Trump Played Hide-the-Docs at Mar-a-Lago

Remember those cartons of federal documents that the defeated Donald Trump stole when he slunk out of the White House back in January 2021? Turns out he actively tried to hide them from the FBI.

It now appears two of  Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago employees moved document boxes the day before an early June visit by FBI agents and a prosecutor. Even before recieving a subpoena in May, they had a “dress rehearsal” for moving sensitive papers.

Legal experts think this can be seen as clear evidence of Donald Trump’s criminal intent to defraud the government and retain illegal possession of government documents. Ya Think?

More:

“Trump workers moved Mar-a-Lago boxes a day before FBI came for documents,” Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey, Spencer S. Hsu and Perry Stein, Washington Post

Update:

“Trump captured on tape talking about classified document he kept after leaving the White House,” Katelyn Polantz, Paula Reid and Kaitlan Collins, CNN

__________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-DwK

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

GOP Extortionists Hold America Hostage

The House GOP has been holding America hostage over federal borrowing, and the kidnappers have no problem killing their captives. Congressional Republicans raised US borrowing limits three times during the Trump administration, but now they’re threatening to send the nation into default, demanding draconian spending cuts before they let the US pay it’s debts. In fact, 25 percent of that debt was accumulated during the Trump presidency.

The borrowing cap has been raised 78 times since 1960, 49 times under Republican presidents, 29 under Democratic chief executives. Don’t believe the “running government like a business” hype; corporate securities are borrowed money. And running the country like a household? US household debt (mortgages, car loans, college loans, credit cards) is currently $17 trillion. If you default on your household loans, you’ll take down your family. If the GOP forces a federal government default, it will take down everybody.

The real problem isn’t federal spending, it’s federal revenue. Republicans have consistently reduced taxes on the rich and corporations, most recently under G.W. Bush and Trump. Now they say there isn’t enough money. Wow, wonder how that happened.

Apparently one of the cuts the GOP got in the recent compromise with the White House will reduce the IRS budget in hopes of reducung chances that tax-cheating rich Republican  donors (and their corporations) will be made to pay the paltry sums the current rigged tax code requires. Not to be outdone, Ron DeSantis wants to abolish the IRS.

More:

“IRS faces $20B cut from modernization fund under debt ceiling agreement,” Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

“Debt Deal Cuts $21 Billion Of IRS $80 Billion, 87,000 New IRS Agents Stay,” Robert W. Wood, Forbes

“A Republican Win on IRS Funding May Be a Complicated One,” Fatma Khaled, Time

“Tax Cuts Are Primarily Responsible for the Increasing Debt Ratio,” Bobby Kogan, Center for American Progress

_________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Dwr

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Liar George Santos Arrested on Federal Criminal Charges

Serial liar and Republican Congressman George Santos (AKA Anthony Zabrovsky, Anthony Devolder, George Devolder and Kitara Ravache) of New York’s 3th District was indicted by a Federal grand jury Tuesday on multiple federal counts of money laundering, stealing public money, wire fraud and making false statements to Congress in his House financial disclodures. He was arrested Wednesday, and arraigned at the Eastern District Federal Courthouse in Central Islip, NY. Mr. Santos pleaded not guilty, and was  set loose on a helpless public while awaiting trial. His $500,000 bond was secured by three unnamed individuals. His next court date is June 30. George Santos remains in Congress until his inevitable conviction.

The indictment charges that Mr. Santos solicited campaign donations, then used the funds for personal expenses, including luxury designer clothes and paying off his credit cards and and car payments. He also obtained unemployment benefits fraudulently.

Previously, George Santos lied about his: high school, college, ever going to college, volleyball prowess, grad school, religion, race, family history, work history, finances, owning 13 real estate properties, knee replacements, his yacht brokerage, appearing on Hanna Montana, developing carbon capture technology, film acting, losing employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting, getting mugged, being a drag queen, having a brain tumor, running a pet rescue charity, past marital status, getting COVID, and his own mother’s death.

His newest fib: he’s innocent and the trial is a ‘witch hunt.”

