President Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion.
Did you hear the one about the man who killed his parents, then threw himself on the mercy of the judge because he was an orphan?
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| Gifted article: Wall Street Journal |
Trump's complaint is that the IRS did not adequately screen and control a contractor who leaked to The New York Times and ProPublica copies of his tax returns. The leak took place in 2019, when Trump was president.
Trump is suing his own department because its leader -- ultimately Donald Trump himself -- failed to do his job.
Under the theory of the unitary executive, the theory that Trump uses to consolidate executive power in the presidency, Trump is suing himself. The president has complete responsibility for executive departments and therefore the right to direct how they do their work. The president is in charge, period.
The conflicts of interest grow. Trump appointed the people at the IRS and Justice Department who are facing his lawyers in this lawsuit. So Trump-chosen lawyers are on both sides of the issue.
The leaked report showed that Trump paid no taxes at all for several years, and that he paid exactly $750 in taxes for tax years 2016 and 2017, the year Trump was elected president and his first year in office. The $750 was not the amount of money Trump owed to settle up with the government after calculating his taxes. No. He paid exactly $750 as the entire tax owed for the year.
There would be complications for this lawsuit, were it to be litigated. Was the leaker really the responsibility of the IRS or of his accounting firm employer that contracted with the IRS? Whose fault is this really? Is the lawsuit within the statute of limitations? Is the amount of damages capped at $1,000 per incident? The government -- i.e., the citizens of the U.S. -- has a variety of defenses against paying Trump any money.
I expect this lawsuit to settle with an agreement that Trump-appointed lawyers on both sides will agree upon. The $10 billion claim gives lots of latitude for making a "reasonable" settlement.
There is one limiting factor: How much additional grift and kleptocracy will Americans tolerate from Trump?
Constitutional watchdogs in Congress have given up on complaining about Hatch Act violations, emolument violations, corporate gifts and tributes, crypto meme coin bribes, deals with Middle East kingdoms, and non-monetary tributes to Trump. Democrats cannot stop Trump, and Republicans fall into line and have forgotten how upset they were with Hunter Biden's nepotism. Whatever Trump wants is OK. Whatever Trump's family wants is also OK.
What about the $40 million paid to Melania Trump for her story, the grease-the-wheel money paid by Amazon? That's OK. It is the cost of doing business for Amazon in Trump's America. No one has to see the movie. The rights payment to Melania was the whole point. It is just another way for money to make its way to the Trumps. Norms of behavior have been moved. No amount of self-dealing is too much.
Corruption used to be hidden, when possible. Politicians were embarrassed about it. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D) hid his gold coins in the closet. Trump taught America something: If you take grift openly and proudly, Americans think it must be OK. No one stops you! They let you steal! Is this a great country, or what?
The United States is a giant buffet, and it is all-you-can-eat.
8 comments:
And low education, presumably poor Americans support him wholeheartedly. Maybe some day they’ll realize what patsies they are.
Trump not only didn’t pay taxes, now he wants those who do to pay him. It will be interesting to see how the usual suspects rationalize this one, although it seems pretty benign compared to his Gestapo tactics in Minneapolis.
As a conservative, I'm disgusted by Trump and his behavior. Trump is a tacky embarrassment. I really doubt that Trump is as wealthy as he claims. It's all part of his fake image. If Trump were really wealthy, then he wouldn't be a grifter selling fake crypto, or selling movie rights for his loser wife, or taking a $500 million jet from Qatar. Trump is about image, and right now his image is in the toilet. His sons are also worthless little grifters who operate from a position of entitlement. This is what you get when you elect a narcissist.
There are a couple of things that could hold up a settlement. If the judge feels it’s not in the public interest, she could refuse to accept the settlement and dismiss the case. Or, if DOJ decides the terrible precedent a settlement would set is too big an issue, they might put up some resistance or try to delay things. Possible, yes. Likely, who knows?
Agreed/same here in all aspects, EXCEPT he has apparently cashed in immensely while president. This type are penny-pinching bad tippers and he is notorious for refusing to pay little bills. This IRS stunt is ridiculous. He might as well make withdrawals directly from Fort Knox.
Several thoughts all at once:
Why now, Sue the IRS? Other presidents have released their tax returns, and Trump's administration is actively seeking the personal information on just about everyone.
Is the IRS claim a distraction from the groundwork to seize the ballot boxes in the upcoming November election? Tulsi Gabbard is positioned to oversee the collection of voting records IF this seizure of 2020 ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, produces a clear case of vote tampering or one can be contrived.
Is all this chaos nothing more than a distraction from the very real threat Trump sees in the upcoming election? Look at what Trump does not what he says. His attempts to create a nationwide demonstration would give him the right to invoke the Insurrection Act and possibly suspend elections.
Bottom line, Trump cannot survive a free and fair election of a new US Congress and a new US Senate if the election is held.
Trump's DOJ oppose a settlement with him? Not likely.
It’s my patriotic duty to make fun of Melania.
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