What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The Case Against the President: Emoluments, Trump's Finances, Taxes & Foundation (1 Viewer)

Kremlin-Controlled Russian Bank Hires Trump Insider as a Lobbyist

John Sweeney will be paid to help Vnesheconombank avoid sanctions.
 

With Congress mulling legislation to slap new sanctions on Russia for its attack on the 2016 American election, an important Russian bank connected to Vladimir Putin’s government has turned for help to a well-positioned lobbyist in Washington: a Trump insider and former Republican House member named John Sweeney. In August Sweeney signed a whopping contract to lobby on behalf of this bank to stave off sanctions from the US government. 

Sweeney, who formerly represented district near Albany, filed paperwork late last month with the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act unit to represent Vnesheconombank, known as VEB.RF, a Kremlin-controlled investment bank. The bank’s chair, Igor Shuvalov, was appointed last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who gave him orders to increase funding of national development projects.

...

Sweeney represented an upstate New York district from 1999 through 2006, when he was defeated for reelection by Kirsten Gillibrand, now the junior senator from New York. In the final weeks of the 2006 race, Sweeney faced domestic abuse allegations (claims that he has denied). In the years that followed, Sweeney twice pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges. Sweeney stopped drinking and recently announced 10 years of sobriety. He also weathered a federal grand jury investigation, into whether he took official acts while in office to help three clients of an Albany lobbying firm in exchange for “a stream of financial benefits,” according to FBI records cited by the Albany Times Union. He was never charged in that case, which lasted from 2006 until at least 2008.

An early Trump backer, Sweeney led Trump’s successful primary campaign in New York. Sweeney served on Trump’s presidential transition team, helping to vet potential senior national security and intelligence officials, ambassadors, and political appointees for multiple agencies.

Sweeney began lobbying the White House soon after Trump took office. In 2017 and 2018 he worked on behalf of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project partly owned by Russia’s state-run gas giant, Gazprom. The pipeline, scheduled to be completed by next year, would transport natural gas directly from Russia to Germany, bypassing Ukraine, which could damage that country’s gas industry. Sweeney’s work, for which he reported receiving $470,000 in lobbying fees, included opposing “potential financial sanctions affecting the project.” Lobbying disclosure forms he filed with Congress say he focused on influencing the “Executive Office of the President.”

Sweeney has also represented Ihor Kolomoisky, a politically influential Ukrainian tycoon who previously controlled a Ukrainian bank seized by that country’s government in 2016 due to purported lack of capital and financial improprieties. In a lawsuit filed in May, the bank sued Kolomoisky and another former owner, alleging that the men forced it to issue loans to entities they controlled and then laundered the proceeds through shell companies that bought up commercial real estate in the United States. The Daily Beast reported in April that the FBI is investigating Kolomoisky, who has assets in the United States, for alleged money laundering and other crimes. (Kolomoisky has denied the allegations.)

Sweeney is among a small group of Trump insiders who have become lobbyists for Russian firms and related interests. Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign and transition aide, is now a lobbyist at Mercury Public Affairs, where he has represented  the EN+ Group, an aluminum company founded by Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch close to Putin. Lanza and Mercury helped the company win relief from US sanctions. Brian Ballard, who formerly lobbied for Trump in Florida and has since built a thriving Washington practice, has represented David Yakobashvili, a Russian oligarch with interests in gas and the food industry. Yakobashvili identifies himself as president of the Russian–American Council for Business Cooperation, a group that says it was created at Putin’s behest to boost trade between the countries.
Click to expand...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A.

Investigators demanded the president’s personal and corporate tax returns as they examine hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.

State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed President Trump’s accounting firm to demand eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The subpoena opens a new front in a wide-ranging effort to obtain copies of the president’s tax returns, which Mr. Trump initially said he would make public during the 2016 campaign but has since refused to disclose.

The subpoena was issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office late last month, soon after it opened a criminal investigation into the role that the president and his family business played in hush-money payments made in the run-up to the election.

Both Mr. Trump and his company reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, for money Mr. Cohen paid to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. The president has denied the affair.

It was unclear if the broad scope of the subpoena indicated that the office had expanded its investigation beyond actions taken during the 2016 campaign. A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., declined to comment.

The state prosecutors are seeking a range of tax documents from the accounting firm, Mazars USA, including Mr. Trump’s personal returns and those of his business, the Trump Organization. The subpoena seeks federal and state returns for both the president and the company dating back to 2011, the people said.