More:

“Rep. George Santos charged with 13 counts of fraud, financial crimes,” Devlin Barrett, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Shayna Jacobs, and Perry Stein, Washington Post

“George Santos charged with fraud, including stealing from campaign to buy designer clothes,” Jake Offenhartz and Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press

“Congressman George Santos Charged with Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft of Public Funds, and False Statements,” Press Release, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York

“Read the George Santos Indictment,” New York Times

“George Santos, Facing Felony Charges, Campaigned on Ensuring Criminals Do Time,” Rebecca Cohen, Business Insider

“George Santos Claims Arraignment Conflicts with His Role in N.B.A. Playoffs,” Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

________________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Du0

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. Download a copy here. Note: Politifact hasn’t yet fact-checked George Santo’s statements. Maybe it’s too overwhelming.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Herschel Walker’s End Run Around Finance Laws

Former Georgia Bulldog, New Jersey General, and The Apprentice TV loser Herschel Walker told lots of lies during his failed MAGA senate campaign, but his secret lie to a billionaire donor was worth over half a million dollars and, possibly, a federal conviction for wire fraud.

Instead of transferring the payments to his senatorial campaign fund, Walker asked Montana billionaire Dennis Washington to wire $535,200 directly to his private company, HR Talent, LLC. Mr. Washington did so, thinking this was a legitimate political contribution. Not so.

The hidden ball trick is legal in football, but not in campaign finance, or any kind of finance, except maybe organized crime. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has asked the referees, The Federal Election Commission (about the campaign donation violation and Attorney General Garland (about the wire fraud issue), and it sure looks like a personal foul by Herschel Walker.

More:

“Emails Reveal ‘Jaw-Dropping’ Herschel Walker Money Scandal,” Roger Sollenberger, Daily Beast

“Emails show Herschel Walker nicked billionaire Dennis Washington for $500K,” Zoë Buchli, Missoulian

“Report: Herschel Walker’s Very Embarrassing Campaign May Have Also Committed Wire Fraud,” Caleb Ecarma, Vanity Fair

Top image: 1984 Topps bubblegum card. The New Jersey Generals team owner was Donald Trump. 

_______________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Dt0

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

DeSantis Finds Trump a Running Mate

While Republicans are historically known for their support of business, Florida’s GOP Governor Ron DeSantis is locked in battle with his state’s largest employer, Disney World. Disney spoke out against the DeSantis-encouraged laws meddling in women’s health and persecuting sexual minorities. In retaliation for these corporate views, Mr. DeSantis targeted the mechanism used to develop and maintain Disney’s huge Cental Florida resort since 1967. That testy move could put Florida taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 billion.

After Disney dodged the DeSantis development-takeover ploy, the governor threated to put tolls on roads leading to Disney World and build an adjacent state prison. Why would Ron Desantis persist in this vendetta? The Yale- and Harvard-educated governor is running for president as a populist culture warror.

Picking a fight with drag queens is one thing; taking on a $203 billion company is quite another. Disney now is suing DeSantis in federal court for retaliating against the company as punishment for Disney’s constitutionally protected speech. By most accounts, Disney is likely to prevail.

Enter Donald Trump, current frontrunner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Ron DeSantis is obviously set to formally enter the fray after his symbolic world tour. As far the The Donald is concerned, the enemy of his enemy is his friend. Expect to see him leave Mar-a-Lago for an Orlando mouse-hugging daytrip soon.

Fun Fact:  Ron DeSantis got married at Disney World in 2009.

More:

“Donald Trump posts scorched-earth rant against Ron ‘DeSanctus,’ blasts gov’s ‘political stunt’ against Disney,” Mark Moore, New York Post

“Trump attacks DeSantis by suggesting Disney could leave Florida because of the governor,” Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post

“Man vs. Mouse: Ron DeSantis Finds Taking On Disney Is a Dicey Business,” Charles Homans, New York Times

“The feud between Ron DeSantis and Disney, explained,” Nicole Narea, Ian Millhiser, and Alex Abad-Santos, Vox

___________________________
Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Drk

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Trump Locks Up the 2024 Campaign

Celebrity golf cheat, insurrection organizer, and twice-impeached former US President Donald Trump is due to be arraigned today in New York City on multiple business fraud counts weirdly related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Naturally, in today’s MAGA-Republican party, this makes him the front-runner in the GOP 2024 presidential campaign, earning him millions in campaign contributions.

The New York case, brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, is much, um, sexier than other Trump investigations, which merely involve stealing government documents, plotting a coup, and attempting to steal a presidential election. While the Big Apple case may seem more of a long shot, it’s the first indictment of a former US president, so indictments in other cases won’t be precedent breakers, reducing the heat on prosecutors.

