Thought we could have a thread to track Trump's legal and financial troubles. Besides the fact that his brand is shot with those with money to make it work and the major tenants in his income producing properties, he seems to be getting lined up for a series of debt collectors and civil suits. One of his biggest cash flow partnerships owns two towers, one in San Fran and one in NY. Seems like the real money behind them has had enough and is ready to disassociate themselves. Vornado Looks to End Partnership with Trump Organization (therealdeal.com) Vornado Realty Trust is seeking to end its partnership with the Trump Organization at two of the former president’s most valuable assets. Vornado executives have had discussions about buying out the Trump Organization’s 30 percent stake in a Midtown Manhattan office tower and its stake in a property in San Francisco’s financial district that the firms jointly own, the Wall Street Journal reported. A sale for the properties last year fell through and a refinancing was unsuccessful. ........................................ Vornado has even looked at finding a reason to withhold the property’s income from the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter, the Journal reported. This move could ultimately head to court and force a separation, the sources said. ......................... The properties have provided stable, long-term income to the Trump Organization, which has seen revenue decline during the pandemic and endured backlash from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. A sale could help the Trump Organization pay its more than $400 million in debt coming due.
And his Chicago hotel has been taking water from the Chicago River without a permit for over 3 years. A judge just ruled against them, again, and they are now facing up to $12M in fines. Personally I hope they get permission to sever the connection which is what should ahve happened the moment their permit expired Judge: Trump's hotel in violation of environmental protection rules (businessinsider.com) Former President Donald Trump's Chicago hotel is improperly using water from the Chicago River to cool the building in violation of environmental protection regulations, a judge in Illinois ruled this week. The ruling stems from a 2018 lawsuit against the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, The Washington Post reported. The Illinois attorney general had argued that Trump's property used 19 million gallons of water each day from the Chicago River to cool the property and returned the water to the river at a warmer temperature. ................. According to the Washington Post, the office of the Illinois Attorney General had asked that the judge impose the maximum possible fines: $50,000 for two violations plus an additional $10,000 per day for each day the hotel continued to cool the building using water from the river. With violations occurring since 2017, the former president's hotel chain could be ordered to pay as much as $12 million in fines, The Chicago Tribune reported. It added, however, that fines that high were ultimately unlikely.
The NY AG seems to be ramping it up... As impeachment begins, New York accelerates probes of Trump's property dealings | Reuters Manhattan prosecutors probing Trump’s real-estate business for possible insurance and tax fraud have stepped up witness interviews in recent months and hired forensic accountants, four people familiar with the criminal probe told Reuters. A separate state attorney general’s civil probe into whether the business falsely reported property values got a boost on Jan. 29, when a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the Trump Organization to turn over documents. A U.S. Supreme Court decision is expected soon on whether Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr can obtain eight years of Trump’s tax records and other financial information from accounting firm Mazars. Two people familiar with the district attorney’s criminal probe expect the court to act this month. Both the district attorney and the attorney general are focused in part on whether Trump’s businesses improperly falsified values on real-estate assets to secure tax breaks, loans or other benefits. Trump’s tax returns could provide compelling evidence in the criminal probe if they differ significantly from other financial statements reported by the Trump business, said Daniel Horwitz, a white-collar defense lawyer and former Manhattan prosecutor. But in addition to records, he said, prosecutors will likely need witnesses who could “testify about false documents and why they were falsified.”
This is a very long read, but Trump is either the worst business man on the planet and truly just a reality TV star or has defraud our government. Having two accounting and finance degrees, need to read this a third time. Pretty amazing. Won’t quote 4 paragraphs, but Trump is either the best tax avoider and just lost his dad’s money (my bet). Made a killing off the apprentice, and can’t argue that whether you view him as an entertainer or businessman. Trump’s Taxes Show Chronic Losses and Years of Income Tax Avoidance
As I see it, that was his only profitable enterprise which he spun into a branding business that paid service fees independent of property profit. Independent of that, it seemed that his best ability was to get banks/lenders so deep into debt that their only hope of recovering any of it was to agree to pay him to unwind it while he siphoned money off on the way in and the way out. I never really thought that he would go through with the potus run as ultimately it would destroy his brand as people got a true understanding of the character of the man. It took longer than I thought it would but it seems highly unlikely that he is going to be signing any new branding deals or properties anytime soon I'm just a dumb engineer too stupid to get out of shale oil and lost my arse so I am interested in reading more of your review of the article as you process it.
