Trump Organization: Donald Trump is wondering about the reception about the criminal case

[ad_1]

Donald Trump seems to have made a derogatory reception about the lawsuit against his business. But is this really a smart move?

Former U.S. president Donald Trump directly addressed the charges against his family business, the Trump Organization, at a political rally in Florida on Saturday night – and hinted at a possible defense.

Let’s run the background first, and then we get to Mr Trump’s comments.

On Thursday, New York prosecutors unveiled a indictment against the Trump Organization and longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.

The charges relate to a suspected scheme, beginning in 2005, to “pay Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives in a manner not on the books.”

Prosecutors allege Mr. Weisselberg evaded taxes on $ US1.76 million in revenue.

The 15 counts against the Trump Organization and the CFO include fraudulent procedures, conspiracy, grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and forgery of business records.

“The scheme is intended to allow some employees to minimize their compensation from the Trump Organization, so that they can and will pay federal, state and local taxes in amounts less than the amounts due, “the lawsuit says

It says Mr. Weisselberg received many perks from the company, such as rent on an apartment, two Mercedes-Benz cars, private school fees for his two relatives, and cash bonuses, all of which in exchange for direct compensation.

The Trump Organization maintains internal spreadsheets tracking these perks, where it does not withhold income tax. Meanwhile, Mr. Weisselberg did not report the indirect payment on his tax submission.

Both Mr. Weisselberg and the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty. Mr. Trump himself has not yet been charged.

In a statement last week, the company accused prosecutors of using its CFO as “a pawn in a burning attempt on the ground to hurt the former president”.

“This is not justice. This is politics,” he said.

RELATED: The Trump Organization is rocking through the charges

Mr. Trump hit the same tone as he spoke to most of his supporters in Sarasota, Florida last night, at his second rally since leaving the White House. Though it must be said, he was a bit strict.

The former president said prosecutors ’pursuit of his company was“ fascist ”,“ authoritative ”and“ reminiscent of a communist dictatorship ”targeting political opponents.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is a Democrat. So is New York Attorney Letitia James. The charges against the Trump Organization and Mr. Weisselberg were approved by a grand jury of regular citizens.

Mr. Trump said “every company” uses “fringe benefits” and his is selected for political reasons.

“New York City and their prosecutors, or perhaps any prosecutors, have never criminally charged a company or a person for marginal benefits,” he claims.

“People who talk about democracy are literally destroying it right in front of our eyes.

“The radical left is constantly looking for a crime and ruining lives, breaking the laws, violating every principle of justice, fairness and freedom.

“It’s really called prosecutorial misconduct. It’s a horrible, horrible thing. There’s no depth to which the radical left won’t sink to stop our Make America Great Again movement.”

Mr. Trump brought in President Joe Biden’s son Hunter to suggest prosecutors “leave the Democrats alone” but “mobilize every government power to follow me”.

Hunter Biden’s tax issues, which stemmed from his overseas business dealings, are currently being investigated by Delaware prosecutors.

Most intriguingly, the former president in particular brought some of the perks that Mr. Weisselberg allegedly accepted of the books: the two cars, the New York apartment and the private school fees.

He appeared to admit that Mr. Weisselberg had not paid taxes to them.

“They chase good, hard -working people for not paying tax on a company car,” he said.

“’You didn’t pay car tax! Or a company apartment. You use an apartment because you need an apartment, because you have to travel so far where your house is. You did not pay taxes or education for your grandchildren. ‘

“I really do not know. Do you need Anyone know the answer to those things? OK? But they are suing people for that! “

Some observers, such as political reporter Andrew Feinberg and University of Alabama law professor Joyce Alene, describe these quotes as a slip-up or an “admission”.

But Mr. Trump may be leading a strategy that his company can use in defending against the charges.

The idea is to argue that the defendants did not “intentionally” violate the law.

“The fact that Trump and his company made these payments is probably indisputable,” said legal analyst Renato Mariotti, a former prosecutor.

“What Trump claims is that they have no idea this could be taxable income to Weisselberg, which is an attempt to argue that they didn’t ‘intentionally’ fail to pay taxes. His attempt at a defense.”

“It’s a deliberately legal strategy to counter previous statements about how well he knows the tax code,” said Daniel Goldman, a former U.S. assistant attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“There is an increased standard of intent for tax crimes, and the District Attorney must prove that the defendant knew the law and knowingly violated it. This is his attempt to claim ignorance.”

The earlier statements mentioned by Mr. Goldman are not difficult to dig into.

“I know more about taxes than any man God has created,” Mr. Trump said in March of 2016, when he was a presidential candidate.

“I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who ran for president and I’m the only one who can fix them,” he tweeted in October of that year.

These statements are in line with Mr. Trump’s long-standing habit of claiming to know more about many, many topics than anyone else, but they can still undermine any effort to plead ignorance about tax laws in New York today.

Another obstacle for the defense is the set of records allegedly kept by the Trump Organization detailing off-the-book compensation to Mr. Weisselberg.

University of Chicago law professor Daniel Hemel, who writes for The Atlantic, said the Trump Organization is “in big trouble”. He disputes the former president’s statement that the case is only about “fringe benefits”.

“The Trump Organization and Weisselberg are not charged with tripping certain overly technical provisions on the margins of the tax system,” Prof Hemel said.

They are charged with blatantly violating basic tax law requirements, and bilking New York State and New York City with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“If the Trump Organization keeps a separate set of books recording compensation that it has not reported to the tax authorities, then it is not intentional oversight.

“Yes, this is an unscrupulous political prosecution. But if the allegations in the indictment are true, it is also external tax fraud-criminal conduct that is out of the question.

“Being connected to a controversial political figure shouldn’t send you to jail. It also doesn’t get you off the hook.”

Read related topics: Donald Trump

[ad_2]