That said, I don't see a slam-dunk case for the prosecutor here, at least not from what TPM has written on it. Timing is a consideration, which TPM does not make real clear, because there's the divorce involved with a possible separation beforehand, a confusion of marital and IRS status. Then there's the one refund from the campaign mentioned.  What was that about? That story yet to be told. As to the alleged reimbursement (s), all depends upon what the paper record says. If you tell the a paramour that you would sure appreciate it if she and her current hubby donate $5,000 to the campaign of your old friend, and then a month later you give her a $5,000 diamond ring that she later returns for a refund, how are you going to prove that the two things are connected? Maybe if you can get the bitter angry ex-wife who wants revenge to get on the stand to allege that's what happened? Get what I am saying?

And certainly not a slam dunk case as far as public reputation is concerned (with that part of the public with which he still has a reputation .) The technique alleged vaguely in the TPM piece is very like the practice of "bundling" that has been used by all political stripes to get around the law, yet i's not like a scheme to get masses of money to a candidate like bundling often is, just $20K. The monetary amounts involved really do just make it seem like what the defense attorney is obviously trying to argue, that this was just trying to help an old friend run for office and making a couple of errors doing so. No big egregious plot here--he didn't follow the spirit of the law to help an old friend--I just don't see major new outrage flaring up over it. Certainly not from other pols and politicos of all stripes who have probably had a lot of the very same going on. I get the impression with the stories of donation refunds I run across in passing that they are so busy courting the big money, they don't rigrorously self-police all the individual donations with a fine tooth comb, they just refund when someone happens to point something out.