“Dumb engineer” I used to hire VT student interns at VTTI. That was a joy of that job. Engineers are an almost inexplicable family. I loved those maniacs, except some seemed to be actual maniacs. But none dumb (and I realize you’re being facetious.) But some were almost incredibly other-wordly. A dude who I called to help me on a Sunday morning (as in, 3:00 AM, Saturday night) because I knew he would be available and able to trouble-shoot a quarter-billion dollar sensor issue also floated flat Earth stuff to me on occasion, and also brought homemade darts to our league night.
Trump's loans came from shady sources like Deutsche Bank and Cyprus which are tied into the international Oligarch crime ring. For a long time, he's been a low/mid level capo in the international mafia.
Two separate cases in Georgia to go along with the NY cases. How long before DC joins in? Is Biden keeping DOJ out of it for political reasons? Trump's heaping list of legal problems post-impeachment - CNNPolitics
We don't know what the DOJ will do. His pick for AG hasn't even been confirmed yet. Merrick Garland confirmation hearing is starting Feb 22nd. One of the big reasons for the quick impeachment trial to get to important confirmations hearings.
A local prosecutor or even a state prosecutor has a heavily lift of a case in which they probably have little experience . Emails, documents and phone calls oh my. Every subpoena will be litigated to death. I wouldn’t hold my breath on criminal prosecution, plus he only needs one juror.
Just sticking to financial crimes, the New York Attorney General has already proven that it is more than capable of litigating against Trump personally and the Trump Organization. Although they were civil rather than criminal actions in both the cases against Trump for fraud involving Trump University and the Trump Foundation, the NY AG has record of 2-0 versus the Donald. The NY AG and the Manhattan DA have both the legal talent, the experience and the deep pockets to go head to head against Trump. I also reminded of what Michael Cohen said with respect to Trump's tax returns. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2019/02/28/michael-cohen-explains-the-real-reason-trump-is-hiding-his-tax-returns/?sh=38b149f0ad85[/quote]
Fortunately he no longer can leverage the DOJ to litigate his personal crimes. He will have to respond to subpoenas. Someone’s going to have to pay the lawyers.
Meanwhile the whole world is watching, and if/when he gets over, there is a large group of people that are thinking "well hell I can do that". Ever seen that happen before Sergeant? Law enforcement needs to take their dose of Growacet and freaking do something, or we will be seeing/suffering this over and over and over and over....again.
Also the his nominee for AG has yet to be confirmed and his nominees for the US attorney positions haven't even been announced much less confirmed.
Joe Biden should let the Justice Department do its job. If that means charging Trump with one or more crimes, so be it. Biden should stay out of it.
first of many suits I am sure. Filed by Chairman of congressional DHS committee Democratic congressman sues Trump over role in Capitol riot (msn.com) WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic congressman accused Donald Trump in a federal lawsuit on Tuesday of inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and of conspiring with his lawyer and extremist groups to try to prevent the Senate from certifying the results of the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden.T he lawsuit from Mississippi's Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is part of an expected wave of litigation over the Jan. 6 riot and is believed to be the first filed by a member of Congress. It seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages. The case also names as defendants the Republican former president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and groups including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, extremist organizations that had members charged by the Justice Department with taking part in the siege. The case against Trump was brought under a provision of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was passed in response to KKK violence and prohibits violence or intimidation meant to prevent Congress or other federal officials from carrying out their constitutional duties. “Fortunately, this hasn't been used very much," Sellers said. “But what we see here is so unprecedented that it's really reminiscent of what gave rise to the enactment of this legislation right after the Civil War
