The Daily Kos gave us another example of Trump's corruption this morning:
It’s been almost a year since Donald Trump got voted out of office, but that doesn’t mean he and his minions can’t still make headlines … for the worst reasons. Newly released emails indicate that when Trump ordered three associates from his private club Mar-a-Lago to reorganize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2017, those associates also tried to persuade the VA to sell veterans’ medical records—for profit.
Selling patient's information, naturally, is a violation of HIPPA.
The team was formed on Jan. 11, 2017, because Trump believed “veterans were treated badly.” Of course the best way to treat them is to profit off them, right? According to an email released by U.S. lawmakers Monday, the team consisted of Marvel executive Isaac Perlmutter, Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Marc Sherman, and Dr. Bruce Moskowitz, a West Palm Beach, Florida, physician.
Moskowitz apparently told David Shulkin, then-secretary of the VA, that talks had taken place with Johnson & Johnson, CVS, and Apple about a potential deal. According to the released emails, Shulkin was open to the plan. Whether or not veterans were asked for consent or signed any contract to sell medical data is not indicated in the documents released.However, the emails do indicate that the trio wasn’t the only group of Trump minions involved. An email dated March 31, 2017 indicates that Trump’s daughter Ivanka introduced Perlmutter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky to explore the proposal.While the emails do not indicate whether Trump himself knew of the plan to sell veterans’ patient data, both his daughter and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved, according to the emails. An email from Kushner did suggest that Trump was “excited” to meet Perlmutter to discuss his plans for the VA.
Moskowitz apparently told David Shulkin, then-secretary of the VA, that talks had taken place with Johnson & Johnson, CVS, and Apple about a potential deal. According to the released emails, Shulkin was open to the plan. Whether or not veterans were asked for consent or signed any contract to sell medical data is not indicated in the documents released.
However, the emails do indicate that the trio wasn’t the only group of Trump minions involved. An email dated March 31, 2017 indicates that Trump’s daughter Ivanka introduced Perlmutter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky to explore the proposal.
While the emails do not indicate whether Trump himself knew of the plan to sell veterans’ patient data, both his daughter and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved, according to the emails. An email from Kushner did suggest that Trump was “excited” to meet Perlmutter to discuss his plans for the VA.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/9/28/2054876/-Emails-find-Trump-trio-planned-to-sell-veteran-patient-data-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-revenues?detail=emaildkre
It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal.In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.An examination of public records by The Washington Post has found that the agricultural company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture.Danny Brown, the former president of AGrowStar, confirmed negotiations began in late 2015. But Brown said ADM wanted $4 million for the plant — 16 times what Perdue’s company ultimately paid for it.The timing of the sale just as Perdue was about to become the most powerful man in U.S. agriculture raises legal and ethics concerns, from the narrow question of whether the secretary followed federal financial disclosure requirements to whether the transaction could have been an attempt to influence an incoming government official, in violation of bribery statutes, ethics lawyers say.Six years earlier, ADM had paid more than $5.5 million for the same land, a figure that closely matches assessments by independent experts contacted by The Post, who analyzed the value based on state records and drone footage of the property.
It was a curious time for Sonny Perdue to close a real estate deal.
In February 2017, weeks after President Donald Trump selected him to be agriculture secretary, Perdue’s company bought a small grain plant in South Carolina from one of the biggest agricultural corporations in America.
An examination of public records by The Washington Post has found that the agricultural company, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), sold the land at a small fraction of its estimated value just as it stood to benefit from a friendly secretary of agriculture.
Danny Brown, the former president of AGrowStar, confirmed negotiations began in late 2015. But Brown said ADM wanted $4 million for the plant — 16 times what Perdue’s company ultimately paid for it.
The timing of the sale just as Perdue was about to become the most powerful man in U.S. agriculture raises legal and ethics concerns, from the narrow question of whether the secretary followed federal financial disclosure requirements to whether the transaction could have been an attempt to influence an incoming government official, in violation of bribery statutes, ethics lawyers say.
Six years earlier, ADM had paid more than $5.5 million for the same land, a figure that closely matches assessments by independent experts contacted by The Post, who analyzed the value based on state records and drone footage of the property.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2021/sonny-perdue-adm-land-deal/
In 2012, Trump told lenders that his property at 40 Wall Street was worth $527 million. A few months later, he told tax authorities that the 70 story building was worth $16.7 million.
Other Trump properties show similar wide variations. Although the differences are not necessarily illegal, they can be if they were deliberately false.
Since the Trump organization is the holding company for 500 corporations, solving the mess out could take a very long time. If the prosecutors are finally able to come to conclusion, Trump could eventually follow in the footsteps of Al Capone, who went to prison for tax evasion,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-organization-investigation-property-values-vance-james/2021/11/19/78c15850-4706-11ec-95dc-5f2a96e00fa3_story.html
that guy in AZ Wrote:In 2012, Trump told lenders that his property at 40 Wall Street was worth $527 million. A few months later, he told tax authorities that the 70 story building was worth $16.7 million.Other Trump properties show similar wide variations. Although the differences are not necessarily illegal, they can be if they were deliberately false.Since the Trump organization is the holding company for 500 corporations, solving the mess out could take a very long time. If the prosecutors are finally able to come to conclusion, Trump could eventually follow in the footsteps of Al Capone, who went to prison for tax evasion,https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-organization-investigation-property-values-vance-james/2021/11/19/78c15850-4706-11ec-95dc-5f2a96e00fa3_story.html
If Trump or his associates are found guilty of appraisal fraud, he (or they) could face up to 25 years in prison.
https://vozwire.com/trump-could-according-to-ny-penal-law-187-25-get-up-to-25-years-for-appraisal-fraud/
Trump has had legal troubles his entire career, starting with the case involving his discrimination against black people in 1973.
https://www.npr.org/2016/09/29/495955920/donald-trump-plagued-by-decades-old-housing-discrimination-case
Since then, he has been involved in between 3500 and 4000 lawsuits, including 60 cases that were filed in the first three weeks of his presidency.
https://www.nickiswift.com/254813/heres-how-many-lawsuits-donald-trump-faced-during-his-presidency/
He paid a bunch of money related to Trump University and his charity, but he faces increasing peril for two lawsuits in New York, another in Georgia, and allegations arising out of January 6.
