Circle Around Trump Tightening: Plus, DEMS Now Demanding His Tax Returns (Last 10 Years)

Smart and Wise Advice for Congressional Republicans

(Our Democratic Structure is On the Line)

Update source (NY Times) – now needed since the DEMS are zeroing in on Trump tax forms (they seek 10 years of tax records). But, Trump will not go down easily. He may try and take the country down, too.

9 charged/pleaded guilty. The Crimes listed at bottom of page

1.    Michael Cohen: Sentenced to 3 years in prison.

2.    Roger Stone: Charged in Federal Court      .

3.    Richard Pinedo: Sentenced to 6 months in jail.

4.    George Papadopoulos: Sentenced to 14 days in jail.

5.    Paul Manafort: Charged and convicted.     

6.    Konstantin Kilimnik: Obstruction of justice.

7.    Alex van der Zwaan: Sentenced to 30 days in jail.     

8.    Rick Gates: Financial fraud and lying to the FBI.

9.    Michael Flynn: Charged and pleaded guilty.

28 charged and/or pleaded guilty related cases

·       Bijan Kian: Violated lobbying law.

·       Ekim Alptekin: Violated lobbying law.

·       Maria Butina: Pleaded guilty as foreign agent.

·       Sam Patten: Violated lobbying law.

·       12 Russian Intel Officers: Conspiracy and money laundering     

·       13 Russian Nationals: Conspiracy, bank fraud, and ID theft.

Total of 38 persons to date:

Specific charges for various crimes of those listed above:

1.    Tax evasion, bank fraud, campaign finance

2.    Obstruction, lying, witness tampering

3.    Identity fraud

4.    Lying to FBI (various crimes)

5.    Tax-bank fraud, lying, obstruction of justice

6.    Conspiracy against U.S., identity theft, money laundering

7.    Violated lobbying laws

8.    Acted as/for foreign agent

9.    Lying about Russian Contacts

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DEMS want 10 years of Trump tax returns (Washington Post via MSN). Trump has made clear to associates that he has no plans to allow Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to turn over his personal tax records.

The 1924 tax law (see link below) does not appear to give Mnuchin much flexibility to deny a congressional request, as the law says he “shall” turn over the records.

But if he refuses, Democrats would probably try to compel Mnuchin to comply by filing a lawsuit in federal court. That could drag the process out for months, or more than a year, which could be one of Trump’s primary legal strategies, particularly if he thinks Republicans might take control of the House of Representatives during the 2020 elections.

George Yin, former chief of staff for Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation, said there is no precedent for a treasury secretary to refuse to comply with a congressional request for tax returns, but if the matter goes to court, Democrats could be forced to prove the inquiry is part of Congress’s “lawmaking function or its oversight responsibilities.”

Noteworthy: Congressional leaders have never used a 1924 law (see below) to seek the tax returns of a sitting U.S. president, but there has also not been a president in recent history who has refused to voluntarily disclose his tax returns.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump gave a variety of reasons for not releasing his tax returns. One of the most prominent reasons was his claim that the tax returns were being audited by the IRS Service and that he would release them when that process is over.

Trump repeated that claim in November, after Democrats won the midterm elections, adding: “Nobody turns over a return when it’s under audit.”

Note: IRS officials have said that audits do not preclude release of tax returns by anyone at any time – it’s up to the individual to authorize their release, unless under lawful subpoena.

The 1924 tax law gives chairmen of House and Senate tax-writing committees broad powers to demand the tax returns of White House officials.

My 2 cents: This nearly has reached the apex of the last two years with now with his tax returns in play – maybe a lot longer – we shall see.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.