Legal Action Against the Trumps

A requested topic: investigations and lawsuits that will be troubling Donald Trump and his immediate family after years under presidential immunity and protection.

I'm starting with what's easy to dig up tonight. (Revised.)

Legal Actions:

Manhattan (NY) District Attorney's criminal inquiry (involving battle over tax returns)
-- hush money
-- expanded: bank, tax, and insurance fraud

NY Attorney General's investigation into assets fraud

Class-action lawsuit for marketing fraud and deceptive trade practices

Class-action lawsuit against Donald and his siblings for rent fraud (NY)

Lawsuit for business mismanagement, tax evasion, fraud, and breach of contract for property in Central America

Defamation lawsuits (NY)
-- E. Jean Carroll case
-- Summer Zervos case

Mary Trump's lawsuit against her uncle and his siblings, including his sister, former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry (NY)

Washington, D.C., Attorney General's lawsuit for misuse of nonprofit funds at Trump hotel

Lawsuit over Michael Cohen's legal bills (NY)

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/11/07/trump-vulnerable-he-face...

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-probes-explainer/explainer...

https://www.businessinsider.com/lawsuits-trump-will-face-when-he-leaves-office-2...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-24/trump-must-face-suit-over-all...

(>70 margd:) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/nyregion/trump-lawsuit-tenants.html

Topic Note:

Please discuss federal government lawsuits against the Trump Administration elsewhere so the mess doesn't get too messy. We can try to keep this topic for personal and business cases.

For comparison: 4,095 lawsuits involving Donald Trump before he took office

https://www.azcentral.com/pages/interactives/trump-lawsuits/

More than 70 cases were open (ongoing) when US Today's interactive page was published in 2016.

Are there any rape and sexual assault cases likely to be brought against him?

>3 John5918: I expect so, but when I tried to quickly find updates on his alleged sex crimes, I only found sites that minimized the accusations.

I remember the woman who filed for an attack when she was 13 years old was receiving death threats fueled by Trump and wasn't offered enough physical protection by our legal system when she attempted to show up at court. She didn't simply "drop the charges".

So will new charges go to courts when he's out of office? I wish I knew.

You didn't give a shit about "Cross-fire Hurricane." Clearly, you decide which are the "serious" crimes based on your partisan prejudices. So, I'd say to those who argue that way, "go.to.hell" and "See you in court.(s)"

My dream cabinet appointment

Preet Bharara
Attorney General

A good and honorable man for a difficult position

The words "trump New York tax and bank fraud" in google will get you 31,400,000 hits.

The upshot is that New York state has evidence tRUMP understated his assets to tax authorities and overstated them to banks when applying for loans. Apparently both are criminal acts. They can't be pardoned because these will be state, not federal, charges.

tRUMP has recently said - at one or more of his Covid-spreader rallies - that he is thinking seriously of emigrating to another country if he were to lose.

So, he has now lost and I think he might emigrate if he is indicted on multiple tax and bank fraud charges in New York - and he very well may be so charged.

- So, any speculation as to which other country tRUMP will emigrate if he in fact does emigrate?

(from Wiki: .... The United States lacks extradition treaties with China, the Russian Federation, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Bahrain, and other countries....)

Russia is too dangerous, since the people who loaned him money live there.

I think Saudi Arabia will be his choice.

> 8

I think Saudi Arabia is an official Muslin country so tRUMP could legally have up to four wives at once there. Wow - if he moves there he is going to need a lot of magazines.

#7--oh he can be pardoned--just not by a federal authority. He can be pardoned by the Governor of New York State---chances of that happening I would think are hovering just above zero.

Legal Action Against the Trumps

Yes, please continue talking like this, along with the rest of the left. Anything that increases Trump's resolve to win is good.

>1 aspirit: I've added jurisdictions to the list.

I recall that NY joined other states in late summer in a lawsuit against against DeJoy, USPS and USPS Board of Governors chair Robert Duncan over the business of yanking sorters and deliberate slowing of deliveries.

I'm curious if it included conspiracy charges. If not, what are the chances that states could bring lawsuits of conspiracy in a multi-party suit, since while the USPS and its administrators are Federal but the Post Offices are "doing business" in individual states, are their state criminal laws such that a case can be made at that level in regards to conspiracy?

Would like to see prosecution for conspiracy to deprive state residents in certain locals from their right to access to communication and vital life support -- if any state laws apply.

Any legal eagles here who can advise?

>11 Carnophile: Since the results are in, and nothing has changed about them since the polls closed, "resolve to win" isn't actually going to make any difference. He's already lost.

Scotland and NY cases might have common threads (Deutsche Bank, Russia?):

Martyn McLaughlin (The Scotsman) @MartynMcL | 10:55 AM · Nov 12, 2020:
Thread: there's been interesting discussion in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon about the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders to investigate Donald Trump's deals to acquire his Scottish properties and ascertain the sources of the financing 1/

.@patrickharvie said there is a need to "protect Scotland's good name from association with the toxic Trump brand" and highlighted "serious and long-standing concerns about Trump's business activities," both in Scotland and further afield 2/

Those concerns, he said, include evidence to Congress citing patterns of buying and selling thought suggestive of money laundering, and which drew particular attention to the golf courses in Scotland and Ireland. 3/

"The cause for concern is still growing," Mr Harvie told the parliament. "It's now reported that the Manhattan District Attorney's office is investigating the Trump Organisation's inflation of assets, and potential bank and insurance fraud." 4/

He added: "The Trump Organisation has been accused of repeatedly reporting fraudulent financial details to the US Office of Government Ethics, while reporting a different set of figures to the UK regulators in respect of the Trump golf courses here in Scotland." 5/

Turning to the issue of UWOs - he stressed that the Scottish Government is able to go to court and ask for an order so that it can "start getting answers," but said that so far, the government has refused to either confirm or deny that an investigation is underway. 6/

He added: "Now that Trump is set to lose immunity from prosecution in the US, he may finally be held to account there. Isn't it time that he's also held to account here? Isn't it time for answers from the Trump Organisation and for the Scottish Government to go to court?" 7/

Replying, First Minister @NicolaSturgeon said the decision on whether to pursue a UWO against Trump is one for prosecutors, not politicians - specifically, the Crown Office, which she said operated in a "right and proper" independent capacity from government ministers. 8/

She added: "I think everybody is prob well aware of my views about the soon to be former president, and my views are probably no different to ... many people across Scotland. The idea that I'd somehow try to protect him from due accountability I don't think holds much water." 9/

For what it's worth, my understanding of the UWO process is that it's the Scottish Government that can decide to go to court, under section 396A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The legislation doesn't seem to leave much room for ambiguity: https://legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/29/section/396A
ends/

Scottish Greens UWO statement: "We can't continue to turn a blind eye to red flags that surround Trump's biz activities in Scotland, sending a signal to not just Trump himself but those who may be lured by our relaxed approach towards investigating possible financial crimes"

Here's my original story from February on the growing calls for the Scottish Govt to pursue an Unexplained Wealth Order to determine the source of the Trump Organisation's financing in Scotland:

Scots ministers told to seek ‘unexplained wealth order’ for Donald Trump resorts
The Scottish Government has been urged to apply for an unexplained wealth order to investigate Donald Trump’s deals to acquire his Scottish properties.
Martyn McLaughlin | 27 February 2020
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scots-ministers-told-seek-unexplained-wea...

As soon as Trump leaves office, he faces greater risk of prosecution
William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser | November 13, 2020

President Donald Trump lost more than an election last week. When he leaves the White House in January, he will also lose the constitutional protection from prosecution afforded to a sitting president.

After Jan. 20, Trump, who has refused to concede and is fighting to hold onto his office, will be more vulnerable than ever to a pending grand jury investigation by the Manhattan district attorney into the president’s family business and its practices, as well as his taxes.

The two-year inquiry, the only known active criminal investigation of Trump, has been stalled since last fall, when the president sued to block a subpoena for his tax returns and other records, a bitter dispute that for the second time is before the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling is expected soon.

...if the Supreme Court rules that Vance is entitled to the records, and he uncovers possible crimes, Trump could face a reckoning with law enforcement — further inflaming political tensions and raising the startling specter of a criminal conviction, or even prison, for a former president...

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/13/nation/soon-trump-leaves-office-he-faces-...

> 16

The cliche "Lock him up!" has taken on a new and more sinister and realistic meaning now.
Was there ever a scumbag in the history of the world who deserves locking up more? I would say "no". And I do not except infamous mass murderers and serial killers as tRUMP is guilty of hundreds of thousands of deaths through his depraved indifference and willful deadly acts of both commission and omission. So, tRUMP is a murderer also.

#16--On state crimes I can see Donald holing up in Florida and being protected from extradition by DeSantis. That said his associates and businesses will be fair game too.

Ivanka Turning on the Spit

The Atlanta Mayor said yesterday that Donald Trump would eat his own children to avoid his own prosecution for crimes. Looks like the law is turning on the heat under one of the Trump Crime Family.

Ivanka Trump mocked for facing two fraud investigations: ‘New York state crimes are unpardonable.’

“Two separate New York State fraud investigations into President Trump and his businesses, one criminal and one civil, have expanded to include tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees, some of which appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump”.

“The inquiries — a criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and a civil one by the state attorney general, Letitia James — are being conducted independently. “But both offices issued subpoenas to the Trump Organization in recent weeks for records related to the fees."