More:

“New York, city of Trump’s dreams, delivers his comeuppance,” Matt Sedensky, Associated Press

“Trump Says He Can’t Be Bought–Then Begs For Campaign Money,” Matt Young, Daily Beast

“Melania Trump Seen Wearing “I Don’t Care” Jacket,” Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

_______________
Short link:  https://wp.me/p6sb6-Dmk

Top image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Trump Gets More Money from His Saudi Masters

Celebrity golf cheat, grand jury target, and former US President Donald Trump, fresh from his triumphant Senior Golf Tournament cheat last week, has scored three LIV Golf tournaments at his East Coast golf courses for the 2023 season. They will be televised on the CW Network. The Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tour “sportswashing” campaign’s 2022 tour stained the Trump National Golf Clubs in Bedminster, New Jersey and Doral, Florida, and was only seen on YouTube.

Another big difference this year: Donald Trump will be taking foreign money while he is an officially-declared candidate in the 2024 presidential election. When he appears at the LIV tourneys, will the FEC deem them campaign events? We’ll see.

Mr. Trump embraced the insurgent Saudi-backed tour in revenge after the U.S.-based PGA pulled its 2022 championship tourney from his Bedminster course, but he has history backing upstart sports leagues, and it’s not the first time Donald Trump has taken Saudi money. Saudi cash saved Trump from bankrupcy, and, despite anti-Saudi rhetoric during his 2016 campaign, he and son-in-law Jared Kushner have kept their shoddy businesses afloat on an Arabian Gulf of Saudi money.

By April 2022, Jared Kushner’s equity firm primarily depended on Saudi money. Previously, as Trump’s Secretary of Everything, Mr. Kushner had defended Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman. In 2021, after Steven Mnuchin stepped down as Treasury Secretary, the Saudi fund invested $1 billion in his business. It’s unclear how much Mr. Trump will earn from the Saudi-backed golf tour in 2023 but, knowing him, he’ll probably start bragging about it.

Last year there were strong objections to Trump’s embrace of Saudi golf money by the PGA, by survivors of the victims of 9/11, and National Press Club members who remember the “grisly-bonesaw” murder of their collegue Jamal Khashoggi.

More:

“Trump courses hosting three tournaments for Saudi-underwritten LIV Golf,” Stephen Neukam, The Hill

“Trump courses to host 3 events for Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour,” Herb Scribner, Axios

Related:

“Hosting Saudi Golf Tourney, Trump Has Forgotten He Used to Blame Kingdom for 9/11,” Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone

“Trump: LIV Golf tournament a ‘great thing’ for Saudi Arabia,” Jared Gans, The Hill

“The marriage of LIV Golf and Donald Trump is the stuff schemes are made of,” Eamon Lynch, Golfweek

“Donald Trump’s Sketchy Playbook for Blowing Up a Pro Sports League,” Ian Ward, Politico

“Remembering The Tour De Trump, Donald Trump’s Failed Bike Race,” Patrick Redford, Deadspin

“Does Saudi Arabia Own Donald Trump?” NotionsCapital

“Ivana Trump was buried near the first hole of Trump National Golf Club. Her gravesite could offer tax breaks for the business.” Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert and Isabella Zavarise, Business Insider

___________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-D2T

Image (“Trump Welcomes His Saudi Masters to New Jersey”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Trump: Senior Golf Cheat

Celebrity golf cheat and former US President Donald Trump held a Senior Golf Tournament at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach last week. The winner? Surprise! It was Donald Trump, and he wasn’t even there for half of it:

“Trump told tournament organizers he played a strong round on the course Thursday, two days before the tournament started, and decided that would count as his Saturday score for the club championship. That score was five points better than any competitor posted during Saturday’s first round.” — Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post

Mr. Trump plays 18 to 26 rounds of golf each week, so the cherrypicking adds nuance to the jawdropping phantom round.

More:

“Trump pilloried as ‘4-year-old cheat’ over golf tournament claims: ‘Guy can’t even con right anymore,’” Namita Singh, The Independent, via Yahoo Sports

“Trump declares himself the winner of his own club championship – in the Trumpiest way ever,” Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post

__________________

Short Link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-CZS

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

George Santos (R, NY-3)

Republican Congressman George Santos (AKA Anthony Zabrovsky, Anthony Devolder, George Devolder and Kitara Ravache) of New York’s 3th District is now a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology (because he lied about developing carbon capture technology), and the House Committee on Small Business (because he lied about his business experience). At least he’s not on the Ethics Committee.

If you’re keeping score at home, George Santos lied about his: high school, college, ever going to college, volleyball prowess, grad school, religion, race, family history, work history, finances, owning 13 real estate properties, knee replacements, his yacht brokerage, appearing on Hanna Montana, developing carbon capture technology, film acting, losing employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting, getting mugged, being a drag queen, having a brain tumor, running a pet rescue charity, past marital status, getting COVID, and his own mother’s death. More is sure to come.