The investigation by Mr. Vance has been focused on $130,000 that Mr. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, just before the election. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to breaking federal campaign finance laws and received a three-year prison sentence.

While the federal prosecutors who charged Mr. Cohen stated in a court filing in July that they had “effectively concluded” their inquiry into possible crimes committed by the company or its executives, Mr. Vance’s office is exploring whether the reimbursements violated any New York state laws.

In particular, the state prosecutors are examining whether the company falsely accounted for the reimbursements as a legal expense. In New York, filing a false business record can be a crime.

But it becomes a felony only if prosecutors can prove that the false filing was made to commit or conceal another crime, such as tax violations or bank fraud. The tax returns and other documents sought from Mazars could shed light on whether any state laws were broken. Such subpoenas also routinely request related documents in connection with the returns.

Democrats have insisted for years that Mr. Trump release his tax returns, which every modern presidential nominee has done before him. They contend that the president may be trying to conceal details of his actual financial worth, the source of his wealth and possible conflicts of interest involving his business partners.

Congressional Democrats have taken an aggressive approach, subpoenaing six years of Mr. Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department, as well as personal and corporate financial records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One and Mazars USA.

The president has fought back to keep his finances under wraps, challenging the subpoenas in federal court. He has also sued to block a New York state law, passed this year, that authorized state officials to provide his state tax returns in response to certain congressional inquiries. By tying up the requests in court, Mr. Trump’s team has made it diminishingly likely that Democrats in Washington will get the chance to review them before the election next year.

But it may be more difficult to fend off a subpoena in a criminal investigation with a sitting grand jury, as there is in Manhattan. It is possible the Trump Organization could try to negotiate with the district attorney’s office to narrow the scope of the subpoena.

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, and Marc L. Mukasey, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, both declined to comment.

Asked whether the company would seek to quash the subpoena, Mazars USA said in a statement that it “will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations,” adding that the company was prohibited by its policy and professional rules from commenting on its work. The statement, however, did not directly address whether the company might take any legal action to block the subpoena.

Even if the Manhattan district attorney’s office is successful in obtaining the president’s tax returns, the documents would be covered by secrecy rules governing grand juries, meaning they would not become public unless they were used as evidence in a criminal case.

At the beginning of August, the state prosecutors also subpoenaed the Trump Organization, seeking documents related to the payment to Ms. Daniels and the reimbursement to Mr. Cohen. With few legal options, the Trump Organization has been complying with that subpoena.

Still, the company has derided the investigation by Mr. Vance, a Democrat, as politically motivated.

“It’s just harassment of the president, his family and his business, using subpoenas as weapons,” Mr. Mukasey said last month.

As part of its investigation, prosecutors from Mr. Vance’s office visited Mr. Cohen in prison in Otisville, N.Y., to seek assistance with their investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting, which was first reported by CNN.

Mr. Cohen also helped arrange for American Media Inc., the publisher of The National Enquirer, to pay Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also said she had an affair with the president. Prosecutors in the district attorney’s office subpoenaed American Media in early August, as well as at least one bank.

The investigation is not the first time Mr. Vance’s office has focused on members of the Trump family or its business. In 2012, his office declined to charge two of Mr. Trump’s children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., in an investigation into whether they misled buyers interested in the Trump SoHo hotel-condominium project, a decision that resulted in criticism of Mr. Vance.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
8 Years of Trump Tax Returns Are Subpoenaed by Manhattan D.A.

Investigators demanded the president’s personal and corporate tax returns as they examine hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.

State prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed President Trump’s accounting firm to demand eight years of his personal and corporate tax returns, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The subpoena opens a new front in a wide-ranging effort to obtain copies of the president’s tax returns, which Mr. Trump initially said he would make public during the 2016 campaign but has since refused to disclose.

The subpoena was issued by the Manhattan district attorney’s office late last month, soon after it opened a criminal investigation into the role that the president and his family business played in hush-money payments made in the run-up to the election.

Both Mr. Trump and his company reimbursed Michael D. Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and fixer, for money Mr. Cohen paid to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels, a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. The president has denied the affair.

It was unclear if the broad scope of the subpoena indicated that the office had expanded its investigation beyond actions taken during the 2016 campaign. A spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., declined to comment.