And there's this. Ivanka whines about multiple investigations into Trump Organization fraud: ‘These politicians are simply ruthless.’ Social media has fun with Daddy's Little Rich Girl being left to dangle over the flames without a word of support from Parental Unit 1.

https://twitter.com/BanksPatriot/status/1329589893157294081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/BanksPatriot/status/1329589893157294081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Ivanka Trump
@IvankaTrump
Wife, mother, sister, daughter. Advisor to POTUS on job creation + economic empowerment, workforce development & entrepreneurship. Personal Pg. Views are my own
Washington, DCBorn October 30

2h
This fishing expedition is very clearly part of a continued political vendetta
(Photo)
Letitia James, a Democrat, has made no secret that she intends to use her powers as New York’s attorney general to pursue possible legal action against President Trump.
N.Y.’s New Attorney General Is Targeting Trump. Will Judges See a ‘Political Vendetta?’
Letitia James has been unusually forthright in her desire to use her office to pursue President Trump and his family.
(link) nytimes.com
·
2h
This is harassment pure and simple. This ‘inquiry’ by NYC democrats is 100% motivated by politics, publicity and rage. They know very well that there’s nothing here and that there was no tax benefit whatsoever. These politicians are simply ruthless.

Sweetheart, you daddy is a politician. That's why he hasn't lifted a finger to get you off the spit.

#19--a classic case of follow the money.

Jonathan Ladd (McCourt School) @jonmladd | 9:42 PM · Nov 19, 2020
I think, when you realize Trump doesn't have a easy path to running a cable network or getting nominated in 2024,
but instead faces a serious risk of personal bankruptcy or conviction for tax evasion or bank fraud if he loses his office,
you realize how dangerous he is right now.

#21--unless he's in a prison cell right now I'd say Trump is very much the odds on favorite to win the republican nomination in 2024 if he wants it. He owns that party now. Over 70 million voted for him and he can raise cash, fill stadiums and get a lot of road (Trump trains by land or lake) and street action (protests) going at a whim......and he has most all the different factions of militia armies as well as police departments for the most part besides. He's created a fucking cult and he's their Messiah.......and he can destroy political careers. There are maybe a handful of republican elected officials (McConnell, Romney are two) who are immune to his twitter rants and pro-Donald blog and talkosphere's. Pretty much anyone else he can cut off at the knees if he feels like.

>22 lriley: I'm more concerned about the people he can kill with the military he controls than the political careers of the politicians who have been making deals with him this entire time.

Still, regardless of the risk in his temper tantrums, the nation needs for him to be held accountable as a citizen. He can whine, question, and threaten, but in the end, he should not get away with using the presidency to avoid prosecution for business crimes (what he appears to have been doing).

And back on topic:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-faces-legal-cases-after-white-house-departure...

From the WSJ, not known as a liberal news outlet

>22 lriley: unless he's in a prison cell

or dead! Trump will be 78 in 2024, and he hasn't aged well these last four years.

(I know, I know--it's Biden's 78th birthday today.)

>28 Earthling1: Beginning to look like Spam, posting the same thing in multiple threads.

>29 2wonderY:

And we're supposed to flag TOS violations such as spam, aren't we?

>24 Earthling1: and >28 Earthling1: are you spamming for C-Span, did you post in the wrong thread, or is that video on-topic? You might want to explain if it's the latter.

>30 John5918: yes, we are.

#23--all I'm saying is those who think Trump is a spent political force I think our sadly mistaken. He and his baleful influence are going to continue for some time. Maybe there still are some nice moderate republicans who haven't gone all out 100% half wit but IMO they are a lot less numerous than those who have.

#27--putting him in prison will even be tricky. There are loads of people with some organization and guns out there who maybe would be willing to go to war for him. The best thing he could do is drop dead. I've begun to favor the dead Trump not the convict Trump option.

>34 lriley:

In TX, for instance.

Too bad one can't sue those who aren't mentally responsible for the damage they're doing to our democracy and security.

About half of Republicans polled by Reuters/Ipsos said Trump “rightfully won” the election but had it stolen from him in systemic fraud favoring Biden, according to a survey conducted between Nov. 13 and 17. Just 29% of Republicans said Biden rightfully won. Other polls since the election have reported that an even higher proportion - up to 80% - of Republicans trust Trump’s baseless fraud narrative.

Just as a reminder: ignore behavior that you don’t like. It will get worse at first, but then, however gradually, it will stop.

The man may well be convicted of this or that, but I doubt very much he'll ever serve time. His legal team can draw out the appeal process until he dies or becomes too frail for incarceration. I'll also go out on a limb and speculate that we'll see a significant cognitive decline if the legal situation becomes nasty, with the objective of becoming unfit to stand trial.

>39 librorumamans: It'll be hard for him to show decline from his current state, unless he goes full vegetable. The man has been a basket case for years. He is completely incapable of finishing the same sentence that he started. He's confused, he wanders, and as we speak he's living out a fantasy world where he won the 2020 presidential election.

The man's a complete lunatic. If he's accepted as compos mentis right now, I don't think there's any delta that he can show in his behavior that would put the non to that.

>40 kiparsky:

Agreed. More precisely, what I speculate is that it will be his legal team and doctors arguing this rather than the rest of us.

>39 librorumamans:

Worse than prison, for this guy is the LOSER label. When the law takes the Trump assets (if he has any actual assets, not debt liabilities, that is) to pay the Trump court costs, interest charges, and IRS bills he owes, Putin will only have his bones to pick. Putin's good at rendering people into bone pickin's.

Trump's disgrace will be permanent and historic. Recorded in history books historic. His reduced state in his dotage will be Dickensian, such that going to prison would offer a sanctuary he doesn't merit. He'd view it as a haven of protection, exactly like he felt when he crawled into the WH bunker last October and hid from "the people" like some tin hat banana republic despot. It would be a desirable haven from the opprobrium he'd face if he ever set foot out in public.

>42 Limelite: One wonders what the protocols would be for an ex-President in prison. Would they still get Secret Service protection, for example?

>43 kiparsky:

Certainly not in federal prison. heh heh

I've been thinking about Trump in retirement. All I see are endless lawsuits and battles against state AND federal criminal charges to chase away his possible boredom from lack of adulation.

Neal Katyal, on MSNBC, has been making it clear when he's appeared the last few days, that Trump isn't going to have to withstand tax evasion, bank fraud, and other fraudulent practices, and probably perjury charges over his payments to a certain working girl that will and have been brought by NY against him-- alone.

Further he's going to be immediately liable, chargeable, and prosecutable for what he did as president as soon as he walks out the door of the WH at 12:01 PM Jan. 20, 2021. These would be a continuation of his criminal behavior but add bribery, obstruction of justice, more perjury, more fraud, and still other crimes.

I've been thinking of writing a thread here, suggesting the ardent Trump enablers on "Lib" Thing start a GoFundMe page for their hero ASAP. Trump's gonna need it.

>44 Limelite: Oh, for sure. His life is over. People talk about him running in 2024 - that's a laugh. He's got enough legal troubles that we already know about to keep him in court for the rest of his life.
He'll never see the inside of a prison, I suspect, but he'll never be a free man again.

>45 kiparsky:

I dunno. He may have made a fatal error today, pardoning Michael Flynn. Flynn pled guilty himself twice and even asked for forgiveness for his crimes/sins. And -- the baseline -- only the GUILTY can be pardoned. Remember, legally, once a person is pardoned, they LOSE 5th Amendment protection.

Now, Trump is undoubtedly facing charges and prosecution for his 2016 campaign and Flynn will be the major witness against him. He will have to tell the truth that implicates the extent of Trump's collusion with the enemy, or go to prison for perjury.

If Trump goes on to pardon Gates, etc. who participated in the collusion, they will be sworn in to testify against him. Roger Stone should be dressed in an orange jumpsuit because he will only perjure himself.

IMHO, Trump is hanging himself. Robert Mueller is probably laughing up his sleeve! I hope most of all that Bill Barr gets what is justly coming to him.

>46 Limelite: I haven't seen the pardon document, but I don't think Michael Flynn's son got a pardon, so Junior is apparently still on the hook.

>43 kiparsky: Yes, he is entitled to SS protection, whether he is in prison or not.

Soon he’ll pardon himself, and then, like the Roman emperors, declare himself a god, perhaps having a statue of himself put up in, let’s see...ah. Of course: in Gettysburg, since he’s done more for black people than any president ever.

ETA for a keyboard error

#46--I think if he left Flynn to rot....Flynn would have probably gotten around to testifying against him anyway. I question whether Biden is going to stop the Feds from going after him and it wouldn't be the first time that happened. Biden's going out on a bit of a limb if he does and it won't be a bring the nation together moment. It also precedent setting and potentially sets himself up as well for prosecution after his term is up. I can't imagine it would be hard to find something on your predecessor. That said you know that if Donald ran in 2024 and did somehow manage to win he would probably go straight after Biden anyway.

I still see NYS going to straight after Donald, family and businesses....and probably Biden will be blamed by Trump and republicans for that anyway. They'll deliberately ignore the state vs. federal dynamic as well.....and we'll be back to them shouting witch hunt from the top of the highest mountain they can find. The biggest favor Donald could do for the country at this point is to just drop dead. It would simplify everything.

