Oh, it’s on. Will prosecutors be able to decode the Trumpian Omertà, that communication vagueness by which Trump ensures no paper trail for his crimes, much like the promise of accompanying his insurrection mob to the Capitol. Then again mens rea for the sociopath Trump is more akin to non compos mentis.
The report identifies five areas where Trump is most at risk of prosecution:
- Falsifying business records
- Tax Fraud
- Insurance Fraud
- "Scheme to defraud"
- Enterprise Fraud
In particular, the report finds that Trump's potential criminal liability stems from alleged improperly recorded "business" expenses, including a $130,000 payout to Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen, as reimbursement for a hush-money payment to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a "Stormy Daniels." The tax-free corporate benefits given to top Trump Organization officials also figure heavily into the analysis of the former commander-in-chief's criminal liability, the authors conclude.
www.alternet.org/…
Even assuming, however, that the government is able to induce someone like Allen Weisselberg to testify against Trump, there remains the problem that Trump is an especially vague communicator. As Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime in-house lawyer and confidante, has said, Trump did not directly order him to lie ordo anything else illegal. “He doesn’t give you questions, he doesn’t give you orders, he speaks in a code. And I understand the code, because I’ve been around him for a decade.”
With the media now reporting that criminal charges against the Trump Organization may be imminent, the question presents itself: What about the former president? In this report, we conclude based on the publicly available information that Trump is at serious risk of eventual criminal indictment in New York State.
As Trump criticized the investigation, he appeared to acknowledge the tax schemes while questioning whether the alleged violations were in fact crimes.
“They go after good, hard-working people for not paying taxes on a company car,” he said at a rally in Sarasota, Fla. “You didn't pay tax on the car or a company apartment. You used an apartment because you need an apartment because you have to travel too far where your house is. You didn't pay tax. Or education for your grandchildren. I don't even know. Do you have to? Does anybody know the answer to that stuff?”
[...]
“For murder and for selling massive amounts of the worst drugs in the world that kill people left and right, that's okay,” he said. “Think of it, think of how unfair it is. Never before has New York City and their prosecutors or perhaps any prosecutors criminally charged a company or a person for fringe benefits. Fringe benefits. Murders, okay. Human trafficking, no problem — but fringe benefits, you can’t do that.”
www.washingtonpost.com/…