Journalist Tim O'Brien, who's seen Trump's taxes, thinks Trump's accountant will now flip in D.A.

[Beastly Boy]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: The Week

O'Brien went on to explain why he thinks it's likely Trump's chief accountant, Allen Weisselberg, will flip on Trump. "The thing to really focus in on here is that it's not just the tax records that Cy Vance has now," O'Brien said. "He probably has reams and reams of the accountant's work product. This is a criminal case, they're going to need to prove criminal intent on the part of Trump, his three eldest children, Allen Weisselberg, and anyone else in the Trump Organization who's fallen under the parameters of this investigation. And if there are email and notes and other records of communication about what they intended to do when they inflated the value of buildings so they could get loans against them and then turned around and deflated the value of the buildings so they could pay lower taxes on them, and there's a communication around that that predates any of these tax entries, that is gold for a prosecutor."

A few hours earlier, O'Brien told MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that the particular eight years of documents Vance's team has "is important, because it predates Trump's ascent into the White House, and I think helps build the narrative around the money trail and Trump's motivations for his destructive and obscene dance with people like Vladimir Putin. It's a shame they couldn't go back further — think this is one of the tragic misses of Robert Mueller's investigation, he could have gone back further, I think, than Cy Vance is able to into Trump's finances."

O'Brien also underscored that the investigation implicates at least Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, and "it also targets people inside the Trump Organization who might flip on Trump if they're exposed to criminal liability," but "the brass ring in all of this is that if Trump has a criminal conviction, he cannot run for president again, and that's looming over this entire thing as well."

Read more: https://theweek.com/speedreads/969063/journalist-tim-obrien-whos-seen-trumps-taxes-thinks-trumps-accountant-now-flip-da-inquiry

---

Vance's fireworks promise to be quite spectacular!

[napi21]

1. I'm sure he will flip too. No matter how close people are or how long they've had a relationship,

it always comes down to "If it's you're ass or mine, I'm savin' MINE!" DT knows that & is likely laying awake at night woryin about it.

[calimary]

26. Well, I suspect somebody's gonna.

There’s somebody in that bunch who will decide that loyalty to trump is not worth going to prison.

Then again, there will be those who still MUST worship trump and feel he will rise again.

It will be interesting to see what the fans will do if he’s convicted and thus rendered not able to run for President again. Which means he’ll have no REAL power of his own. The Joint Chiefs won’t genuflect. The Cabinet won’t be the “yes, Sir!” chorus. Big business won’t bother nearly as much, except about how much of an influencer he could be. If he manages to build a big, gold-painted poor-me/I’m-the-victim media empire, that’d be his platform and the kitchen for cooking up further mischief. He’ll try to launch puppets to the highest offices in the land so, if he can’t weasel his own way back in, at least his hand will be up the backside of whoever got there.

He’s also getting older. He’s 74 til his next birthday (born June 14, 1946). Plus, he’s overweight and not in great shape overall, and probably has stress-related disorders galore. So time is NOT on his side.

[empedocles]

2. Let us all fervently hope so. Flip AW flip! Soon!

[babylonsister]

3. I wonder if Weisselberg's old immunity still applies...

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/24/politics/allen-weisselberg-trump

Why the Allen Weisselberg immunity deal may be the biggest news of this bananas week
Chris Cillizza
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 8:53 PM EDT, Fri August 24, 2018

(CNN) —

“Follow the money.”

Those three words – which first emerged in the Watergate scandal and have become the iconic call to arms for investigative journalists everywhere – tell you exactly why the news that Allen Weisselberg was granted immunity in the investigation into Michael Cohen is such a gigantic deal.

Weisselberg is the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization – but he’s so much more than that. Hired first by Trump’s father, Weisselberg has been the money man in Trump’s orbit for decades. And, he didn’t just handle finances for the Trump Organization but also for Trump’s personal accounts.

[Beastly Boy]

6. Looks like his immunity was granted by Federal prosecutors, and only covers the hush money case.

Not likely to be applicable in any investigation by NY State.

[dhill926]

4. Inshallah.....

[OhZone]

5. They call him flipper -

[Vinca]

7. I think O'Brien is wrong about 1 thing. Trump could run again even with a criminal conviction.

All he has to be is 35 and a natural born citizen. Besides, he would at least have to run to get the suckers to foot the bill for his legal fees.