>53 Matke: I think Don Trump will continue trying to convince writers to put out books praising him, commission paintings and photographs of himself "for charity", and demand that his statue is included in those he has already requested in one of his executive orders.

He will also continuing trying to push the narrative that he was "chosen by God", despite how his beloved Putin seems to have recently rejected him.

Pardoning himself will be the only new action he takes in pretending he's above everyone else.

Diaper Don -- time for a change!

>57 aspirit: I think he’ll skate on any type of penalty except possibly financial ones.

But I think he’ll find fewer and fewer people outside of his family willing to work with him, given his rather notorious record of failing to pay for work completed.

>61 Matke: He still owes D.C. for the costs of the inauguration. El Paso just sent their bill to a debt collector. He's a deadbeat.

>62 MsMixte:

Like that -- Deadbeat Diaper Don!

I know from stocking retail merchandise that many men his age wear diapers. For the record, I believe that's a separate issue from his apparent refusal to act like a mature, law-abiding adult.

Edit: corrected misspellings from Nov 27, 2020

>64 aspirit: His son Don Jr was known as Diaper Don in college due to his habit of drinking to excess, falling asleep in beds not his own, and urinating in said beds.

What Trump faces on Jan. 20, 2021
As soon as he becomes a private citizen, Trump will be stripped of the legal armor that has protected him from pending cases both civil and criminal.
Tom Winter | Nov. 22, 2020

The New York attorney general's case
The New York attorney general's case
The women
Could Trump pardon himself before Jan. 20?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/what-trump-faces-jan-20-2021-n1247...

Ivanka Trump deposed in ongoing lawsuit alleging misused (2017) inaugural funds
Clare Hymes, Kathryn Watson | December 2, 2020

...D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine sued Mr. Trump's inaugural committee and the businesses overseeing Trump International Hotel in Washington back in January, claiming the nonprofit inaugural committee coordinated with Trump family members to overpay for event space in a way that enriched the Trumps. Racine claims the inaugural committee knew it was paying above-market prices and failed to consider cheaper alternatives. The lawsuit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, alleges more than $1 million was wasted on improper payments to the Trump Hotel for event space during the 2017 inauguration...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivanka-trump-deposed-lawsuit-over-inaugural-funds/?...

Didn't this come up like a week after the inauguration? Wonder why they didn't depose her then.

Federal Judge Orders Trump to FULLY Restore DACA

While, strictly speaking, not a lawsuit against Trump, it is a ruling against his decision to deport those who were innocent accompanied minors to the US who have lived and grown up, still innocent, in this country for no reason other than arbitrary racism in their cases.

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn directed the administration to allow new applications, reversing a memorandum issued last summer by Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security, which restricted the program to people already enrolled and cut back its benefits.

Up to 300,000 additional undocumented immigrants could be allowed to apply for protection from deportation under a new court ruling. President Trump had sought to cancel the program.

Judge Garaufis, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, also said the government must find a way to contact all immigrants who are eligible for the program to inform them of the change.

Trump is solely a successful failure at everything he attempts. In this case to the benefit of productive contributors to society and hundreds of thousands of potential same. That's quite a lot of tax payers and Democratic voters, no doubt.

Can this count as another loss for Trump in ref to his vote fraud scheme for the 2020 election?

Mark Elliott @markmobility | 5:34 PM · Dec 3, 2020:
NEW: Tenants in Trump's father's buildings sue Donald and his siblings for illegally raising their rents by padding the cost of major capital improvements. The fraud spanned 28 years, victimizing several hundred thousand tenants.

The Shore Haven Apartments in Brooklyn is one of more than 30 complexes named in a lawsuit that accuses the Trumps of fraud.

Tenants Sue Trump Over Scheme That Drove Up Their Rents
The latest legal front against the outbound president involves a maneuver that earned him and his siblings millions while lowering their taxes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/nyregion/trump-lawsuit-tenants.html

"The lawsuit could pose a significant financial threat to Mr. Trump and his family. If the plaintiffs’ lawyers win approval of class-action status, any potential judgment would encompass every person who paid rent in more than 14,000 rent-regulated apartments since 1992."

Your debate points are..? What? The meaningless repetition of one of your mantras?

Have you added anything about eating crow, your other mantra, here in this thread?

Will you apologize to all your opponents should the “shudders” dread thing happen and Mr Biden be inaugurated?

Asking for a friend.

President Biden's inauguration could be in its own topic, and there is an abundance of threads in this group for nonsense. Let's stay focused on legal cases here, please.

>75 Earthling1: Huh.

Is that why you got banned by Tim for a day or two?

Or was that because the owner of the site has it in for you?

And do remember your tasteless, inappropriate remark about my late husband.

Use of metaphor.

Let's Review, Shall We?

A legal storm is brewing.

1) The hush-money allegations (McDougal & Daniels v. Trump)

Under investigation, Cohen admitted to arranging payments to the two women. The payments were prosecuted as campaign-finance violations and Cohen was sentenced to three years in jail in 2018.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is currently examining whether the Trump Organization falsified business records related to the payoffs.

In New York, falsifying business records can be charged as a felony if it is done to conceal other crimes, such as tax fraud.

Vance has subpoenaed Trump's tax records -- which leads us to. . .

2) The tax and bank fraud investigation When requesting the returns in August, Mr Vance referred to "public reports of possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization", including allegations of possible insurance and bank fraud. Another court filing in September mentioned tax fraud as(an alleged crimes).

"The most significant criminal investigations are those exploring his tax and bank filings," Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at George Washington University, told the BBC.

Trump's hope to further evade "taxes" rests with SCOTUS. We'll have to see if Don-Boy is considered a private citizen like any other before the Court, once he becomes one. Or if his "fix" is in.

3) The real-estate fraud investigation New York Attorney General Letitia James has been leading a civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization committed real-estate fraud.

Cohen told Congress that Mr Trump had inflated the value of his property assets to secure loans and understated them to reduce his taxes.

Trump argued that he was too busy to deal with lawsuits. (Soon), he cannot use that excuse.

Ms James can treat Mr Trump with less deference, pressing him to sit for questioning under oath, just like his son.

While civil suits don't result in jail time, fines could be considerable; furthermore, banks could seek retribution in court individually, which might lead to another Trump bankruptcy as he struggles to pay possible fines.

4) The emoluments cases One (Constitutional) clause requires all federal officials, including the president, to seek the consent of Congress before accepting any benefits from foreign states.

Three separate civil lawsuits alleged that Mr Trump had not sought that consent.

Don't expect these lawsuits to go anywhere, however, because as soon as Trump stops being president, the emoluments clause becomes moot.

5) The sexual misconduct lawsuits Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women whose allegations span decades.

(While) Trump vowed to sue them all, as yet, he has not done so. Instead, some of the accusers have sued Mr Trump. Two of those women have filed defamation lawsuits against Mr Trump for calling them liars.

E Jean Carroll has accused Mr Trump of raping her in a dressing room and that Trump defamed her by saying he could not have raped her because "she's not my type."

She seeks a retraction and damages. Since, the court threw out Barr's attempt to replace "Don-Boy" with "The United States of America" because "the allegations have no relationship to the official business of the United States," her suit will go forward once Trump leaves the WH.

It's likely a similar suit against Trump by Summer Zervos, a former employee associated with Trump's reality TV show will also proceed.

6) The Mary Trump lawsuit "Fraud was not just the family business - it was a way of life," reads the first line of Mary Trump's lawsuit against her uncle Donald.

In it, she accuses Mr Trump and two of his siblings of cheating her out of an inheritance while pressuring her to give up interests in the family business.

Ms Trump inherited valuable interests in the family business when Fred Trump Jr - her father and the president's older brother - died in 1981.

Mr Trump and his siblings "committed to watch over" Ms Trump's interests, the lawsuit says.

"They lied," the lawsuit says. "Rather than protect Mary's interests, they designed and carried out a complex scheme to siphon funds away from her interests, conceal their grift, and deceive her about the true value of what she had inherited."

The lawsuit seeks at least $500,000 in damages.

All that said, who knows what international, other national, and foreign parties filing in US courts will initiate legal proceedings against Trump once he's just a man on the street -- with lots of debt and lots more enemies.

>78 Limelite: But wait, there's more!

Let's not forget about the class-action lawsuit filed by Trump's former tenants which could encompass every person who paid rent in more than 14,000 rent-regulated apartments since 1992

That's a lotta class in that action. A lot more than Trump's ever had, for sure.

I have trouble remembering who's who in the Trump family, especially as names are repeated. Not from the best source, but there is a handy chart to the immediate family at Business Insider.

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-family-tree-tiffany-ivanka-eric-201...

Here is a relevant list of names and relationships. (Sources: Wikipedia and PolitiFact)

Donald Trump-- POTUS
Melania Trump-- FLOTUS (3rd wife)
Barron Trump-- minor-aged child (from 3rd wife)

Ivana Trump-- 1st wife
Donald Trump Jr.-- adult child (from 1st wife)
Vanessa Trump-- former daughter-in-law (Don Jr's ex-wife)
Ivanka Trump-- adult child (from 1st wife)
Jared Kushner-- son-in-law (Ivanka's husband)
Eric Trump-- adult child (from 1st wife)
Lara Trump-- DIL (Eric's wife)

Marla Maples-- 2nd wife
Tiffany Trump-- adult child (from 2nd child)

Other Notables:
Maryanne Trump Barry-- older sister; former US Court judge
Robert Trump-- younger brother; died with COVID-19 symptoms in August
Mary L. Trump-- cousin; psychologist and author

>80 aspirit:

Also, Lara Trump (married to Eric Trump, has acted as Trump surrogate politically)

Kimberly Guilfoyle, currently Don Jr's girlfriend. Has acted as Trump surrogate politically.

