Tag: Trump crimes

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Corruption Crime Donald Trump

Enormous Number Of Trump’s Financial Documents Are In The Hands Of NY Prosecutors: Report

Everywhere he turns, failed, one-term former President Donald Trump sees prosecutors taking a close look at this business dealings and personal finances, both of which have been rumored to be filled with all sorts of criminal infractions that could send him, members of his family, and top Trump Organization officials to prison for decades.

So it should surprise no one that many people have come forward to provide evidence and testimony against the Donald. And those individuals may wind up being the key to the case against the former president.

One such person is Jennifer Weisselberg, the daughter-in-law of a top official at the Trump Organization.

Back in March, we learned that Ms. Weisselberg had handed over documents to investigators:

“Weisselberg, now a cooperating witness in investigations into former President Donald Trump’s finances, said she ultimately got seven boxes of financial documents and gave them to investigators last fall.

“‘They picked up documents many times. They ended up taking seven boxes of my documents and scanning them, going through them,’ she told Insider, adding that ‘they took depositions, they took checks, routing numbers, bank-account [information], and things like that.'”

But that’s not all the news regarding Jennifer Weisselberg, the Washington Post notes. It turns out she has also been asked to hand over even more information:

“Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, acting on a grand jury subpoena, took possession of financial records Thursday morning from the apartment of Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of a top Trump Organization officer.

“Jennifer Weisselberg was married to Barry Weisselberg — the son of Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg — from 2004 to 2018 … On Thursday, she loaded three boxes and a laptop computer onto a valet cart and wheeled them from her building to a black Jeep with dark-tinted windows that was waiting outside.”

The latest move by Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr. indicates that his office is focusing in on Allen Weisselberg, who has been Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization for decades.

What exactly did Ms. Weisselberg hand over to Vance’s investigators? She told the Post:

“’My knowledge of the documents and my voice connect the flow of money from various banks and from personal finances that bleed directly into the Trump Organization,’ she said in an interview Thursday. Investigators, she added, now have her ex-husband’s 2019 and 2020 statements of net worth, his tax returns and copies of Wollman Rink checks from private events that she claims were deposited incorrectly.”

This latest development is the worst possible news for Donald Trump, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence yet also refused to hand over financial documents that would clear him if he were as guilt-free as he claims.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump The Trump Adminstration

New York AG Tish James Puts Trump On Notice About His Many Alleged Crimes

New York Attorney General Tish James has been on a roll lately when it comes to her ongoing investigation of Donald Trump and his many alleged crimes.

Not long ago, a judge in the Empire State ruled the Trump Organization has to turn over records involving a property that’s currently the subject of a civil investigation by the AG’s office, according to the Washington Post:

“The documents and communications at issue could help investigators answer questions about a conservation easement that was granted several years ago at the Seven Springs estate in suburban New York’s Westchester Country, a move that netted President Trump’s company a $21 million tax deduction. The materials, which Trump’s lawyers had sought to shield, include messages exchanged between an engineer and a land-use lawyer who worked on Trump’s behalf.”

Additionally, James released a letter she and 15 other state attorneys general had sent to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone before the Trump administration came to an abrupty end reminding the White House they were required to “preserve and maintain” all records — including tweets, notes from private conversations, and emails from private servers that might have been used to conduct government work:

“The Trump Administration shouldn’t have to be told that they need to comply with the law and keep all records of official business, but the last four years have shown that the president needs to be constantly reminded what the law is and how he must comply with it. Even the president’s tweets, the private conversations he had with Russian President Putin, and Ivanka’s private email server must be archived. Every bit of this information belongs to the American people and the White House cannot deprive the public of this information.”

The letter from James to the White House counsel is particularly important because it means that every member of the administration was been placed on notice: If you destroy anything at all, you will be a party to obstruction of justice, which just so happens to be a felony.

But the letter is even more significant because it makes clear that James and many of her associates in other states are actively investigating and could charge Trump and his associates with crimes they committed while conducting their “official” duties.

The biggest danger to Donald Trump has never been from federal charges or courts. It’s the states that will be handing down indictments against the president, his family, his business, and members of his administration. And no presidential pardon can exonerate any of the guilty parties. They will have to stand before the bar of justice and answer for their crimes.

Be afraid, Donald. Be very afraid.

 

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Crime Donald Trump

Former Solicitor General: New Lawsuit Filed By Capitol Police Proves ‘Trump Is In Serious Trouble’

A federal lawsuit was filed recently by two D.C. police officers — James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby — that accuses former President Donald Trump of inciting the pro-Trump rioters who inflicted physical and emotional injuries when they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Washington Post reports that the lawsuit clearly places blame on Trump:

“’The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries,’ the suit states.”

“At least 81 Capitol Police officers were assaulted on Jan. 6, according to filings by federal prosecutors, The Post’s Tom Jackman reported. About 65 D.C. police officers also suffered injuries during the Capitol siege, including several concussions from head blows from various objects, including metal poles ripped from inauguration scaffolding, police officials said.”

This latest lawsuit, according to former Obama administration acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, is a big deal and it’s the worst possible news for Trump, who recently lied and said that his supporters were hugging and kissing the cops as they ransacked the Capitol.

Katyal appeared on MSNBC and noted:

“This is what the complaint said today: ‘The officer attacked relentlessly, bleeding from a cut less than an inch from the eye, cuts, and abrasions on the face and hands and his body was pinned against a large metal door fending off attacks.’ So when Donald Trump said they were kissing and hugging the guards, my God.”

