The news came late on Tuesday night. For some in the nation, it may have seemed just another legal news story. In fact, the news was most worthy of headlines as it put Donald Trump and his crime family into a great deal of legal uncertainty.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James made a direct accusation at Donald J. Trump’s family business for knowingly and repeatedly misrepresenting the value of its assets to bolster its bottom line. For my conservative readers let me punch down on the bottom line. Such “fraudulent or misleading” practices run counter to the laws of New York and the nation.
The law does apply to would-be-autocrats and the family.
The document released on Tuesday made it clear that the Trump operation had produced misleading statements about the value of at least six Trump properties. The properties included golf clubs in Westchester County, N.Y., and Scotland, flagship buildings such as 40 Wall Street in Manhattan, and Mr. Trump’s own penthouse home in Trump Tower.
What that means is the company misstated the value of the properties to lenders, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service. Maybe Trump supporters who find this nothing more than just ‘partisan politics’ might try to go way out of the box when filing their taxes this year and find, too, the power of the law. Trump, again and again, had a pattern of inflating figures about his net worth.
This is like so many others parts of Trump’s life. He is a liar. (Even telling people his New York penthouse had 33,000 square feet when in reality it is 11,000. Or continually claiming that the building had 68 stories when in reality it has 58.) Who acts like this for decades on end?
This time, however, the fraudulent actions and perversion of truth by Trump will carry legal consequences.
This is really not rocket science for the rank and file in the nation. The rules are simple. Don’t lie about your assets and don’t lie about your revenue. Most honest people not only understand those rules but live them.
And for those who do not there are legal actions that will bring compliance.
And so it goes.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 