>80 aspirit:

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin -- sugar daddy

>81 MsMixte: thank you! I knew I would miss somebody. Lara, and also Vanessa (Don Jr.'s ex-wife as of 2018), will go in the list above.

Looking up the names, I do see more legal issues to watch for....

"Just What Was Lara Trump Up To?" (Aug 2018) regarding a potential bribery attempt.

The fundraising girlfriend shows up in a surprising amount of news, but at this time appears to be the legal equivalent to Don Jr. as Rudy Giuliani is to the father.

Kimberly Guilfoyle-- attorney; former FOX employee, accused of sexual misconduct; ex-wife to California's (Democratic) governor; lives with Don Jr.

>82 kiparsky: former sugar daddy? I've heard the Putin-controlled Russian media hasn't been nice to President Trump since he lost the election.

Is Putin unhappy with his political investment?

Trump-Russia business history and recent news for reference...

https://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/trump-tax-ret...

>82 kiparsky:, >84 aspirit:

"Godfather," and I'm on board.

How Biden Should Investigate Trump
The misdeeds and destructive acts are legion. The new president should focus on these three.
James Fallows | January/February 2021 Issue

I. A Crimes Commission?
...In the summer of 2020, Sam Berger of the Center for American Progress, an influential think tank with roots in the Clinton administration, released a detailed blueprint for conducting investigations and possibly prosecutions. It laid out the case this way: "Whenever the Trump administration ends, there may be good-faith concerns that addressing the administration’s misconduct will be too divisive, set a bad precedent, or lead to political pushback from the administration’s supporters. But the lesson from the past four years is clear: The absence of accountability is treated as license to escalate abuses of power"....

II. Time for Triage
...Last September, a nonprofit group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington released a compilation of 3,400 instances of corruption or conflicts of interest involving Trump and his family, any handful of which would have been considered scandalous and disqualifying in other administrations....

III. Corruption vs. Corrosion
...(Corruption) Biden needs to select an attorney general who will be seen as the most principled and eminent of all his Cabinet members, and choose correspondingly strong and independent inspectors general for the executive departments. The rest is up to them.

...(Corrosion) Every executive agency and department needs top-to-bottom attention.

IV. The Catastrophes
...investigations should be conducted into three catastrophes during the Trump years that have undermined our health as individuals, our morality as a people, and our character as a democracy...
COVID...
children separated from their parents at the border...
Trump administration’s attacks on democracy itself.

V. The American Story
...Biden likes to say, of the American-carnage era, “We’re better than that.” In practice, we haven’t been. In theory, we could be. Biden has a chance to tell a different story—a story about our potential—with the first words he utters after taking the oath of office.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/how-biden-should-investigat...

Laurence Tribe tribelaw | 3:50 PM · Dec 14, 2020:
MEMO TO GA AG CHRIS CARR:
Even if Trump is pardoned as to fed crimes (by himself if he dares to try it), it looks like he may have committed crimes against the State of Georgia by threatening your Governor.

This goes beyond party loyalty, AG Carr.

Trump Threatened Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp To Try To Steal The Election
Jason Easley | Dc 1 2020

In a phone call with Gov. Kemp, Trump made multiple demands and then threatened Kemp when he would not help him steal Georgia...

https://www.politicususa.com/2020/12/14/trump-kemp-steal-election-threat.html

Michael Cohen to Call President Trump to Testify in His Case Against the Trump Organization

Wants to put Trump on the stand once Trump is just an "ex." Cohen sued last year for

$2 million in legal bills he acquired over his cooperation and testimony during Special Counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committee investigations of Trump, claiming that he was not reimbursed for the costs as promised.

Cohen has begun deposing witnesses in the case, including Trump’s son, Eric — who is scheduled to testify Monday.

One gets the feeling that retirement for Trump is going to keep him very busy defending himself. Even from the Big House. No wonder he's been so desperately running this con about stolen elections to milk money from his gullible supporters. How long will the $200M he's fleeced so far last in America's post-Trump litigious climate? It's either that stash, or cast his fate into the briefcase of a public defender.

>89 Limelite: Don't forget, not only can he expect some huge legal bills, fines, penalties (the IRS still wants money from him) and possibly a divorce settlement, but he still has a huge payment owing to some rather unpleasant people.

He will have to keep milking away with all the strength in his tiny fingers just to stay afloat. There will be private parties who send him large sums of cash (Mercers et all), but he's been able to save himself a lot of money in not having to pay for all the goodies he's come to expect.

Now everyone knows to get their money up front.

Whether Melania divorces him or not I don't have any real respect for her. She's hardly been a hapless victim the last four years and IMO she would have been fine doing four more years with this clown if he had won.

Trump Organization Must Turn Over Documents to New York Attorney General Letitia James

A New York judge ruled on Tuesday that, as part of her office’s probe into whether President Trump illegally inflated assets for financial gain, the AG gets documents regarding some transactions concerning several Trump properties. Trump forced to give up claim of attorney client privilege.

Amy Carlin, an attorney for the Trump Organization, argued that it had “every expectation that those communications would be confidential," CNN reported.

However, Eric Haren, representing the attorney general’s office, said the organization “waived privilege” when it disclosed certain documents to the IRS to “gain benefit,” according to the news outlet.
(SNIP)
Once again, justice and the rule of law prevailed,” James said in a statement. . .My office's ongoing investigation will continue, as we continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead.”

Looks like Don the Con is going to have to adjust a lot of his expectations when he's no longer in the Oval Office. You can't expect to keep "secrets" secret when you want to use them to manipulate a representation of their worth, especially when the value of those "secrets" changes, depending on if you're talking to a bank or to Uncle Sam. There's no privilege when conducting a crime.

I don't know if this is behind a paywall, so here's the gist of it:

"Next-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don’t want you to be our neighbor.

That message was formally delivered Tuesday morning in a demand letter delivered to the town of Palm Beach and also addressed to the U.S. Secret Service asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago because of an agreement he signed in the early 1990s when he converted the storied estate from his private residence to a private club. The legal maneuver could, at long last, force Palm Beach to publicly address whether Trump can make Mar-a-Lago his legal residence and home, as he has been expected to do, when he becomes an ex-president after the swearing-in of Joe Biden on Jan. 20. .....

The Mar-a-Lago neighbors would be okay with Trump finding a new place to bunk. Their letter, written by West Palm Beach attorney Reginald Stambaugh, includes a zinger that harks to the vibe of the old money enclave on Florida’s east coast: “Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale, and we are confident President Trump will find one which meets his needs.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trump-mar-a-lago-neighbors-disput...

He's going to have to find better attorneys than the ones attempting to change the results of the presidential election. Those attorneys will want their money in advance, too.

Legal Action Against Trump Enablers

Look at the snowflakes on the radical right melt when the tables are turned. Instead of Trump supporters suing state and county officials in charge of keeping America's election free, fair, and fraudless with NOT doing the opposite, look what happens when the tables are turned. See how they react when their specious claims get the same treatment from the blameless.



Suddenly, no more fake news about election fraud, only retractions, clawbacks, and frantic efforts to put the toothpaste back into the tube when right wing media gets sued.

>94 Limelite: Notice, however, that these 'news' outlets are not actually offering a retraction, but a 'clarification', and that the 'news' outlets are simply reporting what Dominion and Smartmatic claim is true.

Slippery little weasel words.

#94--you beat me to it--just put something up on another thread.

#95--weasel words or not--they're on notice now. Cross the line and get you and your news organization sued and more than likely lose your job. Even other companies--not Smartmatic or Dominion can pretty much follow the same path to shut them up. This avenue is being closed.

>96 lriley: True, the 'news' outlets won't be willing to take the chance that Dominion and Smartmatic will sue the pants off them. Fox might have the money and lawyers to escape, but the other right wing sites don't have access to that kind of money, nor do they have the lawyers.

#97--I would say that Dominion and Smartmatic have shown a lot of restraint to this point of having their names dragged through the mud night after night after night. These obsessive and unremitting attacks though make their case for them and really there is only so much that Fox can even afford. Lou Dobbs who was urging all out insurrection now is left to either surrender or die on the battlefield and looks like he doesn't have the bottle to die. Those 3%'ers, proud boys and other white supremacists have lost another media ally. Time to take a vacation Lou to the other side of the inauguration. Talked a good fight but in the end his personal bank account and stock portfolio were more important to him than anything else. Sorry right wingers--push came to shove he got shoved and didn't shove back. You lose.

Wait! -- There's More!!

Michigan's attorney general will seek professional sanctions against attorney Sidney Powell over her efforts to overturn President Donald Trump's election loss.

Michigan AG Dana Nessel says she will seek professional sanctions against Sidney Powell, Trump campaign attorneys who made 'what we believe to be an intentional misrepresentation' of facts in recent election lawsuits.

Yes! It's about time state and county governments slap these abusers, these profligate wasters of other people's (taxpayers') money, these insulting boils on the face of Lady Justice who pretend to be lawyers, these bum-licking sycophants of Trump, complicit in his attempts to destroy America's democratic norms, these slimy dishonorers of the law -- there is no justice when justice is denied its opportunity to pay back offenders against it.

