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I just read this question - and offer that it deserves perhaps a more thorough evaluation by specialists - yes?With all due respect, I am from the NYC Metro region, and have watched Trump for decades.But what is the evidence suggesting a RICO case?To start with, the available evidence indicates, very strongly indeed, that Trump’s active interests are the enrichment of his extended family by utilizing his presidency. This would be a small curiosity, except for the fact that the available, public evidence presents that much of the “activity” is, in fact, probably highly illegal under multiple state’s and federal law. But don’t take my word - here are two legal experts’ evaluations, written in common English (I hate “legalese”). Oddly, it may be Kushner who takes down the entire family, both their fortunes and their freedom.Donald Trump and Criminal Conspiracy LawA RICO ExplainerBy John Norris and Carolyn Kenney Posted on December 7, 2017https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/reports/2017/12/07/443833/donald-trump-criminal-conspiracy-law/OVERVIEWExploring the merits of prosecutors approaching the interlocking allegations against the Trump campaign and organization as a criminal conspiracy through the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act.Introduction and summaryThe scope of investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others into the activities of President Donald Trump, his campaign, and businesses is sweeping. Mueller is tasked with investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians. This mandate gives the special counsel ample imperative to study an array of links between Trump, Trump associates, and Russia, in a list of concerns that seems to grow by the day.The pace and intensity of this investigation was only highlighted by the recent release of the indictment and guilty plea of Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who admitted under oath lying to the FBI about his multiple contacts with Russians during the campaign, and acknowledged that the Russians informed him that they possessed “thousands of emails” hacked from Democrats well before any public knowledge of the fact.1 Papadopoulos admitted that he shared information about his Russian contacts and desire to broker meetings with the Russians with his Trump campaign supervisors. In addition, the special counsel indicted the former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and his business partner Rick Gates on 12 charges related to a series of complex financial crimes that are alleged to have taken place both before and during the campaign.2 The indictment charges that the pair conspired to move more than $75 million, largely from a Ukrainian lawmaker who was a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, through offshore accounts and engaged in extensive money laundering; undertook a “conspiracy against the United States”; served as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal; and failed to file reports on their foreign financial and bank accounts.The reported areas of interest for the special counsel include Manafort’s finances, potential coordination between Trump campaign officials and Russian hackers in releasing damaging emails during the campaign, and lies to investigators. In addition, other areas of focus for the special counsel likely include the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump, Jr. and the Russians offering damaging information on Hillary Clinton; the involvement of Russian government-connected Russian oligarchs in Trump real estate deals; potential intelligence intercepts of communications between Trump associates and the Russians; potential obstruction of justice by President Trump, including his dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey; and potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian elements in planting fake news in swing states and the purchase and pushing out of Facebook ads, Twitter posts, and other disinformation.There is little in his resume to suggest that Mueller, a decorated military veteran and former FBI director, would approach his work as an open-ended fishing expedition designed to impose a political cost on the president. But it is important to note that Mueller’s written directive from Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who appointed the special counsel, establishes that Mueller is to investigate any links between Russia and the Trump campaign, and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”4 In other words, the special counsel is duty-bound to investigate other serious crimes that may crop up in his investigation, including, but not limited to, money laundering, tax evasion, perjury, abuses at the Trump charities, or espionage. The Manafort-Gates indictments suggest that the Special Counsel investigation traverses a timeline that includes, but again, is not limited to, the campaign.Given the complex and likely interlocking nature of the special counsel’s investigations into these multiple fronts, an obvious question arises: Does the alleged behavior of The Trump Organization amount to an ongoing criminal conspiracy and should it be pursued as such? That answer ultimately lies with prosecutors at the federal and state level, most notably Mueller; these prosecutors have access to evidence and legal expertise well beyond that of a lay person. That said, the media and appropriate congressional oversight committees should recognize that Trump and his circle not only engaged in what appears to be serial misconduct, but acted with coherent purpose in doing so. A close look at the record suggests that The Trump Organization arguably behaved a great deal like the organized crime syndicates, which have been targeted as criminal conspiracies in the past.Thus far, Trump and his associates—with the exception of George Papadopoulos—deny any such criminal actions, and prosecutors have not indicated that any such charges are pending. However, it is important for the public to better understand what might constitute a potential ongoing criminal conspiracy in the eyes of prosecutors, and to better illuminate the specific conduct of the Trump campaign and The Trump Organization that have given rise to this conversation in the first place.If prosecutors, including the special counsel, were to approach the alleged actions of the Trump campaign and The Trump Organization as a criminal conspiracy, such as through the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), it would give them a set of powerful tools, albeit tools that come with some substantial risks for the prosecution. A RICO case would likely not be a silver bullet to magically put an end to the Trump administration, but it might be an intriguing tool used in conjunction with state level investigations into the activities of Trump and his associates to uncover and punish any potential wrongdoing. Investigative reporters and congressional committees should specifically explore RICO predicate offenses linked to The Trump Organization; the question of whether a RICO case should be brought on its merits deserves to be raised.<<< - >>>Update October 12: Inevitable release of Mueller’s investigation findingsAll along there has been speculation that Trump may interfere in the Mueller investigation, especially such that either the public will never learn what the FBI determined (because it was never made public) or that knowledge of the evidence and findings of the FBI might be thus be kept secret, essentially for ever.But: “A federal judge on Thursday (Oct 10) granted a request to unseal part of a Watergate report known as the Road Map (See: Judge Unseals Watergate Report That Led To Articles Of Impeachment Against Nixon) which gives details about President Richard Nixon’s involvement in covering up the Watergate break-in, and which was used to inform articles of impeachment against him.The Road Map, which was sent to the House Judiciary Committee in 1974, could be used as precedent for how Special Counsel Robert Mueller will end his investigation into whether Trump’s presidential campaign colluded with Russia.”What I found wholly unexpected, and vastly fascinating (see video) is that this Road Map includes an independent, unimpeded means by which Mueller can bypass resistance within either Congress, the WH or the DOJ, and make his findings public - in spite of Trump’s best efforts to prevent its release to the public - “to use the inherent authority of the Grand Jury”.And note - therefore, such findings also become known, and accessible to independent Attorneys General - of any state - who may choose to separately prosecute any of these folks in pardon-proof state courts. For RICO, just for instance.Where would you want to serve your 10 year prison sentence:Door #1: Club Fed ?Door #2: Sing Sing?State prisons are no picnic, and presumably worse than the better accommodations available for these guys within the federal prison system.WOW !Well, Donald (and all you little Trumps), you better hope there is no “There” there …<<< - >>>(Here follows the rest of the main answer …)Trump and RICOFor months, the suggestion that President Trump’s campaign and/or The Trump Organization would be pursued under RICO was largely treated as the fevered imaginings of fabulists hell-bent on removing Trump from office. However, the interlocking web of alleged criminality that Mueller is investigating bears a strong resemblance to exactly the kind of organized criminal activity that the RICO statute was designed to combat.RICO 101RICO was enacted by Congress in 1970, and can be applied in both criminal and civil cases.5 In addition to being applied by federal prosecutors, RICO can also be applied by state prosecutors in the 33 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which have codified their own RICO statute—an important point that will be revisited in this report. (Open the image, below, to read the print - note NY, NJ, VA and FL)The American Bar Association guide to RICO notes that many of the state statutes “are significantly broader in scope than the federal statute,” including in such areas as their periods of limitation and how they can be brought forward. The American Bar Association goes on to explain, “Although federal criminal RICO prosecutions must receive prior approval from the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the Department of Justice, in most states RICO prosecutions can be initiated without centralized review, often by any district attorney.”6RICO was developed primarily as a tool to fight organized crime, and particularly the senior leadership of organized crime families, who directed extensive criminal networks but tried to avoid prosecution by keeping an array of intermediaries between themselves and the actual perpetration of criminal acts. RICO proved to be an enormously effective tool in combatting organized crime. For example, in 1985, the State of New York secured indictments of the five chieftains of New York’s major organized crime families utilizing RICO, ultimately convicting four of these individuals, with the fifth being killed by a rival before trial.7Yet, as the Congressional Research Service notes, “In spite of its name and origin, RICO is not limited to ‘mobsters’ or members of ‘organized crime’ as those terms are popularly understood. Rather, it covers those activities which Congress felt characterized the conduct of organized crime, no matter who actually engages in them.”8In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the more expansive use of the RICO statute. The court ruled in Sedima S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co. that RICO could be applied in cases involving legitimate companies engaged in a pattern of criminal conduct.9From that point forward, RICO came to be much more widely used by prosecutors in cases involving white-collar crime. There has also been a concurrent rise in complaints that the RICO statute is being