8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A.

[fleur-de-lisa]

Source: New York Times

State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed President Trump’s accounting firm to demand eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The subpoena opens a new front in a wide-ranging effort to obtain copies of the president’s tax returns, which Mr. Trump initially said he would make public during the 2016 campaign but has since refused to disclose.

The subpoena was issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office late last month, soon after it opened a criminal investigation into the role that the president and his family business played in hush-money payments made in the run-up to the election.

Both Mr. Trump and his company reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, for money Mr. Cohen paid to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. The president has denied the affair.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/nyregion/trump-tax-returns-cy-vance.html

[riversedge]

1. Lets hope that NY has better luck than the House committee

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Maraya1969]

20. It shouldn't be a matter of luck. If the returns aren't turned

Over the person in charge should go to jail and be fined

I can't believe no one has been so far.

[Leghorn21]

2. Super, great & fabulous news!!!

Hey Manhattan, thanks and hang tough

[Blue_playwright]

3. Cue the Tweetstorm meltdown

[New Breed Leader]

9. TWITTER TIME!

https://imgur.com/A5n0dKh

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[img][/img]

[Gothmog]

4. This may be part of Cohen cooperation deal

Link to tweet

[FakeNoose]

39. I think you're right about this

Otherwise, how could they nail it down to 8 specific years? The DA must already have info from Cohen about where to look. Also it's possible they've talked to Allen Weisselberg the CFO for Chump Organization. I'm glad this is finally getting somewhere. Here's hoping it's not a wild goose chase!

[Gothmog]

41. Pardons will not work for trump here

[Glimmer of Hope]

5. Just leak them already!!

[dchill]

6. We'll see what we will see...

Eventually.

[Paper Roses]

7. Just "Hush Money"? So much more to be reviewed. n/t

[New Breed Leader]

8. And the best part? Barr can't touch it!

[progressoid]

10. I'm sure Trump's lawyers will cooperate ASAP.

[ballardgirl]

11. Cyrus Vance, Jr

Although he has done much good there is this: The Manhattan district attorney who declined to prosecute Harvey Weinstein and also protected President Donald Trump’s adult children from potential felony fraud charges reportedly attempted to help out billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the New York Post.

[Kurt V.]

14. Exactly . I'm not getting too excited about this.

[klook]

30. Yyyep. (nt)

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. Can a state prosecutor subpoena federal returns?

Federal returns may have more details about sources of income.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. Good question ... I think that they can (federal returns) since a lot of states carry a lot of ...

information from the completed federal returns over to the state's returns, and they (IMHO) have the right to do so. In MO for example, they ask for a couple of the first pages of a return (fed. return) if you itemize etc.

[choie]

17. NY Gov. Cuomo signed legislation

making it legal for Trump's state tax returns to be released

[Fritz Walter]

15. This Monday just keeps getting better and better

I should go buy a Lotto ticket!


First was the news that Elaine Chou is now the focus of a Congressional investigation. Both the mangled apricot hellbeast and #MoscowMitch should be panicking by now, and that’s a good thing (especially if either/both consequently suffer massive apoplexy or myocardial infarction).

Now this news.

No wonder the SCROTUS* is just itching to launch an illegal war in the Middle East because Mohammed Bone Saw’s crude oil facilities were attacked by tiny, little drones this weekend. Jeepers! With as much financial aid as we have poured into this murderous king-dumb, you’d think they could spare a few dollars to better protect such crucial assets (which directly contribute to the global climate and catastrophic change, as well as their obscene wealth)!

<Deep breath!>

We — in northeast Florida— have dodged two massive, destructive storms this month. Our good luck will eventually run out. The Bahamas have been the canary in this environmental coal mine.

___
* So Called Ruler of the United States

[erronis]

40. SCROTUS, not PENUS

OK, now I have to come up with something witty to match your SCROTUS*

How about PENUS: Petulant Executive, Not oUrS

No? Petit Erective, Not Udderably Stable

Yours is too good.

---
* So Called Ruler of The United States

[Mc Mike]

16. Kick 'em, Donks!

[bluestarone]

18. Question

Is it possible for the DEM. house to get these from the state of NY?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

19. Lock him up!!!!!!

[hughee99]

21. Why are they asking for the tax returns from Trump's accounting firm

Instead of the NY department of revenue, where he filed it? Surely it’s easier to get this from a state agency than a private accounting firm.

[Massacure]

23. NY would only have his New York State tax forms

Per the article, the District Attorney is asking for State and Federal forms. I would imagine those state forms are non-NY state forms; they might suspect Trump of laundering money through a corporation that does not do business in New York for example.

[hughee99]

25. So issue the subpoena to the state agency and the IRS.

Then you can be sure you got what was actually filed.

[Massacure]

27. State courts can only subpoena entities within their jurisdiction.

The IRS very likely would ignore a subpoena that came from a state court.

[hughee99]

29. I don't believe that's accurate.

https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local-governments/disclosure-laws

IRC 6103(d) provides that return information may be shared with state agencies responsible for tax administration. The state agency must request this information in writing, and the request must be signed by an official designated to request tax information.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/taxanalysts/2015/08/07/a-look-at-information-sharing-agreements-between-the-irs-and-states/#8c149162851b

[cstanleytech]

24. At a guess? A way to trip them up should they be hiding something that the state knows about and

wants to get them dead to rights on covering it up by omitting it from the papers they turn over.

[hughee99]

26. So it's an attempt to trick an accounting firm into

Not giving up info they already have? That makes it sound more like they’re looking to make a crime than find one that’s already been committed, and it doesn’t even put Trump on the hook, just someone from the accounting firm.

[cstanleytech]

31. Rather its an attempt to find out if they are going to be honest and do what

a legally obtained warrant demands they do.
If they fail to do that and get caught at it the onus is completely on them.

[hughee99]

33. Not really. Is the goal to get the information, or is the goal

To test the accounting firm? If the goal is to actually get the information, there would seem to be more reliable ways get it (from the state department of revenue and the IRS).

[cstanleytech]

34. Its to test their accuracy I suspect and then if they lie for Trump it gives a wedge to

really dig into their books even deeper.

[hughee99]

35. So as I said, it sounds like the goal isn't to uncover a crime

It’s to make one. If they had the goods on Trump, this wouldn’t be necessary, so don’t be overly optimistic that the tax records themselves are going to reveal anything of real value.

[cstanleytech]

36. I do not understand how you think they are "making" a crime. They are not being

forced by the government to lie nor are they being entrapped to commit a crime.

[hughee99]

37. If they've got evidence that Trump's taxes will reveal a crime, and that's why they're trying to

get access to them, great. It's an encouraging sign that they are moving forward on proving a crime that they've found.

If they're trying to get access to trump's taxes because they're hoping his accounting firm will try to pull a fast one, so they can get some leverage, so they can see if they can find proof of some crime they may not be aware of yet, then it sounds like a fishing operation. If that's the case, I'm not optimistic they're going to get anywhere close to Trump with this.

[cstanleytech]

38. Completely disagree and besides that's merely my opinion of one reason they could be doing this.

The other is the state might simply not have all the records anymore thus need them to proceed with the investigation.

[dflprincess]

22. I can't help myself

[tclambert]

28. Will Trump claim that they are all under audit?

Seems like they'd be done with the oldest ones.

Not really relevant, though, since the returns being under audit has nothing to do with turning them over to prosecutors. somebody needs to threaten the accountants with jail time if they don't turn them over.

[PhoenixDem]

32. This is more likely to succeed

because any motion to quash the subpoena will be heard by a NY State Judge, most of whom are appointed by Democrats.