The interest of the American people, however, is not whether Trump had a sexual encounter with the woman or whether the agreement enforcing her to keep quiet is valid. The primary issues are the President’s honesty to the public and his use of campaign funding.
Trump’s Honesty at Stake
The question is how much Trump knew about the arrangement and when. Giuliani insists that the President didn’t know the specifics until the story broke. He said that Cohen received a total sum of up to $470,000 in reimbursements for expenses during the campaign. The money paid to Clifford was included in that reimbursement, and the entire amount was paid out of Trump’s personal accounts.
The problem is that Trump’s financial disclosure statements did not show a standing debt to Cohen. Why not? Was it an oversight or part of the cover-up? No matter the reason, the President will need to answer for the false filing.
Illegal Use of Campaign Funds?
Was Ms. Clifford paid $130,000 before the 2016 Presidential election to keep quiet about a 2006 affair with Donald Trump? No one denies it. The then-candidate Donald Trump would want to keep an affair with a porn star secret. He and his staff would recognize it to be bad press.
