The Russia Investigations and other Trump-related cases

[N.E. Brigand]

Actually, it was Trump that proposed a settlement, and Attorney General James who rejected it.

New York attorney general rejects Trump's settlement offer, perhaps clearing the way for a long-expected lawsuit, report says

Well, I should have looked that up before mentioning it. Thanks for the correction. I hope James made the right choice.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

As someone who almost always settles my cases, I suspect that she did.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

[N.E. Brigand]

Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr says that not only is it unlikely that New York Attorney General Letitia James has a solid case against Trump, but he thinks this suit is a "political hit job . . . [because] she grossly overreaches when she tries to drag the children into it. Yes, they had roles in the business, but this was his personal financial statement. It was prepared by the CFO, accounting firms were involved in it -- the children aren't going to know the details of that. Nor are they expected in the real world to do their own due diligence and have it reviewed independently. And so, this looks to me like gross overreach which I think will end up backfiring on them, because I think it will make people sympathetic for Trump, that this is another example of people piling on because of Trump Derangement Syndrome, you know, this strong desire to punish him."

As I noted above, my personal desire to see Donald Trump punished is based in my belief that Trump has engaged in criminal activity for most of his life. As for his children, they are adults,* and this is alleged to be case of fraud concerning hundreds of millions** of dollars. If they agreed to be fiscally responsible, and if that responsibility extended to the financial statements in question, then they very much were supposed to perform due diligence!

*Donald Trump, Jr. is 44 and has five children. Ivanka Trump is 40 and has three children. Eric Trump is 37 and has two children. Don Jr. and Eric supposedly ran their father's company while he was President. Ivanka was a top White House aide. These children have wielded great power. And you know what Spider-man says.

**Edited to add: A.G. James actually says that with "the help of Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and other defendants, Donald Trump variously unlawfully inflated and deflated his net worth by billions to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes. In short, he lied to gain massive financial benefits for himself." (My emphasis.)

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Barr obviously didn't actually read the Complaint, which goes into great detail about about the role that Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric played in the fraudulent scheme.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

As a further explanation for why this is a civil case rather than a criminal case, unlike the attorneys general of most if not all other states, the New York Attorney General does not have the authority to pursue criminal cases, without a special dispensation from the governor. I did not know that previously, and assumed that she would have the authority to pursue criminal cases, and just chose not to. That is apparently why the investigation was run jointly between her office and the Manhattan D.A.'s office, with the latter handling (and botching) the criminal case.

Edited for clarity because apparently my original post was incomprehensible.

[Frelga]

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This is worth saying.

[Frelga]

I've used the phrase "from a mangy sheep a handful of wool is profit" about 3 times today, and this is #4.

With apologies to Mary who already explained that this is not a good agricultural practice.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Meanwhile, with everything else that happened today (what a day!) it is easy to miss that the trial of Trump associate Tom Barrack, who recommended that Trump hire Paul Manafort as his campaign chairman, and then himself was chairman of the committee overseeing the 2017 Trump inauguration, began today. Barrack is accused of using his longtime friendship with Trump to "illegally provide" government officials from the United Arab Emirates with access to the then-president and senior administration official for "money and power."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Yet another important story that got lost in the shuffle yesterday.

E. Jean Carroll says she will sue Trump under NY law for sexual assault and wants his deposition

[Dave_LF]

Yet another important story that got lost in the shuffle yesterday.

Yesterday was indeed a Very Bad Day for the world's assorted fascists and semi-fascists. Somebody pass me the world's tiniest violin. An addition to that theme that doesn't really belong in this thread but what the heck, is that the latest round of polling suggests Brazil's Bolsonaro is about to get trounced when they hold elections next month.

[Sunsilver]

Speaking of Fascists, Stephen Colbert's interview of Ken Burns where he discusses his new documentary, The U.S. and The Holocaust is well worth a listen:

Sobering stuff...

[N.E. Brigand]

Following yesterday's news about Trump's finances in New York, the Scottish press wonders if there will be a proper accounting of Trump's opaque financial dealings in that country.

And hey, why didn't anyone ever get to the bottom of the Trump Org.'s business in the Middle East?

[RoseMorninStar]

Following yesterday's news about Trump's finances in New York, the Scottish press wonders if there will be a proper accounting of Trump's opaque financial dealings in that country.

And hey, why didn't anyone ever get to the bottom of the Trump Org.'s business in the Middle East?

I've wondered about the dealings in the Middle East.. isn't that what Tom Barrack and Jared Kutchner have been up to?

[N.E. Brigand]

Kushner Apartment Company Agrees to $3.2 Million Fine (Baltimore Sun)

That's the long delayed response to what was first reported in 2017:

Tenants in more than a dozen Baltimore-area rental complexes complain about a property owner who they say leaves their homes in disrepair, humiliates late-paying renters and often sues them when they try to move out. Few of them know that their landlord is the president’s son-in-law.

[Sunsilver]

According to this lawyer, Trump is well and truly s***ed, and he has only himself to blame re. the real estate fraud suit:
I am quite pleased that him (and his family) constantly invoking the Fifth Amendment has come back to bite him! Honest people do not need to invoke the Fifth!

Trump Made N.Y. Attorney General’s Fraud Case Virtually Unbeatable https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/ ... 2FtATSWWNs

[elengil]

Here is what always baffles me about these kinds of articles (not the article itself, just the information in them)

Trump exaggerated the square footage of his triplex apartment in Trump Tower, claiming it was 30,000 square feet rather than its actual size of 11,000 square feet, and therefore should be valued at $327 million rather than $80 million.

When I want to refinance my house, the banks sends someone to evaluate the property. I don't just *tell* them what I want my house to be worth, or just *tell* them what size it is.

When talking about loans in the millions of dollars, how is it possible that nobody involves independent assessments?? Is the claim that he simply buys off the assessment to say whatever he wants? Or do the banks really look at rich people and think "Sure, this guy *definitely* tells the truth"???

[RoseMorninStar]

Here is what always baffles me about these kinds of articles (not the article itself, just the information in them)

Trump exaggerated the square footage of his triplex apartment in Trump Tower, claiming it was 30,000 square feet rather than its actual size of 11,000 square feet, and therefore should be valued at $327 million rather than $80 million.

When I want to refinance my house, the banks sends someone to evaluate the property. I don't just *tell* them what I want my house to be worth, or just *tell* them what size it is.

When talking about loans in the millions of dollars, how is it possible that nobody involves independent assessments?? Is the claim that he simply buys off the assessment to say whatever he wants? Or do the banks really look at rich people and think "Sure, this guy *definitely* tells the truth"???

SO much this! I had the exact same thoughts. It must be the privilege of the wealthy.

[Sunsilver]

Never thought of that, but yes, very true! I had to get my property evaluated when I switched my mortgage to a new lender. (And the assessor was former Toronto Maple Leaf coach, Pat Quinn! )