It might be the night before "Turn Over the Tax Return" order, and--honestly--I _am_ having trouble falling asleep.
If Donny Dollhands' accountants have to turn over his returns, he is finished. Why? First, massive tax fraud. 1/x
If Donny Dollhands' accountants have to turn over his returns, he is finished. Why? First, massive tax fraud. 1/x
You may recall, after his atty Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000, Trump LLC paid _more_ money to Cohen--grossing him up, so Cohen got $130,000 after paying taxes on the income--and so the LLC could fraudulently claim it as a deductible business expense. (It wasn't) 2/x
That deal came to light before Trump LLC filed its return for the year, so they presumably didn't commit fraud then--but it's clear that's the way they did business. So a close look at the return would show tax fraud--not just federal, but NY state. 3/x
And when there's actual fraud, the statute of limitations can be up to six years in NY. Beyond that, the returns may be inconsistent with representations made by Trump to banks to get loans. That's how the U.S. got Manafort--was it tax fraud or bank fraud? It had to be one. 4/x
Then there's the matter that insiders--like CFO Allen Weisselberg--may have criminal liability for tax fraud too, giving them an incentive to roll over on Trump. To make them enforceable, NDAs generally have to have an exception to permit truthful testimony under subpoena. 5/x
The tax return cases aren't close, or difficult. Nixon had to turn over tapes _Nixon_ had. Trump's accountants should have to hand over his tax returns. (And Trump's claims of "absolute" immunity are absurd.) Kavanaugh is wholly-owned, but 5-6 Justices should follow the law. 6/x
The opinions could come out tomorrow morning (the tax return cases are 3 of the 6 cases not yet announced this term.)
Sleep well, friends. And to better days--like, possibly, one tomorrow. 7/7
Sleep well, friends. And to better days--like, possibly, one tomorrow. 7/7