They disgust, shame, and embarrass the good lawyers who have to waste their time preparing defenses of American democracy against the enemies within. They behave like enemies of the state and must not be excused just because they've lost their spurious frivolous lawsuits based on innuendo, lies, and deceit.

Throwing those suits out of courts is step one. Step two is throwing them out of the legal profession. The heck with "lock 'em up." "Pay 'em back! and make 'em pay!"

BLOCKBUSTER Lawsuit Against Trump Pending?

NEW VIDEO: TRUMP'S COVID-19 CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. Lawyers think they've found a way to prosecute him for them,… https://t.co/7SlJnuGl3D
— Keith Olbermann (Keith Olbermann)1608678000.0

Here's the basis: Because Trump did not order enough vaccine doses for all Amerians. In addition he refused Pfizer's offer to provide one million additional doses. (He later accepted an offer for additional doses from Moderna (unspecified number)).

Trump could be prosecuted using the Department of Justice's unit called the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, "which, as its own guide states, 'investigates and prosecutes human rights violators and international criminals who have violated U.S. criminal law."

. . .the guidelines say that it could prosecute someone "whose acts are so broad and so egregious as to be considered crimes against humanity."

Refusing Pfizer's offer to protect an additional one million lives is pretty broad and egregious. That he accepted a similar offer from Moderna also raises a pertinent question -- Why Moderna but not the first company that stepped forward?

I'm waiting for the International Court at the Hague to take an interest in Trump's crimes against humanity involving snatching children from parents, caging them, providing inadequate care and attention to educational, health, nutritional, human decency, and emotional well-being needs, and then "losing their parents" -- essentially, a case of state kidnapping, is definitely broad and egregious enough to warrant its attention, even under international law.

>100 Limelite: I think this DOJ charge would be one of the many, many legal cases against President Trump as POTUS, not as an individual citizen or business owner. His legal immunity doesn't cover crimes against humanity, does it?

We should stay start a separate thread for all of those cases....

>100 Limelite:

Prosecuting an ex-president because of a bad policy decision where he "didn't do enough" sounds a bit tendentious, vindictive even, to me. That's not necessarily what human rights legislation is for. Also, any specific offer of a donation arguably has pros and cons to it. The devil is often in the details of any particular case, and there should be room for opposing views on whether it is appropriate to accept it. It seems to me that the bottleneck is likely to be in the production and distribution of vaccines, not in whether the USA has enough money to buy and has to rely on free gifts. Let the free gifts go to poorer countries.

Your second example, the snatching of children away from their parents and caging them under very inhumane conditions is a much clearer and more immediate breach of human rights, and I think would be more appropriate for a human rights case.

Dominion Voting Systems Employee Sues Trump Campaign And Allies, Alleging Defamation
Bente Birkeland | December 22, 2020

A top employee of Dominion Voting Systems, who has gone into hiding after becoming the subject of conspiracy theories on the right since the election, is suing the Trump campaign, a number of campaign surrogates and pro-Trump media outlets, alleging defamation.

..."Today I have filed a lawsuit in Colorado in an effort to unwind as much of the damage as possible done to me, my family, my life, and my livelihood as a result of the numerous false public statements that I was somehow responsible for 'rigging' the 2020 presidential election," (Eric Coomer, director of product strategy and security for the Denver-based company) said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.

"The widespread dissemination of false conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election has had devastating consequences both for me personally and for many of the thousands of American election workers and officials, both Republican and Democratic, who put aside their political beliefs to run free, fair, and transparent elections. Elections are not about politics; they are about accurately tabulating legally cast votes," Coomer said.

Dominion Voting Systems provides election equipment and software to 28 states, including the majority of the equipment used in the swing states on which President Trump has focused most of his post-election ire...

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/22/949294173/dominion-voting-systems-employee-sues-t...

>102 John5918:

Your point regarding motive is a possibility, no doubt. However, I think the legal case arises from and out of Trump's policies of

a) preferring to let people die by choosing specious "herd immunity" over scientific and medically sound policies;

b) by actively undercutting sound action by impugning it with a campaign of disinformation designed to mislead the public into a false sense of security, and to promote a false assurance that he was "doing something" (herd immunity);

c) by withholding life-saving PPEs from certain state and local governments while giving preferential access to same to government officials loyal to him, purely to benefit himself politically, reward his loyalists, and punish his opponents;

d) by deliberately endangering people's health and lives by insisting that schools open, businesses, and churches ditto, and by holding his own large public political rallies sans CDC guidelines -- essentially demanding that Americans die to save the economy that had to be "saved" in order to assure his reelection and insisting that his supporters attend adulation events to show their appreciation, preferably maskless, all of which created and enabled super-spreading of Covid-19;

e) by refusing Pfizer's offer of 100 million additional vaccine doses in order to punish the electorate for not reelecting him, especially those in Democratic states, that are often the most populated and most densely populated, leading to higher infection rates and generating the most urgent need for immunization (and other) therapies.

All of the above are a direct chain of evidence that supports a charge of crime against humanity undertaken as official policy purposely to enhance Trump's political career at the expense of Americans' rights to be protected from harm by their national government as per the presidential oath of office.

Recall, Trump declared himself a "wartime" president at the beginning of the pandemic in the US. That strongly implies that he saw Coronavirus to be a "foreign enemy," an impression he underscored and emphasized repeatedly by insisting it was a "Wuhan virus," a "Chinese virus," that the "Chinese deliberately created it and released it into the US," that the "Chinese purposefully withheld scientific information that could have been used to fight the virus" (also charged by WHO).

Add it up, and you have a concerted effort to allow an invasion of a disease enemy to run rampant across the land and kill the citizens off before election to help secure Trump's second term by means of taking credit for maintaining the economy and simultaneously promoting the illness and death of most vulnerable populations that tend to vote Democratic, which benefits, in a horrible way, the Republican Party, thus his reputation and leadership position in it.

None of this is exaggerated or conspiratorial or even biased. It is all documented, attested to, and factual. I think there's enough evidence to prove crime and definitely enough to prove malicious and intentional motive to arrive at the outcome that we're living in now. An outcome projected to be worse by numerous models, or more "successful," depending on whether your view is that of a decent person, or that of a malignant, power-hungry, vengeful narcissist.

Elie Honig (CNN) @eliehonig | 8:44 PM · Dec 23, 2020:
This theory “Now that Manafort etc. have been pardoned, they don’t have a 5th Amendment right and can be forced to testify in the grand jury” is wrong.
If they have a grain of potential state-level exposure - Manafort plainly does, e.g. - they can still take the 5th on that basis.
But here’s the good news: they can still be prosecuted for state crimes.

Sergey, Trump’s (Former) Handler @RussiaTrumpBot | 10:06 PM · Dec 23, 2020:
Also, I hate to be Mr. Obvious, but instead of taking the 5th, they can lie under oath instead.
And there's the always handy, "I don't recall."

Crazee Diamond @CrazeeDiamond69 | 9:06 PM · Dec 23, 2020:
He’s also facing charges in Virginia. Pauly has been a busy man criming.

citizenk @citizen90344241 | 5:19 AM · Dec 24, 2020:
Or, he could take a state plea deal wherein he is forced to testify against Trump. Then he could not lean on the fifth to protect him from fed liability.

Sounds like Manafort, et alia get to choose between taking the 5th or perjuring themselves. Regardless, they've already acknowledged guilt for what crimes they were convicted of by accepting the pardon. That makes them perps forever and gives them opportunity to be convicted of other crimes, depending on how they choose, doesn't it?

Donald Trump Could Be Criminally Prosecuted for His Pardons

In addition, he it could compound his legal liabilities, according to Laurence Tribe.

. . .there are two types of corrupt pardons. There are those that are merely contemptible for their intrinsic immorality — they may give a free walk to American war criminals. . corrupt politicians. . .and relatives. There are others that pose structural dangers by placing the president and his circle above the law and (by obstructing justice and bribery).

Trump's probably criminal pardons of the latter category were anticipated by a Founding Father.

At the 1788 Virginia convention to ratify the constitution, George Mason worried that the president might use the power to “pardon crimes . . . advised by himself.” He also predicted that prospective pardons could be used as obstructive tools to “stop inquiry and prevent detection”.

The remedy for which is impeachment and removal from office, for starters, assuming honest Senators, which we don't have.

If our multi-criminal president

. . .abuses pardons to shield himself and key allies from justice, that could be charged as criminal obstruction of justice, an abuse of the constitutional power of clemency to accomplish an illegal end.

Happily, that behavior makes prosecuting Trump easier because those are federal crimes and Manafort's and several other conspirators would be called on to testify and the 5th Amendment would be difficult to invoke.

Desirous though he is of "healing the nation, Biden must come to realize that involves healing the Rule of Law. In turn, that requires that an investigation be undertaken immediately Trump leaves office. Followed by charges, arrest, and trial in federal court, if evidence exists that he did use pardons to achieve criminal ends, like obstruction of justice, for instance.

Wow! Trump might have caught this if he read the National Defense Authorization Act--or even the "lame stream media". Instead, Congress is over-riding his veto (social media liability, renaming of military bases), and I assume the Corporate Transparency Act is still in there. I can't imagine Trump will be okay with the Corporate Transparency Act: "Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, used a Delaware shell company to mask payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult entertainer who claimed a sexual encounter with Trump." Jared Kushner approved a shell company that spent more than $600 million in campaign funds.