The state prosecutors are seeking a range of tax documents from the accounting firm, Mazars USA, including Mr. Trump’s personal returns and those of his business, the Trump Organization. The subpoena seeks federal and state returns for both the president and the company dating back to 2011, the people said.

The investigation by Mr. Vance has been focused on $130,000 that Mr. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, just before the election. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last year to breaking federal campaign finance laws and received a three-year prison sentence.

While the federal prosecutors who charged Mr. Cohen stated in a court filing in July that they had “effectively concluded” their inquiry into possible crimes committed by the company or its executives, Mr. Vance’s office is exploring whether the reimbursements violated any New York state laws.

In particular, the state prosecutors are examining whether the company falsely accounted for the reimbursements as a legal expense. In New York, filing a false business record can be a crime.

But it becomes a felony only if prosecutors can prove that the false filing was made to commit or conceal another crime, such as tax violations or bank fraud. The tax returns and other documents sought from Mazars could shed light on whether any state laws were broken. Such subpoenas also routinely request related documents in connection with the returns.

Democrats have insisted for years that Mr. Trump release his tax returns, which every modern presidential nominee has done before him. They contend that the president may be trying to conceal details of his actual financial worth, the source of his wealth and possible conflicts of interest involving his business partners.

Congressional Democrats have taken an aggressive approach, subpoenaing six years of Mr. Trump’s tax returns from the Treasury Department, as well as personal and corporate financial records from Deutsche Bank, Capital One and Mazars USA.

The president has fought back to keep his finances under wraps, challenging the subpoenas in federal court. He has also sued to block a New York state law, passed this year, that authorized state officials to provide his state tax returns in response to certain congressional inquiries. By tying up the requests in court, Mr. Trump’s team has made it diminishingly likely that Democrats in Washington will get the chance to review them before the election next year.

But it may be more difficult to fend off a subpoena in a criminal investigation with a sitting grand jury, as there is in Manhattan. It is possible the Trump Organization could try to negotiate with the district attorney’s office to narrow the scope of the subpoena.

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, and Marc L. Mukasey, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, both declined to comment.

Asked whether the company would seek to quash the subpoena, Mazars USA said in a statement that it “will respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations,” adding that the company was prohibited by its policy and professional rules from commenting on its work. The statement, however, did not directly address whether the company might take any legal action to block the subpoena.

Even if the Manhattan district attorney’s office is successful in obtaining the president’s tax returns, the documents would be covered by secrecy rules governing grand juries, meaning they would not become public unless they were used as evidence in a criminal case.

At the beginning of August, the state prosecutors also subpoenaed the Trump Organization, seeking documents related to the payment to Ms. Daniels and the reimbursement to Mr. Cohen. With few legal options, the Trump Organization has been complying with that subpoena.

Still, the company has derided the investigation by Mr. Vance, a Democrat, as politically motivated.

“It’s just harassment of the president, his family and his business, using subpoenas as weapons,” Mr. Mukasey said last month.

As part of its investigation, prosecutors from Mr. Vance’s office visited Mr. Cohen in prison in Otisville, N.Y., to seek assistance with their investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting, which was first reported by CNN.

Mr. Cohen also helped arrange for American Media Inc., the publisher of The National Enquirer, to pay Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who also said she had an affair with the president. Prosecutors in the district attorney’s office subpoenaed American Media in early August, as well as at least one bank.

The investigation is not the first time Mr. Vance’s office has focused on members of the Trump family or its business. In 2012, his office declined to charge two of Mr. Trump’s children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., in an investigation into whether they misled buyers interested in the Trump SoHo hotel-condominium project, a decision that resulted in criticism of Mr. Vance.


  Reveal hidden contents
Click to expand...


Conversation

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

They failed on the Mueller Report, they failed on Robert Mueller’s testimony, they failed on everything else, so now the Democrats are trying to build a case that I enrich myself by being President. Good idea, except I will, and have always expected to, lose BILLIONS of DOLLARS
Click to expand...
We know you are lying. Again. Let's see how bad you are lying. 

 
A Trump hotel mystery: Giant reservations followed by empty rooms
 

The House is investigating whether groups tried to curry favor with Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never using them.

House investigators are looking into an allegation that groups — including at least one foreign government — tried to ingratiate themselves to President Donald Trump by booking rooms at his hotels but never staying in them.

It’s a previously unreported part of a broad examination by the House Oversight Committee, included in Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, into whether Trump broke the law by accepting money from U.S. or foreign governments at his properties.

