Trump Has Cheated On His Taxes, And We Can Prove It

[UCmeNdc]

Trump was found guilty twice of filing tax returns with improper deductions. And now Congress will have access to his returns.


While the Intelligence Committees will be looking at possible foreign financial influence on the so-called president, Ways and Means will be investigating whether Trump cheated on his taxes. There's a precedent for this.

David Cay Johnston appeared on CNN's New Day on Thursday. He's seen some of Trump's tax returns as part of his own research, and notes that yes, Trump cheated on his tax returns. He was found guilty of taking improper deductions on two separate occasions.

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/02/trump-has-cheated-his-taxes-and-we-can

[Javaman]

1. and the orange assholes response? "who doesn't cheat a little on their taxes?" then smirks. nt

[onenote]

2. How did Johnston get access to Trump's tax returns

And where is the evidence that he's been found guilty of filing returns with improper deductions?

[Recursion]

3. Trump inadvisedly sued him for libel, so it was part of discovery

Kind of funny story, really

[onenote]

4. If Trump was found guilty of tax fraud

there would be a public record of it. What court? What year? The link in the story goes to an article that doesn't say anything about Trump being found guilty of anything.

I'm withholding judgment on this story until there is some actual evidence it's true.

[onenote]

8. Not so.

I found the information. Johnston received the partial 2005 returns from an unknown source. Some have speculated that the source is Tim O'Brien, who Trump sued for libel but even Johnston has said he doesn't think that is the case. In any event, nothing in the story about the origins of these partial returns supports the "twice found guilty" claim in the OP-linked story.


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/15/david-cay-johnston-trump-tax-return-interview

[Recursion]

10. Ah, thanks, I was thinking of O'Brien (nt)

[DirtEdonE]

5. trump is the orange version of

Leona Helmsley.

But then, they're all one version or another of each other. The billionaires, I'm referring to, real or imagined.

Billionaire is obscene.

[Kensan]

6. The payoffs to Stormy and Karen...

I'd be willing to bet those were characterized as legal expenses, and deducted on one of his business entity tax returns. He's the boss, right? Those returns are filed under penalties of perjury.

I'm sure there are plenty of shady things going on in Trump's returns, but the payoffs to keep his extra-marital affairs secret is just low-hanging fruit to prove he cheats on his tax returns.

[FakeNoose]

9. The payoff money came out of his campaign funds

That was part of his problem, originally. If he had paid the women out of his personal bank account, it all would have been legal and above board. But no, he used campaign donations (which is illegal) to pay them and later he and Cohen lied about it.

His tax returns should tell us what he owns, what he owes, and where his properties are located. Maybe his deductions and write-offs will tell us more about his business operations too.

[Kensan]

11. I was not aware of that...

I may not be aware of every facet in this matter, since there seems to be an endless supply of lawlessness in Trumpland. My understanding was that Cohen originally said he paid the money out of his own pocket without any reimbursement. Later, it came to light that he was, in fact, reimbursed. I don't remember if good ole Rudy disclosed that bombshell in one of his foot-in-mouth TV interviews. I thought it became a campaign finance matter simply because the hush payments could be viewed as in-kind contributions that weren't disclosed properly (and would have exceeded allowable limits).

I figured the actual money to reimburse Cohen came from Trump Organization, which is why Trump would find a way to classify the expenditures as something that would be deductible (even though the reality the payments were non-deductible personal expenses).

[FakeNoose]

13. Yes it would have been a private matter, unseemly but not illegal

... if they had used money from the Trump organization or Trump's bank account to pay the women to keep quiet. It's his downfall due to his own stupidity.

[Kensan]

15. I found this article...

https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/08/new-york-state-probes-michael-cohen-trump-organization-payments/


Reading this article, it appears the Trump Organization made the reimbursement payments. I’m back to my original theory that Trump would have deducted the payments as legal expenses. He wouldn’t go through all that effort to disguise the payments, and then refuse to take a deduction for them. The nature of the payments obviously were not deductible expenses under IRC Sections 162 or 212, so he will be assessed tax and penalties once this matter is resolved.

Given the effort involved to conceal the nature of the payments, I hope they impose fraud penalties, as well. Sure seems premeditated to me, and Cohen has him on tape discussing it.

[onenote]

14. Again: what court, what returns. I call BS.

I'm calling bs on the claim he's been found guilty of tax fraud twice.

I'm not saying he hasn't committed tax fraud, but if he had been found guilty of it, there would be a public record of that conviction.

[SergeStorms]

7. Hey, that's how the government nailed Capone.

If this was all they could get on Trump...... I want the s.o.b. to hang from the rafters though, for all his crimes. I want the entire Trump crime family to be reduced to poverty, and to spend many years in a federal prison. Anything less will be a slap in the face of the American people.

[roamer65]

12. Felony income tax evasion and money laundering.

That is how they will bring him and his scampire down.