The Legal & Financial Problems of Donald Trump & Family

[DOR]

I think we have some new charges arising... ABC News is discussing new impeachment charges (sorry, no time), but inciting a felony — violently breaking into a federal building — might be the ultimate charge.

[TopHatter]

I think we have some new charges arising... ABC News is discussing new impeachment charges (sorry, no time), but inciting a felony — violently breaking into a federal building — might be the ultimate charge.

Never happen. He'll come out of this scot free.

[astralis]

joe,

Never happen. He'll come out of this scot free.

no, not quite scot free.

I agree he'll probably never see the inside of a jail cell, unfortunately, but I can definitely see assets getting seized by the State of New York, among other places.

[TopHatter]

joe,



no, not quite scot free.

I agree he'll probably never see the inside of a jail cell, unfortunately, but I can definitely see assets getting seized by the State of New York, among other places.

I meant the events of January 6th, his inciting of that mob to assault the Capitol Building. He might get impeached again, but not convicted. And that'll be the extent of it. The Republicans are still too closely wed to the Cult of Trump.

As for his legal woes with the State of New York, you're right, he's in a lot more trouble there. To say nothing of when his massive loans come due.

[DOR]

The next step is formal censure. In the House and Senate, that means forcing those who incited violence to give up committee chairs they hold (if any), but not their elected seats. It's a slap on the wrist, but it goes on the record as saying, "No. That is a line you do not cross. Never again."

[Albany Rifles]

If he gets impeached and/or censured he gets stripped of all his perqs and can't run in 2024...or ever.

[astralis]

Impeachment/conviction would do that -- would censuring have the same effect as well?

[TopHatter]

Impeachment/conviction would do that -- would censuring have the same effect as well?

I believe only conviction on the Article(s) of Impeachment can do that. Censure doesn't do a damn thing. "There are also no legal consequences that come with a reprimand or censure."

It merely "sends a message". F--k THAT!

[Albany Rifles]

Impeachment/conviction would do that -- would censuring have the same effect as well?

I think you are right...it maybe if he gets 25th-ed ART IV.

So much floating around it's hard to keep straight.

Thank goodness for my law degree from Twitter U!

[TopHatter]

Deutsche Bank cuts ties with Trump after Capitol attack
Trump owes the bank more than $300 million.

Deutsche Bank, one of President Donald Trump’s main lenders, plans to distance itself from its best-known client in the wake of last week’s Capitol insurrection, creating a new threat to Trump's finances once he leaves office.

The German bank will no longer do business with Trump or his company going forward, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump owes the bank more than $300 million.

Separately, New York's Signature Bank said it is closing Trump's personal accounts and calling for his resignation. The bank is pledging to no longer do business with any members of Congress who objected to the certification of President-elect Joe Biden's election last week.

"To witness a rioter sitting in the presiding chair of the U.S. Senate and our elected representatives being told to seek cover under their seats is appalling and an insult to the Republic," Signature Bank said in a statement. "We witnessed the President of the United States encouraging the rioters and refraining from calling in the National Guard to protect the Congress in its performance of duty."

The moves by Trump's banks are the clearest signs yet of looming financial blowback to his business empire as he leaves office facing widespread repudiation for stoking the Jan. 6 mob attack that disrupted Biden's election certification. A growing number of major financial institutions and other corporations have spoken out against the events and announced plans to cut off financial support for Republican officials.

Deutsche Bank's break with Trump follows years of intense public scrutiny and litigation triggered by its association with the president. After winning control of the House majority in 2018, Democrats launched an investigation into the bank's dealings with Trump, issuing subpoenas that sparked a legal battle all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its relationship with Trump. The New York Times earlier reported the bank's decision to stop doing business with the president.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not respond.
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[TopHatter]

New York City to end multi-million dollar deals with Trump after ‘inciting rebellion’

New York mayor Bill de Blasio said he wants to end the city's business contracts with Donald Trump after his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

"The president incited a rebellion against the United States government, clearly unconstitutional act and people died. That's unforgivable," Mr de Blasio said at his daily press conference.

"So, our legal team is right now assessing the options. And as quickly as we come to a resolution, we're going to have something to say, but yes, there are several contracts with the City of New York and they're all under review right now."

