Category Archives: Donald Trump

Trump news live: Jan 6 committee releases texts from Hope Hicks in massive new trove of records  The Independent

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Trump news live: Jan 6 committee releases texts from Hope Hicks in massive new trove of records - The Independent

Heres a New Years prediction: Donald Trump will be charged with crimes in 2023.

On the one hand, its unremarkable to prophesy that a man whos facing several probes by federal and state prosecutors for conduct that looks pretty unlawful will be charged with crimes.

On the other hand, its Trump, whose name hasnt been synonymous with accountability.

Theres reason to think that will change.

The feds search and seizure of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida this summer felt like a watershed moment.

One might see this prediction as fueled by the recent, dramatic finale of the historic House Jan. 6 committee and the several criminal referrals it made for Trump and others.

But unfortunately for Trump, thats only one piece of the puzzle. If anything, the feds search and seizure of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last summer felt like a watershed moment: federal law enforcement action against a former president who had seemingly lived a consequence-free life and might have continued to do so. Even an incremental step toward potential prosecution from the branch of government that can actually bring charges seems more significant than the legislative branchs asserting Trumps guilt by way of criminal referrals (both things, of course, can be and are significant).

Plus, the Mar-a-Lago case appears to be more straightforward than the sordid legal maze of Jan. 6 and its tentacles. As former federal prosecutors said in a November memo analyzing the documents case, published at Just Security, there is a strong basis to charge Trump. With his special master detour officially crushed by Trump-appointed judges, no less he looks a step closer to charges related to his apparent mishandling of classified documents and obstruction.

And thats just Mar-a-Lago.

To be clear, the notion that Jan. 6 charges are a legal maze doesnt mean Trump wont be charged in that investigation, too, which is overseen by special counsel Jack Smith. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith after Trump announced his 2024 bid. (Smith is also overseeing the Justice Department's probe into the Mar-a-Lago classified documents scandal.)

The Jan. 6 committees evidence shows the potential for charges of insurrection against the former president let that sink in as well as conspiracy and obstruction related to the attack on the Capitol and American democracy itself. Indeed, the committee noted that the Justice Department may have evidence, not to mention resources, that Congress doesnt. (It's worth noting the possibility that the Justice Department could have exculpatory evidence in Trumps favor that isnt public, however generous that scenario seems.)

And those are just some of the charges Trump could face this year.

The former president should be worried about the states, too. Not that theres a double jeopardy issue with charges being filed by both federal and state prosecutors even, oddly enough, for the same crime, as the Supreme Court recently affirmed. (Trump may want to brush up on double jeopardy, a concept he apparently has some trouble grasping, as my MSNBC colleague Steve Benen has pointed out.)

And while the investigations are separate, the explosive Jan. 6 committee findings could boost Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis investigation in Georgia. As Jennifer Rubin wrote in The Washington Post in December, the facts laid out by the committee fit Georgia charges quite well. Citing a Brookings Institution report, she recalled the potential pathways to prosecute Trump in the Peach State: "interference with primaries and elections; intentional interference with performance of election duties; solicitation to commit election fraud; and conspiracy to commit election fraud."

So with all of that looming, is it really possible for Trump not to be charged anywhere? Sure.

She also observed that Willis has put additional witnesses in front of the grand jury who didnt appear before the Jan. 6 committee, prompting the conclusion that she could well be on her way to an indictment of Trump in early 2023.

And, of course, it would be a mistake to sleep on New York, where the Trump Organization has already been convicted.

So with all of that looming, is it really possible for Trump not to be charged anywhere? Sure.

But that seems unlikely at this point. And, partly because of the challenges of accusing a potential president of crimes, any prosecutor bringing charges will want to do so by next year. That wouldnt eliminate the novel issues of charging a 2024 presidential candidate even in 2023, which would prompt a series of unprecedented legal questions, as Trump is wont to do. What seems clear, though, is that the former president is poised for a bad year.

