New York Attorney General, Letitia James, on Tuesday night, said her Office's Probe into The Trump Organization has evolved from a purely Civil One, to add a Criminal Investigation, is a good Reminder of the Various Legal Entanglements facing Trump as he works to keep Control of the Republican Party and mulls a 2024 Presidential Re-Run.
Trump and his Three Kids, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump Jr., are involved in Open Court Case, Let's go through them:
1) New York Attorney General, Letitia James (D), is Examining how Trump Valued his Asset and announced the Civil Case is now a Crimunal Case. While we don't know for sure whether James' Office Uncovered some New potentially Criminal Wrongdoing by The Trump Organization in the course of what had been a Civil Investigation, we do know the various Areas being look at.
In the wake of former Trump attorney, Michael Cohen's Congressional Testimony, alleging that Trump, along with his Family Members, had Repeatedly "inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes," James announced that she would investigate the Claims to see if they Elevate to the Level of Fraud. Her Office has Deposed both Trump's Son Eric and longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg.
2) Manhattan District Attorney, Term-Limited, Cy Vance, Jr., is looking into the Financial Inner Workings of The Trump Organization. This Case grew out of Questions regarding several Hush Money Payments made in the Run-Up to the 2016 Election by Cohen to Women Alleging they had Engaged in Extramarital Affairs with Trump. Cohen told Congress, under Oath, in 2019 that there was "no doubt" in his Mind that Trump knew about the Hush Money Payments.
The Investigation is Broader than just the Hush Money, as Vance is also Examining, whether Trump Overvalued and Undervalued Various Properties, to Lenders and Insurance Companies as well as whether the Company Paid the Appropriate Amount of Taxes. Vance's Probe scored a Major Victory, in February 2021, when the Supreme Court Blocked Trump's attempts to keep Eight years of Tax Records, from 2011 to 2019, out of Vance's Hands. Last month, Vance's Office brought on a Former FBI Forensic Account who was intimately involved in Special Counsel, Robert Mueller's Investigation, into Russian Meddling in the 2016 Election.
Trump was cought in his Scottish Golf Cources, doing the same thing, to Reduce his Taxes but get better Loan Deals.
3) E. Jean Carroll's Defamation Lawsuit. Days before the 2020 Election, a Federal Judge Rejected an Attempt by Trump, Represented by Department of Justice (DOJ) Lawyers, to effectively Dismiss a Case brought by Carroll Alleging that Trump had Raped her in the 1990s. He Denied her Allegation, saying, "She's not my type." The Case is now Proceeding through the Federal Court System.
4) Summer Zervos' Defamation Lawsuit. Zervos, a former Contestant on "The Apprentice," Sued Trump back in 2017, arguing that in his Denial of her Allegation that he had Sexually Assaulted her in 2007, he had Defamed her and Subjected her to Harassment. Trump Lost a Bid to Dismiss the Case in late 2019, and in March 2020, an Appeals Court in New York Rejected Trump's latest Appeal, meaning that the Proceeding will now go before a Trial Court.
5) Mary Trump's Lawsuit. The Niece of the President, and the Author of the Scathing Bestseller "Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man", Sued Trump in September 2020, Alleging that he, his Sister, and his late Brother had Committed Fraud to keep her from getting her Fair Share of the Estate of Trump's Father, Fred Sr.
6) Judge Allows Fraud Suit against Trump, Kids, and Company to Proceed. A Federal Judge Allowed a Federal Lawsuit accusing Trump, his Three Eldest Children, and his Company, of Collaborating with a Fraudulent Marketing Scheme to Prey on Investors to Proceed, Denying the Trumps' Request for a Stay.
The Lawsuit, originally filed in October 2018 and Amended a few months later, alleges that in Exchange for "Secret" Payments, Trump his Three Adult Children used his former Reality TV show "The Celebrity Apprentice" and other Promotional Events as Vehicles to Boost ACN Opportunity, a Telecommunications Marketing Company Linked to a Nonprofit that used Trump's Brand to Appeal to Teens. The Lawsuit also Accuses the Trumps of having Profited off the Poor and Vulnerable, as People looking "to enrich themselves by systematically defrauding economically marginalized people looking to invest in their educations, start their own small business, and pursue the American dream."
"Weighing the two 'most critical' factors -- likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm -- against each other, any prejudice that Defendants and ACN may suffer from proceeding with the litigation during the pendency of the appeal does not outweigh the strong likelihood that Defendants and ACN will not succeed on appeal," U.S. District Court Judge, Lorna Schofield, wrote in her Opinion.
Four Anonymous Plaintiffs brought the Suit, including what Court Papers describe as a Hospice caregiver, a Self-Employed Man, who was once Homeless, and a Food Delivery Driver. The Trumps "deliberately misled" Consumers about the likely Success of their Investments, the Suit claims, and Engaged in "a pattern of racketeering activity." The Suit is being Funded by the Nonprofit Tesseract Research Center, which has Ties to Democratic Candidates.
Four of those Investors live in New York and a Federal Judge has decided to take their Case.
Aside from those myriad Legal Problems is the Question of whether Trump could be Charged with Obstruction-of-Justice for his Attempts to Impede and Inhibit the Mueller Investigation. In a Back-and-Forth during Congressional Testimony in July 2019, Mueller suggested that he Believed Trump could be Charged once he Left Office.
Now, it's Not at all Clear whether Trump himself Faces Direct Legal Peril from Any of these Investigations. And, if Past is Prologue, Trump will use every Means at his Disposal to Slow Down the Legal Proceedings and Muddy the Waters in Terms of Public Perception.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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