WP: NY AG sues Trump family over “persistent illegal conduct” at Trump Foundation

[gbear]

My estimate goes down for how long it takes if they already know exactly for what they are looking.  A document search with search criteria already known can go faster.  Still, if they are cautious, they will take the time to scan and catalog everything.  This may also lead to additional findings too.    

[China]

Donald Trump Jr. tells D.C. prosecutors he didn't authorize spending $50,000 from his father's inaugural committee on hotel rooms for his friends

 

Donald Trump Jr. was deposed this month by the attorney general of Washington, D.C. in a probe of the Trump inaugural committee where he said he did not authorize his assistant to enter a nearly $50,000 contract with a D.C. hotel.

 

The president's son, a Trump Organization executive, made the statement in connection to a probe D.C. attorney general Karl Racine on February 11.  

 

Racine is conducting a probe of the 2017 inaugural committee after suing the company and Trump's D.C. hotel for alleged misuse of Trump inaugural funds.

Racine accuses the entities of 'blatantly and unlawfully abusing nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family,' something Trump Jr. and the Trump Organization have denied.

 

Trump Jr., whose father faces probes in New York related to his business and in Georgia related to his election overturn effort, was deposed Feb. 11 in connection with the probe, according to a government filing.

 

The filing states that his deposition raised 'further questions' about a $49,359 contract that witnesses testified the Trump organization reached for a bloc of rooms at the Lowe's Madison hotel just blocks north of the White House in connection with the inauguration.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Litigation Tracker: Pending Criminal and Civil Cases Against Donald Trump

 

On both the criminal and civil litigation fronts, former President Donald Trump faces a bevy of lawsuits and investigations, with more cases likely to follow. Some are civil suits stemming from his pre-presidential business dealings. Others are defamation claims from women he allegedly assaulted. More still are criminal probes and civil actions that scrutinize his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Chart below tracks all these cases. It will be continually updated as major legal developments occur.

 

These cases bear on two pressing questions. First, will Trump maintain his long streak of eluding legal liability in the face of so many lawsuits? Second, if Trump is held to account for illegal conduct, what impact will such a development have on his—and his family’s—political and business fortunes?

 

Criminal charges—one would think—would be among the most damaging outcomes. After all, a criminal prosecution of a former president would be a singular event in American history. No former president has ever been indicted, much less convicted. Trump lost any immunity from indictment that he may have possessed as president the moment he left office on Jan. 20. To be sure, most of the criminal probes detailed below are in their infancy, so the odds of an actual conviction at this time remain improbable. Even so, the mere stigma of criminal charges against the former president could reshape the American political landscape and the historical understanding of Trump’s behavior.

 

The civil cases could certainly do their fair share of damage as well, directly or indirectly. If Trump falters in one of his business-related suits, his companies may be subject to massive penalties, or worse. Even apart from such sanctions, his empire is reportedly struggling under looming debt obligations and reduced revenues, a slump which could worsen if his reputation continues to deteriorate.

 

Click on the link for more, including the list of pending lawsuits

[visionary]

 

[China]

^^^^From that article:

 

Quote

Mr. Weisselberg, 73, an accountant, began his career working for Mr. Trump’s father and has overseen the Trump Organization’s books for decades. 

 

 

 

[visionary]

 

[China]

Protests erupt outside Trump Tower demanding ex-president’s arrest after he returns to NYC

 

Protests erupted outside Trump Tower demanding the ex-president’s arrest after he returned to New York for the first time since leaving office.

 

Anti-Trump protesters gathered outside his Manhattan skyscraper after he jetted into the city without wife Melania from Florida on Sunday.

 

Mr Trump is expected to stay in the city until Tuesday, although it is not known the reason for his visit.

 

The crowd outside the Fifth Avenue building where Mr Trump has a penthouse apartment, carried signs that read “Arrest Trump”, “Indict Trump”, and “Florida Man Go Home.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Riggo-toni]

Lock him up!

Lock him up!

Lock him up!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed that it's taking this long.  I consider myself a pretty patient person, but...c'mon.  

[TheGreatBuzz]

4 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed that it's taking this long.  I consider myself a pretty patient person, but...c'mon.  

I’ve accepted the fact that nothing is going to happen.

[Llevron]

3 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I’ve accepted the fact that nothing is going to happen.

 

I am going to tell myself that Biden and the Dems are focused on getting through COVID first and then they will split resources between Trumps crimes and Voting rights.

 

Delusion can be fun! 

[Spaceman Spiff]

20 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I’ve accepted the fact that nothing is going to happen.

