With the revelation that special counsel Robert Mueller has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, a former Watergate prosecutor says the president is now at risk of finding himself in all sorts of legal trouble.
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In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, former assistant special Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman said, “You probably could almost indict them before you look at the books, basically.”
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Watergate Prosecutor: New Bob Mueller Subpoenas Mean Trump Could Be Busted For Old Crimes #Russia #Mueller pic.twitter.com/4ZNTSfIBIO
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Akerman and Hayes laid out some of the aspects of Trump’s shady financial dealings that Mueller could zero in on when he gets access to the Trump Organization books:
AKERMAN: God knows what’s in there. There could be all kinds of different things that relate to his dealings with Russia, his dealings with various Russian oligarchs.
HAYES: Or other kind of corner cutting. … If you’re a New York City real estate developer and someone starts going through your books, anyone, you might be a little worried.
AKERMAN: You probably could almost indict them before you look at the books, basically. That’s really what it comes down to. There’s all kinds of things he could have been prosecuted before. The Trump University – classic fraud.
HAYES: He has managed to get away for many years with civil penalties, civil settlements, civil fines and avoided any kind of criminal prosecution.
AKERMAN: Not to mention his tax returns and taking all the other people’s money and deducting it so he didn’t have to pay taxes for a number of years.
Mueller’s new subpoena should have Trump shaking in his boots
Donald Trump has been cutting corners and skirting the law for decades. His corruption didn’t suddenly begin during the presidential campaign or when he walked into the White House – it’s part of who he is as a person and how he runs his businesses.
It’s likely why he refused to release his tax returns, despite the fact that every presidential candidate in modern history has done so. Whether it’s connected to Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election or not, Trump clearly has something to hide.
By opening up Trump Organization books, Robert Mueller has taken his investigation to a new level. It’ll hopefully give investigators a look at the president’s shady financial ties to Russia, which he has tirelessly tried to conceal.
But it also has the potential to uncover a slew of previous crimes that Trump and his organization have been able to skirt past for decades.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
