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Trump Jr. Whines for 13 Minutes About 15 Felony Count Indictment Against Family Company: ‘This Is What Russia Does’

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“We run a clean company – no one questioned that prior to politics”

Donald Trump Jr. for 13 minutes rambled and whined on a Facebook video Thursday about the 15-count federal criminal felony indictment handed up by a grand jury against The Trump Organization and its CFO Allen Weisselberg. The former president’s son falsely compared it to how Russian President Vladimir Putin punishes his political enemies, along with Iran and China, while falsely characterizing the depth and breath of the criminal indictment.

“How is this any different, how is this any different than what the mullahs in Iran do to their political enemies?” he asked.

(Some experts say the indictment could mean the end of The Trump Organization.)

Trump Jr. praised Weisselberg as The Trump Organization’s loyal “accountant,” yet laid the blame on him, while barely acknowledging the indictments also name the family company, except when he called it a “witch hunt” and an extension of the Mueller investigation. He also ignored that Weisselberg has been the Chief Financial Officer of the family business for more than two decades.

(Weisselberg began by working for Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, in 1973 as an accountant. He became the company’s controller in the 1980’s, and ultimately CFO who co-ran The Trump Organization while Donald Trump was president.)

Trying to minimize the charges, which include a 15-year tax scheme “including a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records,” CNN reports.

Instead he claimed it essentially was about Weisselberg not paying taxes on a company car, and about the Donald Trump paying tuition for one of Weisselberg’s “grandkids,” because “he’s a good guy.”

“My dad did that cuz he’s a good guy, takes care of his employees. And, it was the nice thing to do.”

Trump Jr. told supporters the charges were “essentially amounting to fringe benefits, you know, like a corporate car, you got a corporate car after 48 years of service, you got a corporate car, didn’t pay tax on it.”

“This is what they got,” he added, “they’re able to tie in the Trump organization because he’s the CFO right” So they try to do that for the flowery headlines because this is what they’ve been promising you, right?”

“How is this, anything but a political persecution? How is this anything other than a government abuse of power. Let’s break it down for you,” Trump Jr. continued, weaving a web of falsehoods. “They’ve been doing this for about five years, hundreds of witnesses presumably countless hours of grand jury testimony 3 million documents reviewed by the AG and the DA, right? 3 million documents, what they’ve got someone on his, he didn’t pay taxes on fringe benefits.”

At one point Jr. claimed the amount of unpaid taxes was a mere $5000 per year, which is false.

“Yeah, that’s all it is, man. It’s a game, and it sucks, because this isn’t what America is about. This is what Russia does. This is what Iran does. This is what China does, but it’s happening right here right now. And so many people are totally silent about it, which also sucks, but we’re gonna keep fighting, because we have to, because it’s worth fighting for,” Trump Jr. promised. “And we can’t let this crap take over America, or we won’t have an America that any of us recognize for our kids. You guys have a good one.”

It appeared that many of the more than 1000 comments on the post were supportive of Trump and the former president, and the social media users “bought” the lies Trump was telling.

Here’s the video:

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CRIME

‘Officially on Georgia-Watch’: Legal Expert Says Possible Trump Probe Indictments Could Come at Any Time

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Professor of Law Joyce Vance says, “We’re officially on Georgia-watch,” now that a new grand jury has been constituted and could hand down indictments at any time in that state’s investigation into Donald Trump and his allies and their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Vance, the well-known MSNBC legal contributor, podcaster, and former U.S. Attorney says in her Substack newsletter, “it’s entirely possible that this could be the week to expect the world to turn upside down.”

“The first signal we’ll probably get—you’ll be in a crowded restaurant, or at work, or on a train, or in the gym, and suddenly everyone’s phone will start blowing up all at once,” Vance explains. “Reporters tend to stalk the clerk of court’s office in person and online when they know a big case is close. We’re in that sweet spot, although it’s important to keep in mind that we could remain there for awhile.”

Vance does warn that “it’s not certain that anyone, let alone Donald Trump, will be indicted. But Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, certainly seems to be giving off all the signals that she means business here.”

READ MORE: Tulsi Gabbard: Biden Cabinet Picks ‘Based on Genetics, Race, Blood, Genes’ – Same ‘Geneticist Principles Embodied by Hitler’

Assuming Trump does get indicted, what are the possible charges he might be facing?

“First up, election-related crimes: solicitation to commit election fraud, intentional interference with performance of election duties, interference with primaries and elections, and conspiracy to commit election fraud,” she explains. There could also be more “general crimes,” like “making false statements, improperly influencing witnesses, forgery, and general criminal solicitation.”

