By calling on Ukrainian government officials to conduct an official investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, President Trump supposedly committed an offense under U.S. campaign finance laws. That's because an official investigation by a foreign regime against a political opponent can be considered a "benefit" to Trump's political campaign, not only because it could cause Biden political difficulty but also because it could possibly turn up political dirt on Biden. Since U.S. campaign finance laws make it illegal for Trump to solicit a campaign contribution from a foreign regime, the argument goes, he has broken the law and should be removed from office because an official investigation and political dirt would constitute illegal contributions to his campaign.

That's just plain stupid, for several reasons.

Let's assume that the day before Biden announced that he was running for president, Trump called on Ukraine to investigate Biden for official corruption. Would that have been a crime under U.S. campaign finance law?