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David Corn: Trump Inauguration Corruption Case Involving Ivanka and Don Jr. Moves Ahead
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/11/trump-inauguration-corruption-case-involving-ivanka-and-don-jr-moves-ahead/Trump Inauguration Corruption Case Involving Ivanka and Don Jr. Moves Ahead
They could end up on the witness stand.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
Donald Trump’s expanding legal worries stemming from investigations in New York and Scotland have received much attention in recent months. But one Trump case, in which his 2016 inauguration committee and the Trump Organization were accused of a million-dollar grift, has been proceeding for almost two years without drawing much notice, and this week, a judge issued a major ruling indicating the case is likely heading to trial. And that could mean that Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who have each been deposed in this civil case, could end up on the stand and questioned about their involvement in an alleged brazen rip-off of nonprofit funds.
In January 2020, Karl Racine, the attorney general of Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization and the Presidential Inaugural Committee (Trump’s inauguration committee, a nonprofit known as the PIC). He alleged that the PIC misused charitable funds to enrich the Trump family. As Racine put it, “The Inaugural Committee, a nonprofit corporation, coordinated with the Trump family to grossly overpay for event space in the Trump International Hotel…The Committee also improperly used non-profit funds to throw a private party [at the Trump Hotel] for the Trump family costing several hundred thousand dollars.” In a way, Racine was saying that one of the first post-election actions of the Trump gang was to illegally use the inauguration to make a buck—a lot of bucks.
snip//
The case has already presented Ivanka Trump and Donald Jr. in a negative light. As Mother Jones previously reported, evidence submitted in the lawsuit indicated that Trump Jr. testified falsely on crucial points during his deposition. Ivanka too, testified inaccurately during her deposition. If either is called as a witness in the trial, prosecutors could highlight these discrepancies.
A filing in the case also tied Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, to the Trump inauguration scandal. When the PIC’s spending was questioned in news report in 2017, Barrack brought in Weisselberg to oversee the organization’s own internal audit. That was odd, given that Weisselberg was a senior official at a company that had received a large amount of money from the PIC. Weisselberg is now a key figure in the criminal and civil investigations of the Trump Organization being mounted by the New York attorney general and the Manhattan district attorney. In July, Weisselberg and the Trump Organization were indicted on sweeping tax fraud charges. (A prosecutor in that case alleged that the 15-year-long tax scheme was “orchestrated by the most senior executives” at the Trump business.)
The alleged details of the Trump inauguration scandal fit the established pattern of the Trump family abusing the tax code and foundation funds for its own gain. With López’s ruling, the Trump Organization has slipped out of Racine’s grasp. But now the DC attorney general will presumably get a shot to prove the essence of his case: The Trump clan is a kleptocracy.
23 replies
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Although if they committed perjury (lying while under oath in the Court), they could face criminal charges.
But don't hold your breath... re: white (and rich) privileges.
But don't hold your breath... re: white (and rich) privileges.
They act like France's 18th-Century royalty. 
Now multiply that by 5, or so, and you'll see that it's quite easy to spend huge amounts of money to keep the Trump men (and their mushrooms) entertained. 
