Trump's Real Complaint? He's Being Treated Like Anyone Else Instead of Being Given Special Treatment That He Feels Is His Due

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

No. His complaint is that he is being treated in a blatantly illegal and biased fashion.

He’s right.

You know when we were kids, our parents taught us if you don't do things you're not supposed to be doing then you don't have to worry about getting in trouble.

For some reason Trump & his supporters keep overlooking the fact that all of this came about because he cheated on his wife and didn't want anyone to find out about it. And I've heard in said in more than one situation that often the offense itself was no big deal, it was the fact that the parties involved tried to cover it up that got them in trouble. And that seems to be the case here.

Adultery may not be illegal, but it sure gets a lot of people in trouble, including dead in some cases (I just watched the Netflix documentary on Ashley Madison last night)

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Well he has gotten special treatment. He was supposed to come up with $450 million bond last month. But the judge let him slide on over half of that.

Yeah you're right, I had forgotten about that.

And also that he kept defying Judge Merchan and violating his gag order, 10 times if I recall correctly and the judge told him that he didn't want to put him in jail but that he would (but never did).

 

[22lcidw]

You should know better than to present facts to the MAGAs. It just confuses them.

We know Hillary and Joe are corrupted. And protected. Prog corruption is government intensive. The abuses at the peasant level with contracts and fake disabilities and stealing from social services is massive. I am confused how ghettos never end with endless money chutes and other benefits thrown into them.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

What class was this?

 

[JoeMoma]

Your post honestly brought to mind something one of my digital forensics instructors told our class about a suspect who was being charged with possession of child pornography. The suspect claimed that he inadvertently downloaded the image of the child porn. Okay, just like your hypothetical accountant's oversight, yeah that perhaps could happen. But you really expect people to believe you when it happened repeatedly, multiple downloads on multiple days? That's not inadvertent.

Likewise with Trump, had he been convicted of a single count of falsifying business records, yeah I would concede that's it's plausible that it could be an accounting mistake although because it's Trump he wouldn't be getting the benefit of the doubt from me because I am familiar with how much he lies. But here he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

So are you claiming that the accountant made the exact same mistake 34 times? Is that your hypothesis?

How is a payment to a lawyer not a "Legal Expense"? Also, even if your answer makes sense on some level, if the accountant at the time doesn't see it that way once, then repeating that "mistake" 34 times is understandable. It's not so obvious as seeing child porn pop up on a computer screen.

 

[ThisIsMe]

So there are the regular folk and then there are the infamous folk, but Trump is not the only person convicted for falsifying business records:

Historically, it is relatively rare for high-profile figures to be convicted of multiple counts of falsifying business records in the United States. However, there are a few notable examples:​

1. Bernie Madoff: The financier behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history, Madoff was convicted on multiple counts, including falsifying business records, securities fraud, and investment advisor fraud.
2. Andrew Fastow: The former Chief Financial Officer of Enron, Fastow was convicted on multiple charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, and falsifying financial records, related to the Enron scandal.
3. Jeffrey Skilling: Another Enron executive, Skilling was convicted on multiple counts of securities fraud, insider trading, and falsifying financial records.
4. Leona Helmsley: The hotel magnate was convicted of tax evasion and related charges, which included falsifying business records to claim personal expenses as business expenses.
5. Martin Shkreli: The former pharmaceutical executive was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which included falsifying business records to defraud investors.

These cases highlight how falsifying business records is often associated with larger schemes of financial fraud and corporate malfeasance.​

Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records​

• The People of the State of New York v. Josue Aguilar Dubon, AKA Saady Dubon, AKA Alejandro Ortiz (October 2022) — Bronx business owner indicted for failing to report over $1 million in income, avoiding paying $60,000 in taxes.
• The People of the State of New York v. Scott Kirtland (February 2022) — Insurance broker indicted for allegedly creating/filing fraudulent certificates of liability insurance to further scheme to defraud.
• The People of the State of New York v. James Garner (November 2021) — Mental health therapy aide indicted for allegedly defrauding over $35,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.
• The People of the State of New York v. Jose Palmer (November 2016) — Pleaded guilty to petit larceny for unemployment benefits fraud of over $3,000, having initially been indicted for grand larceny and falsifying business records in the first degree.
• The People of the State of New York v. Jason Holley (November 2016) — Convicted by jury of falsifying business records in the first degree but acquitted of the predicate crime, insurance fraud.
• The People of the State of New York v. Christina Murray (May 2015) & People v. Terrel Murray (May 2014) — Married couple convicted of house fire insurance claim, attempting to recover the cash value of various items of property that were ostensibly lost in the fire.
• The People of the State of New York v. Barbara A. Freeland (June 2013) — Convicted for falsely claiming on a food stamps application that a young adult lived with her.
• The People of the State of New York v. Maria F. Ramirez (August 2010) — Convicted for returning unpurchased items to a store in exchange for store credit, thus causing a false entry in a business record of an enterprise, and using the store credit to purchase additional items one day.

Before turning to the full Table listing these and many other cases, we offer a brief description of the applicable law. In New York, the criminal law on falsifying business records is found at Article 175 of New York’s penal code. The crime of falsifying business records can be committed in the second degree, which is a class A misdemeanor (N.Y. Penal Code § 175.05), or in the first degree, which is a class E felony (N.Y. Penal Code § 175.10).

An individual is “guilty of falsifying business records in the second degree when, with intent to defraud, he:

1. makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
2. alters, erases, obliterates, deletes, removes or destroys a true entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
3. omits to make a true entry in the business records of an enterprise in violation of a duty to do so which he knows to be imposed upon him by law or by the nature of his position; or
4. prevents the making of a true entry or causes the omission thereof in the business records of an enterprise.” N.Y. Penal Code § 175.05

An individual “is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.” N.Y. Penal Code § 175.10.

For Trump to be prosecuted for felony violation of falsifying business records, the statute requires the DA to prove not only that Trump is guilty of falsifying business records (a misdemeanor), but that he did so with the intent to commit “another crime,” or aiding or concealing the commission of “another crime.”
Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records

The problem with your list is, all of those people falsified business records with intent to defraud….please explain how intent to defraud exists for trump when his falsification of business records were an internal thing? Nobody was ever going to see those records.

 

[ThisIsMe]

You should know better than to present facts to the MAGAs. It just confuses them.

Her facts are irrelevant…internal business records are not an attempt to defraud.

 

[Yarddog]

Your post honestly brought to mind something one of my digital forensics instructors told our class about a suspect who was being charged with possession of child pornography. The suspect claimed that he inadvertently downloaded the image of the child porn. Okay, just like your hypothetical accountant's oversight, yeah that perhaps could happen. But you really expect people to believe you when it happened repeatedly, multiple downloads on multiple days? That's not inadvertent.

Likewise with Trump, had he been convicted of a single count of falsifying business records, yeah I would concede that's it's plausible that it could be an accounting mistake although because it's Trump he wouldn't be getting the benefit of the doubt from me because I am familiar with how much he lies. But here he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records.

So are you claiming that the accountant made the exact same mistake 34 times? Is that your hypothesis?

There were not 34 separate "crimes" an accountant took invoices and processed them all the same...looking at this, any accountant would think this is Legal expense. Cohen was reimbursed also for a bonus, taxes and other work, all in the same payments looks like legal expense to me.

Would have been great if the Judge had allowed an actual expert on Campaign Finance Law testify on this, but the judge refused because he wanted only his own opinion on campaign finance law presented to the jury...as to not "confuse" them.

Yet the Judge had no problem with letting Stormy Daniels go on and on about completely unrelated things, inteneded to influence the Jury, without stopping her.




"POLITICS

What was Trump convicted of? Details on the 34 counts and his guilty verdict​

By Stefan Becket
Updated on: May 31, 2024 / 3:31 PM EDT / CBS News



Former President Donald Trump's conviction in New York stemmed from a $130,000 "hush money" payment his attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. Prosecutors said the deal was meant to keep voters in the dark about Daniels' allegation that she had sex with Trump years earlier, which he denies.