overly broadly applied, and even the statute’s defenders tend to agree that it was drafted expansively. The Los Angeles Times in a 1989 editorial called for RICO to be rescinded. The newspaper observed:From the moment of its passage, civil libertarians and legal scholars have warned that the federal government’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act—the so-called RICO statute—is an open invitation to prosecutorial abuse. Now … many of those scholars, some of them former prosecutors, believe their anxieties have been realized.10Motorcycle gangs, the Catholic Church, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), and even corrupt police forces have been targeted using RICO; these different prosecutions have achieved mixed results. With RICO’s very broad definition, there is also a real risk that it could become a political rather than a law enforcement tool.The concept of using RICO to go after politicians has sometimes been floated in ways that are grossly irresponsible. Rudy Giuliani, a former U.S. Attorney, argued repeatedly during the 2016 campaign for a RICO case against Hillary Clinton based on her use of a private email server; donations to the Clinton Foundation, and her paid speeches.11 In May 2017, former conservative U.K. parliamentarian Louise Mensch evoked widespread eye-rolling when she suggested on her blog that a RICO case was already well-advanced against Trump and that Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan were facing imminent jail time.12 Both Giuliani and Mensch seemed united in their stubborn avoidance of the facts and hyperbolic statements designed to grab public attention. Any use of RICO by the special counsel would have to be extraordinarily carefully considered, but so would any charges that he might bring in this case, so RICO should not be seen as fundamentally different than any other prosecutorial tool in this respect.It is worth noting that Donald Trump has previously faced RICO challenges, with one of the Trump University civil cases having been filed under a RICO class action suit in California.13 That case was in the process of moving forward when Trump settled the lawsuit for $25 million, without an admission of guilt, shortly after being elected president.14 Trump’s sometimes business partners, the Bayrock Group, are also defendants in a complex civil RICO case initiated by the firm’s former chief financial officer.15What, then, is the threshold that must be met for application of RICO? As explained in the Marquette Law Review:Most significantly, “racketeering activities” were defined as violations of any one of over thirty separate, already existing state and federal statutes. These activities have been referred to as the “predicate acts.” A “pattern of racketeering” encompasses two violations of any of the predicate acts within the past ten years.16The window in which the predicate acts must have occurred varies by the different RICO statutes at the state level. Thus, for the special counsel to apply RICO statutes in a potential case against Trump, the Trump campaign, and The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies, the special counsel would have to present solid evidence that at least two of these predicate acts took place, with a state prosecutor having to meet a similar state-defined predicate threshold.Notably, some of the crimes under the RICO statute include money laundering, obstruction of justice, bankruptcy or securities fraud, bribery, theft, and embezzlement. Federal RICO defines certain crimes as constituting racketeering activity, and then criminalizes a pattern of racketeering activity that uses any of the income or proceeds from these activities “in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.”17In a criminal RICO case, the racketeering activities must be shown to be related. The U.S. Supreme Court established this precedent in its 1989 decision on H.J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bel Telephone Co., which ruled that racketeering activities must “‘have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise are interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and are not isolated events.’”18 Additionally, the predicates must “amount to or pose a threat of continued criminal activities.”19It is not necessary to prove that a defendant “agreed with every other conspirator, knew all of the conspirators, or had full knowledge of all the details of the conspiracy…All that must be shown is: (1) that the defendant agreed to commit the substantive racketeering offense through agreeing to participate in two racketeering acts; (2) that he knew the general status of the conspiracy; and (3) that he knew the conspiracy extended beyond his individual role.”20Federal criminal cases under RICO must be brought forward by the government and have a trial following a grand jury indictment or end in a plea, while grand jury requirements vary by state. Penalties for RICO convictions are substantial and include imprisonment, criminal forfeiture, plus fines as high as twice the gross profits or proceeds of the RICO offense.21Additionally, according to the legal resource site HG, if a defendant is convicted:the government is automatically given a forfeiture of all of the defendant’s interest in the organization. So not only do defendants lose all their money and property that can be traced back to the criminal conduct, but the organization itself can be severely crippled. And the government need not wait until after a guilty verdict, when the property expected to become subject to forfeiture may be difficult to locate. The rules of procedure in a RICO prosecution allow the government to freeze the defendant’s assets before the case even goes to trial.22These are sweeping powers of asset seizure for the government and they have naturally sparked considerable debate about potential abuses of RICO. The notion that assets can be seized before an individual or criminal entity is found guilty has triggered deep constitutional concerns among groups across the political spectrum, ranging from the Heritage Foundation to the American Civil Liberties Union.23 The notion of such pre-emptive asset forfeitures were less controversial with RICO when it was being primarily utilized as an anti-organized crime mechanism. Now that its use has become much more widespread, including through civil actions, such asset forfeitures have become an understandable lightning rod. (Abuses of forfeiture procedures in non-RICO cases at a local level have also added considerable fuel to the fire, as has the current administration’s effort to expand these powers.)24Right or wrong, asset seizures inherent in RICO can inflict tremendous damage on a criminal network. As written in the U.S. code on civil forfeiture, this is in large part because the seizure is not just limited to profits from the actual crime, but “property of any kind obtained directly or indirectly, as the result of the commission of the offense giving rise to the forfeiture, and any property traceable thereto, and is not limited to the net gain or profit realized from the offense.”25 For The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies—both real estate empires with sprawling holdings—the potential risk from a RICO investigation would be immense. All the more so because both companies continue to carry a great deal of debt on their property holdings, and any asset seizures could quickly trigger a cascading financial collapse of their portfolios.The RICO Act itself does not contain a provision for a statute of limitations, therefore it falls under the five-year limit imposed for noncapital federal offenses. Per the U.S. Department of Justice, a substantive RICO charge, therefore, requires that “each defendant must have committed at least one act of racketeering within five years of the date of the indictment.”26 However, “a ten-year statute of limitations applies to RICO charges where the racketeering activity involves a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1344 – bank fraud.”27 Though, as G. Robert Blakey points out in the Notre Dame Law Review, in complex crimes, particularly financial ones, it is not always clear when an offense was committed. Most courts consider offenses to have been committed when they are complete, however, some offenses are continuing offenses, in that “the statute of limitations does not begin to run when the perpetrator has satisfied each of the elements of the offense. Rather, the statute of limitations begins to run when the criminal course of conduct ends.”28 Thus, when looking at a pattern of racketeering activities, “where one predicate act of racketeering in a pattern of racketeering falls within the period of limitations, the entire pattern of racketeering is subject to prosecution, even though earlier acts of racketeering might not be subject to prosecution as separate offenses.”29Civil RICO cases, continues Blakey, are treated somewhat differently than criminal ones. These cases require a civil trial brought either by the government or a private plaintiff, with lower standard of proof than criminal cases, that is to say, that there is a “‘preponderance of the evidence.’”30 RICO civil penalties include “sanctions of injunctions, treble damages [three times the amount of money lost due to the defendant’s actions], costs, and attorney fees.”31 Mounting a civil RICO case shifts more of the burden of proof to the defendant, but also demands that a private plaintiff have standing—in other words, that an individual, company, or institution can demonstrate that they suffered concrete harm as a result of the alleged crimes committed by the defendant.What Trump actions might meet the RICO threshold?It is important to remember that the special counsel will not necessarily be drawn to a conspiracy case unless there is very strong evidence toward this end. Should that be the case, the use of the RICO statute (or other types of conspiracy charges) would facilitate Mueller’s efforts. As former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti argues, “It’s important to keep in mind what prosecutors do: They investigate discrete crimes.”32 He adds, “Mueller won’t charge one grand conspiracy involving everyone he’s looking at. If he brings charges, expect to see individuals charged separately unless they committed a crime together.”33So, although there are a large number of potential offensives that have received high profile treatment in the media, some seem highly unlikely to meet the RICO threshold. For example, Trump’s repeated abuses related to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, while potentially illegal, would probably not constitute a RICO predicate act.34 Similarly, the initial charges against Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will likely continue to be prosecuted as stand-alone charge—unless money laundering and other charges were part of a more widely orchestrated effort of which Manafort was only a part.35 The RICO statute is designed to allow prosecutors to use initial charges as an effective vehicle for incentivizing cooperation from those charged to move further up the criminal food chain.The three areas that might be of greatest interest to a special prosecutor looking at The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies through a RICO lens fall into three broad time periods and categories: activities before the presidential campaign, particularly complex financial crimes; coordination with Russian or Russian-supported entities during the campaign; and obstruction of justice since the election.The composition of Mueller’s team suggests that he has accumulated staffing expertise to potentially deal with all of these issues. One of Mueller’s first hires was Andrew Weissmann, who is the previous leader of the Justice Department’s criminal fraud division and once played a role in a case involving the Russian mob, which is now linked to Trump.36 Other members of Mueller’s team of prosecutors include Aaron