And none of this would be going on if not for the Russian Collusion hoax. These are sad times for our country.
Trump is allowed to donate to his own campaign and be reimbursed, which is what took place. Whether he knew about the payments beforehand or not doesn't really matter. A lie is this regard likely stems from him wanting to have plausible deniability as it pertains to his family.
Obama Campaign Fined Big for Hiding Donors, Keeping Illegal Donations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/01/07/obama-campaign-fined-big-for-hiding-donors-keeping-illegal-donations
Excerpt:
The fines were a result of complaints filed with the FEC by the Republican National Committee.
What if the Republicans had never raised a fuss, you think Obama would have corrected the situation on his own? Because if not, that would indicate a knowing violation wouldn't it? In any event, nobody usually goes to jail for this stuff because intent to violate the regulations is hard to prove and nobody is getting hurt. It's the double-standard that matters the most here.
Dershowitz on Cohen Tape: "I Think The Big Picture Here Is No Crime":
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/07/25/dershowitz_on_cohen_tape_i_think_the_big_picture_here_is_no_crime.html
Rand Paul downplays potential Trump campaign finance violations: 'We’ve over-criminalized campaign finance':
https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/420454-rand-paul-downplays-potential-trump-campaign-finance-violations
Will Rosie O’Donnell Serve Time Like Dinesh D’Souza?:
https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2018/05/07/will-rosie-odonnell-serve-time-like-dinesh-dsouza-n2478111
O’Donnell’s contributions are similar to what conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza did during the 2012 election cycle. He asked two friends and their spouses to contribute $10,000 each to a congressional campaign, then he reimbursed them. Prosecutors chose to bring charges against him, and he ended up pleading guilty to the felony of making illegal contributions in the names of others. He was sentenced to eight months in a halfway house, five years probation and a $30,000 fine.
But prosecutors didn’t need to bring charges against him. Especially not felony charges. Left-leaning Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said at the time, “I can’t help but think that [Mr. D’Souza’s] politics have something to do with it… . It smacks of selective prosecution.” Dershowitz told Newsmax, "This is clearly a case of selective prosecution for one of the most common things done during elections, which is to get people to raise money for you. If they went after everyone who did this, there would be no room in jails for murderers."