Host Nicolle Wallace then read more of the suit, making it clear that the insurrectionists were out of control and that Trump did absolutely nothing to stop them once the rioting started:

“For several hours after the mob stormed the Capitol, Trump had the continuing ability to issue statements through traditional and social media but refused. Refused to communicate anything to the followers that might discourage the assault and battery. Trump thereby ratified the conduct of the followers and ensured that the assaults on the officers last much longer, worsening the injuries of the plaintiffs and other officers. Late in the afternoon, Trump ratified the conduct, and again said that the election had been stolen by fraud and by announcing support, praise and love for his followers.”

Wallace then asked Katyal if the Blassingame-Hemby lawsuit had put Trump in even greater legal jeopardy. Katyal said it most certainly did:

“Absolutely. If you could short Donald Trump right now it would be a good time to do so. Everything you’re saying, Nicolle, is absolutely right. This, in conjunction with new developments going on in New York, with respect to Weissberg and the like. Donald Trump is in serious trouble. The difference between now and the past is that the Republican Party and senior officials are inviting the trouble and saying there’s merit to it.”

In time, Donald Trump may wind up being charged as an accessory to murder. He could be charged criminally for that and other crimes in Washington, D.C.

Serious legal trouble? That’s putting it mildly.

Here’s Neal Katyal on MSNBC:

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Manhattan DA Lining Up Witnesses To Testify Against Trump At Upcoming Trial: Report

Based on a new report from Bess Levin of Vanity Fair and confirmed by reporting from Reuters, it now appears that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is moving along at a rapid pace with his investigation of failed, one-term former President Donald Trump and is lining up witnesses who will testify against Trump along with others who will help explain to a jury the exact crimes Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, may have committed.

According to Levin:

“In the last several months, the D.A. has brought on the attorney who put John Gotti and other white-collar criminals behind bars, has reportedly been working to flip the Trump Organizations longtime CFO, and, most crucially, obtained Trump’s much sought-after tax returns, documents that the Queens-born real estate developer has gone to such extreme lengths to keep secret that some people have gotten the impression they contain extremely incriminating information.

“Now, Vance’s office has taken the next step in its criminal investigation: finding people who can explain to a jury why Trump is a possible crook.”

Specifically, Vance is looking for bankers, bookkeepers, and real estate experts who can help shed light on how Trump may have broken the law by inflating the value of his real estate holdings in order to get large loans from banks while simultaneously devaluing those same properties when paying taxes on them. Those two acts alone would constitute bank and tax fraud.

Prosecutors in Vance’s office also hope to present witnesses who have first-hand experience working on deals made by Trump to explain documents and how that data proves specific criminal acts by the former president and his company.

There’s also the matter of Trump’s tax returns, eight years of which Vance obtained thanks to a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. It has long been believed that those returns are the Rosetta Stone that will unlock the secrets of how Trump has shifted and hidden money over the decades in an effort to skirt accountability and give the illusion that his net worth is larger than it actually is. Those returns may also contain proof of financial ties to countries and entities in nations hostile to the United States such as Russia and China.

And don’t forget about Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a star witness against his former client:

“As for Cohen, whose credibility will surely be challenged by whatever lawyers Trump manages to scrounge up, said that “unfortunately for Trump, I have backed up each and every question posed by the district attorney’s office [with] documentary evidence.” If Vance’s team can corroborate Cohen’s testimony, Brodsky told Reuters, that would be “very powerful before a jury.” The government, he said, “loves people who plead guilty to crimes, take the stand and say,…‘I participated in a crime with that person sitting right there at the defense table, Donald J. Trump.'”

Evidence and witnesses are the key to any criminal case. It sounds like Vance has plenty of both, which is very bad news for Donald Trump.

 

Categories
Crime Donald Trump

Trump Organization Insider Is Cooperating With Prosecutors – Says She ‘Refuses To Be Silenced’

As prosecutors in New York continue to look into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization’s finances, one man has moved into the spotlight and could play a key role as investigators move forward and grand juries prepare to hand down indictments.

 

Allen Weisselberg has been Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization for decades, and reportedly “knows where all the bodies are buried.” Will Weisselberg try save his own hide and that of his two sons and cooperate with prosecutors? That remains to be seen, but a person close to him is indeed talking with investigators and is making it clear she won’t be silenced, Business Insider reports:

“An attorney representing the former daughter-in-law of the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg says she’s cooperating with prosecutors conducting an inquiry into Donald Trump’s finances and ‘refuses to be silenced.’

“‘Jennifer Weisselberg is committed to speaking the truth, no matter how difficult that may be,’ her attorney, Duncan Levin, told Insider in a statement. ‘She will continue to cooperate fully with the various law enforcement agencies that are investigating her ex-husband’s family and the very powerful interests they represent.’

“‘Jennifer refuses to be silenced any longer by those who are conspiring to prevent her from sharing what she has learned over the past 25 years,’ Levin added.”

Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law has certainly been in a prime position to know exactly what goes on inside the former president’s business dealings, as she was married to one of his sons, Barry, until 2018, when they divorced. And she also knows Donald Trump:

“The couple received an apartment as a gift from Trump when they married in 2004, but Barry Weisselberg may have skipped out on paying taxes on it by categorizing it incorrectly in his tax filings, according to Bloomberg News. That apartment — as well as other numerous financial entanglements between the Weisselberg and Trump families — appear to be at the center of the effort to flip Weisselberg into cooperating.”

How close could Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance be to filing criminal charges against Trump and his corporation? According to Daniel R. Alonso, a former top Vance deputy:

“I’m sure he is absolutely pressing to have a decision made on whether to prosecute anyone, whom to prosecute, and for what charges, by the end of the year.”

Everywhere he turns, Donald Trump can see his freedom slipping away. About the only option he has now is fleeing to a country that doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States. That list is limited, and only one nation — Russia — seems the least bit likely to be of interest to the Donald. Problem is, even Putin may not want anything to do with Donnie anymore.