Zebley, who has a background in cybercrime and counterterrorism; James Quarles, who served as an assistant special prosecutor during the investigations into the Watergate scandal, specializing in campaign finance research; Jeannie Rhee, who has a background in white-collar crime; Greg Andres, a prosecutor specializing in foreign bribery; Kyle Freeny, who has worked on some of the Department of Justice’s highest profile money laundering cases; Andrew Goldstein, who headed the public corruption unit in the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York and who had been overseeing an investigation into Manafort’s business and real estate dealings before Mueller took over that investigation; Brandon Van Grack, who has often taken the lead in espionage and national security cases out of the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael Dreeben, who is working for Mueller part-time and is currently serving as the deputy solicitor general responsible for overseeing the Justice Department’s criminal appellate docket; Lisa Page, who worked as an attorney with the FBI’s Office of General Counsel and with the Justice Department’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, prosecuting several eastern European organized crime cases and helping with the FBI’s investigation of a money laundering case against Manafort; Rush Atkinson, who worked as a trial attorney for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Securities and Financial Fraud Unit; Zainab Ahmad, who was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and has prosecuted more than a dozen international terrorist suspects. Rounding out the team of prosecutors are assistant U.S. attorney Aaron Zelinsky; appellate lawyer from the Justice Department Adam Jed; and solicitor general’s office lawyer Elizabeth Prelogar.37Activities prior to the presidential campaign, particularly complex financial crimesThe efforts by Trump lawyers to keep the special counsel from looking at his business dealings before the presidential campaign are certainly understandable from a defense perspective. However, The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies have triggered a number of red flags that will surely lead investigators to look at potential money laundering and other complex financial crimes that appear to be some of the criminal offenses most commonly associated with building a RICO case. Time and time again, Donald Trump has insisted that he has had no business dealings with Russia or Russians. As recently as July 2017, he said, “But I have no income from Russia. I don’t do business with Russia.”38 While not illegal to mislead the public about such connections when not under oath, it does suggest that Trump and his associates are attempting to obscure something. Indeed, the facts suggest that financing from Russia, Russians, and others from the former Soviet Union has been an integral part of the Trump business model for years.39 Potentially illegal activities from before the campaign, even if they were unrelated to the campaign itself and Russia’s interference on Trump’s behalf, could potentially be used to build a RICO case.Trump SoHo and the Bayrock Group, Sater, Cohen connectionThe real estate industry has traditionally been relatively lightly regulated compared to the finance and banking industries, despite of the sometimes-large sums of money involved in transactions. As a result the industry has tended to be a magnet for money laundering. Trump’s long-running engagement with the development company the Bayrock Group and its former managing director, convicted felon Felix Sater, are most certainly under scrutiny by the special counsel. Bayrock has offices in Trump Tower and founded by Tevfik Arif, a former Soviet official; it was also central to putting together multiple deals with Trump, including the troubled Trump SoHo building in New York.40It appears that Trump’s children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., narrowly avoided being charged for fraud for their part in promoting the Trump Soho project, according to feature-length reporting by The New Yorker and ProPublica.41 (Both Trumps referred all questions regarding the case to their counsel.) The decision to not bring charges against Ivanka and Donald Jr., despite the recommendation by prosecutors, was made by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who later received more than $50,000 in campaign contributions from Trump’s lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, and his partners.42Kasowitz, denies having made this contribution “as a ‘quid-pro-quo’ for anything.”43 Vance, for his part, defended his decision, saying that he did not, “at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed.”44 (The case and its handling could certainly be re-opened by the special counsel.)Bayrock has been embroiled in long-running, complicated, and contentious series of lawsuits, initially filed in 2010 by lawyers representing its former chief financial officer. The lawsuits have alleged that Bayrock maintained links to Russian criminal syndicates and conducted $250 million in tax evasion with money laundering central to its business model. Bayrock’s former chief financial officer suggested that at moments when Bayrock was running low on funds, large infusions of cash would come in from Russia or Kazakhstan from shadowy investors hoping to hide their money.45Bayrock has derided these charges as baseless. Some of the lawsuits have been dismissed, while other variations have been refiled and are ongoing.46 This period of business activity at Bayrock reflects a time when Trump was actively engaged with the real estate development firm. Trump was deposed as part of this lawsuit, but is not named as a target in the suit. In his deposition, Trump stated under oath: “It’s ridiculous that I wouldn’t be investing in Russia,” and added, “Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment.”47 Trump and Arif settled a somewhat overlapping lawsuit that claimed that they had misled investors in Trump SoHo to the tune of several million dollars. The terms of that settlement remain confidential.48One of the key figures involved in these deals has been the Russian-born, mob-linked businessman Felix Sater, who plead guilty to racketeering for his role in a $40 million stock fraud scheme involving the Genovese and Bonanno crime families49and was convicted of stabbing a man in the face with a broken margarita glass in New York. Sater avoided jail time by cooperating as an informant in the stock fraud case. And, in a twist worthy of Hollywood, he also appears to have done covert work for the CIA as part of his successful efforts to avoid further jail time.50 One of the allegations in the lawsuits against Bayrock is a conspiracy to conceal Sater’s role and beneficial ownership in Bayrock, a critical point in light of regulations governing information presented to potential investors.Despite their long association, Trump has repeatedly denied knowing about Sater’s criminal past, notwithstanding the fact that Sater widely represented himself as a Trump associate in business deals. Moreover, a member of Trump’s security detail actually worked on Sater’s case when he was in the FBI.51 Indeed, it recently came to light that Sater exchanged a series of emails with Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, in an attempt to broker a Trump project in Moscow with the help of Russian president Vladimir Putin. A November 3, 2015, email from Sater to Cohen claimed in reference to Trump, “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it.”52 The email continued, “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.”53Further highlighting the potential to view these machinations as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise is the fact that Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, and Sater have been friends since childhood; Cohen himself has been linked to a series of high-profile real estate purchases in New York that appeared to be financed by money flowing out of Ukraine.54 Cohen, his family members, and business partners purchased close to a dozen Trump properties in a very short period of time starting around 2001 when Cohen was 40 years old. These purchases seemed to far outstrip his assets and resources at the time.55 Cohen’s brother was married to the daughter of Alex Oronov, a very wealthy Ukrainian businessman who had links to Ukrainian and Russian underworld figures.56 Oronov died in March 2017, leading some commentators to claim the timing of his death was suspicious, while family members insisted that he had suffered a long illness.57The evidence makes clear that even as Trump was running for president and claiming he had no Russia ties whatsoever, a Soviet-born real estate developer with whom he worked closely in the past was trying to broker a Russian deal for him and bragging about its potential political and economic benefits to his Ukrainian-connected lawyer. The potential criminal violations in the Bayrock-Sater-Cohen thicket are complex and numerous. Trump could face specific jeopardy related to bank fraud charges—a RICO predicate—if he attempted to put these financial deals together knowing beforehand that Sater had a felony conviction but failed to reveal this to investors, which he was legally obligated to do. Notably, one of the prosecutors who worked on Sater’s initial plea deal, where he helped implicate mob figures and Russian criminals with which he had worked in a major tax avoidance scheme, is now on Mueller’s investigatory team. There is also a separate case moving forward as a number of investigative journalists are pushing to have Sater’s criminal records unsealed.58Real estate transactions and possible money launderingOne of the most frequent means of money laundering has been high-end real estate purchases conducted through shell companies. The U.S. government has made repeated efforts to crack down on this practice. For purposes of the investigations by the special counsel and others, there are a broad number of Trump and Trump-affiliated real estate transactions that suggest suspicious behavior and possible RICO predicates. Significantly, Donald Trump Jr. told a real estate conference in 2008, “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.”59 In fact, Bloomberg reported:FBI investigators and others are looking at Russian purchases of apartments in Trump buildings, Trump’s involvement in a controversial SoHo development in New York with Russian associates, the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and Trump’s sale of a Florida mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008.60A number of other suspicious real estate deals involving Cohen, Trump’s lawyer, came to light in October 2017. According to the McClatchy news service, “In 2014, a mysterious buyer using a limited liability company (LLC) that hid the purchaser’s identity paid $10 million in cash for a small apartment building on New York’s lower east side that Cohen had purchased just three years before for $2 million.”61 At the time of the sale the apartment building was assessed for roughly the same $2 million price that Cohen originally paid for the property. In addition, three other Cohen properties were purchased by similar LLCs, all utilizing the same lawyer. The McClatchy article quotes Louise Shelley, a specialist in money laundering, who observed, “‘what should raise red flags among money laundering experts are purchases way above the assessed value, combined with all cash purchases. These are potential fingerprints of money laundering.’”62 Cohen has insisted that these transactions were legitimate with the purchases made in cash through a family fund in an effort to legally defer taxes. He also claimed the sale amounts were not inflated because “he bought the property at a ‘great price.’”63Similarly, in what was at the time the most expensive single residential property sale in the United States, Trump sold his Palm Beach, Florida, estate to Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian businessman and investor, for $95 million. The price appeared curiously high, since Trump had purchased the property for $41 million just four years previously.64 Reporting by The New York Times noted that Rybolovlev, who apparently never lived at the estate, used a limited liability company (LLC) controlled by an offshore trust to purchase the property. Interestingly, the Panama Papers—leaked documents exposing how a number of rich individuals used offshore companies to hide their wealth and avoid taxes—referenced Rybolovev “as having used offshore trusts to hold assets.”65 The trusts, Rybolovev’s spokesman said, “were used for ‘asset protection and estate planning.’”66 The spokesman also denied allegations that he was trying to hide assets as part of a divorce settlement.Earlier this year The Wall Street Journal reported on troubling sources of finance associated with the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, the Russian state-run bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) was a key, though not direct, source of financing for the Trump Toronto project. Trump’s partner on that project, Alexander Shnaider, a Russian-Canadian developer, who built the 65-story Toronto hotel and tower, “put money into the project after receiving $850 million from a separate asset sale that involved the Russian bank.”67 According to the article, that infusion of cash came at a “key moment for the project.”68Through his licensing arrangement with Shnaider’s company for the hotel and tower, Trump still profits from the building, and by extension, from Shnaider’s sale involving VEB. At the time Shnaider received the money from VEB, Russian President Putin was chairman of the bank’s supervisory board. A Trump Organization spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that Trump was not involved in any of the financial dealings with VEB, noting that the organization, “merely licensed its brand and manages the hotel and residences.” VEB did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment. Shnaider’s lawyer wrote in an email that he was unable “to confirm that any funds” from the VEB deal “went into the Toronto project,” according to The Wall Street Journal.69Also of interest will be Trump, his family, and his associates’ possible overlapping ties to the Russian-owned company Prevezon Holdings, which has been accused of trying launder money stolen via a fraud scheme from the Russian treasury through Manhattan real estate deals.70 The case against Prevezon, which was launched in New York by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, whom Trump fired in March, was settled this past May, just two days before it was scheduled to open in court. Prevezon agreed to pay $5.9 million with no admission of guilt on the part of the defendants.71 The case and its abrupt settlement have come under renewed scrutiny as more details have emerged related to the now infamous June 9, 2016, meeting in Trump Tower involving Donald Trump Jr.; Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and current senior advisor to the president; and several Russians.The June 9 meeting was initiated by British publicist Rob Goldstone, who wrote in an email to Trump Jr., “The Crown prosecutor of Russia … offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary.”72 Goldstone went on to write that the documents were “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”73At the time of the meeting, the Prevezon money laundering case was still pending. In what can be most charitably described as a remarkable coincidence, the lawyer who represented Prevezon, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was one of the Russians present at the June 9 meeting. In addition to representing Prevezon, Veselnitskaya was a leading lobbyist against the Magnitsky sanctions.74Furthermore, according to an investigation by The Guardian, Kushner, made a multimillion-dollar real estate deal in 2015 with Uzbek-born oligarch Lev Leviev, who was a business partner of Prevezon and was cited in the Prevezon lawsuit. In that deal, Kushner purchased several floors of the old New York Times building in Manhattan from the U.S. branch of Leviev’s company, Africa Israel Investments (AFI), for $295 million.75According to The Guardian’s analysis of court documents, AFI and Prevezon partnered in 2008, at which time Prevezon purchased a 30 percent stake in four AFI subsidiaries in the Netherlands for €3 million. The Guardian article noted that when AFI tried to return the money to Prevezon five years later, the Dutch authorities intercepted and froze their transfer at the request of the US government as part of the Prevezon money-laundering investigation. Leviev had also sold Prevezon condominiums in Manhattan, which were also eventually frozen by U.S. prosecutors. Neither Kushner nor Leviev responded to The Guardian’s requests for comment.76As a result of these revelations, Democratic members of the House judiciary committee have sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions demanding answers to a number of questions about the Prevezon case settlement and whether Trump, his family, or any members of his campaign and/or administration intervened in any way in the case.77 Additionally, as The Guardian reported, constitutional experts are also demanding an official inquiry into the Prevezon case’s settlement. As Harvard University constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe stated, “We need a full accounting by Trump’s justice department of the unexplained and frankly outrageous settlement that is likely to be just the tip of a vast financial iceberg.”78 In addition to the many other issues at play in the Kushner- Prevezon-Trump-Veselnitskaya dealings, the special counsel will likely be very interested to see if there was any push by the White House for the Justice Department to quickly settle the Prevezon case, evidence of which would certainly suggest an effort toward the obstruction of justice.Among those in the Trump universe, there has also been a curious pattern of corporate entities purchasing multimillion dollar properties with cash, and then subsequently taking out a mortgage on these same properties. Reporting earlier this year by WNYC public radio revealed that over the past 11 years, Manafort has made a number of questionable real estate purchases in New York, some of which law enforcement and real estate experts said, “fit a pattern used in money laundering” even before his multiple count indictments were announced.79 These transactions took place while Manafort was working as a consultant for business and political leaders in the former Soviet Union. And indeed, two New York properties—a condo in New York’s SoHo district and a house in Brooklyn—figured prominently in the special counsel’s indictment of Manafort. Both property purchases were all-cash transactions that used Cyprus-based shell corporations.80WNYC’s analysis of property records revealed, “Manafort’s New York City transactions follow a pattern: Using shell companies, he purchased the homes in all-cash deals, then transferred the properties into his own name for no money and then took out hefty mortgages against them.”81 According to the radio report, these tactics are similar to those used by money launderers.82 Between 2006 and 2013, Manafort purchased three properties in New York City – one in Trump Tower, one in SoHo, and one in Brooklyn – and then borrowed roughly $12 million against them between April 2015 and January 2017, a time that overlaps with his various roles in the Trump campaign.83Manafort’s 2006 purchase of his Trump Tower apartment through a shell company took place the same year he signed a secret $10 million contract with pro-Putin Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, to implement a strategy in the U.S. to “greatly benefit the Putin Government,” as revealed by the Associated Press.84 According to the AP, Deripaska has been cited in U.S. diplomatic cables as, “among the 2-3 oligarchs Putin turns to on a regular basis,” and “a more-or-less permanent fixture on Putin’s trips abroad.”85 Manafort confirmed to the AP that he had worked for Deripaska but denied that his efforts had been pro-Russian in orientation. As reported by the AP representative for Deripaska acknowledged that there was an agreement between the two men “to provide investment consulting services” related to Deripaska’s business interests.86In 2012, Manafort used another shell company to purchase a SoHo property for $2.85 million, which he used to borrow $3.4 million against in April 2016, shortly before he became Trump’s campaign manager. For his Brooklyn property, which he purchased through a shell company in 2013 for roughly $3 million, Manafort took out several loans, including a $7 million loan he received just three days before Trump’s inauguration. That loan was provided by a bank run by Trump fundraiser and economic adviser Steve Calk, and has raised some questions itself.87Emails indicate that Manafort’s relationship with Deripaska was front and center in the campaign, as the Washington Postobserved, “Less than two weeks before Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination, his campaign chairman offered to provide briefings on the race to a Russian billionaire closely aligned with the Kremlin, according to people familiar with the discussions.”88 These same email exchanges suggest that Manafort may have been eager to sell access to the Trump campaign to an oligarch with close Russia links as a means to help settle an ongoing business dispute with Deripaska.89As reported in June, Mueller had taken over a Justice Department investigation of Manafort,90 and this helps explain the speed with which he was able to bring money laundering charges against Manafort and his business partner Richard Gates.91 Both the Senate and House intelligence committees are also investigating Manafort for possible money laundering, and investigators for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. are also looking into Manafort’s real-estate transactions. Schneiderman’s office will likely focus on indications of money laundering while Vance’s office will most likely focus on possible fraud.92 While Manafort has continued to deny wrongdoing and plead innocent against the Special Counsel’s charges, FBI agents raided his home in Virginia, without warning, in order to seize documents and materials related to Mueller’s investigation.93 The raid, while not reported until August 2017, took place in July 2017, the day after he met with Senate Intelligence Committee staff and the day before he was scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As the Washington Post reported, in order “to get a judge to sign off on a search warrant, prosecutors must show that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed.”94Earlier this year, NBC News also reported on some unusual financial activity by Manafort related to his bank accounts in Cyprus.95 That reported stated that according to banking sources with direct knowledge, a Cypriot bank investigated accounts associated with Manfort for possible money laundering. Manafort “was associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies on Cyprus, dating back to 2007,” and some of the account transactions had raised “sufficient concern to trigger an internal investigation” at one of the banks to see if any money laundering had taken place. After the bank raised questions about the account activities, Manafort reportedly closed the accounts.96 X The use of multiple foreign bank accounts and multiple U.S. passports were also cited in the Special Counsel indictments of Manafort.97In October 2009, one of Manafort’s associated accounts reportedly received a payment of $1 million that left the account the same day, which according to experts who spoke to NBC suggests the account was “set up deliberately to make it difficult for auditors to track the movement of funds.” In response