The former guy (TFG) needs to devote more time to covering his own ass than undermining the country. The longer he goes not having to defend himself and his business in court, the more energy he will have to pour into destroying his enemies and the country while he’s at it.
TFG will, of course, attack, attack, attack those seeking to hold him accountable for, let’s face it, a life of white-collar crime. It’s the Roy Cohn way. One hopes he will soon be too busy sweating legal jeopardy to focus his limited attention on his opponents.
The Associated Press reports that New York Attorney General Letitia James will bring a civil lawsuit against TFG’s family business over “fraudulent or misleading” asset valuations used for obtaining loans and dodging taxes.
Little here is new in New York’s investigation of Trump Organization fraud. Former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen testified to the House Oversight and Reform Committee in 2019 that “Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.” James is just simply trying to hold him to account for it, civilly if not criminally. The statute of limitations checks TFG’s criminal liability. But now James wants to depose those roguish Trump kids, daughter Ivanka and Donald Jr. :
In the court documents, Attorney General Letitia James’ office gave its most detailed accounting yet of a long-running investigation of allegations that Trump’s company exaggerated the value of assets to get favorable loan terms, or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden.
The Trump Organization, it said, had overstated the value of land donations made in New York and California on paperwork submitted to the IRS to justify several million dollars in tax deductions.
The company misreported the size of Trump’s Manhattan penthouse, saying it was nearly three times its actual size — a difference in value of about $200 million, James’ office said, citing deposition testimony from Trump’s longtime financial chief Allen Weisselberg, who was charged last year with tax fraud in a parallel criminal investigation.
James’ office detailed its findings in a court motion seeking to force Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. to comply with subpoenas seeking their testimony.
Investigators, the court papers said, had “developed significant additional evidence indicating that the Trump Organization used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.”
TFG whines that it is all so unfair to be accountable to the law that applies to ordinary, unrich people. It’s another witch hunt. It’s all political. His constitutional rights are being violated, etc.
James has already deposed son Eric, and she is cooperating with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office on a parallel criminal case. The Trump Organization and its former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg were charged last year with tax fraud in that case. Weisselberg has pleaded not guilty.
The House Jan. 6 investigators on Tuesday issued subpoenas for another former Trump personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, plus Kraken lawyers Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, and former Trump campaign advisor, Boris Epshteyn. The investigation is drawing closer to TFG.
CNN:
“The four individuals we’ve subpoenaed today advanced unsupported theories about election fraud, pushed efforts to overturn the election results, or were in direct contact with the former President about attempts to stop the counting of electoral votes,” Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the committee, said in a statement Tuesday.
The subpoenas mark a significant escalation in the sweeping probe as the committee is now seeking to compel cooperation from those at the heart of Trump’s push to overturn the election predicated on the lie that it was stolen. The panel has an entire investigative team dedicated to examining efforts by Trump and his allies to pressure Department of Justice officials, as well as those at the state level, to overturn the results of the election.
Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, tells CNN that the House select committee subpoenaing his client amounts to “political theater” and indicated that his client doesn’t plan to provide information because he has claims of executive privilege and attorney-client privilege.
Not if those conversations involved the planning for or commission of crimes, they don’t.
The committee has also subpoenaed and obtained phone records for Trump kid, Eric, and those of Donald Jr.’s fiancé, Kimberly Guilfoyle. The pair were heavily involved in the planning of the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at The Ellipse that ended with a march on the U.S. Capitol and a violent insurrection:
It appears to be the first time the select committee has issued a subpoena that targeted a member of the Trump family, in what marks a significant escalation of the investigation into Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection. The decision to subpoena communication records involving the Trump family underscores the aggressive tack the committee is taking as it races to complete its investigation while battling Trump in court over access to documents from his administration.
The phone records obtained by the committee are part of a new round of call detail records subpoenaed from communication companies, multiple sources tell CNN. These records provide the committee with logs that show incoming and outgoing calls, including the date, time and length of calls. The records also show a log of text messages, but not the substance or content of the messages.
The investigation has already subpoenaed phone records for over 100 other people as it pieces together who spoke to whom and when, prior to, during, and after the attack on the Capitol that left several dead and nearly 150 officers injured.
Watching this all play out is like watching paint dry. While the investigations in New York, on Capitol Hill, and (less visibly) at the Department of Justice methodically plod along, Republican efforts to rig or overturn the next election proceed in plain sight.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is trying to get Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, accused of a data breach, removed from election oversight even as TFG’s allies attempt to elect more officials willing to manipulate election results in 2022 and 2024.
When justice “comes at the king,” we don’t want it to miss a third time. But any pressure that limits the man’s ability to set his cronies in place for the future will be welcome. And as soon as possible. If evidence justifies, indictments would be nice.
Should TFG gain power again, he will have two agenda items: redemption (of his brand) and revenge. Let’s not get to that point.