Cohen's money didn't go to Trump or the campaign, it went to finance the NDA.
IT went to immediately benefit the campaign. But came out of Cohen's pocket. Not the campaign's.
Thus, a campaign contribution. Not a campaign expense. You've literally got opposites confused with each other. You probably want to stop polishing that turd and just accept the fact that you used the wrong term.
Trump, not the campaign reimbursed Cohen, so how could Cohen's outlay been a contribution to the campaign, when the purpose it was used for wasn't a campaign expenditure? It was basically just a short term personal loan to Trump.
Trump reimbursed him after the election.....under fraudulent circumstances, as its Trump. So of course it involved fraud, lies, faked time lines, and false invoices.
Now for your 'short term loan' theory. Even by that logic, the short term loan was for the purpose of aiding his presidential campaign. And loans are subject to campaign contribution limits too. Says who? Says the FEC.
If any person, including a relative or friend of the candidate, gives or loans the candidate money “for the purpose of influencing any election for federal office,” the funds are not considered personal funds of the candidate even if they are given to the candidate directly. Instead, the gift or loan is considered a contribution from the donor to the campaign,
subject to the per-election limit and reportable by the campaign. This is true even if the candidate uses the funds for personal living expenses while campaigning.
Personal loans from the candidate - FEC.gov
And of course, because its Trump none of this sizable transaction was reported to the FEC. It was all done through shell companies, using fake invoices and fraudulent time lines. With Trump trying backdate the reason for the payment from 2016, when the illegal campaign contribution was made to 2017.
And there's a paper trail for all of it. With Trump's own CFO now having an immunity deal. So we're likely to learn even more of the fraudulent and corrupt criminal practices within the Trump organization.