to the reporting, Manafort’s spokesman said that the accounts “all were legitimate entities and established for lawful ends.”98 Also, The New York Times later reported that certified financial records they obtained from Cyprus and seemingly connected to Manafort through shell companies “indicate that he had been in debt to pro-Russia interests by as much as $17 million before he joined Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign in March 2016.”99 The debt aligns with claims by Deripaska in a 2015 Virginia court complaint that “Manafort and his partners owed him $19 million related to a failed investment in a Ukrainian cable television business.” Manafort’s spokesman told The New York Times that the Cyprus records were “stale and do not purport to reflect any current financial arrangements,” and that “Manafort is not indebted to Mr. Deripaska or the Party of Regions, nor was he at the time he began working for the Trump campaign.”100 He also added that Manafort “did not collude with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election.”101Several points are key here for the special counsel and RICO concerns. The fact that Manafort may have been heavily in debt to Russian interests is a classic indicator for investigators that an individual may be vulnerable to blackmail or manipulation by foreign agents, and excessive debt can be a disqualifying factor for individuals seeking a U.S. government security clearance. In addition, the fact that Deripaska dropped his lawsuit against Manafort after Manafort joined the Trump campaign will almost certainly raise of the question for prosecutors of whether there was some sort of quid pro quo involved. With the charges by the special counsel, Manafort is in considerable legal jeopardy and there is broad speculation that Mueller is attempting to compel his cooperation in the Trump probe.102 It is also useful to note: Although these initial charges against Manafort are extensive, there is nothing that precludes the special counsel from bringing additional charges if he has grounds to do so.Other areas of pre-election concernWhile initially looking like less strong RICO predicates, money laundering at Trump Casino; potential tax evasion; and possible Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations are three other areas the special counsel might want to explore during his investigations of the pre-election period.Trump’s Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City has repeatedly been investigated for claims that it has engaged in money laundering; it has settled all such claims without admission of guilt. In 2015, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), fined the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort $10 million. The fine—the largest penalty FinCEN has ever levied against a casino—docked the property for “willful and repeated violations” of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).103 Additionally, Trump Taj Mahal, “admitted to several willful BSA violations, including violations of AML program requirements, reporting obligations, and recordkeeping requirements” dating from 2010 through 2012, according to a FinCEN press release.104 Investigators from both the House and Senate committees looking into Trump and his top aides have requested the FinCEN records on the casino’s violations over the years, which will include details not provided in the publicly available documents, such as the identities of the casino employees and gamblers involved, to see if there is a brighter line to be drawn to elements of Russian organized crime.105 It is likely Mueller will also be reviewing these documents.Tax evasion and tax fraud have often been cornerstones of RICO criminal cases, and this is an area where Trump’s unwillingness to share his returns publicly suggests that he may have some potential liabilities. Even with his returns held in secret, a number of transactions have already caught the attention of journalists, and there have been press reports that the special counsel is working with the Criminal Investigation unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).106 For instance, in July, ProPublica and The Real Deal co-published a report detailing Trump’s April 2016 sale of two condos to his son, Eric, at a highly discounted rate, likely allowing Trump to avoid gift taxes.107Lastly, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), forbids U.S. companies and their representatives from bribing foreign officials (with the term foreign official being very liberally applied). The FCPA is not a RICO predicate, but it can form the basis for a Travel Act violation which is a RICO predicate. A Trump Organization business deal in Azerbaijan—where the Trumps engaged in extensive dealings with the Mammadov family, notorious for their corruption and financial entanglements with an Iranian family tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps—has drawn attention as possibly running afoul of the FCPA.108Coordination with Russian, or Russian-supported, entities during the campaignWhile the special counsel obviously has rich territory to mine when it comes to the behavior of the Trump and Kushner organizations before the campaign, the question of potential collusion between Trump and/or Trump associates and Russian entities during the campaign remains at the heart of his writ. Indeed, these questions remain in many ways far more complex than even the murky and troubled world of Trump and Kushner finances before the campaign.There is no actual criminal offense known as “collusion.” That said, the special counsel appears to be examining a number of actions that occurred during the campaign, which suggest he is investigating serious criminal violations, and indeed violations that could serve as RICO predicates. As Paul Rosenzweig, a former deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, commented, “We should all just stop using ‘collusion’ as a short-hand for criminality. But that doesn’t mean that the alleged cooperation between the Trump campaign and Russia is of no criminal interest. To the contrary, if true, it may have violated any number of criminal prohibitions.”109Perhaps the most telling starting point begins with Manafort, who was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance order both before and after he joined the Trump campaign as chair.110 The hurdles for obtaining such a FISA warrant are considerable, particularly because Manafort is a U.S. citizen. The threshold for obtaining such a warrant required that the FBI demonstrate that it had probable causes that Manafort “knowingly engaging in clandestine intelligence activities” on behalf of a foreign power.111 This is a point that cannot be emphasized strongly enough: Trump’s campaign chair was being investigated as a foreign spy while running Trump’s campaign. This indicates Manafort may be subject to a number of charges. In addition, Carter Page, one of the first people cited by Trump as a foreign policy adviser to the campaign, also appears to have been under FISA surveillance, also for his suspicious Russia links.112There have also been numerous reports indicating that U.S. intelligence services have secured multiple communications showing interaction between different individuals associated with Trump and his campaign and Russian intelligence officials. As CNN noted, citing former intelligence and law enforcement officials, there was “constant communication during the campaign” involving “high-level advisers close to then-presidential nominee Donald Trump” and senior Russian officials.113The following section outlines incidents involving Trump campaign officials and surrogates, as well as members of the Trump Organization will surely be closely examined by the special counsel, and a number of them involve potential RICO predicates.GOP operative Peter Smith’s effort to track down Hillary Clinton’s State Department emails. A series of stories by TheWall Street Journal indicate that Smith was eager to work with anyone who might help him obtain the emails, explicitly including Russian hackers, and that this is an area being explored by the special counsel.114 Michael Flynn, who was prominent on the campaign and then served as President Trump’s National Security Adviser, features prominently in Smith’s account of his activities. In multiple conversations with a computer hacking expert, Smith indicated that he was in close contact with both Flynn and Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn Jr., about how best to use any hacked emails obtained. In addition, the WSJ notes, “Investigators have examined reports from intelligence agencies that describe Russian hackers discussing how to obtain emails from Mrs. Clinton’s server and then transmit them to Mr. Flynn via an intermediary, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the intelligence.”115 Just days after speaking with the WSJ, Smith apparently committed suicide in a Minnesota hotel room, leaving behind a note that said, “‘NO FOUL PLAY WHATSOEVER’ was involved in his death.”116 Flynn’s lawyer has repeatedly declined to comment about his client’s relationship with Russia or other pending legal matters, amid multiple unverified press reports that the special counsel feels he has enough material on which to indict Flynn.Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to charges from the special council and admitted to multiple contacts with Russians during the campaign and that through these interactions learned that the Russians possessed “thousands of emails” hacked from Democrats well before any public knowledge of the fact.117Papadopoulos admitted that he shared information about his Russian meetings with his campaign supervisors. Thus, Mueller will likely follow the trail of those on the Trump campaign who knew about this hack well before the public and their responses. In addition, the special counsel will most likely try to ascertain if any of those Trump campaign officials who had advance knowledge of the hack lied about this fact in subsequent government clearance processes to investigators or in congressional testimony.Manafort offered to provide special insider briefings on the Trump campaign to the pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The Manafort email exchanges with Deripaska’s representative not only suggest that Manafort saw giving Deripaska special access to a U.S. presidential campaign as a means to help erase his debts to the oligarch, but also as a means of financial enrichment. The emails in question contained multiple references to a code phrase “black caviar,” which was apparently short-hand for cash payments.118 Manafort spokesperson Jason Maloni said that the email exchanges were legitimate, however he argued that the back-and-forth was “innocuous,” and claimed Manafort was simply trying to collect money he was owed.119In June, Donald Trump Jr., Manafort, and a number of Russians infamously met in the New York Trump Tower to discuss supposed Hillary dirt. That meeting also included Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya; Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian-born lobbyist who was formerly a Soviet intelligence officer; and Irakly Kaveladze, an executive in the company owned by the Kremlin-linked oligarch who helped arrange the meeting.120 In setting up that meeting Veselnitskaya and her associates promised to deliver documents that, “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”121 The Russians also indicated these documents were “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”122 Donald Jr.’s response to the overture: “If it’s what you say, I love it.”123 The email exchange rather bluntly makes clear that Trump Jr. and his colleagues were not only willing, but eager, to elicit support from a hostile foreign power in influencing the U.S. presidential election. Trump Jr.’s explanations regarding the meeting have shifted and evolved a number of times, and he has insisted that nothing of substance