Bradley Smith has thoroughly debunked one of the rationales for the seizure of attorney-client privileged communications in attorney Michael Cohen's office on suspicion of violation of federal election laws.  One[i] of the allegations is that the hush money paid to Stormy Daniels amounted to an in-kind campaign contribution, far exceeding the amount permitted an individual to contribute.  Smith demonstrates that this is nonsense in his Wall Street Journal column, titled "Stormy Weather for Campaign Finance Laws." Campaign-finance law aims to prevent corruption.  For this reason, the FEC has a longstanding ban on "personal use" of campaign funds.  Such use would give campaign contributions a material value beyond helping to elect the candidate – the essence of a bribe. FEC regulations explain that the campaign cannot pay expenses that would exist "irrespective" of the campaign, even if it might help...(Read Full Post)