[Beastly Boy]

10. Trump will definitely run. There are literally hundreds of millions of dioolars in it for him.

Nothing can prevent Trump from doing that. And he will likely win the GOP nomination. But yeah, O'Brien is wrong. Unless Vance uncovers any shenanigans with Uncle Vlad or anything else that constitutes a breach of Trump's oath of office. In this case, Trump can still run, can still be nominated, but he cannot assume office unless both houses of Congress remove this disqualification by a 2/3 vote.

[Evolve Dammit]

16. Keep hoping a variant strain will engulf Magalargo.

[Beastly Boy]

18. I see what you did with my "dloolars" snafu.

I think I will keep it unedited.

[ProfessorGAC]

31. I'm Going The Other Way

It's only been 5 weeks since the inauguration.
The big money folks will soon find him useless, and Rs are moving to minimize his influence.
Give it 6 months, then we'll revisit his possible run.

[NewJeffCT]

47. I'm thinking that within 2 years, 2 1/2 years at the most

he won't be physically capable of running again, let alone mentally capable.

He really declined both mentally & physically over his 4 years in office and has been obese with a bad diet for years.

[oldsoftie]

32. No, he wont run. But he'll make everyone THINK he is. There's more money that way.

And we're not even factoring in what shape he'll be in in 3 years.
But he is only interested in sucking his supporters of every dime he can from here on out. And they're more than willing to give it to him

[Beastly Boy]

33. I think we arre talking about the same thing, and the difference is only in semantics

Running or pretending to run is necessary for the scam. He will need to set up the infrastructure to run. Whether he later drops out, declines the nomination or makes sure he loses the race is a small detail.

[oldsoftie]

34. I'd love to see Nikki Haley take him out. Beaten by a WOMAN! The horror.

But she's seen as a "RINO", so i doubt it

[paleotn]

43. Are you sure he'll even be alive by 2024?

And his dementia is only getting worse. Ask anyone who's dealt with someone with dementia. It's like sliding down hill. As time goes by, the faster they slide. By 2024, if he's still alive, he'll be a quivering mass, barely coherent. Yes, it get waaay worse than his current level of incoherence.

Secondly, this isn't about Russia. Intentionally inflating and deflating asset values for loans, taxes and insurance is fraud and are felonies.

[Beastly Boy]

44. Not sure. But he already set up a PAC for the money grab.

His mental state has never been within the normal range, so his dementia will be barely noticeable. I suspect he already crossed that threshold, and it didn't affect the money flow one bit.

[paleotn]

45. It's not a straight line decline...

It's an accelerating decline, and he has classic symptoms. And if he lives to 2024, he will be way worse than he is now. Like barely being able to walk or stand. Forgetting who he is, why he's there or who all those people are. Wandering off the stage at his first rally. It will be a shit show of galactic proportions. No way he mounts any kind of 2024 campaign. The PAC money grab is just that. A money grab.

[Mr.Bill]

54. How about a stroke

that renders him unable to speak at all.

[NewJeffCT]

48. If the dementia takes him out

I think they'll try to Weekend at Bernie's him for as long as possible. Maybe they'll tease upcoming appearances & have GOP heavyweights make treks to Mar-A-Lago each weekend (Weekend at Mara-Lago)

[soldierant]

57. There is one thing -

an Article XIV disqualification could prevent him from running again.

[ToxMarz]

23. I've heard a number of commentators say he can't run if he's convicted of a crime

and I don't understand where they are getting that from.

[zentrum]

8. What a wuss was...

.....Mueller.

[twodogsbarking]

9. A good accountant

covers their ass. A very good accountant covers the client's ass too.

[Beastly Boy]

12. Methinks Weisselberg is a good accountant.

[mezame]

11. I've Always Loved Fireworks!

Can't wait!

[Gymbo]

13. Allen Weiselberg

Would have been the very first person Trump would have given a secret pardon. Don't hold your hopes too high, Trump is scum of the highest order.

[Beastly Boy]

17. The pardon would only apply to federal crimes.

Vance is looking into state charges. Weisselberg is screwed no matter what.

[brush]

22. A trump federal pardon doesn't matter in NY state.

[jmowreader]

25. Trump isn't that stupid

A secret pardon would have obligated Weiselberg to testify against Trump in federal court.

But...that’s okay, I will settle for Trump spending his remaining years in Sing Sing.

[ancianita]

14. Really good news, because Mazars doesn't want to be another Michael Cohen. To me, the big

Last edited Fri Feb 26, 2021, 04:27 PM - Edit history (1)

strategy to keep FMF45 out and quash trumpcult is the court trial, conviction and sentencing.