It might also get even more serious for Trump.

“Georgia’s state RICO statute could also be charged: RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and originally referred to a federal law passed in 1970 to strengthen the tools and charges available to federal prosecutors for dealing with the unlawful activities of those engaged in organized crime—Mafia or other entities devoted to organized, ongoing, serious criminal conduct.”

As Vance points out, while it’s unknown if Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis will choose to indict Trump or anyone, the special grand jury foreperson who made headlines earlier this month made clear they had recommended multiple indictments.

Image: Official White House photo

 

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CRIME

‘Next Chapter?’ Manhattan DA Signals Trump Himself Might Finally Land Under Indictment

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Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg may finally have changed his mind about indicting former president Donald Trump.

The recent conviction of the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg gave a glimpse of evidence that could tie the ex-president directly to the tax fraud scheme, such as a memo he signed approving chief operating officer Matthew Calamari’s illegal request to reduce his taxed salary to cover the cost of his untaxed corporate apartment, reported The Daily Beast.

“We now move on to the next chapter,” Bragg said last week after the company was ordered to pay $1.6 million in penalties for tax fraud.

Trump already asserted under oath in another case in 2021 that he personally oversaw Calimari’s compensation, and prosecutors have checks he signed to cover tuition at a private school for Weisselberg’s grandchildren, whose mother Jennifer Weisselberg has repeatedly told investigators she personally heard Trump discuss the scheme to artificially lower taxed salaries for his executives.

“This case has tentacles,” said Duncan Levin, a former prosecutor who now represents Jennifer Weisselberg and has been communicating with investigators.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on what Bragg meant about another chapter, but former prosecutors from that office say their experience leads them to believe prosecutors will go after Trump.

“For people who want a certain outcome — to go after Trump — it gives hope,” said Catherine A. Christian, a former assistant district attorney who investigated financial fraud. “They’re going to be thorough. I’m doubtful he would have said ‘next chapter’ if they weren’t looking.”

RELATED: ‘I’ll grab you’: How Alex Jones and Ali Alexander were tapped to lead a march from the Ellipse to the Capitol

“It happens all the time with large, complex investigations,” she added.

Prosecutors had hoped to flip Weisselberg or company controller Jeffrey McConney, who was nearly labeled a hostile witness during the Trump Organization trial, but ultimately were unable to get their full cooperation.

“They didn’t flip, and they failed,” said former Manhattan prosecutor Jeff Chabrowe. “They tried to do everything they could, and in the end, they got a truncated thing here where they went after the organization and Weisselberg, and there’s this fine that’s pretty weak.”

 

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CRIME

‘Final Nail in His Coffin’: Trump’s Taxes Contain ‘Powerful Evidence of Criminal Tax Evasion’

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In a column for the Daily Beast, longtime investigative journalist and Donald Trump biographer David Cay Johnston made the case that there is enough evidence of financial fraud in the former president’s tax returns from 2015 to 2020 to indict and prosecute him.

At issue, he noted, are deductions taken for Trump companies — some of which may never have existed.

According to Johnston, the author of “The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family,” he found “powerful evidence of criminal tax evasion,” after reviewing the documents after they were released on Friday morning to the public after years of obstruction from Trump.

“Consider a rich business owner who fabricates deductions but who would still owe zero tax in the audited year even if those deductions were denied. That means an audit that will not generate any tax revenue. That’s also what Trump apparently did in 26 sole proprietor, or Schedule C, filings in the six years of released tax returns,” he wrote before adding, “Trump also turned a profit off a portion of the tax system, making $2.8 million profit off the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT.”

As for those 26 Trump businesses that may or may not exist, Johnston suggested that investigators dig deeper into how the former president used them to get out of paying taxes in the years involved.

RELATED: Tax expert highlights a mysterious red flag in Trump tax returns

“Most glaring in the tax returns is that they include 26 Trump businesses—or imaginary businesses—with zero revenue and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax deductions for expenses,” he pointed out while noting they should be of interest to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“Unless Trump can produce records showing the expenses are real and meet other standards to be deductible, that’s fraud. That Trump did it 26 times as a candidate and as president is powerful evidence that he qualifies for prosecution by the federal government and New York State for criminal tax fraud,” he wrote before adding the results could lead to a “slam dunk” prosecution.

You can read more here.

Image: Evan El Amin/Shutterstock

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