Former President Donald Trump is not alone in going to trial over hush money payments: Former Sen. John Edwards faced a similar fate more than a dozen years ago and was acquitted.
The Trump trial bears similarities to Mr. Edwards’ case, in which he was accused of using donors and supporters to hide payments to his mistress. The former president’s trial, prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is expected to last through June.
“Trump was investigated for the campaign finance crime by the [Department of Justice], but they did not bring the claim and the statute of limitations has expired on it,” said Syracuse University law professor Gregory Germain. “If they couldn’t prove that the money Edwards used from a friend/donor/supporter was a campaign contribution, I think they concluded that Trump using his own money was not a campaign finance contribution.
“Unlike money from donors, there is no limit on Trump’s use of his own money in his campaign. So the best they could do is argue that Trump didn’t report it as a campaign contribution, which may be a technical violation if it was a campaign contribution but not a serious crime,” Mr. Germain said.
A North Carolina Democrat, Mr. Edwards ran for president in 2004 and 2008 and was John F. Kerry’s vice presidential running mate in 2004.
In 2011, the Justice Department indicted Mr. Edwards on six charges related to campaign finance. Prosecutors said he funneled roughly $900,000 through campaign donations to his mistress to pay for her living and travel expenses.
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They said he ran afoul of Federal Election Commission requirements while trying to hide the affair and protect his career.
Mr. Edwards’ defense said the money was from friends who helped keep the affair hidden from his wife, who was dying from cancer.
The jury acquitted him on one count and was hung on the other charges. The Justice Department eventually dropped the case.
Unlike Mr. Edwards’ federal trial, Mr. Trump is in a New York state court facing charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. The former president denies her claim.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen made the roughly $130,000 payment, registered as “legal fees,” to the actress, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
Prosecutors say Mr. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels to keep quiet during the 2016 presidential campaign.
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Mr. Trump’s defenders have suggested he might have been trying not to upset his wife, Melania, and family.
“One of those possible crimes is a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (such as by causing Michael Cohen to make an excessive contribution to the campaign by paying hush money to keep Stormy Daniels quiet and by not disclosing this as a campaign expenditure),” Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in an email.
“This latter crime is similar to the John Edwards prosecution, where there was a hung jury on most counts and an acquittal on one. This turned on Edwards’ motivations: Were they to help his campaign or his personal life,” Mr. Hasen said. “I imagine that the Trump lawyers will argue, as Edwards’ lawyers did, that the payments were personal. That’s a fact question for the jury.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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