The Trump Organization has made about $17m from running two ice rinks, a carousel and a golf course in New York City’s public parks, according to the most recent financial disclosures reported by The Washington Post.

The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment.

New York is the latest in a series of companies and organizations indicating they would cut ties with the president following the riot at Capitol Hill, including Signature Bank, Shopify, PGA of America, and the British golf association.

A spokeswoman for the mayor, Laura Feyer, did not provide a timeline on when the city could end its contracts with the Trump Organization, which include Wollman and Lasker ice skating rinks in Central Park, and the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ferry Point golf course near the East River.

Ms Feyer said in a statement to The Independent that the riots were a "national abomination".

“The attacks on our Capital killed a police officer, left four rioters dead, exposed lawmakers to COVID-19 and threatened the constitutional transfer of power," Ms Feyer said.

"We’re reviewing whether legal grounds exist in light of these new circumstances to terminate concessions with the Trump Organization.”
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Title is pretty click-baity, they're going to review things but nothing has been cancelled as of yet.

Still, just another indication of how toxic Trump's brand has become.

[TopHatter]

Donald Trump Jr wanted for questioning by DC attorney general over alleged inaugural funds abuse

Donald Trump Jr is wanted for questioning as part of an investigation into the alleged misuse of his father’s 2017 presidential inauguration funds.

Washington DC attorney general Karl Racine said Mr Trump Jr had been notified of the request, which was sent after new evidence emerged in court filings earlier this week.

They allege that the Presidential Inaugural Committee “improperly wasted its fund” when it paid almost $50,000 (Ł37,000) to the Loews Madison for a block of hotel rooms on behalf of the Trump Organization.

The reservation was arranged by Mr Trump Jr’s personal assistant, the court filings claim, and the rooms appeared to have been given to a personal friend of the president’s eldest son.

The incident emerged as part of the DC attorney general’s wider probe into the alleged misuse of more than $1 million (Ł733,000) by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which is accused of “grossly overpaying” for event space at the Trump International Hotel in DC during the inauguration.

In January the attorney general’s office announced it was suing the committee and the Trump Organization over the payments.

Mr Racine told CNN on Thursday he was “extremely confident” Mr Trump Jr and the wider Trump family had broken the law.

“We’re before a court and at the end of the day the court will decide, but the evidence is clear. The Trump business and the Trump family used the not-for-profit to profit themselves,” Mr Racine said.

“That’s why the presidential inauguration commission paid so much money for rooms and event space that were far above market rate during the inauguration, and that’s why we just amended our complaint to include that Donald Trump Jr’s good friend essentially had a free set of rooms for a period of time during the inauguration for no good not-for-profit purpose.

“That’s not consistent with the law, that’s why we’re going to pursue that.”

The Trump Organisation has been contacted for comment.
________

Tick-tock...tick-tock...

[TopHatter]

Business Sucks

Donald Trump's business, that is. And it is only going to get worse as all the companies he worked with in the past are bailing on him. We addressed this a bit yesterday, but it's worth a closer look.

To start, Deutsche Bank, the only major bank still willing to lend Trump money, said it's finished with him and his two private bankers there both quit.

Professional Bank went a step further and told him to take the $5 million he has in an account there and go move it somewhere else. It doesn't want his money.

Signature Bank did the same thing, and while it was at it, also told him to resign the presidency.

The PGA canceled a major golf tournament at his Bedminster, NJ, golf course. Organizers of the British Open said they would not use his Turnberry club in Scotland for the foreseeable future (translation: "while Trump is still alive").

New York City is canceling his contracts to run the ice rinks and merry-go-round in Central Park.

The broker that handles office leasing for Trump Tower and his other properties (Cushman and Wakefield) dumped him.

The e-commerce store that sells his merchandise (Shopify) dropped him. Much of his income is from licensing his brand. That's not exactly a growth industry these days.

Four Trump-branded hotels have closed,

His plans for a new [hotel] chain fizzled, and his remaining hotels are toxic for all but his most die-hard supporters, most of whom tend not to stay in expensive hotels much anyway.

