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Four Investigations That Could Finally Bring Down Donald Trump
Tax Fraud, Basement Secrets, Election Stealing, Coup Plotting
Donald Trump is in legal peril. Are you keeping tabs on the progress of these four investigations?
1. Tax Fraud
New York investigations of the Trump Organization
Donald Trump has been corrupt all his life — long before he gained the U.S. presidency.
Although he tried for years to keep his tax returns secret, the Manhattan district attorney received them in Februrary 2021 after Trump lost a Supreme Court case.
Now, the Trump Organization is facing multiple criminal charges related to 15 years of tax fraud. Its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to 15 felony counts and promised to testify against the company in exchange for reduced prison time.
2. Basement Secrets
FBI search of Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago is a social club that Trump purchased for $10 million in 1985. He spent “all or part of 142 days of his presidency” — about 10% of his time — at the property, spread “over 32 visits.” At some point during his presidency, he took classified info there. After his term ended, the FBI received a tip and, on August 8, 2022, presenting a legal warrant, searched the basement and seized 26 boxes of material.
Trump defended himself in the press by lying, saying he had, once upon a time, issued an order that allowed him to declassify anything he liked. Eighteen top officials from his administration told reporters that this claim was false. First of all, presidents can declassify information, but there is a process. It requires notifying the relevant agencies that their secrets are being declassified. A piece of paper that falls into the president’s hands isn’t automatically declassified. That would defeat the purpose of classifying it. Furthermore, these officials said they never heard of Trump even attempting to issue such a “standing order” about automatic declassification. It’s a story he made up on the spot when he got caught with documents he wasn’t supposed to have.
