Los Angeles Times: The Stormy Daniels Swirl of Trouble for President Trump: How Bad is It?
President Trump is rarely at a loss for words, but Stormy Daniels has left him virtually mute as she and her hard-charging lawyer filed a lawsuit and kicked up a storm of publicity over Trump's alleged extramarital affair with the porn actress.
It's a rare turn of roles for a president for whom almost nothing is off limits for personal commentary.
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But a second complaint that Common Cause filed with the Justice Department could result in a criminal prosecution if people involved in Trump's campaign knew they were required to disclose the hush money as an election expense and willfully failed to do so, Noti said.
The circumstances are similar to what led to the indictment of former Sen. John Edwards on charges of using campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress from voters while running for president. The case ended in an acquittal on one charge and a mistrial on five others.
Noti suggested that the Trump case could be stronger if prosecutors bring charges, because the payment to Daniels was made just 11 days before the 2016 election.
"The fact that the settlement came so close to the election really strongly suggests that it was intended to protect the candidate for electoral purposes, which means that it was a contribution and should have been reported," he said.