Daniel R. Alonso Profile picture
Sep 27, 2020 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Thread: Those who are writing that tax *avoidance* (the term @nytimes uses) is not a crime are exactly right - tax *evasion* is a crime, not "avoidance." But there is a lot here that with a proper investigation could lead to discovery of criminality. /1
nytimes.com/interactive/20…
This article contains what federal agents and prosecutors call "predication," which is the bare amount you need to open a criminal investigation. But who would investigate? The President himself oversees @IRS_CI and @FBI and @TheJusticeDept. /2
Luckily, regulations from 20 years ago provide for what happens when such a conflict of interest exists: the Attorney General "will appoint a Special Counsel." /3
Now, we've been down this path before, and it didn't turn out well for the Attorney General who recused, and the Acting AG got a world of hell rained down on him for appointing a Special Counsel. /4
politico.com/story/2018/04/…
Nevertheless, if you or I had, say, deducted expenses that should have been personal, we'd be investigated. Not saying there is necessarily a crime here; just that there's enough to investigate. /5
But those kinds of deductions are routinely prosecuted in federal court. A very famous case in New York is that of Al Pirro, then husband of @JudgeJeanine. /6
nytimes.com/2000/06/23/nyr…
Pirro deducted personal expenses as business, and therefore "had brazenly violated a fundamental tenet of the American tax system: that every taxpayer must pay his or her fair share, regardless of wealth or influence." He got 29 months in prison. /7
nytimes.com/2000/11/02/nyr…
If I were a prosecutor, I'd want to know whether the IRS civil auditors had found what are called "badges of fraud" - indicators that incorrect deductions had been done intentionally through some sort of deceptive act - & I'd want to see the audit results. /8
But it seems that the Special Counsel possibility should be in play. Too close to the election, perhaps? Um, is anything too close anymore? /end

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More from @DanielRAlonso

Jul 4, 2021
THREAD in response to @alegalnerd: Where to begin? Since McCarthy is a smart commentator whose work I sometimes agree with, I'll start with the positive. he's right that in the old days when he was a fed, SDNY never liked letting the DA's office take "high-profile" cases.
2/ They usually won, but not always - see eg., the CBS Murders, Tyco, BCCI, & most of the bank cases that Morgenthau started and Vance increased. He's also right that fed law generally favors prosecutors more than NYS. In other words, federal prosecutions are *easier.*
3/ That's where we part ways. On some things, he's just factually wrong: (1) NY's broad double jeopardy is not "under New York’s constitution," as @AndrewCMcCarthy says, but it is a *statute*, NY CPL 40.20
Read 23 tweets
Jul 2, 2021
Excellent thread, which adds a twist to the question that was being asked before the indictments: will the indictments cause the Trump Org to go under, and specifically, will its lenders demand immediate repayment of loans?
2/ I’m skeptical this indictment alone, particularly bc it doesn’t encompass the company’s core activities, would lead to that result (& it’s notably not an argument the Org’s lawyers have made publicly). If they’re performing, banks like $ & wouldn’t have huge incentive. But...
3/ Eichenwald reminds us that a key debt covenant relates to accurate books and records & that’s likely in the Org’s loan agreements. First step is for lenders to ask questions - if they find false entries, which it seems likely they will, the Org could be in jeopardy.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 4, 2021
THREAD answering some questions about the #ManhattanDA race and recent controversy and sniping over candidate fundraising and suggestions in yesterday's @nytimes that @AlvinBraggNYC & @TaliFarhadian had created issues that Trump could exploit in any future prosecution.
2/ I've already analyzed the issue of Weinstein's interview for a judgeship with the White House counsel's office during Trump's first year in office and dismissed it as a non-issue.
3/ Worth noting that two law professors, @CBHessick and @jedshug agreed in excellent threads yesterday. Shugerman disclosed that he supports Weinstein's candidacy but Hessick (thread above) is not supporting anyone (nor am I, though I've expressed views).
Read 23 tweets
Sep 22, 2020
This plan to combat violence from a #ManhattanDA candidate is notable for a few reasons. First, it is incredibly substantive for a political campaign - @TaliFarhadian has clearly thought about this crucial issue. /1
Second, it's a crucial issue and she is practically the *only* candidate who has a real plan - the sole exception being @LucyLangNYC, whose website reveals a five-point plan that is also quite thoughtful. /2
votelucylang.com/en/ending-gun-… Image
Not surprisingly, the candidates who haven't been prosecutors don't even mention the issue on their websites. @AlvinBraggNYC, who certainly has experience, devotes only a small section of his site to the issue, focusing (good) on trafficking and community anti-violence: /3 Image
Read 4 tweets
Aug 5, 2020
Forgive me for being a little late to the party at the end of a long day. I worked with and under @AWeissmann_ and appeared many times before Judge Gleeson, and I think your criticism is not completely correct. /1
You're right that Barr did not monkey with the sentencing rules - the guidelines calculation was correct - he just thought the sentence was too harsh. You're also spot on that if DOJ thinks 1001 GL are harsh, then examine this across the boars, and not only for DJT's buddies. /2
But I understand what Andrew was saying bc I was taught this way as well (including by him): he's talking about guidelines calculations and the obligation of AUSAs to make sure the court and probation are not misled as to the relevant facts and relevant conduct. /3
Read 9 tweets
Aug 3, 2020
An important note to this story is that if there are indictments, a new #DistrictAttorney may well try them. DA Vance has not yet said whether he's running, but here are the declared candidates to succeed him, by general description (not full resumes). /1

nytimes.com/2020/08/03/nyr…
-a career public defender
-a member of the NYS Assembly who handles personal injury cases for insurance companies
-a small-firm litigator admitted to the Bar for 10 years
-an ACLU lawyer since 2018, with 10 previous jobs in 9 years before
None was ever a prosecutor. /2
Also, the following 3 (by general description) have declared and were prosecutors:
-a former SDNY AUSA who also served as Chief Deputy AG in NYS
-a former EDNY AUSA who worked for AG Holder & was General Counsel at Brooklyn DA
-a former career Manhattan ADA whom DA Vance...
/3
Read 6 tweets

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