I'd like to see the indictments by September, trial proceedings by December, conviction right after the RNC nominates him as presidential candidate. They'll have to run whoever he picks as his VP running mate and that guy will be up against Harris. Sentencing right before Nov 4.

[FakeNoose]

15. I hope Obrien is right, we've been waiting on this for the last 3 years

I'm sure Weisselberg knows everything - the money laundering during the casino years, the Russian mobsters buying multi-million dollar condos, the fake tax returns, the fake bank loans, all of it. Vance will never get Chump for everything, but it will be enough to keep him in jail for a long time. Hopefully the kiddies will get convictions and jail-time too.

[Native]

19. Prison doesn't preclude Trump from running for POTUS or from assuming office.....

"If a presidential candidate wins an election and is in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons, then they could order their own release. This is because the BOP is an executive agency that reports to the President.

However, if the winning candidate is in the custody of a state’s department of corrections, there is no clear mechanism that would guarantee their release. The President doesn’t have the authority to pardon anyone convicted of committing a state crime.

{Additionally}... a Member of Congress who is incarcerated is arguably entitled to be released from incarceration in order to attend Congress while it is in session. This is thanks to the legislative immunity clause in Article I Section 6 of the US Constitution, but there is no similar provision for the President.

Two incarcerated men have run for President in US history.

In 1920, labor leader Eugene V. Debs was serving a ten-year sentence in an Atlanta penitentiary when he lost the Presidential election. Two years earlier, he had spoken out against American’s involvement in World War I, and he was eventually convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. The prosecution argued that Debs’ anti-war speech obstructed military enrollment.

Debs had previously run for President four times. His fifth and final campaign featured a campaign button that encouraged people to vote “for President Convict No. 9653.” Debs earned nearly one million votes in the 1920 election. And the man who beat him – Warren G. Harding – commuted Debs’ sentence in December 1921.

In 1992, Lyndon LaRouche became the second person in American history to run for president from a prison cell. His running mate – American Civil Rights Movement leader, Reverend James Bevel – did the active campaigning. And, classical violinist Norbert Brainin performed a benefit concert on LaRouche’s behalf in Washington DC."

https://prisoninsight.com/can-you-run-for-president-in-prison/

[jmowreader]

29. Read Article I Section 6

It precludes arrest “except in cases of treason, felony and breach of the peace.” This is how the Minneapolis police were Constitutionally able to arrest Larry Craig for cruising the airport restroom.

It’s also why Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert should be worried right now.

The clause is designed to protect politicians from arrest for writing bills the other side doesn’t like, not for going out and committing actual crimes. It is another of the “fixing the sins of the British Crown” passages the Constitution is full of.

[Native]

51. How does that square with this?

https://www.factcheck.org/2008/11/felons-in-office/

Q: Can a convicted felon serve in elected office?

A: The Constitution allows a convicted felon to be a member of Congress, even if in prison. It’s up to the Senate or House to decide who may serve. As for state offices, different laws apply in different places.


FULL ANSWER

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted on seven felony counts of corruption in late October. Stevens ran for reelection Nov. 4 against Democrat Mark Begich, and the two are awaiting the official results, as votes are still being counted. Begich’s lead increased to about 1,000 votes on Nov. 15, however.

It is possible for a felon to serve in the U.S. Congress – but the House and Senate can vote to expel any member that colleagues deem unfit or unqualified to serve. And even if Stevens does end up winning the election in Alaska, he faces a probable expulsion vote in the Senate. He says he’ll appeal his conviction, and he has yet to be sentenced.

Update: Begich was declared the winner of the election on Nov. 18, 2008. A federal judge dismissed Stevens’ conviction April 7, 2009, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

Federal office qualifications are governed by the Constitution, while state-level office rules vary according to state laws.

Federal Office Holders

The Constitution requires that members of the House and Senate fulfill three requirements:

All members of the House must be at least 25 years old, and members of the Senate must be at least 30 years old.
Members of the House must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and members of the Senate must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.
They have to be an “inhabitant” of the state “when elected.”
As a result, according to the Congressional Research Service, committing a crime cannot constitutionally disqualify someone from serving in Congress. And the state has no say in determining whether or not someone is qualified to serve in the House or Senate:
CRS: [S]ince a State does not have the authority to add qualifications for federal offices, the fact of conviction, even for a felony offense, could not be used to keep a candidate off of the ballot under State law either as a direct disqualification of convicted felons from holding or being a candidate for office, or as a disqualification of one who is no longer a “qualified elector” in the State. Once a person meets the three constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship and inhabitancy in the State when elected, that person, if duly elected, is constitutionally “qualified” to serve in Congress, even if a convicted felon.

