Closing arguments for Trump Organization criminal tax fraud trial begin Thursday
Restoring AmericaDec 01, 2022Dec 01, 2022
Facts
- After being convicted last month of 17 felonies in total, two Trump organizations have been dealt a roughly $1.6M fine, with entities Trump Corp. and Trump Payroll Corp. to pay $810k and $800k, respectively.[1]
- Though Donald Trump himself wasn't convicted, his name came up dozens of times throughout the trial, mainly during the defense's examination of witnesses. Prosecutors, however, claimed Trump sanctioned the fraud, showing the jury checks he signed and a memo he initialed.[2]
- The company's sentencing comes after long-time Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to evading taxes by receiving benefits instead of salary, was sentenced on Tuesday to five months in New York City's Rikers Island prison followed by five years probation.[3]
- New York District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg said Weisselberg received untaxed "perks such as a rent-free luxury Manhattan apartment, multiple Mercedes Benz automobiles and private school tuition for his grandchildren." He will also pay a $2M fine, though he didn't implicate Trump in his plea.[4]
- Though the companies' sentences today are a relatively small sum, Bragg has argued that the former president was well aware of the scheme and is reportedly pursuing another investigation into the integrity of his financial statements.[5]
- The tax fraud charges were an offshoot of former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.'s probe into Trump allegedly paying hush money to adult actress Stormy Daniels, which then pivoted to examine whether Trump and his company falsely valued assets. New York Attorney General Letitia James is now investigating that matter.[3]
Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
This case was just another attempt to undermine Trump and his organization with frivolous lawsuits. Weisselberg had already pleaded guilty and is the clear culprit behind the alleged scheme, yet the former president's opposition is quick to use this as a weapon against him. Democrats seemingly won’t stop until they’ve bled Trump dry through legal warfare.
Democratic narrative
Any attempts to separate Trump from the fraud committed by his company are naïve. While the former president may not be on trial in this particular case, there's no doubt that the businessman was fully aware of Weisselberg's — and the rest of his companies — doings. The defense had a losing case from the start.
Nerd narrative
There's a 37% chance that any US court will rule that Donald J Trump is disqualified from holding the presidency before January 20, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
