Corruption

State Prosecutors May Charge Trump Org. Officials

Written by SK Ashby

There exists the possibility that Trump will pardon his longtime henchman Michael Cohen and possibly even his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, but the office of the president can only pardon individuals convicted of federal crimes, not state crimes.

The New York Times reports that local state prosecutors may file charges against multiple Trump Organization officials and the organization itself in connection to the hush money payments made to Trump's mistresses.

A state investigation would center on how the company accounted for its reimbursement to Mr. Cohen for the $130,000 he paid to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, who has said she had an affair with President Trump, the officials said. [...]

“On its face, it certainly would be problematic,” said one of the officials familiar with the district attorney’s office review, noting that listing the reimbursement as a legal expense could be a felony under state law.

We know from Cohen's conviction that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen for the hush money payments by paying him for legal services that he never performed.

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in their ongoing investigation, but any deal he may have made with federal prosecutors will not apply to state prosecutors.

Suffice to say, the walls are closing in on the Trump Organization and Trump himself and at this point it's not too hard for me to imagine that the Trump Organization could collapse under scrutiny just like the Trump Foundation did.

Everything we know about the Trump Organization and the way Trump's family conducts business, from the shady hush money payments to their foreign property buyers, strongly implies that the company is a volcano of laundered money and corruption.

I genuinely believe that if the Trump Organization were ever thoroughly audited by federal authorities, the crimes committed there would be legion.

The good news is the entire next generation of lawyers is going to make careers out of taking down the Trumps.