body: As part of general knowledge, there is a rule that a law still applies to you even if you do not know it.
  
  
  I assumed that to be fundamental, not just a rule of thumb. At least it seems natural.
  
  
  To my surprise, I came across an example where that is not the case:
  
  
  After the Access Hollywood tape was published, Donald Trump and Michael Cohen discussed with David Pecker (National Inquirer) about how to pay off Stephanie Clifford ("Stormy Daniels") to keep quiet about the sexual interactions between her and Trump.
  
  
  Michael Cohen confessed the interaction, and it is known in some detail.
  
  
  But it seems to be a question whether Trump did something illegal here exactly because it is not clear whether he knew it was illegal.\*
  
  
  How does that fundamentally make sense?  
  
  In which laws does that apply?
  
  
  
  
  ---
  
  
  \*
  [President Donald Trump Campaign Hush Money Scam Appears To Have Worked | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC](https://youtu.be/nmzU_-87rMM?t=7m50s)
  
  
  
title: In which cases it something legal just because you did not know it is illegal?