Criminal Investigation into Trump’s Finances

[PoliTalker]

Two sets of books:

"These payments were not booked in the Trump Corporation's general ledger as employee compensation, but were instead labelled and deducted as 'rent expense' in the general ledger.

The Trump Organization maintained internal spreadsheets that tracked the amounts paid for Weisselberg's rent, utility and garage expenses."

Page 5 of 25:

Indictment of Public Record: The People of New York vs The Trump Corporation And Allen Wesselberg, Defendants

This is what all those articles are reporting on.

[PoliTalker]

Hello Damocles,

You are lucky I didn't move it and "update" your OP to something more entertaining. A news story from 2019 is not a current event.

Thanks. I think you made the right call. The OP did begin with some evidence dating back to 2019, but also included this, from this year:

"Update-5: On July 1, [2021] prosecutors indicted the Trump Organization and the chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with running a tax fraud scheme for over fifteen years. The indictment charges Weisselberg, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Payroll Co. with compensating Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives with off-the-books funds that were unreported or misreported to federal, state, and local tax authorities."

This is a currently open and ongoing investigation.

[PoliTalker]

Hello T. A. Gardner,

You obviously have a severe reading comprehension problem. It was Trump.org, a corporation formed to run his properties that was indicted, not Trump himself. Second, this occurred over a month ago and has gone nowhere since. This was also about the indictment of that organization's CFO, Allen Weisselberg.

So, you don't even have your basic facts straight on what's going on here.

'Gone nowhere?'

Do you maintain that the investigation has been concluded, the charges dropped? Gone stale? Shelved? Nothing happening?

There are several open investigations looking at Trump and his multi-layered tax avoidance schemes.

[Damocles]

Hello Damocles,



Thanks. I think you made the right call. The OP did begin with some evidence dating back to 2019, but also included this, from this year:

"Update-5: On July 1, [2021] prosecutors indicted the Trump Organization and the chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg with running a tax fraud scheme for over fifteen years. The indictment charges Weisselberg, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Payroll Co. with compensating Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives with off-the-books funds that were unreported or misreported to federal, state, and local tax authorities."

This is a currently open and ongoing investigation.

Hence the move to the other political forum. Basically, not really "current event" but not wasted time either. Folks will still see and respond. I try not to be unjust. Sometimes I fail, because I am human.

[Poor Richard Saunders]

That would be one route. Another would be that occupancy changed and the numbers reflect that, as the documents were prepared on different dates with the data available at the time they were prepared.

What occupancy?

The documents are related to payments to Allen Weisselberg (and other employees). One document sent to the government says Weisselberg got paid X. Another document kept internally says he got paid X plus payments in the form of 2 cars, an apartment, tuition for schools, etc. There is no different dates here since the tax year doesn't change. At the end of the year you report the amount paid to the employee during that year. Failing to report the actual payments to an employee is a crime.

[Poor Richard Saunders]

Here's one of the articles I linked--from your google source that was cited in that article. While I normally would not post the entire article, I will this time because it proves there is no citation within it to "two sets of books."


https://www.propublica.org/article/t...nconsistencies

That has nothing to do with the indictment.
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gf...0701124202.pdf

[PoliTalker]

Hello Damocles,

Hence the move to the other political forum. Basically, not really "current event" but not wasted time either. Folks will still see and respond. I try not to be unjust. Sometimes I fail, because I am human.

Well, that's simply a judgement call on what constitutes current event. I always try to be careful about which forum I place new threads in, and do agree that something which is of a general interest in politics, and unrelated to current events, should be in the General Politics Forum. Naturally, it's your call.

As always, I appreciate everything you do to make this site what it is.

[PoliTalker]

Here's a current event relating to this discussion:


September 1, 2021 at 9:15 p.m. EDT Trump Organization’s security director agrees to testify to grand jury


"The Trump Organization’s director of security has agreed to testify before a Manhattan grand jury investigating the former president and his company, according to a person familiar with the case.

