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The Trump Organization was found guilty Tuesday of committing tax fraud, to the utter delight of the left. In spite of the fact that former President Trump is not being charged in the case, the left hopes that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, will be able to find something, anything, that will put Trump in prison for the rest of his life.
The jury began deliberating on Monday and found the Trump Organization companies guilty on all charges of tax fraud as well as other crimes. The verdict of the six-week trial was announced Tuesday and included 17 criminal counts for the Trump Payroll Corporation and the Trump Corporation, both which were indicted in July of last year.
The company's CFO, Allen Weisselberg was accused of using illegal measures to reduce payroll liability from executive salaries via untaxed bonuses and perks worth millions. He pleaded guilty in August and agreed to testify against the company to save his sorry butt in a deal with prosecutors. He is expected to serve a mere five months in jail and vowed not to drop the soap like he dropped a dime on the company.
Bragg said that Trump remains under investigation and will be for the rest of his life if nothing can immediately implicate him in a crime.
The investigation initially targeted hush-money payments made by former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen during the 2016 presidential campaign to porn performer Stormy Daniels, but later widened to include the corporate tax fraud charges. Once Cohen turned on Trump, he instantly became the darling of the left and his name was barely mentioned in the trial.
Bragg said that Trump remains under investigation and will be for the rest of his life if nothing can immediately implicate him in a crime.
The investigation initially targeted hush-money payments made by former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen during the 2016 presidential campaign to porn performer Stormy Daniels, but later widened to include the corporate tax fraud charges. Once Cohen turned on Trump, he instantly became the darling of the left and his name was barely mentioned in the trial.
Weisselberg [aka "The Weasel"] spent several days on the stand where he testified about the tax schemes. He, along with two others, Jeff McConney and Donald Bender, who had been given immunity detailed the methods the Trump Organization executives used to avoid taxes and payroll liability on large bonuses and benefits.
"Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," Trump's lawyers said repeatedly, a phrase a prosecutor later called their "mantra."
Prosecutors said Weisselberg was one of several top executives who received large annual bonus checks, signed by Trump and logged as if they were payments to independent contractors, and luxury perks such as high-end apartments, private school tuition and cars that were not reported as salary.
And Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said during his closing argument that Trump knew about because he can read minds and asked Juror number four to pick a number; any number.
"The fact is this was sanctioned, and that the practice was known to Mr. Trump," Steinglass claimed.
The Trump Organization could face up to $1.6 million in fines. Sentencing is expected to take place on Jan. 13, 2023.
Alan Futerfas, an attorney for the Trump Organization, said the company will "certainly" file an appeal.
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg, a soft-on-crime progressive, praised the jury and called the verdict "a very just result."
"The former president's companies now stand convicted of crimes. That is consequential. It underscores that in Manhattan, we have one standard of justice for all," Bragg told reporters outside the courtroom.
Meanwhile, murder is up in Bragg's borough and criminals get their no-bail walking papers before the cops finish writing their reports. Many have called for Bragg's removal from office, but only the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, can do that and she isn't going to lift a finger. Bragg has downgraded over half of the felony cases that came before his office, but Trump is a different story.
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| Alvin Bragg |
New York Attorney General Letitia James has indicated the jury's findings could have bearing on a civil case being pursued by her office, which conducted a civil investigation to find something, anything, on Trump. They have the person, now they're looking to find a crime, a maneuver known as 'law fare.'
The criminal case is laser focused on executive compensation while James' case, filed in September, accuses the former President and his children of widespread, long standing efforts to commit fraud and manipulate property valuations [which means they tried to get as much money as they could when selling property--like asking more for your house when selling it than the market says it's worth--something that isn't illegal unless it's Trump and his progeny].
The company and the Trumps deny all allegations in that case, which is scheduled to go to trial in October 2023.
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