came from the meeting, claiming that Veselnitskaya simply lobbied him on the Magnitsky Act.124Trump campaign officials and associates held multiple meetings with Russians during the 2016 campaign, which were initially denied by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.125Trump loyalists attempted to soften the language regarding providing support for lethal assistance to Ukraine, which was part of the GOP platform during the 2016 Republican National Convention.126Trump confidante Roger Stone had multiple contacts with the infamous hacker known as Guccifer, who is widely identified as a Russian asset or operative by the U.S. intelligence community.127Wikileaks and Donald Trump Jr. had multiple communications. Jared Kushner, for his part, shared that communications between the campaign and Wikileaks were taking place, but he failed to turn over such communications to Congressional investigators.128Facebook, Google, and Twitter admitted that Russia directed ads, bots, and influencers that reached millions of people in swing states through their platforms.129 This has naturally led to considerable discussion as to whether the Trump campaign facilitated the targeting of Russian influence operations during the campaign. There are several actors here sure to draw particular attention. For example, Cambridge Analytica, a data mining firm that has received considerable financial support from conservative mega-donors the Mercer family and also has close links to Jared Kushner, would be well-versed in exactly the kind of targeting deployed by the Russians. Also of interest is Brad Parscale, the digital director for the Trump campaign, whose firm collected more than $90 million from the Trump campaign during 2016.130 The head of Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, reportedly wrote in an email during the campaign that he had reached out to Julian Assange in an effort to help Wikileaks release Clinton’s missing emails, a further sign of the Trump campaigns eagerness to work with Russian-backed forces to disseminate illegally acquired computer information.131 Cambridge Analytica, Kushner, Mercer, Nix, and Parscale have all denied any suggestion they coordinated with the Russians in targeting Russian influence operations during the campaign.132The question facing prosecutors is this: What potential crimes might emerge from these and other interactions between the Trump campaign and this constellation of Russian actors and interests that are relevant to establishing a criminal conspiracy or RICO predicates?First, it is worth noting that it is illegal to lie to federal investigators, to lie on a security clearance form or to lie to congressional investigators. Given the extreme reluctance of Trump and Kushner and their associates to reveal the true nature and extent of their interactions with the Russians, they may well have committed a crime in actively trying to obscure those interactions, including potential obstruction of justice charges. In addition, such efforts to obfuscate could veer into wire fraud, a frequently cited RICO offense, if said individuals used electronic communications to coordinate actions to mislead investigators.Donald Trump Jr. and others in the June Trump Tower meeting could also be charged with conspiring to violate election laws, which explicitly prohibit foreign nationals from donating things of value to a campaign. This, however, is not a RICO predicate.Any efforts to assist Russians or other hackers in stealing, or potentially disseminating, stolen computer information may have potentially run afoul of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or could be charged as a conspiracy to commit cybercrime, which would be a RICO predicate. The knowledge that campaign adviser Papadopoulos had advance warning that the Russians held hacked emails raises the risk for campaign officials that they aided and abetted the Russian effort.It might also be possible to make the case that a conspiracy existed for the express purpose of defrauding the United States, another clear RICO violation.If members or officials of the Trump campaign knew that the Russians were directly attempting to assist their campaign, which there seems to be considerable evidence that they did (including the email to Donald Jr. that made this point explicitly) they could also be charged for abetting a criminal conspiracy.However, it is important to add a caveat regarding the investigation of Trump’s Russia involvement. The Special Counsel is in essence leading both a criminal investigation and a counterespionage investigation. This dual role will create some tensions in what he can reveal to the public. As Asha Rangappa, a former associate dean at Yale Law School and a former special agent in the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI, observed, “We are less likely to get direct public evidence of this since most of the information obtained by the FBI about Russia’s network and tactics will be classified unless someone is prosecuted for a crime.”133Obstruction of justice and other areas of concern since the electionThe Special Counsel’s investigation will also naturally cover events since the election, and in this area the primary concern is one that very often lies at the heart of RICO charges: the obstruction of justice. The U.S. code makes clear that a large number of activities can potentially fall under obstruction of justice charges such as destroying or altering evidence, obstructing a criminal investigation, retaliating against witnesses, obstructing examination of a financial institution, retaliating against a federal law enforcement officer by false claim, and other similar actions.The apparent pattern of obstruction since the election by the Trump administration and associates regarding their ties with the Russians would appear to give the special counsel a great deal to work with, and would provide the special counsel not only with an offense routinely used to build RICO cases, but also a potentially impeachable offense. (It is worth noting that the three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon did not refer to the break-in at the Democratic National Committee, which he and his staff helped engineer, but cited obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress.)134 The Brookings Institution recently concluded, “the public record contains substantial evidence that President Trump attempted to obstruct the investigations into Michael Flynn and Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election through various actions, including the termination of James Comey.”135The incidents below, while serious, and sometimes potentially criminal, in their own right, also seem to paint a broader picture of interconnected actors working very hard to obscure the full extent of their interactions with the Russians during the course of the campaign and before. Some also suggest a pattern of activities that could amount to obstruction of justice.National Security Adviser Michael Flynn admits that he lied to FBI investigators about the extent of his interactions with the Russian ambassador during the transition between the election and Trump’s swearing in, and that these discussions related to U.S. sanctions on Russia for its election meddling—despite his previous denials that this was the case.136 (Flynn’s multiple interactions with the Russian ambassador appear to have shown up in routine U.S. surveillance efforts.)137 This gives rise to potential charges that other senior administration officials that also had knowledge of, and had authorized, Flynn’s conversations with the Russians attempted to obstruct justice as these conversations were being investigated or perjured themselves in conversations with the FBI. These events also call into question if there was some sort of quid pro quo offered to the Russians where sanctions relief would be exchanged for supporting Trump during the campaign and improved bilateral relations.138 Those who have reportedly had access to the intercepts between Flynn suggest a quid pro quo was not directly discussed during the calls, although the subject of reviewing the sanctions and the expulsion of Russian diplomats did take place.139Flynn repeatedly failed to disclose that he received substantial payments from Russian and Turkish entities on his security clearance forms as required by law, a violation of both the Foreign Agents Registration Act and making a false statement on a clearance form, which is a felony.140 The fact that these disclosure failures were not mentioned in his plea deal suggests that he had testimony that the special counsel viewed as being of significant value, and would likely only be seen as of such value if they implicated officials in even higher positions (of which there are very few.)Despite the fact that the FBI had apparently warned the White House Counsel that Flynn presented a security risk due to his potential to be blackmailed by the Russians regarding his failure to disclose his conversations with the Russian ambassador and payments from Russian sources, President Trump failed to take any action regarding Flynn until the FBI’s concerns became public. Indeed, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates flagged concerns regarding Flynn for White House Counsel Donald McGahn on January 26, 2017, a full 18 days before Flynn was dismissed and a period during which he continued to take part in sensitive national security conversations.141 It will be of particular interest to the special counsel if the president or any of his team took specific actions to attempt to curtail the Flynn investigation during this interregnum, which would amount to obstruction of justice.Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeatedly failed to fully disclose meetings with Russians during the course of the campaign despite being asked point-blank about these interactions while under oath during his confirmation hearings. Sessions’ lack of candor on this front led him to ultimately recuse himself from the Russia investigation—a move that by all accounts enraged President Trump.142Jared Kushner has repeatedly failed to fully disclose his foreign contacts on his security clearance forms.143 What is most striking is that, again and again, the failure of Trump administration officials to engage in proper disclosure almost always seems to come back to the issue of Russia; this again suggests a broader pattern or conspiracy to obstruct investigators.Former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that, shortly after the inauguration, Trump asked him to a dinner at the White House, attended only by the two men. During the dinner, Trump repeatedly demanded Comey’s loyalty, stating, “I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.”144 Eventually, Comey replied to Trump’s demands by saying that Trump would “always have honesty” from him.145In the immediate aftermath of Flynn’s forced resignation, Trump maneuvered to have a private conversation with Comey, at which time he tried to convince Comey to drop his investigation of Flynn, stating, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”146 In his Senate testimony, Comey asserted that he took Trump’s request “as a direction.”147 In both of these conversations, Trump ensured that he spoke with Comey alone, leaving no other witnesses to the conversation.Trump contacted Comey again via telephone on March 30, at which time Trump “described the Russia investigation as a ‘cloud’ that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country,” according to the former FBI director.148 Trump then asked Comey “what we could do to ‘lift the cloud’” and to “find a way to get out that [Trump] wasn’t being investigated.”149President Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017, later directly attributing the firing to the ongoing Russia investigation.150The White House initially claimed that Comey was fired at the suggestion of the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for mishandling