Congress bans anonymous shell companies after long campaign by anti-corruption groups
Bipartisan measure requires companies established in the U.S. to disclose their real owners
Jeanne Whalen | Dec. 11, 2020

A groundbreaking measure to ban anonymous shell companies in the United States cleared Congress on Friday as the Senate joined the House in passing a defense-spending bill with a veto-proof margin.

The Corporate Transparency Act, which was tacked onto the defense bill, would require corporations and limited liability companies established in the United States to disclose their real owners to the Treasury Department, making it harder for criminals to anonymously launder money or evade taxes. The rule applies to future and existing entities alike.

The measure passed the Senate with an 84-to-13 vote as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which cleared the House earlier this week. Trump pledged to veto the defense bill — one of few laws that passes every year — because it doesn’t include his demand to repeal liability protections for social media companies. Trump also opposes a clause that orders military bases named for Confederate leaders to be renamed.

The anonymous-shell-company ban was years in the making, as supporters slowly built a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, law-enforcement officials and even business groups that originally opposed the idea, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

...“We are on the verge of celebrating the most significant anti-money-laundering victory in a generation due in large part to the widespread and growing support for reform,” said Clark Gascoigne, senior policy adviser at the FACT Coalition, an alliance of anti-corruption groups that helped push for the legislation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/11/anonymous-shell-company-us-b...

______________________________________________________________

Congress just passed the most important anti-corruption reform in decades, but hardly anyone knows about it
Morris Pearl | December 26, 2020
https://fortune.com/2020/12/26/ndaa-2021-shell-companies-corporate-transparency-...

Trump likes to play shell games. He's not concerned with renaming military bases (although his racist cult members are agin it), and he's not really concerned with liability protection for social media. But he's REALLY, REALLY concerned with shell companies being exposed.

>109 MsMixte: I disagree. I think he's honestly racist and is unhappy with people he doesn't like getting rid of monuments (including bases) to people he considers "real American heroes", and he thought when he become president everyone would shower him adulation, and this whole Twitter thing with them labelling his posts as fake news is really tweaking him. He might have been seriously concerned about shell companies twenty years ago, but today, I don't think he's well-enough connected to reality to care, and if one of his family pointed it out to him, he'd immediately post about it on Twitter.

New report claims that N.Y. prosecutors only need one "final piece" in Trump investigation
Vance's investigation into the Trump Organization is old news, but new report suggests it's nearing the end
Cody Fenwick | January 2, 2021

...(WaPo) Vance is engaged in a long-running legal battle to obtain eight years of Trump's tax records and other financial information from the president's accounting firm, Mazars USA. Those records are considered the final piece of what is already a well-developed investigation, according to the person.

...Post's report points to...possibility: Vance has the bulk of the case wrapped up, and he wants the tax records as the last piece of evidence. Trump failed to make the case to the Supreme Court that he had immunity from the New York investigation as president to block Vance from getting his tax returns. But he has returned to the Supreme Court once again to argue that the subpoena for his records is unjust, an appeal most experts believe will fail. If it does fail, Vance will receive the returns.

...(Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance) reportedly began the probe to look into allegations surrounding the criminal hush money payments former attorney Michael Cohen made on Trump's behalf during the 2016 campaign, but the scope of the investigation has since "expanded," according to the Post.

...Post also notes...that Trump may escape charges, even if his business does not

...New York Attorney General Letitia James is known to be working on a civil investigation into the Trump Organization. It may overlap substantially with Vance's investigation...

https://www.salon.com/2021/01/02/new-report-claims-that-ny-prosecutors-only-need...

____________________________________________________

N.Y. prosecutor hires forensic accounting experts as Trump criminal probe escalates
Shayna Jacobs and Jonathan O'Connell | Dec. 29, 2020

...court filings (suggest) that bank, tax and insurance fraud are areas of exploration.

Vance has contracted with FTI Consulting to look for anomalies among a variety of property deals, and to advise the district attorney on whether the president’s company manipulated the value of certain assets to obtain favorable interest rates and tax breaks...The probe is believed to encompass transactions spanning several years.

...in addition to FTI's specialized services, Vance, who is a Democrat, may be hoping that the inclusion of an outside firm will offer a veneer of neutrality and help deflect criticism that his probe is politically motivated...

...To bring criminal charges, the district attorney must be able to prove there was an intent to break the law — which probably would require the testimony of an insider witness...*

It’s unclear whether Vance has secured such testimony, though in recent weeks his team has spoken with employees at Deutsche Bank, a major lender for the Trump Organization, and the insurance brokerage Aon. Those discussion were first reported by the New York Times. Prosecutors have issued new subpoenas and met with witnesses at a steady pace, people familiar with the process have said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-tax-returns-new-york-inve...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Trump reportedly might pardon the Trump Organization CFO, who allegedly helped with the Stormy Daniels cover-up
Rafi Schwartz | Dec. 17, 2020

...Allen Weisselberg... chief financial officer for the Trump Organization...(has) been intimately involved in the company's many questionable dealings, many of which are currently under investigation by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Weisselberg was also repeatedly named by former Trump consigliere-turned-congressional witness Michael Cohen as one of the lynchpins in the president's sprawling web of possible financial crimes ...In 2018, Weisselberg was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in exchange for testimony in their investigation into the Daniels payments.

https://www.mic.com/p/trump-reportedly-might-pardon-the-trump-organization-cfo-w...

Weisselberg has already been granted immunity by federal prosecutors. That's why he's been cooperating with them. A pardon from Trump wouldn't keep Weisselberg from being charged by NYSAG James, though.

If Trump Is Impeached and Convicted, He’ll Lose His Post-Presidency Perks
That means no more billing taxpayers when the Secret Service stays at his resorts.
Russ Choma | Jan 8, 2021

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump step off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020. Trump is returning to Washington after visiting his Mar-a-Lago resort. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.

The 1958 Former Presidents Act assures that no president leaves office without being set for life—it guarantees a pension, access to health insurance, office space and staff, and Secret Service protection for as long as he or she wants it. There is, however, one exception: These perks are only granted to presidents who aren’t removed from office in an impeachment trial...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/01/if-trump-is-impeached-and-convicted...

>113 margd: He will not have access to health care via the Federal Employees Health Benefits, since that access is predicated on him having five or more years of Federal service. He apparently can have health care access if he goes to a military hospital and pays the appropriate rates. His office space must be within the United States.

At one point Secret Service protection for former presidents was restricted to ten years, if I recall correctly. Resumed to lifelong protection after Saddam Hussein targeted HW Bush?

With personal threat from Iran, however much deserved, it would not be appropriate for American people to withdraw protection from impeached and indicted Trump? (Assign officers sympathetic to him, so assumably willing to take a bullet for him?) I would, however, restrict any charges for room and board to modest per diem rates.

PENCE is the person who needs extended protection!

Trump extended Secret Service protection to his adult children and three top officials as he left office
Carol D. Leonnig and Nick Miroff | Jan. 20, 2021

In the days before he left office, President Donald Trump...issued a directive to extend post-presidency Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of their spouses, who were not automatically entitled to receive it. (daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner; son Donald Trump Jr.; son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump; and daughter Tiffany Trump)

Trump also directed that three key officials leaving government continue to receive the protection for six months: former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien, two people familiar with the arrangement said.

Under federal law, Trump, his wife, Melania Trump, and their 14-year-old son are the only members of his immediate family entitled to Secret Service protection after they leave office. The couple will receive it for their lifetimes, and Barron is entitled to protection until he turns 16...

Former vice president Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, will also receive continued Secret Service security for the next six months under the same law governing protection...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-extended-secret-service-protection...

>116 margd: It is my opinion T is worried about his "base" turning against him. Either that or his fellow Floridians will egg his windows.

>116 margd: My understanding (which could be incorrect) is that Melania Trump would receive SS protection as long as she is either a current wife or a widow. Remarriage would take away that SS protection. I don't know what would happen if they divorced, since it's never happened.

>118 MsMixte:

Of course, he may just be pitching himself to her in a pro bono advice-y kind of way.

Assuming Byron goes with her in a custodial arrangement, Trump would have to house them until the kid is 21 if they live in NY, or her remarriage. So, with her divorce payout and her housing costs free, I think she could hire her own personal protection and never feel the cost.

Sounds sweet to me. Her, too, I bet.

Trump-Branded Buildings in Manhattan Have Lost Half Their Value
Jeff Andrews | Jan. 26, 2021

...With the days of earning a quick buck by slapping his name on a random product long, long gone, the money is going to have to come from somewhere for Trump, and quickly. The Washington Post reported last week that various Trump properties lost more than $120 million in revenue in 2020, and Trump owes an estimated $340 million in loans coming due in the next few years...

https://www.curbed.com/2021/01/trump-manhattan-buildings-lost-value.html

____________________________________________________________

Jane Mayer (New Yorker) @JaneMayerNYer | 3:54 PM · Jan 27, 2021:
Trump Hotel, DC - Looks like they drained the swamp

0:16-panoramic scan of bar...nobody ( https://twitter.com/JaneMayerNYer/status/1354533185909043200 )

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) has an ongoing lawsuit for President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee's alleged use of donors’ money at Trump's own hotel. Earlier this month, Racine added to the lawsuit, saying the inaugural committee, a tax-exempt charity, also used nonprofit funds to pay a $49,000 hotel bill owed by Trump's for-profit, private business after the bill went to a collections agency.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-nonprofit-inaugural-committee-imp...

