candidate. During the 2016 election cycle, that limit was $2,700