He could lose the lease on his D.C. hotel, because starting Jan. 20 at noon, there will be a new landlord in town: Joe Biden (the government owns the building the hotel is located in). There is a clause in Trump's lease that says the government can cancel the lease if Trump is under investigation by any government authority, which he is in New York. Trump has been trying to sell the hotel, but no one wants it because it has been losing money hand over fist. And once he is no longer president, foreign governments are not going to be holding expensive bashes there anymore, so the red ink will only get worse. That sale could be crucial for him, since he owes $400 million and has few liquid assets to pay his creditors unless he can sell some assets at fire-sale prices soon.

Trump's biggest asset now is the 74 million people who voted for him, but he needs a way to monetize that. One possibility (maybe the only one) is to start a streaming channel on the Internet (to avoid dealing with cable companies, which don't want him) and charge people $5.99/month to watch him rant. If he attracted 7 million paying fans, that would be $500 million per year in revenue. Of course, if he repeats the same rant every day, not many folks will sign up for a second month.

But it is not clear that he will have a lot of time for setting up new ventures and hosting a rant show every evening. Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance Jr. is closing in on him, as is New York AG Letitia James. The new AG, Merrick Garland, might possibly hire a special prosecutor to look into whether he committed sedition, obstruction of justice, or violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause. Then there are the lawsuits from Summer Zervos and E. Jean Carroll to deal with, plus any new ones that pop up once he is out of office. Going back to the life he led before entering politics is not in the cards. Nor is a life of leisure or spending lots of time on the beach in Florida. The only thing that is sure is that he won't be bored to death for lack of anything to do. (V)
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[tbm3fan]

Things are not going swimmingly well for the spawn either.

Ivanka for Senator from Florida or Governor. Sorry, GG, Florida is a crazed state. You have my condolences...

Already shunned from polite society, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner face new cold post-insurrection reality

(CNN)When Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner shared their decision to pick up and move their family to Washington from New York four years ago, multiple sources who know the couple said the idea was the White House years would allow easy entree to their ambitious next steps: Kushner would become a powerful player in global politics and Trump would become a shoo-in to a higher office of her own.


The couple have never been shy about their combined love of power. When they got engaged, Ivanka Trump said in an interview that she knew Kushner was the one when she found his ambition matched hers.

"Jared and I are very similar in that we're very ambitious. That's what makes it so amazing to be in a relationship with someone who is supportive of that," Trump told New York Magazine in 2009.

Yet now they find themselves staring down the end of the ignominious Trump presidency: the United States Capitol still showing signs of the deadly mob attack that breached the seat of democracy, thousands of National Guard troops cordoning off the city, President Donald Trump impeached (again) for his role in inciting the mob and the family patriarch robbed of his most powerful outlet after getting permanently banned from Twitter.

To fulfill their goals, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner need to pull off the pivot of all pivots.

Instead of a smile-and-wave final White House chapter, the couple are busy trying to keep the President from saying too little or too much, throwing themselves on a grenade they aren't certain will detonate but not able to take the chance either way.

A White House official sent this statement when asked for comment: "Ivanka came to Washington to give back to a nation that has given her so much and to fight for policies that help hardworking American families. Over four years, she spearheaded policies that created jobs, empowered American workers, fed families in need and supported small businesses throughout the pandemic. She is proud of her service and excited for the future."

Ivanka Trump was among those who pushed her father to make the Twitter video that ultimately got him banned in the wake of the riot, according to a White House official.

In it he told rioters to "go home," but in an off-script moment added, "We love you."

From her office in the West Wing, Ivanka Trump was fielding calls from Capitol Hill politicians who were literally hiding from a vicious and violent mob. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a ubiquitous presence with the President during golf outings and holiday jaunts to Mar-a-Lago, could not get in touch with Trump to beseech him to publicly call for a stop to the insurrection, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN. So Graham called Ivanka Trump, pleading for her to help talk to her dad.

Kushner intervened when other officials tried restoring the President's social media presence on sites that are often havens for extremists, such as Gab, following the unprecedented ban from several major platforms.

It was again Ivanka Trump key among the aides who pushed the President to issue a subsequent video in the wake of his impeachment, again denouncing any future violence or plots to wreak havoc across the country. There were no words of "love" this time.

The latest move was motivated by fear of potential legal exposure by the President, a source familiar with the taping told CNN.