Which of those cases will to the most damage is anyone's guess, but Bramhall (of the Daily News) has an idea:
https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/QjjZF5PyXgdXoQYGcPpnVvPeSxQ=/1400x0/top/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/RSYC3RYOJZA3RLC4YZ6BTXLNIM.jpg
Former President Donald Trump will soon have “to surrender himself to be booked” on charges of criminal racketeering under New York state law, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston said during an interview on MSNBC on Saturday.“I anticipate they’re going to bring a racketeering charge against Trump,” Johnston told MSNBC host Yasmin Vossoughian before adding that an indictment against the former president is now certain as a result of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s ongoing investigation into whether Trump’s company misled lenders or tax authorities about the value of its properties.
Former President Donald Trump will soon have “to surrender himself to be booked” on charges of criminal racketeering under New York state law, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston said during an interview on MSNBC on Saturday.
“I anticipate they’re going to bring a racketeering charge against Trump,” Johnston told MSNBC host Yasmin Vossoughian before adding that an indictment against the former president is now certain as a result of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s ongoing investigation into whether Trump’s company misled lenders or tax authorities about the value of its properties.
https://dailyboulder.com/trump-is-about-to-be-booked-on-criminal-racketeering-charges-in-new-york-investigative-reporter/
In 1985 and 1986, Rudy Giuliani took on the 5 New York crime families - and beat them. They were convicted of extortion, racketeering, and murder.
Trump has often been considered to be a mob boss, so it would be fitting if the criminal racketeering charge was the one that finally get him some prison time.
It's no secret that Trump used his presidency as a family business.
Exhibit One, of course, is the Trump International Hotel in D.C. - which will soon have another name.
Jared Kushner also profited from his father-in-laws position.
A Canadian investment company bailed him out of his white elephant on 5th Avenue (now known as 660 Fifth) and his buddy MBS just gave him $2 billion - which has caused a harder look at the emolument clause.
“The Framers understood that for US government officials to owe duties of loyalty and obligation to foreign governments was going to be a very problematic thing for the new nation,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “In an increasingly interconnected world, it is becoming even more so.”But Congress can do something about it. A bill introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, is a good starting point for lawmakers. The Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Act, introduced in November, would: (1) codify the emoluments clause’s prohibition by barring federal officials from receiving foreign emoluments absent congressional approval; (2) increase transparency by requiring disclosure of such emoluments; (3) authorize the Office of Government Ethics to create rules to ensure compliance, and also empower the Office of the Special Counsel to investigate any violations.
“The Framers understood that for US government officials to owe duties of loyalty and obligation to foreign governments was going to be a very problematic thing for the new nation,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program. “In an increasingly interconnected world, it is becoming even more so.”
But Congress can do something about it. A bill introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, is a good starting point for lawmakers. The Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Act, introduced in November, would: (1) codify the emoluments clause’s prohibition by barring federal officials from receiving foreign emoluments absent congressional approval; (2) increase transparency by requiring disclosure of such emoluments; (3) authorize the Office of Government Ethics to create rules to ensure compliance, and also empower the Office of the Special Counsel to investigate any violations.
But Congress can go even further, expressly stating that such rules apply not only to elected officials, but also to their advisors and family members, and also by giving authority to the Department of Justice to investigate ethics violations that rise to the level of a crime. Acting to advance one’s personal financial interests falls in that category. Federal prosecutors should not have to wait for the OGE to give the OK before they can act.Legislation can also make clear that foreign officials delaying the emoluments until after US officials have left office does not insulate those former officials from liability if the foreign officials curried favor while they were still in office.Only by having clear rules with tangible consequences can we stop the next foreign emoluments grift before it happens. Americans should be confident that those in the White House, Congress, and other federal positions are putting the nation’s interest first.
But Congress can go even further, expressly stating that such rules apply not only to elected officials, but also to their advisors and family members, and also by giving authority to the Department of Justice to investigate ethics violations that rise to the level of a crime. Acting to advance one’s personal financial interests falls in that category. Federal prosecutors should not have to wait for the OGE to give the OK before they can act.
Legislation can also make clear that foreign officials delaying the emoluments until after US officials have left office does not insulate those former officials from liability if the foreign officials curried favor while they were still in office.
Only by having clear rules with tangible consequences can we stop the next foreign emoluments grift before it happens. Americans should be confident that those in the White House, Congress, and other federal positions are putting the nation’s interest first.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/04/16/opinion/more-trump-era-outrages-come-light-congress-must-give-emoluments-clause-teeth/
Again it shows that nothing here is "watertight"; the"bucket" has huge holes in it. The laws here are always "afterwards" because Constitutions of 1700 plus, are good for those days of horse and buggy, but not in 2022. Since the Constitution is barely ever updated, neither the Amendments, then the "case laws" never catch-ed up to the times we live in. It shows! Ask our fantastic "gun" laws how that works now. All the "dead" people because of it, will be thankful for it.
Sorry this arrogant country is digging their own graves all the time by not having up to date laws and rules. Digging in"piles" of historic paperwork is stupid. Just keep your laws up to date as continental Europe/Canada does, this works so much better without an "zillion" rich lawyers involved.