New York – Is there a backdoor to getting at President Donald Trump’s tax returns?
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At least one Democratic activist says yes, and it’s through a New York state investigation into Trump’s charity.
State attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout held a news conference in front of Trump Tower on Wednesday calling on the governor to grant authority to state prosecutors pursuing a civil case against the Trump Foundation to launch a criminal probe, a shift that she says could lead to the release of the president’s tax returns. Trump has refused to release his returns, bucking decades of precedent.
“Not having Donald Trump’s tax returns is a national security issue,” said Teachout, a law professor at Fordham University. “We don’t know foreign money flows to the president.”
Within hours, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running for a third term in November, said he would grant such authority if asked by the attorney general.
The attorney general alleged in a civil lawsuit in June that Trump illegally tapped his Trump Foundation to settle legal disputes, help his campaign for president and pay for personal and business expenses, which included spending $10,000 on a six-foot portrait of himself.
A criminal investigation would allow state prosecutors to broaden their probe, a jump in authority that often requires a referral from the governor or a state agency.
The attorney general’s office said Wednesday that it wasn’t ruling out seeking broader authority, but that criminal probes related to taxes often involve tax evasion, which the president is not accused of. It also said a shift to a criminal probe could help efforts by Trump lawyers to get a judge to delay the civil case.
“As our lawsuit against the Trump Foundation illustrates, we intend to hold the Foundation and its directors accountable for all violations of state law,” said spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick. “We continue to evaluate the evidence to determine what additional actions may be warranted, and will seek a criminal referral from the appropriate state agency as necessary.”
Trump said during his campaign that he couldn’t release his federal tax returns because he was being audited, though experts and Internal Revenue Service officials have said such audits don’t bar taxpayers from releasing their returns.
Since assuming the presidency Trump has said only the news media was interested in his taxes, not the public.
Teachout said she’s calling for a broader probe to hold the president criminally responsible for what she says was use of his foundation as a “piggybank” to pay his bills, but that such a criminal investigation would likely involve subpoenaed tax records.
The attorney general’s office is seeking $2.8 million in restitution and other unspecified penalties in its civil suit. It said that it had referred to its findings to the IRS and the Federal Election Commission for possible further action.
Trump has called the civil case “ridiculous,” tweeting “I won’t settle this case!”
Cuomo, a Democrat, has granted power to the attorney general to pursue criminal investigations in the past. Following cases involving police killings of unarmed civilians, he granted a standing referral for criminal investigations into police misconduct.
The Republican president is fighting two other lawsuits that could force him to release his returns, both alleging that he has violated a constitutional ban on accepting foreign government payments in allowing diplomats and other government representatives to hold parties and stay at his hotels. Trump’s lawyers say the constitution’s so-called emoluments clause does not apply to normal business transactions requiring payment for services.
This isn’t the first time New York state Democrats have tried to force Trump to reveal his tax returns. State Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan introduced legislation that would require the state to release five years of tax information for any president or vice president who files a New York state return.
Another bill would require any presidential candidate to release his or her tax returns as a requirement to appear on the state ballot.
Neither bill received a full vote.
Didn’t Hillary say “at this point WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?”
and that was after FOUR AMERICANS were murdered…………….
President Trump didn’t come close to anything like that…………
so, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE???????????
By the time those idiot yell and scream it will be 2024 . You and the impeachment crowd can sit and cheer all day long
These wackos don’t give up
Hate and more hate from these Democrats. Remember, churbin Bais Hamikdash is because of Sinas Chinum.
Trump destroyed the most powerful woman in all of American politics. What does this nobody think she could accomplish?
Another anti semite liberal politician.
To #5 - You don’t know a thing about American history. Richard M. Nixon was NEVER impeached. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached; however, both were cleared by the U.S. Senate.
It would be interesting to see President Trump’s financial information.
So much to write that I don’t even begin to have enough time just to list it all. So I make one remark instead as an example:
“We don’t know foreign money flows to the president.”
So what if “we” don’t know? By such an argument one could say the following also. “We” don’t know Zephyr Teachout’s tax returns either (or her banking activities etc.) So how do we know she is not a Russian agent sent to pressure Trump – that in fact the fear of the Russian assault on Trump as led by Zephyr Teachout’ is what (as former CIA director is quoted by MSNBC as saying) the “something” that Russia (allegedly) has on Trump.
Back to reality, the relevant government agencies that are tasked with handling the matter actually DO (and did even before Trump became president) have access to the whole tax return and actually audit it all in great detail and expense – in fact exponentially more on Trump than on Zephyr Teachout.
What is all this garbage about Trump’s taxes? First of all, he is under no legal obligation to release them to the public. Secondly, his returns are so complex (hundreds of pages per return), that the average schlemiel would not be able to decipher them. This includes members of the fake media; they would question every single line on his returns. Therefore, Trump is doing us all a favor by not releasing them. Frankly, I could care less how many deductions he made, how much charity he gave, etc.