If he loses The Donald he risks jail
In the latter stages of the campaign, the president raises his tone and tells supporters that he wants to put his opponents behind bars. In case of defeat, however, he could be the one to have problems with the law
Lock'em all up! "In jail, all in jail". Donald Trump sees re-election move away and dusts off his most hateful slogan. In 2016 the target was "crooked Hillary". Today, however, it's up to Joe Biden and his family. "Biden is a corrupt politician, his family is a criminal enterprise! They have to go to jail! ”. Or Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan. Whitmer "wants to be a dictator in Michigan," Trump recently told Fox Business. “He goes to jail”, his supporters pressed him during a rally in Muskegon. “Yeah. Lock'em all up "," Yes, everyone in jail "shouted The Donald to the people of him.
Trump, the bully, likes to threaten to send his opponents to jail. Ironically, in case of non-re-election, he could be the one who ends up behind bars. The elements accumulated against Trump in recent years are innumerable. To these is added a series of misdeeds prior to his rise in politics. Solid evidence. Enough to make the New York tycoon the first American president in history to go on trial.
For now Trump cannot be indicted, because he is president. Federal laws say so. This may change after November 3rd. It is worth mentioning, Trump is not the first commander in chief to "get his hands dirty". Some of his predecessors have done worse. There is no need to go too far back in time. George Bush committed the worst of international crimes by militarily assaulting Iraq. The same can be said of the use the United States has made of drones to physically eliminate their opponents around the world. Or the systemic torture inflicted on the enemies of the country.
By comparison, President Trump has seen himself involved in minor affairs. With Russiagate, The Donald was accused of conspiring with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Trump sought to obstruct justice, former special prosecutor Robert Mueller wrote in his report. A crime punishable by up to five years of imprisonment. The reference is to Trump's refusal to be questioned about his relations with Russia. For this Trump could, in effect, be indicted once he has fallen from office as president. But there is always the possibility that, in the event of defeat, The Donald will take advantage of the interregnum that will separate him from taking office by the new president - which will only take place in January - to pardon himself.
It is the "non-presidential" crimes that make Trump more vulnerable than any other president who preceded him.
Central is the crime of tax fraud. According to a survey published in late September by the New York Times, in 2016 Trump would have paid only $ 750 in income taxes. In ten of the previous fifteen years, the amount paid would have even been "zero", because the tycoon would have declared more losses than gains. Much less than what a teacher ($ 7,239 a year) or a nurse ($ 10,216) pays on average. Definitely reprehensible, but so far nothing illegal. Trump has put in place a number of fiscal optimization practices. American law allows it. To him and many other billionaires.
However, a whole series of details also emerged from the New York Times investigation that leave less room for interpretation. Trump allegedly set up a fictitious consulting system to pass the company's money to family members. His company reportedly spent $ 747,622 on "consulting fees" for two hotel projects in Vancouver and Hawaii. Meanwhile, daughter Ivanka would have received the same sum from a consulting company she co-owns. This happened despite her being an employee of the Trump Organization. If this information were confirmed, it would be a clear case of tax fraud. In fact, in America it is illegal to receive consulting fees from the company you work for.
It is a system that allows Trump to give large gifts to his family members, without paying the due taxes. "Expenses" which, among other things, Trump deducted from taxes. There are potentially mind-boggling sums at stake: from 2010 to 2018, Trump would have spent a whopping 26 million dollars on consultations with dark contours.
Other types of potential tax fraud emerge from the Times investigation. Trump allegedly declared a large property he owns in Westchester County (New York state) as a real estate investment aimed at his businesses. However, there is no evidence that Trump used the property for purposes other than private ones. The suspicion is that Trump has tried to reduce the increase in property taxes, by passing the family home for an expense related to his professional activity.
These are just the most striking examples. According to Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer who ended up in prison,
Trump's biggest fear is of finding himself with a super tax fine or even blamed for tax fraud.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to an affair that could re-emerge and hit Trump if Trump loses his immunity. The lawyer admitted in court that he paid for the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy bunny Karen McDougal, two girls who have been credited with having an affair with the current president of the United States.
From a legal standpoint, the problem for Trump lies in how the payment to Stormy Daniels came about. This she would have received one hundred and thirty thousand dollars shortly before the 2016 presidential elections, in exchange for her silence. The expense was counted as funding the Trump campaign. In fact, federal laws do not prevent a candidate from paying such a sum to their campaign. However, Trump should have done so directly, by hiring his lawyer to make the payment and also making the purpose public. For obvious reasons, however, The Donald preferred to use Cohen as an intermediary. In this way, however, the two got into trouble, because Cohen could not legally pay his client more than $ 5,400.
Unfortunately for Trump, the hassles don't stop there. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is eager to put the "potentially criminal conduct of the Trump Organization" under the scrutiny. Vance, who has a particular political flair, doesn't just aim to blame Trump for tax fraud. He also speculates that the tycoon provided banks and insurance companies with false statements regarding the financial situation of his company in order to pay a lower interest rate on the loans he had taken out. In certain circumstances, this is illegal behavior for the purposes of American law.
The non-exhaustive list of cases in which Trump could get involved if he loses the presidency ends, from a chronological point of view, with the worst accusation of all. Manslaughter.
The president of the United States is a criminal by profession. Trump's response to the coronavirus goes far beyond political error ... it was premeditated. There are people in the White House who have warned Donald Trump. 'There will be deaths if we don't intervene'. And the White House made the concerted decision to let people die. What the Trump administration is doing following the coronavirus outbreak is something we haven't seen in the United States for some time. It is an attempt to wipe out a group of people through public policy.
This is said by Glenn Kirschner, former federal prosecutor, with twenty-four years of service in the District of Columbia federal prosecutor's office behind him.
To get away with it, Trump therefore has no alternative: he must win again. He knows this well and this is probably what he was thinking about when, a few days ago, he let himself go to a rally, stating that, in case of defeat, he could leave the country. He is ready to escape, like any disgraced dictator. Like a bully who can no longer hurt.