Trump Organisation accuses Scottish politicians of pursuing 'personal agenda'
Martyn McLaughlin | 2nd February 2021

...In a sternly worded statement on the eve of the debate in the Scottish Parliament, the former US president’s firm dismissed the MSP spearheading the calls for the Scottish Government to pursue an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) as a “national embarrassment.”

The statement, issued by Eric Trump, executive vice president of his father’s company, accused elected representatives of investigating Mr Trump’s companies at the expense of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic...It also claimed that by purchasing the world-famous Turnberry resort - a deal that will be the focus of tomorrow’s debate - the Trump Organisation had rescued a “national treasure on the brink of collapse.” (“At a critical time when politicians should be focused on saving lives and reopening businesses in Scotland, they are focused on advancing their personal agendas....Patrick Harvie (who brought the debate) is nothing more than a national embarrassment with his pathetic antics that only serve himself and his political agenda...If Harvie and the rest of the Scottish Government continue to treat overseas investors like this, it will deter future investors from conducting business in Scotland, ultimately crushing their economy, tourism and hospitality industries.” The Trump Organisation statement also emphasised that it has “invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Scottish economy” and “created thousands of jobs” at both Aberdeenshire and Turnberry, while rebuilding the latter into “one of the finest resorts anywhere in the world.” The statement, which does not directly address any allegations surrounding the Trump Organisation’s financing in Scotland, adds that both the firm’s golf courses “have been recognised for their iconism with countless accolades.”)

...Questions surrounding Mr Trump’s £35.7 million acquisition of Turnberry - a four-time host of golf’s Open championship - predate his political career.

It was among a series of cash deals struck by the 74-year-old throughout a decade-long spending spree, which included the purchase of land near Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, for his inaugural Scottish resort.

Since incorporating his first company in Scotland 16 years ago, none of Mr Trump’s companies have turned a profit. Publicly available accounts show they have run up losses of £55m and owe around £157m to US-based limited liability companies and trusts in Mr Trump’s name.

...Companies House records for the respective corporate entities of both resorts show neither has paid a penny in UK corporation tax, and together, employ 625 staff...

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/trump-organisation-accuses-scottish-polit...

---------------------------------------------------------

Patrick Harvie's response to Eric Trump's statement tonight:
"As entertaining as Eric Trump’s tantrum is, he doesn’t say where his dad got the money to buy his Scottish golf courses,
which is exactly why I’m calling on the Scottish Government to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order.”

- Martyn McLaughlin @MartynMcL | 6:09 PM · Feb 2, 2021

Eric Garland (intelligence analyst) @ericgarland | 6:48 AM · Feb 6, 2021:
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1358019691629936641

News is breaking that Trump just committed Federal wire fraud during his campaign.
That's 20 years per charge - and the IRS *has* recently been prosecuting such cases.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Trump shifted campaign donor funds into his heavily indebted private business after his election loss, report says
Joshua Zitser | Feb 6, 2021

Former President Donald Trump has shifted money raised from campaign donors into the Trump Organization.
The organization is heavily indebted, reportedly owing around $400 million.
Campaign donor money was moved both before and after Trump's election loss, reported Forbes.

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-shifted-money-into-indebted-priva...

Fulton County prosecutors have opened up an investigation into
Trump's attempts to overturn the election results in GA,
which included his phone call with GA Sec of State Brad Raffensperger,
CNN has confirmed.

- Jim Acosta (CNN) Acosta | 10:57 AM · Feb 10, 2021

_______________________________________________

ETA:

Georgia Prosecutors Open Criminal Investigation of Trump Phone Call
Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim | Feb. 10, 2021

ATLANTA — Prosecutors in Fulton County have initiated a criminal investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s election results, including a phone call he made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump pressured him to “find” enough votes to help him reverse his loss.

On Wednesday, Fani Willis, the recently elected Democratic prosecutor in Fulton County, sent a letter to numerous officials in state government, including Mr. Raffensperger, requesting that they preserve documents related to “an investigation into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election.”...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/politics/trump-georgia-investigation.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Goodman (Frmr Special Counsel @DeptofDefense) @rgoodlaw | 10:16 AM · Feb 10, 2021:
2. "In Georgia, Mr. Trump cannot look to Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, for a state pardon,
and not just because the two have a fractured relationship.
In Georgia, pardons are granted only by the state board of pardons and paroles."

------------------------------------------------------------------

Shelley Childs @ShelleyChilds1 | 10:33 AM · Feb 10, 2021
We in GA thank this attorney from DC!

Law Professor's Complaint Leads to Investigation Into Trump's 'Find 11,800 Votes' Call
Katheryn Tucker | February 09, 2021

An outspoken George Washington University law professor lodged the complaint that led to an investigation the Georgia Board of Elections launched Monday into the famous phone call former President Donald Trump made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger regarding finding votes.

John Banzhaf III is listed as the complainant on a case summary released by the secretary of state’s office. The case description is solicitation/conspiracy.

...complaint assigned to an investigator and a supervisor. Their findings will be reported to the board, which has the authority to order fines or reprimands...

https://www.law.com/dailyreportonline/2021/02/09/law-professors-complaint-leads-...

Fulton County DA Not Going to Leave Trump's Fate in Hands of Republican State Officials

Even though Georgia's Sec'y of State, a Republican, announced the state investigation into the telephone call in which Trump's election interference and attempted election fraud was recorded is open, the Fulton County DA has opened a wider investigation into Trump's interference.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat recently elected to the office, sent notices Wednesday to Raffensperger, Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Attorney General Chris Carr asking them to keep documents that could be used as part of a broad criminal investigation that included potential charges of election fraud, conspiracy and making false statements.

To read the entire 8 page letter go here.

DA Willis is prepared to move fast and begin presenting her case next month to a Grand Jury; she made it clear that then she will be issuing subpoenas to witnesses.

Calling it a “matter of high priority,” Willis said the next Fulton County grand jury is set to convene in March and that “this office will begin requesting grand jury subpoenas as necessary at that time.” She said investigators have no “reason to believe that any Georgia official is a target of this investigation.”
(SNIP)
While it was not surprising that Carr, Kemp and Raffensperger received the notices on Wednesday, the decision to send the letter to Duncan raised eyebrows.

An official with knowledge of the investigation said he was included because of his role as the president of the state Senate, which held committee hearings in December that featured Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories.

The (Giuliani) testimony drew a sharp rebuke from Raffensperger’s office and was not endorsed by Duncan, who repeatedly pushed back on Trump’s claims of a “rigged” election and urged Republicans to move on from his falsehoods.
(SNIP)
“The Fulton County investigation will place the phone call into a larger context to suss out Trump’s intent, which I think has generally shown that Trump knew or should have known what the truth was — but that he continued to ply undue pressure on Georgia officials anyway,” Kreis, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University, said.

BREAKING from @MeidasTouch
—Melania Trump tried to cover up Trump family misappropriation of inauguration funds,
says Melania’s former friend & whistleblower @SWinstonWolkoff who just released new recordings...

2:20 ( https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1360256782241853441 )
Former Melania Advisor Releases Tapes of Attempted Criminal Cover-Up
MeidasTouch.com

- Eric Feigl-Ding @DrEricDing |10:57 AM · Feb 12, 2021

NY Prosecutors Extending Investigation into Trump's Landmark Manhattan Properties

The Criminal probe of the former president and his company being led by Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance, is reaching into an examination of loans Trump took out on his 5th Ave. Trump Tower, among other properties.

40 Wall St., an art deco skyscraper in New York City’s Financial District; Trump International Hotel and Tower, a hotel and condominium building at Columbus Circle; and Trump Plaza, an apartment building on Manhattan’s East Side.
(SNIP)
While the focus of prosecutors’ interest in Mr. Trump’s properties and loans isn’t known, they could be looking for discrepancies between loan documents and financial information submitted elsewhere by Mr. Trump, such as that on tax returns or submitted to an insurance company, legal experts said. Writing false information on a loan application with the intention of getting financial benefits one isn’t entitled to can be a crime (fraud) under New York law, according to legal experts.

In addition to the Manhattan properties, prosecutors are examining Seven Springs, a 213-acre Westchester, N.Y., estate owned by the Trump Organization. At that property, prosecutors have subpoenaed information that relates to its valuation, which has varied widely.

That last bit seems to hint at possible money laundering being involved. Commercial real estate financiers, such as Trump employed here, are known to sell the debt to other investors in the form of commercial mortgage-backed securities. Trump used Ladder Capital Corp. to refinance hundreds of millions on at least three properties.

There's no reason that Trump, using another business identity, couldn't buy back such mortgage securities and own his own debt at a considerable discount, I would think. As interest rates vary, market forces could lead to interest rates that might make reselling those securities advantageous.

The refinancings led to significantly lower interest rates for at least 40 Wall St. and Trump International. The earlier 40 Wall St. loan had a 5.71% interest rate, compared with 3.665% after refinancing, according to Mr. Trump’s public financial disclosure.

The Trump Tower loan comes due in 2022 and others are due in the next several years. . .(including 2023).

Dem. Congressman Sues Trump & Giuliani for Inciting Violent Sedition Under 1871 KKK Act

Trump may be forced to fight KKK Act lawsuit ‘for years’ as legal action opens him up to discovery.

The NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) sued the former president, his personal attorney and allied groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers under the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act alleging they conspired to violently interfere with the electoral certification.

. . .what the president and Giuliani did was they took a series of actions that were intended to interfere with Congress and incite a riot. . .
(SNIP)
. . .Rep. Thompson, is a victim. He was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, as were other members of Congress. So, they're saying former President Trump interfered with their ability to do their duty.

. . .the lawsuit alleges that his actions violate his oath of office.

. . .look at all of the words and statements that both (Trump) and Rudy Giuliani made that were essentially encouraging and encouraging violence or at least an end to the electors being able certify the valid election. . .

. . .the lawsuit could dig up damning new evidence.

"Some discovery will be needed," (CNN's Milgram) said. "I think that you'll start to have questions about what did Donald Trump do? Again, he was both president and running for re-election, so he's sort of wearing two hats, and I think being in a deposition means Donald Trump needs to hire lawyers, Rudy Giuliani needs to hire lawyers, and this could go on for years as this sort of legal process plays out."

And cost million$$$ in legal fees for both defendants. Thank goodness I love popcorn; gonna be munching a lot of it watching the new Trump Reality show, For Want of a Lawyer: Defendant T.V.

Kyle Griffin (MSNBC) @kylegriffin1 | 11:00 AM · Feb 19, 2021
The Manhattan DA's office has interviewed a number of witnesses and
issued more than a dozen new subpoenas, including to one of Trump's top lenders.

Investigators also subpoenaed a company hired by Deutsche Bank to assess the value of Trump properties.
-------------------------------------------------------

The Manhattan district attorney has enlisted a former federal prosecutor who is an expert on white-collar crime to join the team investigating the Trump family business.
William K. Rashbaum, Ben Protess and Jonah E. Bromwich | Feb. 18, 2021

...As the Manhattan district attorney’s office steps up the criminal investigation of Donald J. Trump, it has reached outside its ranks to enlist a prominent former federal prosecutor to help scrutinize financial dealings at the former president’s company, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The former prosecutor, Mark F. Pomerantz, has deep experience investigating and defending white-collar and organized crime cases, bolstering the team under District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. that is examining Mr. Trump and his family business, the Trump Organization...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/nyregion/trump-investigation-manhattan.html

Supreme Court won’t halt turnover of Trump’s tax records
JESSICA GRESKO | Feb 22, 2021

In a significant defeat for former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to step in to halt the turnover of his tax records to a New York state prosecutor.

The court’s action is the apparent culmination of a lengthy legal battle that had already reached the high court once before.

Trump’s tax records are not supposed to become public as part of prosecutors’ criminal investigation, but the high court’s action is a blow to Trump because he has long fought on so many fronts to keep his tax records shielded from view...

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-donald-trump-tax-rercords-3aee141469063...

-------------------------------------------------------
ETA

SCOTUSblog @SCOTUSblog | 9:40 AM · Feb 22, 2021
SCOTUS declines to take up a pair of leftover cases from the 2020 election. They involved the authority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the state's mail-in ballot deadline. Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch say the court should have granted review.

Quote Tweet
Amy Howe @AHoweBlogger · 1h
#SCOTUS will not review challenge to Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s extension of mail-in ballot deadline.
Justices Thomas, Alito, & Gorsuch dissent from the denial of review.

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/this-is-the-end-of-the-road-nbc-justice-correspon...
NBC Justice Correspondent Breaks Down Ruling That Grand Jury Can See Trump’s Tax Returns

My take ~ THIS is going to be the end of DJT ever thinking about running for president. Hopefully, it will also stop stupid GOPers from sending their hard-earned money his way to do so. Thank you, Michael Cohen!

Trump responds to SCOTUS decision on his tax returns, claiming he’s the victim of “political persecution.”
Image- Trump Feb 22 statement ( https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1363927173489393668/photo/1 )

-Jim Acosta (CNN) Acosta | 2:02 PM · Feb 22, 2021
_________________________________________________

Donald Trump Is Extremely Mad Prosecutors Will See His Tax Returns
Jonathan Chait | Feb. 22, 2021

“His outpouring of rage that Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance will finally have access to his financial documents suggests the only plausible reason for Trump’s evident dismay: He is very scared of being charged with crimes.”

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/trump-tax-returns-court-ruling-vance-pro...

Trump’s taxes: Why they matter to a criminal probe (BBC)

An interesting explanatory article.

FBI's been awfully quiet since Jan 6, 2021. Hope they are headed to center of web.
Also, still looking into Russia role in 2016 election--and Manafort, others if thread is any indication!

Peter Strzok @petestrzok | 7:34 PM · Feb 25, 2021:
https://twitter.com/petestrzok/status/1365097757552254977
Interesting that FBI would post this thread today.
Paul Manafort – Trump’s then-campaign manager – delivered detailed campaign polling data to Kilimnik in 2016.

Quote Tweet
FBI Washington Field @FBIWFO | 3:26 PM · Feb 25, 2021
Additionally, Konstantin Viktorovich Kilimnik is also wanted by the #FBI
for obstruction of justice & engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice btwn Feb 2018 & April 2018.
https://fbi.gov/wanted/counterintelligence/konstantin-viktorovich-kilimnik
Image-wanted poster ( https://twitter.com/FBIWFO/status/1365035536277270540/photo/1 )

An example of another president of a modern western democracy who faced legal action for corruption.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced to jail for corruption (Guardian)

Nicolas Sarkozy was guilty of corruption and influence peddling, and sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended. France’s president from 2007 to 2012 had played an “active role” in forging a “corruption pact” with his lawyer and a senior magistrate to obtain information on a separate investigation into political donations, the leading judge declared, and there was “serious and concurring evidence” of collaboration between the three men to break the law. The conviction and sentence were dramatic, unexpected and historic...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been charged with corruption. It's difficult to view Israel as a democracy, but it is a close ally of the USA.

Fani Get Your "Guns!

DA Fani Willis of Fulton Cty., GA has hired the nation's leading expert on RICO investigations and prosecutions as part of her legal team. Might as well go get him when he lives in your backyard! Atlanta lawyer John Floyd, who wrote a national guide on prosecuting state racketeering cases is now applying his knowledge to the actions of Donald Trump's interference in the 2020 GA election.

Floyd’s appointment signals that racketeering could feature prominently in the investigation. It’s an area of law where Willis has extensive experience - including a high-profile Atlanta case where she won racketeering convictions of 11 public educators for a scheme to cheat on standardized tests.

Willis was then (2014) an Assist. DA and she partnered with Floyd in that case. Both have a very good working relationship as well as a track record of a successful prosecution under GA's RICO laws.

While racketeering is typically pursued by prosecutors in cases involving such crimes as murder, kidnapping, and bribery, the Georgia statute defines racketeering more broadly to include false statements made to state officials.
(SNIP)
Racketeering, a felony in Georgia, can carry stiff penalties including up to 20 years in prison and a hefty fine. “There are not a lot of people who avoid serving prison time on a racketeering offense,” said Cathy Cox, the dean of Mercer University’s law school in Macon, Georgia and a former Georgia secretary of state. “If Donald Trump engaged in two or more acts that involve false statements - that were made knowingly and willfully in an attempt to falsify material fact, like the election results - then you can piece together a violation of the racketeering act.”

Sweet.

>136 Limelite: Time to get out some pom-poms!

Just Security is tracking some of the pending criminal and civil cases against Donald Trump.

Note: we have chosen not to include various cases involving Trump’s properties or the Trump Campaign —including slip-and-fall cases, allegations of bedbugs, water use cases, telephone spam suits, copyright suits, and discrimination suits—as they do not implicate Trump directly or it is very unlikely that they will.

Its "key takeaways":

1. E. Jean Carroll Defamation and Federal Tort Claims Act Litigation

2. Summer Zervos Defamation Suit

3. Mary Trump Fraud Litigation
(Note: On Sept. 21, 2021, Donald Trump filed a related lawsuit against Mary Trump, The New York Times, and several of its reporters.)

4. Panama Hotel Fraud and Tax Litigation (closed) -- the parties agreed to end the lawsuit in September

5. Doe vs. The Trump Corporation Class Action

6. DC Civil Suit over Misuse of 2017 Inauguration Funds

7. Reps. Karen Bass et al. Incitement Suit for Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

8. Eric Swalwell Incitement Suit for Jan. 6 Riots (also against Don Jr.)

9. Capitol Police Suit for Jan. 6 Riots

10. Second Capitol Police Suit for Jan. 6 Riots

11. NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund Voting Rights Case for Post-Election Actions

12. New York Attorney General’s Civil and Criminal Investigations

13. Scotland Unexplained Wealth Orders (for golf courses)

14. Trump Tower Assault (by Trump's security guards) Suit

15. Criminal Investigations into Trump’s Finances

16. DC AG Incitement Criminal Investigation

17. Fulton County, Georgia Criminal Election Influence Investigation

18. Westchester, New York Criminal Investigation of Trump Organization Golf Course

18. Westchester, New York Criminal Investigation of Trump Organization Golf Course

https://www.justsecurity.org/75032/litigation-tracker-pending-criminal-and-civil...

The criminal cases may be discussed in the "Tracking Trump's Criminal Liability Post-Presidency" thread here in Pro and Con.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/330270