Continued from Middleboro Review #2
Of all the people on Earth who have spent time studying Trump’s financial past, David Cay Johnston might have more academic understanding and familiarity with Trump’s situation than any other journalist. When he speaks about Trump and his future people should listen.
Cay Johnston has long believed that he, personally, had enough evidence to put Trump away long ago, but – granted, he did not have to fight the political fight that might have made things more difficult even prior to the administration.
But now Cay-Johnston is saying that Trump will be indicted for racketeering. According to Mediaite:
“It’s one thing to assert to local property tax officials or a banker you’re trying to get a loan from that your worth is, let’s say, $100 million,” said Cay Johnston, who specializes in covering tax issues. “But if you claim it’s $1 billion, that’s fraud.”
He went on to use a very specific example:
“Valuations matter and in Trump’s case, we know that he has, for example, argued that his golf course in Westchester County, New York is worth $1.4 million,” he said. “But on his presidential form he says $50 million and in interviews, he says more than $100 million. Well, those numbers aren’t reconcilable.”
And no. Trump cannot just point at his CFO or his accountants and blame them.
“At the end of the day, when you sign a document like your tax return, you’re responsible for it, even if it was prepared by somebody else,” he said, later adding that the prosecutor will have to show any incorrect documents were prepared under the direction of Trump.
“Trump’s team, when he’s indicted — and I’m certain he will be indicted — is going to try to lay the blame on everybody else,” Cay Johnston added. But in an interview this morning, Cay Johnston said that he suspects Trump will be indicted for racketeering because he doesn’t do “business” so much as long-form fraud, through loans he has no intention of honoring (just restructuring) to lies to customers to valuations, even statistics as to occupancy rates and rents coming in.
He also added that he expects New York prosecutors to bring a racketeering charge against Trump in addition to any tax charge.
Racketeering:
Racketeering is the act of acquiring a business through illegal activity, operating a business with illegally-derived income, or using a business to commit illegal acts. The U.S. government introduced the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in October 1970 to contain racketeering.
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