“Now we’re looking at near raw bribery,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a House Oversight Committee member who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Trump’s hotel in Washington. “That was the risk from Day One: foreign governments and others trying to seek favor because we know Trump pays attention to this. ... It’s an obvious attempt to curry favor with him.”

Story Continued Below

The investigation began after the committee received information that two entities — a trade association and a foreign government — booked a large quantity of rooms but used only a fraction of them, according to a person familiar with the allegation who isn't authorized to speak for the committee.

The emoluments clause of the Constitution forbids a president from profiting from foreign governments or receiving any money from the U.S. government except his or her annual salary. ...
Click to expand...

 
shader said:
From a legal perspective, what’s to stop him now from refusing to abide by NY’s decision? 
Click to expand...
Trump is already appealing, but if he loses then what happens is what happens with every other DA case in every city everywhere. The constable or deputy shows up at the doors of the accountants and they can either comply or deal with police force. This has always been (one of the) the major problem with this President is that he has this huge private concern going on while he's being president. Nothing protects his company or his accountants. Federal guards don't protect his accounting firm.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
shader said:
From a legal perspective, what’s to stop him now from refusing to abide by NY’s decision? 
Click to expand...
I thought the subpoena was to Mazars, not Trump. He sued I think to block them from complying. Suspect Mazars has a trickier path to ignoring a demand like this that a president might.

 
Yes, Hunter Biden's $600k Board of Directors seat from three years ago is the real problem the country needs to be concerned about.

 
https://i.redd.it/j53uywxzgqq31.jpg

Handy list of alleged crimes and misdemeanors compiled by MSNBC.  

I don't know that all of these are necessarily crimes, but the list is still longer than I'd like for my country's president, and it's good to review once in a while in case you were thinking, maybe he's right, maybe they are just harassing him.  

 
:sigh:

Granting the stay is not a big deal.  Mazars had a deadline of this afternoon to start producing the documents - without the stay, the appeal would be moot.

The 2nd Circuit is just a stepping stone to the Supreme Court, which is where this will ultimately play out.  (Though if Trump "wins" at the 2nd Circuit, the SC could conceivably refuse to hear the appeal, and thus end the dispute).

What is interesting here is that the trial court eviscerated the OLC memo about presidential indictments - so I think this is something worthy of the SC's time.  We will see if Trump packing the court will pay dividends for him - but its also a case of be careful what you wish for.

 
Stealthycat said:
I hope his taxes comes out and its nothing special .......... Democrats will look stupid again 
Click to expand...
It's possible there is nothing there and we can all move on.  Not sure why he won't show them when he promised he would and says he has nothing to hide though.

If there is something found what will you say?

 
Sinn Fein said:
:sigh:

Granting the stay is not a big deal.  Mazars had a deadline of this afternoon to start producing the documents - without the stay, the appeal would be moot.

The 2nd Circuit is just a stepping stone to the Supreme Court, which is where this will ultimately play out.  (Though if Trump "wins" at the 2nd Circuit, the SC could conceivably refuse to hear the appeal, and thus end the dispute).

What is interesting here is that the trial court eviscerated the OLC memo about presidential indictments - so I think this is something worthy of the SC's time.  We will see if Trump packing the court will pay dividends for him - but its also a case of be careful what you wish for.
Click to expand...


Update: NY DA Cy Vance's office has asked the 2nd Circuit to set a very speedy schedule in the fight over the grand jury subpoena for Trump's tax returns — briefing done by Thursday, arguments (if needed) on Friday.

 
Sinn Fein said:
What is interesting here is that the trial court eviscerated the OLC memo about presidential indictments - so I think this is something worthy of the SC's time. 
Click to expand...
Interesting, nice to hear. I don't think this has been approached before.

- Also supposedly per Bloomberg this is an expedited review.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
Interesting, nice to hear. I don't think this has been approached before.

- Also supposedly per Bloomberg this is an expedited review.
Click to expand...
New Development - The Department of Justice has filed to participate as amicus counsel in the appeal of the district court’s dismissal of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit to block a subpoena for his tax returns. The department said it would participate in support of Trump.

DOJ now has a vested interest in protecting their opinion.

ETA - see post right above for expedited schedule

 
Slapdash said:
Remember the stack of blank papers on a table he claimed meant he had turned over the business?
Click to expand...
So much stupid #### with this president.  There is no way for any person to keep up with it all.