But as Jon Stewart observes: “The thing we have to be careful of, and I always caution myself on this and I ran into this trouble with Trump, is we cannot mistake absurdity for lack of danger, because it takes people with no shame to do shameful things.”

How did he get elected in the first place? By telling Democratic and Republican voters in his district what each wanted to hear. As Bill Maher puts it: “He is the first one to realize that since we are all in our hermetically sealed media bubbles, now you can pretend to be everything to voters in both parties.”

The Republican majority is so slim that GOP members are reluctant to pressure Mr. Santos into resigning from the House. His district could easily elect a Democrat to replace him, so he’ll stay until the federal, state, Nassau County, Queens, and/or Brazilian courts catch up with him.

More:

“Rep. George Santos Appears to Have Ripped Off His Former Boss’s Resume in Crafting His Backstory,” Virginia Chamlee, People

“George Santos’ backers include a migrant smuggler, a big Trump donor and the cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch,” Clare Hymes and Graham Kates, CBS News

“Another Santos Money Mystery: He Struck a Curious Business Deal With a Veteran GOP Operative,” Noah Lanard and David Corn, Mother Jones

“Campaigns Linked To Santos Left Donors Feeling Ripped Off After Questionable Credit Card Charges,” Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky, TPM

Update:

“Scientists Welcome ‘Astronaut,’ ‘Nobel Winner’ George Santos To House Science Committee,” Chris D’Angelo, HuffPost

________________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-CYa

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. Download a copy here. Note: Politifact hasn’t yet fact-checked George Santo’s statements. Maybe it’s too overwhelming.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

The Honorable George Santos (R, NY-3)

Outside of Hollywood, you’d think doing business with someone who is using an assumed name would raise concerns, but it didn’t. As a result, George Santos, AKA Anthony Zabrovsky, Anthony Devolder, Kitara Ravache, and George Devolder (of dubious investment firm Harbor City Capital) is now the newly-sworn-in Republican Congressman representing New York’s 3th District.

After he was elected, Rep. Devolder Zabrovsky Ravache Santos admitted to embellishing his résumé, but it’s all embellishment, no résumé. He lied about his: high school, college, ever going to college, volleyball prowess, grad school, religion, family history, work history, finances, owning 13 real estate properties, developing carbon capture technology, losing employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting, running a pet rescue charity, past marital status, and his own mother’s death. Other dirty shoes will probably drop.

George Santos makes Herschel Walker look like the very soul of probity. He should be an embarrassment to Congressional Republicans, but they are noted for lack of shame, and their majority is so slim they’re reluctant to pressure Mr. Santos into resigning from the House. His district could easily elect a Democrat to replace him, so he’ll stay until the federal, state, Nassau County, Queens, and/or Brazilian courts catch up with him.

Months before the election, some of George Santos’ falsehoods were uncovered by the local North Shore Leader newspaper, and some lies were known to Republican consultants. These red flags were ignored in the heat of the campaign.

New York Magazine calls George Santos “The Luckiest Liar in Politics.” If you want to congratulate him on his fabrication-based good fortune, send cards to: The Honorable George Santos, 1117 Longworth House Office Building, Washington DC, 20515-3203 or call him at 202-225-3335.

Constituent well-wishers may prefer to contact his District Office in Queens: 242-09 Northern Boulevard, Douglaston, NY 11363 (phone 718-631-0400).

Rep. Santos doesn’t have a public email address, but his Chief of Staff does.

Want George Santos to attend your new waste disposal service’s ribbon-cutting or your nephew’s bar mitzvah? Use this handy contact form.

Update:

George Santos has been appointed to two House committees. He will sit on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology (because he lied about developing carbon capture technology), and the House Committee on Small Business (because he lied about his business experience).

More:

“Keeping track of all of NY Rep.-elect George Santos’ lies, from his education to charity falsehoods,” Bruce Golding, New York Post

“Rep. George Santos Appears to Have Ripped Off His Former Boss’s Resume in Crafting His Backstory,” Virginia Chamlee, People

“George Santos’ backers include a migrant smuggler, a big Trump donor and the cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch,” Clare Hymes and Graham Kates, CBS News

“Another Santos Money Mystery: He Struck a Curious Business Deal With a Veteran GOP Operative,” Noah Lanard and David Corn, Mother Jones

“Campaigns Linked To Santos Left Donors Feeling Ripped Off After Questionable Credit Card Charges,” Hunter Walker and Josh Kovensky, TPM

 

________________________
Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-CVG

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. Download a copy here. Note: Politifact hasn’t yet fact-checked George Santo’s statements. Maybe it’s too overwhelming.

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.