the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails. However, Trump quickly made clear that he fired Comey because he was displeased with the Russia investigation. On May 10, 2017, Trump allegedly told the Russian ambassador in the Oval Office that, “I faced great pressure because of Russia,” and by firing Comey, “that’s taken off.”151 Trump echoed that exact same reasoning when he told NBC news on May 11, 2017: “When I decided to [fire Comey], I said to myself, I said you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”152Trump’s admission that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation was essentially an admission that he wastrying to obstruct or halt the FBI investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia.153 An initial draft of President Trump’s letter citing his reasons for firing Comey, penned jointly by Trump and aide Stephen Miller, was seen as so problematic that it was quickly shelved by White House Counsel Donald McGahn.154 And while never sent, it will help further illuminate the intent behind Comey’s firing.Trump reportedly tried to enlist the heads of the intelligence agencies both to help shut down the Russia investigation led by the FBI and to issue statements dismissing any idea of he and his team colluding with the Russians. According to reporting by The Washington Post, Trump tried to enlist Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency (NSA) Director Michael Rogers to “help him push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government,” although both refused to do so.155 Later reporting by The Washington Post revealed that Trump went even further, suggesting to Coats that he intervene in Comey’s investigation. Such attempts demonstrate that “Trump aimed to enlist top officials to have Comey curtail the bureau’s probe.”156The White House confirmed that President Trump was directly involved in drafting the initial, and highly misleading, statement by Donald Trump Jr. that tried to explain away his meeting with Russians at Trump Tower as largely being about “the adoption of Russian children.”157 Trump has maintained that he did not know about the meeting with the Russians until well after the fact, despite being in the building the same day and later that day at rally promising that damaging information against Clinton would soon emerge. As The Washington Post noted, Trump’s “advisers worry that the president’s direct involvement leaves him needlessly vulnerable to allegations of a coverup.”158Trump is now threatening Mueller’s investigation. In aninterview with The New York Times, Trump claimed that it would be a “violation” if Mueller were to look into his finances while undertaking his investigation.159 The president, along with his staff, have also tried to discredit Mueller and other members of his investigatory team by implying that they are biased or have conflicts of interest, despite no evidence of either.160Any one of these incidents would likely not be enough to convince a prosecutor (or Congress) to level an obstruction of justice charge against a sitting president of the United States. But taken cumulatively, along with the fact that The Trump Organization covered up that it was still engaged in business talks with Russians in Moscow even as the campaign was ongoing, begins to paint a far darker picture.161Other post-election mattersIn addition to the obvious obstruction of justice concerns, in May 2017 The Washington Post reported that representatives of Kushner Companies, including Jared Kushner’s sister Nicole Meyer, gave a presentation in Beijing encouraging Chinese citizens to invest $500,000 in one of their complexes in exchange for an EB-5 immigrant visa, which essentially allow individuals who make large investments in the United States that create jobs to immigrate to the United States.162 The marketing event highlighted the company’s connections to the Trump administration, with Jared’s sister making direct mention of her brother and his new role in the Trump administration. While Kushner has stepped down from his role in the family business, he is still a beneficiary of much of the business through his trusts.163 A spokesperson for Kushner Companies declined to comment on the Post’s story.Following apologies by Kushner Companies and Jared’s sister, CNN reported that Jared Kushner’s status and position in the administration was again “used to lure Chinese investors to his family’s New Jersey development.”164 CNN found that online promotion materials from two of the businesses working with the company to find Chinese investors for the New Jersey property made references to Kushner’s previous role as head of Kushner Companies and his role in getting Trump elected. A Kushner Companies spokesperson told CNN that, they were “not aware of these sites” and have “nothing to do with them.”165 The company also said it would “be sending a cease and desist letter regarding the references to Jared Kushner.”166Later reporting by The Wall Street Journal revealed that New York federal prosecutors are investigating Kushner Companies over their use of the EB-5 visa program.167 Prosecutors reportedly subpoenaed the company in May, though it is unclear what potential violations are being investigated. In a statement, the Kushner Companies’ general counsel, Emily Wolf, said that the company use of the visa program, “fully complied with its rules and regulations and did nothing improper.”168Further, she said that the company was “cooperating with legal requests for information.”169Kushner’s attempts to secure funding for a troubled Kushner Companies real estate venture may also be of interest to prosecutors. During the transition, Kushner met with Sergey N. Gorkov, the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank (VEB), which is currently on the U.S. sanctions list and has served as a front for known Russian spies.170The White House described Kushner’s meeting as part of routine diplomatic encounters; however, Gorkov indicated that he met with Kushner in Kushner’s capacity as the chief executive of Kushner Companies.171 That the line between Kushner’s official duties and his business interests was so poorly defined by the two participants in the same meeting is striking.172There were some suggestions that Kushner may have discussed with Gorkov his 666 Fifth Avenue property in New York City, which has required critical infusions of capital to avoid dragging down the entire Kushner real estate empire, in a bid to obtain additional funding from the bank.173 White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks has said that no business discussions took place at that meeting. She also added that the topic of sanctions did not come up in their discussion either.174 Efforts to attract Chinese funding for the same property may give rise to similar concerns that Kushner was attempting to leverage his position within the incoming administration to his family’s direct financial benefit.What is for sure, however, is that concerns about Trump and Russians have not waned since the election. A Reuters investigation revealed that “at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida.”175 According to the reporting, some of the buyers included “politically connected businessmen,” as well as “people from the second and third tiers of Russian power.” Additionally, Reuters noted that their final count could have been low, as at least 703 owners of the 2,044 units examined were limited liability companies (LLCs), which allow buyers to obscure their identities. Reuters investigation, however, did not reveal any suggestions of wrongdoing by Trump or The Trump Organization. Additionally, according to analysis by USA Today, most Trump real estate properties are now being sold to highly secretive shell companies, making it even more difficult to determine if these purchases are designed in whole or part to curry favor with the president.176ConclusionThere are a number of key takeaways with regard to The Trump Organization and the potential application of RICO as a prosecutorial tool.As noted in the introduction of this report, the Trump organization arguably behaves a great deal like the organized crime syndicates which the RICO statute was originally designed to target. The Trump Organization engages in a sweeping range of activities, many of them perfectly legitimate, some of them apparently in open violation of the law, and many more which appear to take short cuts to avoid both the spirit and the letter of the law. These Trump structures appear at times to be loosely organized, driven by personalities more than formal structure, with loyalty to, and profit for, the Trump and Kushner families being the only over-riding imperative to the business model. The degree to which Trump and his associates have avoided basic norms of transparency are remarkable. Trump and his associates are engaged in some highly irregular financial transactions, and he and his associates have repeatedly veered into behavior that bears striking resemblance to the obstruction of justice. And, importantly, organizations and individuals rarely engage in systemic obstruction of justice efforts if they are not trying to obscure other underlying felonious behavior. In short, there is a colorable claim that these many diverse allegations of criminal activity provide a sufficient basis for one or more RICO actions at either the state or federal level. And, the recent indictments of Paul Manafort and his business partner Richard Gates, as well as the guilty plea by George Papadopoulos only add further momentum to the potential to make a RICO case.That said, there is enormous difference between being able to make a RICO case and a prosecutor, particularly a special counsel investigating a sitting president, deciding that it is in the best interests of justice to do so. That caution is both understandable and merited, and both former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates and Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney, argued recently that the special counsel will face a high bar in bringing criminal charges regarding his probe of Trump and the Russians.177 Tackling the case, or cases, involved in the Trump probe as a RICO case could lead to a sprawling prosecution where the special counsel is not only required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any specific criminal charges that he decides to bring, but also to make an equally persuasive case that these criminal actions are parts of a larger ongoing criminal enterprise.The nature of any potential charges is also quite important in this instance. Given Mueller’s core mandate to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, any RICO case established by the Special Counsel would likely need at least one RICO predicate related to the Russia issue, with obstruction of justice the most obvious candidate. (In contrast, a New York or other state prosecutor could very well be comfortable mounting a RICO case involving Trump based on predicates stemming from complex financial crimes alone, with money laundering, bank and wire fraud, and obstruction all obvious candidates.) Whatever charges a prosecutor at either the state or federal level may bring if they deem it appropriate to do so will almost certainly be painted as a fishing expedition by the president’s lawyers, regardless of the merits of the case.The special counsel is also acutely aware that the president enjoys the expansive power of federal pardons, and there have been media reports that the special counsel’s team is carefully researching the limits of the power of the pardon. The president’s power to issue pardons for federal, but not state, crimes, makes it more difficult for the special counsel to flip potential witnesses who might avoid testifying as to their involvement in criminal activity based on hope or knowledge that the president would pardon them. It is also useful to note that while not a matter of settled law, there is some skepticism that a