And according to sources who have worked and socialized with Ivanka Trump and Kushner, their motivation was likely their fear over the state of their beloved moneymaker -- the Trump brand.

"They're trying to keep what little is left for them in terms of sellable currency as Trumps," said one source, who added the change from "before insurrection" to "after insurrection" has moved the needle on the state of the Trump empire from perilous to dire.

"The proof here about how worried (the family) is is how quiet they are," said another source, who notes the muzzled Twitter screeds and the dialed-back bravado, most notably of Ivanka Trump's brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

Ivanka Trump's planned "farewell tour" of sorts to shore up the policy wins is now shelved, said someone with knowledge of the discussed public relations blitz. The eldest Trump daughter has not made secret her desire to explore running for office herself, confirm several sources, two of whom wondered aloud to CNN whether those dreams are now impossible to achieve.

"The idea that anyone will forget that her father incited these attacks is about zero," said one political operative who has worked in Republican politics. "If she wanted future voters to overlook just how devastating the end of this administration is, that's a big lift."

The future is Florida?

In December, Trump and Kushner closed on the purchase of a $30 million plot of land on exclusive Indian Creek Island just north of Miami, with plans, friends say, to build a private estate. Murmurs that Trump wants to challenge Florida's GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in 2022 are growing -- or at least they were before the insurrection.

Adam C. Smith, former Tampa Bay Times political editor and now consultant with Mercury Public Affairs, said it's still possible Ivanka Trump could get a pass in Florida, where the MAGA crowd is strong, and forgiving.

"Until there's real evidence that the Trump brand is diminished with the activist base and dominant MAGA wing of the party, and not merely among elected Republicans and establishment types, I think Ivanka would remain the clear front-runner against Marco Rubio," he said.

Trump could also sit back to see what public sentiment dictates for her future, or she might want to wait the required seven years of Florida residency and then run for governor. One source who knows her noted that Trump has never had a problem believing in her own importance.

"Lack of self-confidence is not something she suffers from," the source said.

Politics or no, Florida at least provides a more living-friendly environment than New York City, where several former friends have said the couple will not be welcomed back into social circles with open arms.

The Kushner-Trumps also have a cottage at Trump Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey, which was recently renovated to add more bedrooms. It's possible they could land there for some amount of time, but politically New Jersey is not Trump country, either.

Florida, where Ivanka Trump campaigned several times in the run-up to the presidential election, could provide a partisan haven, but the ease that she and Kushner were to have to parlay their years in Washington into new personas in the Sunshine State is now gone.


https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/polit...eps/index.html

[TopHatter]

Trump’s businesses were already in a ‘billion-dollar hole’ before the Capitol riot fallout

By almost any metric, the Trump administration has taken extraordinary measures to help the president’s businesses profit during his four years in office. The administration pushed to hold the G7 summit at President Trump’s private club and the President himself visited one of his own properties on approximately one out of every three days he’s been in office.

But the striking thing, based on the limited information we have about the inner workings of Trump’s company, is how little these moves helped the profitability of the business itself.

“They were already in trouble,” Robert Maguire, research director of watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told Yahoo Finance. This was “before the pandemic, and then the pandemic hits and it's a huge blow.”

Forbes has been estimating Trump’s net worth for years. In March 2016, when the earliest figure was available, his net worth stood at an estimated $4.5 billion. Soon after he was inaugurated president, that figure had dropped to $3.5 billion. “We now have him at $2.5 billion,” said Dan Alexander, a Forbes senior editor and one of the people behind the data. “That's a very substantial hit.”

The coronavirus pandemic has gutted businesses across the country, with 10 million fewer jobs in the U.S. than before the pandemic began. That overall factor, combined with a host of companies cutting ties with the Trump Organization following the president’s role in inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, is likely to damage the president’s business further.

“Politics has not – despite what a lot of people think – been good for his business,” said Alexander, who also wrote a book on the subject called "White House Inc.”

6 years of apparent losses

Another way to measure the health of Trump’s businesses is what we know about his revenue. CREW has analyzed the revenues from the Trump Organization, which he still owns but says is currently under the day-to-day control of his two adult sons, and finds that the money coming in has likely flatlined.