 
Sinn Fein said:
New Development - The Department of Justice has filed to participate as amicus counsel in the appeal of the district court’s dismissal of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit to block a subpoena for his tax returns. The department said it would participate in support of Trump.

DOJ now has a vested interest in protecting their opinion.
Click to expand...
Fwiw the SDNY had jumped in for Trump - personally - in the district level. Which sounded wrong, and maybe it is, but it makes a little bit more sense if this is at issue. However the OLC memos stand for the proposition that the President can't be investigated and IIRC they actually state that the President can be investigated. So that twist, where they extend that to 'no investigations by anyone anywhere', is a little odd unless I'm missing something.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Btw I L.O.V.E. the reference to the Burr prosecutions in 1807.

*********

The narrower part of the judicial process that is at issue in this action -- i.e., responding to a subpoena —-- has similarly been addressed by the Supreme Court. That Court squarely upheld the view first espoused by Chief Justice Marshall, who presided over the trial for treason of Vice President Aaron Burr while in office, that “a subpoena duces tecum could be directed to the President.” Id. at 703-04; accord Nixon, 418 U.S. at 706 (“{N]either the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances.”}

...noting the view expressed by Chief Justice Marshall in Burr that while the President’s duties may create difficulties complying with a subpoena, this “was a matter to be shown upon the return of the subpoena as a justification for not obeying the process; it did not constitute a reason for not issuing it”).

States v. Burr, 25 Fed. Cas. 30, No. 14,692 (C.C.D. Va. 1807) (Chief Justice Marshali noting that “[t}he guard, furnished to [the President] to protect him from being harassed by vexatious and unnecessary subpoenas, is to be looked for in the conduct of a court after those subpoenas have issued; not in any circumstances which is to precede their being issued”)

A synthesis of Burr, Nixon, Fitzgerald, and Clinton suggests that the Supreme Court would reject an interpretation and application of presidential powers and functions that would “sustain an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances.”

*********

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lol it just occurs to me that "Presidential Harassment" comes from a line in the Burr case. Basically it's 'The Burr Defense'. Trump is adopting Aaron Burr’s position.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Amused to Death said:
Seems like a good strategy for Trump. I wonder why he's refusing?
Click to expand...
give enough rope for the Democrats to further hang themselves? 

Trump likes allowing people to look like fools - of course, worst that can happen is Trump blames his accounting group right ?  

 
Stealthycat said:
I hope his taxes comes out and its nothing special .......... Democrats will look stupid again 
Click to expand...
Otto: We've got a high-ranking KGB defector in a safe house near here. We're debriefing him as of now and just... checking houses in the neighborhood.

Wendy Leach: For what?

Otto: For KGB.

Wendy Leach: Is there any danger?

Otto: No, no, no, no. No, uh... No. No, not now. We, uh... We just wanna keep everyone informed. So, Archie, thanks for the drink. Sorry to have troubled you.

Wendy Leach: Keep everyone informed?

Otto: So there's no panic, ma'am.

Wendy Leach: But isn't it a secret?

Otto: You have no idea how secret.

Wendy Leach: Why are you telling everyone?

Otto: It's a smoke screen?

Wendy Leach: What?!

Otto: Double bluff. Look, you know nothing about intelligence work. It's an XK Red technique.

Wendy Leach: My father was in the secret service, Mr Manfredjin St John, and I know that you don't keep the public informed when you are debriefing KGB defectors in a safe house.

Otto: You don't, huh?

Wendy Leach: Not unless you're congenitally insane or irretrievably stupid, no.

Otto: Don't call me stupid.

Wendy Leach: Why on earth not?

Otto: Oh, you English are so superior, aren't you?  Would you like to know where you'd be without us, the US of A, to protect you? I'll tell you. The smallest freaking province in the Russian Empire, that's what! So don't call me stupid, lady., just thank me!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

the moops
60 Percent Of Americans Will Have An Election Denier On The Ballot This Fall
3 4 5
Replies
209
Views
12K
NorvilleBarnes
NorvilleBarnes
timschochet
Will the Justice Department indict Donald Trump?
2 3
Replies
116
Views
5K
quick-hands
quick-hands
dozer
****Official DOJ Investigation into Trump, Fake Electors, Fraud, Etc.****
5 6 7
Replies
348
Views
18K
Sabertooth
Sabertooth

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top