Tag: Trump crimes

Categories
Crime Donald Trump The Trump Organization

Trump Ordered To Testify Under Oath In New York Fraud Investigation

Failed, one-term, twice-impeached former President Donald Trump has been notified that he will have to sit for a sworn deposition in the civil fraud case against him in New York.

The Washington Post reports:

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a deposition from former president Donald Trump early next year as part of her investigation into potential fraud inside the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter.

James has requested to take his testimony on Jan. 7 at her New York office as part of a civil investigation into whether Trump’s company committed financial fraud in the valuations of properties to different entities, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry is ongoing.

One of the people familiar with the investigation said James is examining whether widespread fraud “permeated the Trump Organization.”

Notified of the deposition date, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization used one of the ex-president’s favorite invocations whenever he’s being investigated:

“This is another political witch-hunt,” the statement said, noting that James is running for governor next year. “The only focus of the New York AG is to investigate Trump, all for her own political ambitions … This political prosecution is illegal, unethical and is a travesty to our great state and legal system.”

James is clearly turning up the heat on Trump, who is also under criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Vance suspects Trump and his company inflated the value of real estate assets in order to get larger loans from lenders and later devalued those same properties to avoid paying the required taxes. Bank and tax fraud are just two of the crimes under investigation by Vance.

The former president’s son, Eric, has given a deposition in the fraud investigation being conducted by James. He originally refused to sit for a deposition but later relented. That deposition was given in October of last year, shortly before American voters booted the Donald Trump from the White House and replaced him with President Joe Biden.

The danger of Trump giving a deposition cannot be overstated, according to biographer Tim O’Brien, who has written extensively about the ex-president:

“He can’t be scripted, and he’s injudicious, and he often doesn’t understand that the process is about events and facts, rather than being performance art.”

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Senator Hints At First Charges Against Trump: Georgia Is A ‘Ripe Area’

Thanks to an interim report from the Senate Judiciary Committee that was released this week, we now have a better idea exactly how former President Donald Trump and other members of his administration attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep Trump in office against the will of the American voters.

Specifically, the Washington Post notes, Trump did everything he could to remain in office:

The interim report by the Senate Judiciary Committee was issued Thursday. While Republicans on the panel offered their counter-findings, arguing that Trump did not subvert the justice system to remain in power, the majority report by the Democrats offers the most detailed account to date of the struggle inside the administration’s final, desperate days.

The report underscores the gaping political divide that has emerged in this country over one of the most basic functions of government — conducting free and fair elections. Democrats charge Trump nearly provoked a constitutional crisis, but for the steady hands of senior Justice Department officials; Republicans say Trump was “faithful” to his sworn duty as president in seeking assurances about voter integrity.

But according to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Judiciary Committee, the focus is now on Georgia, where Trump desperately tried to have state officials overturn the results and name him the victor.

Whitehouse was a guest on “Meet the Press,” and was asked by host Chuck Todd:

“At the end of the report, there is some talk about criminal referrals. What would be criminal in this case?”

Though he wouldn’t get into specifics, Sen. Whitehouse made it clear that the Justice Department will be particularly interested in Georgia:

“I don’t want to get into criminal referrals, we’re still in the interim level. But I would point to just the geographic fact that much of what took place at the Department of Justice being focused on Georgia. Being focused on sending letters to the Georgia legislature saying that they could open up in special session and redo the election with a separate slate, and the extent to which that interconnects with the DA’s investigation into Trump’s personal efforts to threaten officials in Georgia on the same question is, I think, a very ripe area for at least Georgia’s investigation and we’ll see what the Department of Justice wants to do with it.”

 

Of course, there’s no way of knowing if the DOJ will file criminal charges in the matter of Trump’s attempts to rig the election in his favor after the votes had been counted. But the interim report from the Judiciary Committee certainly suggests there’s plenty of evidence to support a full investigation and criminal charges if a case can be made.

While it’s long been assumed Trump is under the greatest legal jeopardy in New York, it could be Georgia that has the best proof of his most recent crimes and the danger they posed to our democratic process.

 

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump Jared Kushner

Trump’s Former Attorney Says Jared Kushner Is Already Cooperating With New York Prosecutors

Now that indictments against the Trump Organization have already been unsealed and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg has been charged with numerous crimes, the question remains: Who will be the first in Donald Trump’s inner circle to flip on the failed, one-term former president and cooperate with prosecutors?