According to multiple analyses of Trump’s personal financial disclosures, the Trump Organization – which includes a range of assets from office buildings in Manhattan to hotels and golf courses around the world, and other revenue sources like licensing deals – generated a minimum of around $452 million in revenue in 2017. That figure fell to $434 million in 2018, and was $446 million in 2019, the last year for which data is available.

The business has been under intense pressure since 2015 when Trump announced his run for office by calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” before adding, “some, I assume, are good people.”

The list of groups that cut ties back then was longer and included more prominent names than this past week. Corporations from NBCUniversal to Macy’s to NASCAR to Serta all rushed to cut ties. Another wave of Trump business backers ran for the exits in 2017 after he responded to violent protests in Charlottesville, W. V., that featured white supremacists, by saying "you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."

Then of course, came the COVID pandemic that has hit Trump’s hospitality-centric business hard over the last year. Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel, for example, remains open to guests but the lobby and restaurant – which long served as a hub for Trump officials to meet and spend money – has been closed by the virus even as hotel officials have repeatedly pushed to open up.

Zach Everson runs a website devoted to tracking the comings and goings at Trump’s D.C. hotel, and noted in a recent interview that there are far fewer people broadcasting their stay at the Trump hotel on Instagram now than in the past. “It's just been tough trying to see what exactly can be attributed to the riots and what was just ongoing because of COVID,” said Everson.

‘They're not going to need to curry favor with him anymore’

The one bright spot in Trump’s empire has been at places he frequented as president. According to Trump’s personal disclosures, places like his Bedminster, N.J., golf club and his Washington-area golf resorts, which he visits regularly, have seen revenue increases.

Maguire noted that these businesses were often “promoting the possibility that the president would drop in on your wedding or something like that,” which helped business, “and so it makes sense that these properties that he frequented the most are the ones that would see the most benefit.”

Maguire predicts that “we're going to see a drop-off in the kinds of events that we saw during his presidency for that very fact that they're not going to need to curry favor with him anymore.”

There is also a slight chance, in addition to barring him from further office, that Washington lawmakers could cut off another stream of revenue for the soon-to-be former president: the taxpayer-funded trappings usually afforded to former presidents.

“There are many members [of Congress] who are concerned about his continued benefits as an ex-president, the huge transportation budget, Secret Service” he would get, said Rep. Don Beyer (D., Va.) in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “I'm not quite sure the Senate will want to go that far as to take them away, but certainly people are talking about that.”

What’s next for the organization

Either way, Alexander of Forbes said any taxpayer funds would only be a drop in the bucket compared with Trump’s expected financial (and legal) challenges in the years ahead. He has reported that the company’s total debt is over $1 billion.

“Stopping in at Turnberry [Trump’s golf course] and forcing your Secret Service to stay there? Yeah. It's going to bring you money,” he said. “But it's not going to fix the billion-dollar hole.”

A host of businesses have cut ties with Trump in recent days, from the PGA to Shopify to, reportedly, his real estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield. New York City also canceled contracts worth $17 million at two ice-skating rinks and a golf course.

Perhaps the most significant will be Deutsche Bank’s (DB) reported move to eventually sever its relationship with Donald Trump and his companies. The multinational bank has long been a key holder of Trump’s debts and has helped finance his business for decades.

The Trump Organization, for its part, is claiming that the business will thrive in the coming years, built around Trump’s die-hard supporters.

“You have a man who would get followed to the ends of the Earth by a hundred million Americans,” the president’s younger son Eric Trump said in a recent interview with the AP. “He created the greatest political movement in American history and his opportunities are endless.”

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization didn’t respond to repeated inquiries from Yahoo Finance on various aspects of the business.

The big question, according to Alexander, focuses on the leases that Trump holds across New York City and the country. These sources of income constitute the heart of Trump’s empire and may hurt his bottom line more seriously than anything else

As just one example, Business Insider recently reported that the Girl Scouts of New York are exploring ways to get out of its lease in Trump’s building at 40 Wall Street. That lease isn’t set to expire until almost 2030.

For all four years “really the big question is: when is this going to hit the leasing empire? And I think that's kind of the stage that we're at right now,” said Alexander.
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A truly successful businessman with genuine business acumen would be able to dig himself out of this hole. Unfortunately for the Trump Organization, all they've got is...Donald Trump.