 

I'm getting to that point, too.  An old business saying "Time kills all deals," and while this might not be business per se, I just get the feeling the longer things take that nothing is gonna happen.  I don't like being a pessimist about this but I also refuse to get my hopes up that Trump is going to get his. 

[Chachie]

38 minutes ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I’ve accepted the fact that nothing is going to happen.

 

 

"Nothing will happen" has been my motto since mid-2017. It goes for congress too. Every time someone posts a complaint/expose/corrupt suspicion about conservative gov't on social media I reply with "Nothing will happen." 

 

The biggest source of my agony is the liberal members of congress who (other than impeachment) just seem to continue a run of naivity and impotence throughout every clash with the criminals across the aisle. The January 6 insurrection is proving no different. I never hear a single mention made during hearings of the fact that the perpetrators are literally part of the investigative committees. CALL THEM OUT OR STFU and just admit you can't because they may have dirt on YOU. 

[NoCalMike]

I am learning towards the "nothing will happen" camp too, but I will also say that I am more encouraged at investigations going on post-Trump Presidency than I was before since it keeps it out of the daily news and constant back and forth you always hear.   

[EmirOfShmo]

 

I'm keeping the positive vibes flowing...

[China]

NYC prosecutors' probe into Trump finances expands to include millions loaned for Chicago skyscraper

 

The Manhattan district attorney's office subpoenaed documents from an investment company that loaned the Trump Organization millions of dollars for its Chicago skyscraper in a sign that the investigation into the former president's finances continues to expand, according to people familiar with the investigation.

 

Prosecutors issued the grand jury subpoena to Fortress Investment Management late last year, the people said, as part of their wide-ranging investigation into former President Donald Trump and his company.

Investigators' interest in how Trump and his company treated the Chicago loan is an expansion of an inquiry that encompasses multiple aspects of the Trump business.

 

Prosecutors are examining whether the company misled lenders or insurance brokers about valuations for certain properties. They are also investigating fees paid to consultants and a conservation easement taken on a New York family estate called Seven Springs.

Their interest in Fortress relates to a $130 million loan the company made to the Trump Organization for the construction of a luxury hotel and condo tower in Chicago.

By 2012, Fortress subsequently forgave more $100 million of the loan, which, including interest and fees, was worth about $150 million, according to court filings. The forgiveness was done to secure a partial re-payment of about $45 million at a time when the real estate market was suffering from the financial crisis.

Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's office are looking into whether Trump and the Trump Organization recorded the loan forgiveness as income, as required by the Internal Revenue Service, and paid the appropriate taxes, the people say.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[EmirOfShmo]

John Dean thinks The Orange Mangina's days are numbered

 

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[China]

Ron DeSantis May Refuse To Extradite Trump If He Is Criminally Charged

 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an ally of Trump’s, might refuse to extradite the former president if he is criminally charged in New York.

 

Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to engage in almost unthinkable tactics to protect himself. Among his social circle in Palm Beach, speculation abounds that Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, an ally, might not honor an extradition request from New York if a bench warrant were issued for Trump’s arrest.

 

Dave Aronberg, the state’s attorney for Palm Beach County, doubts that such defiance would stand. Extradition, he points out, is a constitutional duty, and a governor’s role in it is merely “ministerial.” But he admitted that the process might not go smoothly: “You know what? I thought January 6th would go smoothly. Congress’s role was just ministerial then, too.” (DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment.)

 

DeSantis could put up a stink because he also has 2024 presidential ambitions, and being seen as the guy who refused to turn over Trump to the cops would be viewed as a political asset with Republican primary voters.

 

It wouldn’t work. Trump would end up being extradited, but it would give Trump the MAGA martyrdom that he constantly craves and needs.

 

The fact that the conversation about Trump being criminally charged has reached the point where those in his social circle are debating his extradition is telling. Vance is retiring at the end of the year, but he will have to decide whether or not criminally charge Trump before he leaves office.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Civil suits may pry out the information we need to hold Trump accountable

 

The former president faces at least 10 lawsuits, and procedural rules he can’t dodge
 

When I asked Mary Trump why she was suing her uncle, former president Donald Trump, she replied: “Justice. For justice.” Like so many who have tried before, she seeks to hold him accountable, to make good on the tarnished principle that no man is above the law. Impeachment failed — twice — and although criminal investigators have nipped at Trump’s heels for years, he has never been charged with a crime, even in the case where he was identified as the unnamed co-conspirator of his former lawyer, who went to prison.

