NY - Former President Donald Trump charged with 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records, Apr 2023

[Chelly]

IMO, they have to start somewhere

This is just the beginning. Starting small and building the way up to larger, serious charges.

 

[waldojabba]

New York DA Alvin Bragg made tough-on-Trump record central to campaign

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump makes good on the Democratic prosecutor’s campaign boast that he is tough on Mr. Trump.

www.washingtontimes.com

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s decision to bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump makes good on the Democratic prosecutor’s campaign boast that he is tough on Mr. Trump.

Mr. Bragg put his tough-on-Trump bona fides front and center as he faced other Democratic contenders in the 2021 race to become the top prosecutor in one of the country’s most liberal-leaning cities.

Throughout his campaign, Mr. Bragg boasted about his work overseeing the lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation while serving as New York state’s chief deputy attorney general from 2017 to 2018.

That case resulted in a judge ordering Mr. Trump to pay $2 million in damages and led to the foundation being shut down over allegations of misused funds.

Mr. Bragg cited the case in a December 2020 campaign forum as he sparred with his Democratic rival in the Manhattan district attorney’s race.

“I have investigated Trump and his children and held them accountable for their misconduct with the Trump Foundation,” he said. “I know how to follow the facts and hold people in power accountable.”

“I know how to follow the facts and hold people in power accountable.”
I am not understanding why people take issue with facts and holding people accountable. Imo - Facts matter and no one is above the law. Jmo

 

[MyBelle]

RE: Felony charges
The indictment is still sealed but reportedly brings more than 30 counts against Trump related to business fraud, likely for falsifying business expenses—which can be a felonyand punishable by up to four years in prison in New York if done to cover up another crime. The indictment against Trump and the tax fraud charges against his company and Weisselberg are all products of the Manhattan DA’s long-running investigation into Trump and his company, which began in 2019

Trump’s Criminal Charges To Be Overseen By Same Judge Who Sentenced His Company For Tax Fraud—And He’s Not Happy About It

Trump claimed on Truth Social that Justice Juan Merchan “HATES ME.”

www.forbes.com

That's interesting. The DA began his investigation while Trump was still President. The Watergate investigation took several years to conclude.

 

[Betty P]

IMO, they have to start somewhere

Let's hope they follow through on the others.

It's not good for our country to send the message that sex scandals are more important than bribery, election rigging, etc.

 

[Mama-dukes]

I would love 2 c handcuffs on him and maybe a orange jumpsuit that would b a nice start

 

[sds71]

@seungminkim

NEW YORK (AP) — AP sources: Former President Donald Trump faces at least one felony charge in New York hush money probe.

 

[arielilane]

There are several other informative articles about Trump at ProPublica worth the read, imo.

Trump’s Company Paid Bribes to Reduce Property Taxes, Assessors Say

Five former city employees and a former Trump Organization employee say the company used middlemen to pay New York City tax assessors to lower building assessments and pay less taxes in the 1980s and 1990s.

www.propublica.org

 

[ZoriahNZ]

Maybe we could talk about Jan 6th details in that specific thread?

In the meantime, major news outlets seem to be confirming what was suspected, that the charges are over 2 dozen and include felonies:

ABC: Trump faces around 2 dozen counts, including felonies, sources say

Trump faces at least one felony charge in New York indictment -AP

 

[SouthAussie]

I wonder if Michael Cohen's guilty pleas in this matter will affect the outcome of DT's current charges.
Would it even be able to be mentioned, if DT goes to trial, that his personal lawyer admitted his (their?) guilt in this matter?


Finally, in 2016, COHEN made or caused two separate payments to women to ensure that they did not publicly disclose their alleged affairs with a presidential candidate in advance of the election.

In one instance, COHEN caused American Media, Inc. (“AMI”), which was identified in previous court filings as “Corporation-1,” to make a $150,000 payment to one woman; in the other, COHEN made a $130,000 payment to another woman through an LLC he incorporated for the purpose of making the payment.

COHEN was reimbursed for the latter payment in monthly installments disguised as payments for legal services performed pursuant to a retainer, when in fact no such retainer existed.

COHEN made or caused both of these payments in order to influence the 2016 election and did so in coordination with one or more members of the campaign.

Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison

www.justice.gov

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Order Unsealing a Grand Jury Matter



What a beautiful sight.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Former AG Barr slams 'pathetically weak' legal theory behind Trump indictment: 'An abomination'

Former Attorney General Bill Barr went on "Kudlow" on Friday to discuss former President Trump's indictment, claiming that the underlying legal theory is "pathetically weak."

www.foxnews.com

"It's the epitome of the abuse of prosecutorial power to bring a case that would not be brought against anyone else. They are going after the man, not a crime. And the legal theory, frankly, is pathetically weak," he argued.

The former attorney general delved into the legal arguments that will likely be made by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

"The claim is that [recording the Cohen reimbursements as legal payments] is false and therefore violated a misdemeanor statute in the first instance against false documents," Barr said. "I actually don't think that's a valid claim in this case, because the statute actually requires that it be done with the intent to defraud."

"They're assuming that the payments were a campaign finance violation because they were effectively a contribution to the Trump campaign. I can tell you that's not the law. I don't think that's how the Justice Department would view it," Barr added.

 

[JurassicParker]

No, but if & when he gets off & if he becomes the next president I'm sure he will be doing some chanting of his own.

None of it will make sense.

 

[neesaki]

It truly is unexplainable. I have tried to make it explainable- but I can't- It is like he has hypnotized 60 million people!!!!

Maybe some seem to be “hypnotized”…. But for others, it’s simply that there are no other options. The alternative is so much worse.

 

[Sillybilly]

We will set up a Media, Maps & Timeline *NO DISCUSSION* thread and copy the opening post of this thread into it and then members may then add appropriate links/articles.

ETA: This is a link to the above noted thread, and we've added a link to it in the Opening Post #1 of this thread so members can find it easily.

 

[Lilibet]

I was typing this comment as Sillybilly posted, but I think it ties in. The thread is not really about something political. It is about the grand jury deciding that there is enough evidence to indict someone for a crime…30 counts. This is just like any other indictment a grand jury, made up of regular citizens, makes. We see this all the time on WS. The difference is that a former President has never been indicted. But just like anyone else indicted, Mr Trump will have his opportunity to give facts supporting his innocence during a trial. I think we can discuss the legal aspects of this case without doing what SB has asked us NOT to do. Maybe pretend we’ve never heard of Mr Trump before.

 

[RANCH]

I was typing this comment as Sillybilly posted, but I think it ties in. The thread is not really about something political. It is about the grand jury deciding that there is enough evidence to indict someone for a crime…30 counts. This is just like any other indictment a grand jury, made up of regular citizens, makes. We see this all the time on WS. The difference is that a former President has never been indicted. But just like anyone else indicted, Mr Trump will have his opportunity to give facts supporting his innocence during a trial. I think we can discuss the legal aspects of this case without doing what SB has asked us NOT to do. Maybe pretend we’ve never heard of Mr Trump before.

<modsnip> President Trump does not have to prove his innocence because in the United States a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It's up to the State to prove he is guilty. A defendant doesn't have to prove anything. JMO.

 

[Lilibet]

<modsnip> President Trump does not have to prove his innocence because in the United States a person is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It's up to the State to prove he is guilty. A defendant doesn't have to prove anything. JMO.

I’m fully aware that a defendant doesn’t have to prove their innocence. But most defendants choose to call witnesses and even testify to facts “supporting” their innocence, which is what I was referring to. Trump can choose to say nothing, of course.

 

[1mvp2]

I was typing this comment as Sillybilly posted, but I think it ties in. The thread is not really about something political. It is about the grand jury deciding that there is enough evidence to indict someone for a crime…30 counts. This is just like any other indictment a grand jury, made up of regular citizens, makes. We see this all the time on WS. The difference is that a former President has never been indicted. But just like anyone else indicted, Mr Trump will have his opportunity to give facts supporting his innocence during a trial. I think we can discuss the legal aspects of this case without doing what SB has asked us NOT to do. Maybe pretend we’ve never heard of Mr Trump before.

In the United States, you are considered innocent , until you're proven guilty. The prosecutor (aka district attorney or attorney general) must show the jury that all of the elements of the crime are present and that the accused is the one who committed that crime - beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

[Lilibet]

Inside the long and winding road to Trump’s historic indictment

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/01/politics/trump-bragg-inside-indictment/index.html

 

[Helechawagirl]

What will be hilarious is if he refuses to leave Mar a Lago and turn himself in and Desantis has to sign an order for him to be arrested and removed.

That would be priceless!