But the actual charges that Trump faced were far less salacious, and dealt with the comparatively mundane paperwork that was generated when he reimbursed Cohen for the payment.

Here's what to know about the charges Trump faced:

What was Trump convicted of?​

Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, which is a felony in New York. He pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned last year.

In 2017, Cohen and Allen Weisselberg, an executive at the Trump Organization, reached an agreement about how Cohen would be repaid for the $130,000 that he sent to Daniels in exchange for her silence. Weisselberg detailed the calculations in handwritten notes that were shown to the jury at trial.


Cohen would receive $130,000 for the Daniels payment, plus $50,000 intended for a technology company that did unrelated work for Trump. That amount was doubled to account for taxes that Cohen would have to pay on the income. Weisselberg then tacked on an extra $60,000 as a bonus for Cohen, who was upset that his regular year-end award had been cut. The total worked out to $420,000.

Handwritten notes from Allen Weisselberg showing the math behind payments to Michael Cohen, as shown at former President Donald Trump's trial in New York on Monday, May 13, 2024.MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Cohen would be paid in a series of monthly payments of $35,000 over the course of 2017. The first check was for $70,000, covering two months. Cohen sent an invoice to the Trump Organization for each check, portraying the payment as his "retainer." Every time he was paid, a bookkeeper generated a record for the company's files, known as a voucher, with the description "legal expense." The first three payments were made from Trump's trust, while the remaining nine came from his personal account.

Each of the 34 charges against Trump corresponded to a check, invoice and voucher generated to reimburse Cohen. The prosecution laid out the charges in a chart that jurors saw several times during the trial:

 

[leftwinger]

It’s also reasonable that false entries can be made by accountants by oversight, which is probably why it’s a mis demeanor.

Otherwise there would be a lot of business owners convicted of felonies. I understand that career politicians and academics have Mina make respect for business people though , so for many it’s difficult to understand.

A minor paperwork violation (not hand-entered by Trump) twisted into a Felony crime by crooked DEMwitted savages. No victim? no crime. Just an everday legal snafu. every business everday, Normally overlooked or the law would be changed.

 

[leftwinger]

Yeah you're right, I had forgotten about that.

And also that he kept defying Judge Merchan and violating his gag order, 10 times if I recall correctly and the judge told him that he didn't want to put him in jail but that he would (but never did).

subjective BS. Like always.

 

[whitehall]

They have been investigating Nancy Pelosi for years for insider trading but it isn't going anywhere because she is a prominent democrat. Likewise the Biden clan for selling influence. Nobody can even name the 34 charges Trump was convicted of. If they treated the entire government like they treated Trump the Capital would be one vast echo chamber.

 

[Missourian]

I'd vote for Bernie Sanders before I would ever vote for Trump.

Why?

 

[BackAgain]

it was trump's weaponized doj who convicted cohen of this same conspiracy in 2018. blatently illegal and biased?

Silly ^ shit. Cohen was actually guilty. And it took dishonest (creative but dishonest) lawyering for Bragg to secure even a charge against Trump.

 

[BackAgain]

You know when we were kids, our parents taught us if you don't do things you're not supposed to be doing then you don't have to worry about getting in trouble.

Our parents don’t include political persecution in the equation.

This all came about because of Democrat Parody irrational ire over Trump not being a typical politician.

 

[Plagerist]

View attachment 955381

You made that up.

Anyway, what's with the Glock avatar now? You're no longer pretending to be a Ruger guy?

 

[Plagerist]

Your post honestly brought to mind something one of my digital forensics instructors told our class about a suspect who was being charged with possession of child pornography. The suspect claimed that he inadvertently downloaded the image of the child porn. Okay, just like your hypothetical accountant's oversight, yeah that perhaps could happen. But you really expect people to believe you when it happened repeatedly, multiple downloads on multiple days? That's not inadvertent.

You're not taking a class. You saw that on tee vee. Duh