 

Civil cases differ from criminal cases in obvious ways: They seek money damages; no one goes to prison; and plaintiffs establish their claims by a preponderance of the evidence, not “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” But civil cases differ in another way, too. They have extensive pretrial discovery. Nothing in a criminal case — or impeachment, for that matter — compares to civil discovery, the process of scooping up evidence from depositions of parties and witnesses, requests for documents, and written questions answered under oath. Discovery is more regimented in criminal cases; it primarily involves the prosecution sharing with the defense the evidence it will use at trial, as well as exculpatory evidence. Civil discovery, in short, can lead to the mother lode.

 

Trump is a defendant in at least 10 civil cases, including his niece’s. A reckoning awaits — one that will require his personal participation in instances where he has no Fifth Amendment privilege to assert, and it is likely to be speedier and more direct than any criminal reckoning.

 

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) elected this route. He filed suit this month against Trump in federal court in the District of Columbia under the Ku Klux Klan Act, which allows damages against anyone conspiring to “prevent by force, intimidation or threat” an official from discharging his duties. His lawsuit alleges that Trump, his son Don Jr., lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) were participants in a conspiracy to interfere with the performance of congressional duties. It alleges that the four spread baseless claims of election fraud and riled up the crowd that ultimately stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. The suit also claims that the defendants were negligent and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

 

Once a civil case survives a motion to dismiss (an early stage that tests whether the allegations are legally actionable), discovery begins in earnest — the collection of precisely the sort of evidence Trump vigorously guarded throughout his presidency, hiding behind excessively broad claims of executive privilege or simply refusing to provide it. A private citizen who is a party to a civil lawsuit has to comply. Parties can’t refuse to be deposed. They can’t dodge questions they don’t want to answer — the deposition proceeding requires a response. It is not unheard of for a judge, in a case with a reluctant deponent, to require that a deposition be taken in the courthouse so responses can be compelled if necessary. Parties can object to questions, but only as challenges to their admissibility later on. An answer that proves false can lead to perjury charges.

 

While discovery often proceeds under a protective order, that doesn’t mean the information remains secret forever. Much of it tends to become public as the parties file and argue motions. While some information (that involving national security or something highly personal, for instance) can stay protected, a heavy burden is placed on litigants who seek to keep information from public view.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

I want one of the depositions to ask him, under oath, "Have you ever cheated on your wife?"  

 

 

[Mooka]

Donald Trump has faced more civil suits and indictments in his lifetime then you could count. Hundreds.... probably thousands. 

 

Not really confident the gotcha moment is coming. 

 

 

 

[skinsmarydu]

1 hour ago, Mooka said:

Donald Trump has faced more civil suits and indictments in his lifetime then you could count. Hundreds.... probably thousands. 

 

Not really confident the gotcha moment is coming. 

 

 

 

"Indictment" is a criminal term...to my knowledge, he hasn't faced anything of that sort...yet. 

I'm counting on my girl Fani Willis here in ATL to put that notch on her lipstick case. 

 

And I will not hide (for one single second) the thrill I'll feel when a woman takes him down. 

[China]

1 hour ago, Mooka said:

Donald Trump has faced more civil suits and indictments in his lifetime then you could count. Hundreds.... probably thousands. 

 

Not really confident the gotcha moment is coming. 

 

 

 

 

It is correct that his companies have been involved in thousands of lawsuits, and he personally named in hundreds (Link), but he has never been indicted.  But many of those were in fact filed by him or his companies.  And he has lost or settled a good many of them, having tax liens put on several properties and being forced to pay out millions of dollars.  He may finally be indicted on something, but will likely avoid jail time.  I suspect he may settle and/or be forced to pay out money in one or more of the pending civil suits.

[China]

Trump Faces N.Y. Probes With Mob Lawyer and Giuliani Protege

 

Many top-flight lawyers abandoned Donald Trump during his divisive presidency, but he still has two in his corner as he faces his biggest legal threats.

 

Alan Futerfas and Marc Mukasey are representing Trump in two separate New York investigations which could lead to a historic prosecution of the former president. Both lawyers have big courtroom wins under their belts and, perhaps most importantly, won’t ditch their client if the political temperature rises.

 

That’s been a big problem for Trump. Large law firms Morgan Lewis, Seyfarth Shaw and Porter Wright all dumped him amid the outcry over his false claims of a stolen election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump also struggled to attract big-name lawyers and firms during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

 

“We don’t choose to provide or withhold service based on someone’s politics,” said Mukasey, who describes himself as a moderate who has supported both Republicans and Democrats. Both he and Futerfas have their own firms and are unafraid that representing Trump will scare away other clients or law student recruits.

 

Click on the link for the full article