Great minds …
I had wondered in another thread (I can’t pin it down, and it was probably months ago) if Mueller had trumps taxes yet.
And, it concerns me that his tax returns won’t show a thing other than trump is under water WITH HIS LEGAL REPORTED DEALINGS. The stuff he MUST report. Oh, close scrutiny will probably uncover tax fraud. If trumps tax attorneys are anything like his legal attorneys, well…
The loans, money laundering, and other tit for tat that has gone on with the Russian mafia and perhaps Philippine drug cartels are all hand shake deals. I suspect that trump will want the protection of the Secret Service for as long as he can get it (which is for life, regardless of if he’s POTUS or not). The White House is a pretty safe place to be.
to continue a little bit…
I think that if his base finds out he’s in just as much money trouble as they are (a different scale of course) they may walk away from him. If they realize (a big if) that he is the person that has been screwing them all along, they may realize the HE is the very embodiment of the people they hate.
While there may be (probably are) regional differences, here in NYC the majority of Amazon packages are USPS or UPS, with USPS taking much of the load over the past 2-3 years. I do not recall ever receiving an Amazon package FedEx or DHL. USPS is a huge bonus for NYC deliveries for non-doorman apartments (I guess it’s big for other apartment complexes in other cities too), where other delivery services don’t have access to the mailboxes/package rooms.
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I’m positive Mueller has had Trump’s tax returns since even before Mueller was appointed. I’d wager a lot that Comey had those as one of his first orders of business when he opened his investigation in July 2016. It’s just a natural place to start an investigation like this, and the FBI routinely gets them when pursuing such cases. But Comey/Mueller can’t reveal them or what is in them. That would be improper.
Years ago, I worked with a former IRS agent who had moved into private tax preparation for her next career. I’ve never forgotten something she shared with me: The IRS doesn’t care from where your income is derived. They only care that you report all of it and pay taxes on it. So… I’ll bet those tax returns reveal a whole lot of information about the origins of his loans, even if they’re not legal. And as you point out, they won’t survive a deep dive of scrutiny.
Re your further thoughts, I do think it will affect a few of Trump’s supporters. But let’s face it: A lot of this stuff is really hard to follow, and Trump Tee Vee spends most of its time deliberately muddying the waters. It will be tough for Trump supporters to sort the wheat from the chaff – just as TrumpCo intends.
The good news is, enough people are following along and reserving judgment until they see what Mueller has got. For those folks, it will be more than enough. It just takes a long time for most people to catch up. Hard to believe, but not many follow this stuff like we do (much to my perennial shock).
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So… wouldn’t it take a subpoena? Perhaps to the IRS to get those tax returns? Wouldn’t that subpoena be public record?
Understand that it would not be proper or lawful to release any tax return information to the public. I just thought the subpoena would be public record. Perhaps it’s best that it’s not general knowledge that Mueller has them.
It would take a showing of good cause to obtain them, yes. Maybe a subpoena supported by an affidavit (or multiple affidavits), maybe a judge’s order after a confidential hearing.
I’m not certain of the precise process Comey/Mueller would have to follow. But it’s the FBI, their job is to investigate crimes. They would have to make some showing that the tax returns were necessary documents likely to aid them in tracing criminal activity like money laundering and bribery.
Investigative materials produced in the course of an investigation aren’t usually a matter of public record. Once charges are laid, the prosecutor must share what he has with the defendant and his/her counsel. But even then, the documents may never become evidence or part of the official public record – only those items that are introduced as evidence as the case proceeds.
Grand jury proceedings are always sealed and confidential, so all the underlying documents are, too. I doubt even the grand jury(ies) will have seen the tax returns. More likely, the FBI would use them only as a road map for tracing the criminal activity. But they may become relevant evidence at some later date.
That’s what makes the emoluments ruling so tantalizing. It’s a civil matter, not criminal – and this judge has ruled that Trump is subject to the same rules of discovery as any other average Joe. In a civil case of this sort, tax records could be compelled as discovery and then even attached as an exhibit to a pleading – and then they would become a matter of public record. If the tax records are germane to the case, Trump would have no basis to stop it (not that he wouldn’t try).
I think he knows nothing is really happening. He is very aware that many of his fans were pissed off about the budget. I mean, they even talked about that on Fox. So he is desperate to make them think that the 1 billion he got is just the start and the amazing wall is on the way. I expect him to tweet a lot more pictures and lies to placate them and they will believe all of it.
Who else is really disappointed if trump lies tomorrow ?
I think he really shouldn’t do that, not tomorrow.
Unless his lips get sewn shut, he is gonna lie.
Trump’s latest tweetarhea claims the USPS loses $1.50 on every package it ships for Amazon.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980063581592047617?
His ‘ideas’ are mud puddles that he can stomp in. A petulant child, with the keys to the kingdom. (I think there was a Night Gallery episode like this).
He needs a time out. Say… life in prison. Or a mental institution. Something. He is completely unhinged.
Someone here at SDMB some months ago linked to this image. Full of truth, it is. (political cartoon)
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1536&bih=756&ei=46a_WoyBOOTn5gLUvov4Cw&q=trump+shitty+diaper&oq=trump+shitty+diaper&gs_l=img.3...1382.8476.0.8581.21.10.1.10.11.0.116.906.9j1.10.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.10.898...0.0.zhdoXfihr0k#imgrc=N9zuU7Y4z4uhPM:
Twilight Zone, actually. “It’s A Good Life” with Billy Mumy as Anthony.
I really wish we could wish this whole damn administration into the cornfield.
I tried reporting it to a mod. Haven’t heard back yet.
He’s still got thumbs.
Yeah, but they make it up in volume.
I don’t think they get tax returns in that lawsuit. They will want financial records from his properties, and all kinds of communications with foreign nationals, but the tax returns are probably protected and not likely to lead to relevant evidence. I agree the case could be a big deal, but I don’t see it as opening up the tax records. (also, usually sensitive information provided in discovery in a civil lawsuit is produced pursuant to a protective order, prohibiting sharing it with anyone outside of the case. If the case proceeds to trial, on the other hand, everything is out in the open)
I have a feeling Trump knows he’s lying. The point is to make the Base believe the wall is going up. SUCCESS.
He can tell those shitheads anything and they’ll believe it.
Is there some sort of Christian ban on lying on Easter?