Have you ever wondered how it is that the former president can use campaign funds to pay for his legal defense? The answer is simple. It is not illegal.
In my layman terms, if the former president can prove that the legal expenses would not have otherwise been incurred in his personal life, the use of campaign funds to cover legal defense expenses is allowed. Thus, the use of campaign funds to pay for any of the legal expenses related to his actions during his campaigns or while he was in office is legal.
As reported by the NY Times, “Under prevailing Federal Election Commission interpretation, this whole discussion is moot. He can pay all the lawyers, for all the matters, and according to the F.E.C., these rules don’t even matter.” said Saurav Ghosh, a former lawyer at the Federal Election Commission who is now the director of federal campaign finance reform for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit group.
It may be unethical to raise money for campaign purposes and use it for legal defense expenses, but it is not illegal.
This is what happens when the fox makes the rules for the hen house.
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Two weeks ago, I mentioned that due to recent improvements in the U.S economy, immigration and border security have taken over as the main campaign issues for Republican candidates for national office, especially down here in Alabama.
The high-level economic numbers have improved in the last two quarters, but that may not mean the public feels the economy is better or improving.
Today I decided to do a deeper dive into recent economic news and find out how it is viewed by the public. Thus, I turned to the University of Michigan’s nationally recognized Surveys of Consumers and the Conference Board’s U.S. Consumer Confidence information which release monthly reports on consumer sentiment.
Here is what I found from the U of M survey from Feb 23 to Feb 24.
- Consumer sentiment improved 19%
- Consumer expected annual inflation went from 3.7% to 2.9%
- Consumer expectations improved 21%
The above was confirmed by the Conference Board’s U.S. Consumer Confidence information which showed the following.
- Consumer confidence index improved 6.3%
- The present situation index improved 9.6%
- The expectations index improved 2.3%
Consumer sentiment and consumer expectations are not at pre-covid levels, but they are getting closer.
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Yesterday my Question of the Day was as follows. Newt Gingerich was the Republican Speaker of the House, during the three government shutdowns in the early 90’s. The government shutdown ended when Gingerich and President Clinton worked out a compromise solution. In today’s political environment, would Gingerich be able to keep his job as Speaker in today’s political environment?
One of the subscribers to my blog sent me a response to my question which gives me hope. I want to share it with you.
“In answer to your question, NO. However, I’m opting to still have faith in the majority of Americans to understand the risk to the country and the life they know. We are not broken (yet) to the point of no return. We are not embolden by the constant barrage of negative comments about our country that some politicians make. We are not as dumb as some politicians believe as they try to gaslight us with lies. We do not want a civil war as some keep encouraging. To what end? We want a nation of political practitioners who know and have an allegiance to the constitution, can think for themselves and who value truth no matter who speaks it.”
It gets my Quote of the Day.
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Quote of the Day: See above.
Orchid of the Day: Today’s weather in Gulf Shores. Not a cloud in the sky and high 60s.
Onion of the Day: Campaign finance laws for allowing campaign funds to be used to pay criminal defense legal expenses.
Question of the Day: What is wrong with basketball in SE Michigan? The Pistons have the worst record in the NBA. U of M men’s team is in last place in the B1G. University of Detroit’s men’s team has the worst record of any Division I school in the country. MSU men’s team is good one day and bad the next.
Video of the Day: Marvin Gaye’s national anthem at the NBA All Star Game in 1983. So different. So Marvin Gaye.