Matthew Calamari Jr., 28, received a subpoena to testify on Tuesday from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D) and will appear before the grand jury Thursday afternoon, according to the person.

Calamari Jr. is the son of Matthew Calamari Sr., who now serves as the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer and has worked for former president Donald Trump as a bodyguard, security man and executive for more than 30 years.

The elder Calamari has not been subpoenaed, according to the person familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the subpoena publicly. Vance’s office declined to comment."

Apparently this investigation has indeed 'gone somewhere,' and is ongoing, and cannot be said to have 'gone nowhere.'

[PostmodernProphet]

They can’t charge a president you fucking idiot

he's not the president any more you fucking idiot......

[PoliTalker]

The grand jury continues to hear testimony in this current event.

[PoliTalker]

" (CNN)The Trump Organization's corporate director of security is expected to appear before a grand jury on Thursday in Manhattan, where prosecutors are investigating former President Donald Trump's business, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The executive, Matthew Calamari Jr., was served a subpoena to testify, and he is expected to appear to answer questions before the grand jury, the source said. Calamari Jr. is the son of the company's chief operating officer, a longtime Trump deputy who is also under scrutiny by prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on Calamari Jr.'s expected grand jury testimony.

Under New York state law, Calamari Jr. will be granted transactional immunity on the subjects he testifies about. The decision to bring him before the grand jury signals prosecutors do not plan to indict him.

A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney's office declined to comment.

In July, the district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg with a 15-year alleged tax scheme, saying they systematically avoided paying payroll taxes and income taxes on fringe benefits including rent-free apartments, cars and private school tuition. They pleaded not guilty.

Since prior to the indictment, Calamari Jr. and his father have faced questions by prosecutors about whether they properly paid taxes on subsidized rent and cars they received as benefits from the company, CNN has previously reported.

In recent weeks, the district attorney's office has been pressuring Matthew Calamari Sr., known to be a fiercely loyal employee of the former President, to cooperate, and discussions between prosecutors and his lawyer have continued, the source said. "

Another Trump Organization executive to appear before NY grand jury as prosecutors probe former President's business

Fierce loyalty to Trump has not worked out very well for several people who are in prison or facing criminal charges.

[T. A. Gardner]

Hello T. A. Gardner,



'Gone nowhere?'

Do you maintain that the investigation has been concluded, the charges dropped? Gone stale? Shelved? Nothing happening?

There are several open investigations looking at Trump and his multi-layered tax avoidance schemes.

This investigation is over a year old now with ZERO to show for it. The prosecution hasn't even advanced the one case they've brought forward. That says they've got nothing and don't want to risk a loss in court. If the prosecutors really had something solid they'd be moving the case forward in the courts as fast as they could.

[PoliTalker]

Hello T. A. Gardner,

This investigation is over a year old now with ZERO to show for it.

Totally made me laugh out loud at that one, man.

Ask Weisselberg if he thinks it is all a big dead end.

Even Trump himself has never claimed he did nothing wrong, never claimed they were 'perfect tax forms.' (as you know he would if he thought he was clean.)

The prosecution hasn't even advanced the one case they've brought forward. That says they've got nothing and don't want to risk a loss in court. If the prosecutors really had something solid they'd be moving the case forward in the courts as fast as they could.

How long do you think it takes to unravel a crooked billionaire's multi-layered financials?

Trump's got hundreds of shell companies.

I hope you don't think they are going to be able to just go over it all in a few days.

[PoliTalker]

I still have to laugh that some think this case is dead.

Trump Org probe heats up as more staffers testify

"As Manhattan DA Cy Vance prepares for his retirement this December, The New York Times reports that prosecutors are weighing tax-related crime charges against Trump Organization COO Matthew Calamari Sr. His son and fellow Trump Organization executive Matthew Calamari Jr. recently testified under oath before a grand jury, possibly helping prosecutors get a little closer to the evidence they need."

[PoliTalker]

Vance could hand the case off to his successor, who could continue to advance it.