Prison is not a bar to running for federal office, either. In 1798, Rep. Matthew Lyon ran for Congress from prison and won. He assumed his seat in Congress after serving four months in prison for “libeling” President John Adams. An effort was made to expel Lyon from the House, but it failed.

Ultimately, it is up to the House or Senate chamber to determine whether or not an elected official is qualified to serve if a challenge is raised.

[2Gingersnaps]

20. Could be why Rod Rosenstein limited the inquiry

into Russia to whether Traitortrumps associates broke election laws in connection to the 2016 campaign. Rosenstein didn't think the FBI had enough evidence about tRumps long history of personal and financial ties to warrent a sweeping investigation, and he thought McCabe was biased. McCabe thought that the personal and financial ties were a security threat and Mueller would be covering it, because Comey had been fired to prevent him from further investigation. Rosenstein didn't bother telling McCabe that he had limited Mueller's scope, so both sides did not know the other was not investigating. So guess who got to keep his pension?

[SayItLoud]

21. Weisselberg will only flip if his son is given some kind of deal. nt.

[CaptainTruth]

24. Weisselberg started cooperating with Fed investigators 2+ years ago...

...I would expect him to cooperate with state investigators too.

[gab13by13]

27. Someone better put Weisselberg on suicide watch,

if you get my drift, hate to see him get Epsteined.

[Grasswire2]

28. Here's what I don't quite get.

Weisselberg has had several years now to fudge records, knowing this day would come.

Maybe they kept two sets of books. Wouldn't a mob boss do that?

Maybe Weisselberg should have been squeezed long ago, before they had time to cover up.

[Beastly Boy]

36. Vance basically has the two sets of books embedded in Trump's taxes.

And IRS gas the old records that Weisselberg is not able to fudge. Vance has his hands on all of them now. There are other records in his possession too, and they all can be cross-referenced for irregularities.

[Oldem]

30. Let it be so! nt

[thesquanderer]

35. I don't think people would email "plans" to use two different values for something...

...nor do I think it is inherently illegal. Evaluating a property is not an exact science. It is common to have a range of values that are considered "reasonable" and that being the case, selecting the lower or higher of two legitimate figures depending on the purpose at hand would not seem to be illegal, since neither figure is false. But... IANAL.

[Beastly Boy]

37. Rumor is that in Trump's case these ranges in value are patently unreasonable.

[leftieNanner]

42. Rachel did an expose of this a while ago

She showed the "valuation" of that fancy property in upstate New York. From one year to the next, the value fluctuated wildly - depending on whether it was to look like an expensive property for loan purposes, or a piece of trash for tax purposes.

I'll see if I can find it.

[Bmoboy]

38. They will play out the clock

Either Trump will die first or the lawyers will drag this out for years.

Tax and insurance fraud cases take a long time to investigate and then a long trial to explain.

They may go for the record of how many objections and appeals in a single case.

Until he gets re-elected and the game is over.

Unless he dies first.

He is 74 and eats at McDonald's.

[lagomorph777]

39. "if Trump has a criminal conviction, he cannot run for president again" - is that true?

I'm not so sure...unless the conviction is for insurrection (different case).

[Beastly Boy]

40. Apparently not. The author is mistaken. Unless Vance finds something that is a clear violation of

Trump's oath of office. Also, if Trump ends up in a state prison, there is no clear way for him to be released to assume a federal office.

[ZonkerHarris]

52. A convicted crook can become President. No rule against it.

[pandr32]

41. Let it be so

I'm hoping there will be a chain reaction/flip.

[azureblue]

46. Ken Starr

I hope Vance goes all Ken Starr on Trump, chasing down every little thing no matter if it's relevant or not.
As James Brown said, Time for the big Pay back..

[NickB79]

49. Weaselberg!!!!

🤣🤣🤣

[edhopper]

50. If they couyld go back further

they would see his Atlantic City dealings with the Mafia.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

53. Lock him up!!!!!

[BobTheSubgenius]

55. Despite all the great things that have happened, and there have been many, this is great news.

Some of the best, at least to me, are these developments. God damn, I hope a bunch of these heads roll over this.

Metaphorically, that is.

[onetexan]

56. I anticipatw there will be dancing in the streets again when the con goes to prison

[BlueWavePsych]

58. Soon! I can almost taste it!

[Omaha Steve]

59. After a review by forum hosts....LOCKING

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