JordanRubin is a blog writer for MSNBC focused on legal analysis. He previously served as a prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorneys Office and is the author of the forthcoming book Bizarro about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Prior to joining MSNBC, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.

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Why Donald Trump indictments are likely for 2023 - msnbc.com

1. 2024 Veepstakes: who will Donald Trump choose as his running mate?  The Guardian US
2. Trump, McCarthy, Biden: Six political storylines that will shape 2023  The Hill
3. Why Trump's Reign of Republican Terror Is Really Ending  The Daily Beast

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2024 Veepstakes: who will Donald Trump choose as his running mate? - The Guardian US

1. Trump taxes show foreign income from more than a dozen countries  POLITICO
2. Key takeaways from six years of Donald Trump's federal tax returns  CNN
3. The IRS Really, Really Should Have Audited Trump  The Atlantic

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Trump taxes show foreign income from more than a dozen countries - POLITICO

1. Kinzinger: I 'fear for the future of this country' if Trump isn't charged over Jan. 6  CNN
2. Republican says he fears for the future if Trump is not charged over Jan 6 riot  The Guardian US
3. Bash asks Kinzinger if Trump will be charged for Jan. 6. Hear his response  CNN

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Kinzinger: I 'fear for the future of this country' if Trump isn't charged over Jan. 6 - CNN

Donald Trump Thinks Cable News Ratings Are Down Because Hes Not Being Talked About Enough  Forbes

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Donald Trump Thinks Cable News Ratings Are Down Because Hes Not Being Talked About Enough - Forbes

Donald Trump isnt too pleased that his tax returns from 2015 to 2020 were released to the public on Friday, but his response is an eye-opening revelation to his lack of understanding that all presidents (no matter which party they belong to) are not above the law. The former presidents business strategies are already being called into question, and the IRS may be looking into the loans he provided for Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr., so he made sure his voice was heard in a forceful statement.

The Democrats should have never done it, the supreme court should have never approved it, and its going to lead to horrible things for so many people, he wrote in the statement. The great USA divide will now grow far worse. The radical, left Democrats have weaponized everything, but remember, that is a dangerous two-way street! Its almost as if hes trying to incite his followers similar to Jan. 6, 2021. There have been consequences for him and those who participated in that day, and its really something the country doesnt want to repeat.

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What hes failing to see is that he received some type of preferential treatment from the IRS because he did not receive the mandatory audit of his taxes in the first two years of office. Joe Bidens taxes were audited in 2020 and 2021 and all presidents moving forward should be handled in that same manner. Richard Neal, the Democratic chairman of the ways and means committee, shared in a statement last week, A president is no ordinary taxpayer. They hold power and influence, unlike any other American. And with great power comes even greater responsibility. He also chided the IRS for failing to expand the mandatory audit program to account for the complex nature of the former presidents financial situation.

Donald Trump will only see the actions of the committee as a witch hunt and he only has time for praising himself. The Trump tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises, he summed up in the statement. If he wants to be president again, Donald Trump will need to learn that his taxes are going to have to be an open book.

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Donald Trump Threatens 'Horrible Things' After the Release of His Tax ...

1. Key takeaways from six years of Donald Trump's federal tax returns  CNN
2. Video 'It's not a legal issue': Former federal prosecutor on Trump's tax returns  ABC News
3. The IRS Really, Really Should Have Audited Trump  The Atlantic

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Key takeaways from six years of Donald Trump's federal tax returns - CNN

1. Trump Jr. details efforts to sway father on Jan. 6 in panel deposition  The Hill
2. Key findings from the latest Jan. 6 panel transcripts, including from Donald Trump Jr. and others  CNN
3. Judge says Trump may have been urging more than protests Jan. 6  NBC News

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Trump Jr. details efforts to sway father on Jan. 6 in panel deposition - The Hill

In testimony to Jan. 6 committee, former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato said he didn't recall heated motorcade interaction with Trump  CBS News

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In testimony to Jan. 6 committee, former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato said he didn't recall heated motorcade interaction with...