Weisselberg would seem to be the most likely candidate, but he’s said to be slavishly loyal to his boss, whom he has worked for almost half a century.

Don Jr, Eric, Ivanka? Possibly, but they’re bound to their father by blood, and as the old saying goes, blood is thicker than water. Also, they depend on daddy for a living, because none of them have ever held a real job.

That leaves Jared Kushner, Trump’s former “secretary of everything,” who is reportedly in legal jeopardy, too, and also facing financial problems with his own real estate holdings. Would Jared become a cooperating witness for the prosecution?

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen hinted recently that the reason none of the legal filings have had Jared’s name attached to them is because he’s already in the fold with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.:

Jared isn’t a Trump, and he must know that a long prison sentence would not exactly be a good thing for him. Fragile, doll-like men don’t tend to fare well behind bars.

Others agreed with Cohen:

https://twitter.com/Mattie258/status/1417889893255110656?s=20
https://twitter.com/Lawless2021/status/1417897639874543618?s=20

Imagine the look on Ivanka’s face when she discovers her husband has just sold daddy down the river. Then again, Jared and Ivanka may bump into each other as they make a mad dash to Cy Vance’s office.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump WTF?!

Trump Is Reportedly ‘Thrilled’ By Trump Org. Indictment Because He Thinks It Will Hurt Biden

Failed, one-term former President Donald Trump is reportedly “thrilled” that the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. because he believes the move will hurt President Joe Biden.

WTF?!

Politico reports that during a conference call with his advisers, Trump sounded delighted by the upcoming indictments:

“The former president was on a conference call with his advisers Monday discussing his favorite topic — revenge — when he was interrupted with an update on the Manhattan D.A.’s investigation. He would not be personally indicted, Trump was told — only Weisselberg and the Trump Organization would be. Trump was thrilled by what he saw as light charges, and according to one of the advisers on the call, his mind raced to 2024.

“’Just wait until 2024, you’ll see,’ Trump said. The former president implied that the legal case would be seen as a political witch hunt that would backfire on Democrats. ‘This is going to hurt Sleepy Joe.’

“The adviser had the impression that Trump, who was already coming off a high from the large crowd at his rally in Ohio last weekend, was emboldened by the news. ‘Now he’s definitely going to run for president” again,’ the person said.”

Of course, it pays to remember that this is the very same Donald Trump who thought being impeached would help him get reelected and also told advisers that his response to the COVID-19 pandemic had been exceptional.

Perhaps Trump thinks he won’t be indicted. If so, that proves the depths of his self-delusion. Someone inside the company is going to agree to testify against him, and if he filed tax returns with his signature on them, he’s screwed.

As for Trump running in 2024, that’s going to be difficult to pull off from a prison cell.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Legal Experts: Upcoming ‘Crime-A-Thon’ Charges Will Bankrupt Trump And ‘Topple’ His Company

Earlier today, we learned that the Trump Organization “will be criminally charged” by this time next week, according to reports from the New York Times and NBC News.

In their report, NBC News noted:

“The Trump Organization is expected to be hit with criminal charges as soon as next week by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office in a case that Trump attorneys say is tied to tax-related conduct, multiple people familiar with the matter tell NBC News.

“’It looks like they are going to come down with charges against the company, and that is completely outrageous,” Ron Fischetti, an attorney for the Trumps, said after the development was first reported by The New York Times.

“‘I’ve been practicing for over 50 years, and I’ve never seen a case like this.'”

If indeed the former president’s corporation — which is privately owned and controlled by him and his three eldest children, Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka — winds up being charged with crimes such as bank and insurance, and tax fraud, it could prove disastrous for the Trumps and the company itself, which is reportedly on the edge of financial collapse.

Shortly after the news broke about the pending indictments, several experts weighed in on the matter.

Trump biographer Tim O’Brien said news that the Trump Organization will be charged is significant:

David Corn, the DC bureau chief of Mother Jones, noted the irony of Trump being destroyed for failing to pay his taxes is indeed rich considering the blood on his hands:

And NBC legal analyst Ari Melber predicted that criminal charges will bankrupt Trump and destroy his company:

No matter how you slice it, it certainly looks like karma is coming for Donald Trump, his family, and his allegedly corrupt corporation. It’s about damn time.