sitting president can face criminal charges, with impeachment most widely viewed as the obvious remedy for such presidential abuses, and impeachment remains a relatively unlikely prospect with both the Senate and the House held by the president’s party at this juncture and seemingly reluctant to challenge his authority.Thus, the special counsel would seem to face extraordinarily complex calculations in both presenting his findings and deciding what charges he would potentially bring. A highly logical strategy for the special counsel is to engage in burden sharing with the New York and/or Virginia attorney generals. By having some of the potential charges pursued at a state level, prosecutors can ensure that potentially helpful witnesses or co-conspirators do not have the potential of a presidential pardon being held out to discourage their assistance.In September 2017, Politico reported that just such cooperation is already taking place between the special counsel’s office and the New York attorney general. As The Washington Post observed:Federal rules and Justice Department policy clearly provide for such cooperation and would even allow Mueller to share confidential grand jury information with Schneiderman’s office with court approval. Beyond that, there is always a great deal of information not covered by grand jury secrecy that could be freely shared. But although certainly not unheard of, federal and state prosecutors cooperating in an investigation is relatively unusual, at least in a white-collar case.178But having a sitting president investigated for collaborating with hostile Russian forces to tilt a presidential election is certainly an extraordinary case.The involvement of the New York attorney general has a number of other benefits as well: This is an office that has already repeatedly investigated the Trump organization with some degree of success; a significant number of the financial transactions concerning Trump, Sater, Manafort, and others all took place in the state of New York; and, the office is well familiar with making complex financial cases. The possibility that the New York attorney general would bring a RICO criminal case against The Trump Organization as it relates to complex financial crimes and or money laundering is an intriguing one, and it would hold a sword over key actors in the process while allowing the Special Counsel to direct his greatest firepower on Trump’s Russia links and what appears to be a pattern of obstructing justice.On balance, RICO instruments can and should be seen as a viable potential tool for prosecutors probing the actions of President Trump both before and after he took office. The more that is learned about the Trump universe, and the better the investigative research by prosecutors, the media, Congress, and concerned citizens, the sharper a pattern of criminality appears to come into focus. Less than a year into his presidency, Trump’s national security adviser has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, his former campaign chairman is facing multiple indictments, and a campaign foreign policy adviser has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and acknowledged that the Russians claimed to have Clinton’s emails before the public knew about such hacking. More dominoes seem almost inevitable to fall given the special counsel’s efforts to secure cooperating witnesses, and RICO statutes give him a powerful card to play if he wishes to do so.About the authorsJohn Norris is a senior fellow and the executive director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative at the Center for American Progress. He has served in a number of senior roles in government, international institutions, and nonprofits. Norris previously served as the executive director of the Enough Project at American Progress and was the chief of political affairs for the U.N. Mission in Nepal. Norris is the author of several books, including Mary McGrory: The First Queen of Journalism, a biography of the late journalist, and the Disaster Gypsies, a memoir of his work in the field of emergency relief.Carolyn Kenney is a policy analyst for National Security and International Policy at the Center, working specifically on the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative. Prior to joining American Progress, Kenney worked with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, in its Center for Applied Research and Learning. She previously completed internships with the International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch. Kenney received her M.A. in international human rights from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and her B.A. in international affairs from the University of Colorado, Boulder.EndnotesUnited States District Court for the District of Columbia, “United States of America v. George Papadopoulos,” October 5, 2017, available at https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download. ↩United States District Court for the District of Columbia, “United States of America v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates III,” October 27, 2017, available at https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000015f-6d73-d751-af7f-7f735cc70000. ↩Ibid. ↩Office of the Deputy Attorney General, “Appointment of Special Counsel to Investigate Russian Interference with the 2016 Presidential Election and Related Matters,” May 17, 2017, available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/967231/download. ↩Staff of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, Criminal RICO: 18 U.S.C. §§1961-1968 – A Manual for Federal Prosecutors (U.S. Department of Justice, 2016), available at https://www.justice.gov/usam/file/870856/download. ↩John E. Floyd, Introduction: RICO State by State: A Guide to Litigation Under the State Racketeering Statutes, Second Edition, Volume 2, Number 4 (ABA Book Publishing, 2012), available at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/gpsolo/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2012/november_2012/introduction_rico_state_by_state.html. ↩Nathan Koppel, “They Call It RICO, and It Is Sweeping,” The Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2011, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704881304576094110829882704. ↩Charles Doyle, “RICO: A Brief Sketch” (Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2016), available at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/96-950.pdf. ↩James A. Doering, “Civil Rico: Before and After Sedima,” Marquette Law Review 69 (3) (1986): 395­–421, available at http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1869&context=mulr. ↩Editorial Board, “It’s Time to Rescind RICO,” The Los Angeles Times, August 16, 1989, available at http://articles.latimes.com/1989-08-16/local/me-399_1_rico-statute. ↩Tim Hains, “Giuliani: There Is Enough Evidence Now for a RICO Case Against Clinton Foundation for ‘Racketeering,’” Real Clear Politics, October 30, 2016, available at https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/10/30/giuliani_there_is_enough_evidence_now_for_a_rico_case_against_clinton_foundation_racketeering_enterprise.html. ↩Louise Mensch, “Sources: Russia probe means President Hatch; RICO Case Against GOP,” Patribotics, May 11, 2017, available at https://patribotics.blog/2017/05/11/sources-russia-probe-means-president-hatch-rico-case-against-gop/. ↩Matt Ford, “Judge Curiel Hands Trump a Fresh Rebuke,” The Atlantic, August 3, 2016, available at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/trump-university-curiel/494213/. ↩Rosalind S. Helderman, “Trump agrees to $25 million settlement in Trump University fraud cases,” The Washington Post, November 18, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/source-trump-nearing-settlement-in-trump-university-fraud-cases/2016/11/18/8dc047c0-ada0-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html?utm_term=.f72c4da10015; Camila Domonoske, “Judge Approves $25 Million Settlement of Trump University Lawsuit,” NPR, March 31, 2017, available at http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/31/522199535/judge-approves-25-million-settlement-of-trump-university-lawsuit. ↩Timothy L. O’Brien, “Trump, Russia and a Shadowy Business Partnership,” Bloomberg, June 21, 2017, available at https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-06-21/trump-russia-and-those-shadowy-sater-deals-at-bayrock. ↩Doering, “Civil Rico: Before and After Sedima.” ↩Staff of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, Criminal RICO: 18 U.S.C. §§1961-1968 – A Manual for Federal Prosecutors”; 18 U.S. Code § 1962 – Prohibited activities, available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1962. ↩Staff of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, Criminal RICO: 18 U.S.C. §§1961-1968 – A Manual for Federal Prosecutors.” ↩U.S. Department of Justice, “RICO Charges,” Offices of the United States Attorneys, available at https://www.justice.gov/usam/criminal-resource-manual-109-rico-charges (last accessed December 2017). ↩Ibid. ↩G. Robert Blakey, “Time-Bars: Rico-Criminal and Civil Federal and State,” Notre Dame Law Review 88 (4) (2013): 1581­–1784, available at http://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1139&context=ndlr. ↩http://HG.org, “RICO Law: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act,” available at https://www.hg.org/rico-law.html(last accessed October 2017). ↩See Jason Snead, “Civil Asset Forfeiture: 7 Things You Should Know,” The Heritage Foundation, March 26, 2014, available at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/03/civil-asset-forfeiture-7-things-you-should-know; ACLU, “Asset Forfeiture Abuse,” available at https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police-practices/asset-forfeiture-abuse (last accessed November 2017). ↩Kevin D. Williamson, “Civil Asset Forfeiture: Where Due Process Goes to Die,” National Review, June 25, 2017, available at http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448942/asset-forfeiture-police-abuse-it-all-time. ↩Legal Information Institute, “18 U.S. Code § 981 – Civil Forfeiture,” available at https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/981 (last accessed December 2017). ↩Staff of the Organized Crime and Gang Section, Criminal RICO: 18 U.S.C. §§1961-1968 – A Manual for Federal Prosecutors.” ↩Ibid. ↩Blakey, “Time-Bars: Rico-Criminal and Civil Federal and State.” ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Renato Mariotti, “How to Read Bob Mueller’s Hand,” Politico Magazine, September 18, 2017, available at http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/18/how-to-read-bob-mueller-hand-215616?lo=ap_c1. ↩Ibid. ↩For example, see David A. Farenthold, “Trump boasts about his philanthropy. But his giving falls short of his words.,” The Washington Post, October 29, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-boasts-of-his-philanthropy-but-his-giving-falls-short-of-his-words/2016/10/29/b3c03106-9ac7-11e6-a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html?utm_term=.7d9782b39deb; Jose A. DelReal and David A. Farenthold, “Trump dismisses questions about improper gift to Florida attorney general,” The Washington Post, September 5, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-denies-he-talked-with-florida-attorney-general-about-donation/2016/09/05/e15d62e0-73b8-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62_story.html?utm_term=.aa53032a0494; David A. Farenthold, “Trump bought a 6-foot-tall portrait of himself with charity money. We may have found it.,” The Washington Post, September 14, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-clue-to-the-whereabouts-of-the-6-foot-tall-portrait-of-donald-trump/2016/09/14/ae65db82-7a8f-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html?utm_term=.88dc3cb5cf74; David A. Farenthold, “Trump used $258,000 from his charity to settle legal problems,” The Washington Post, September 20, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-used-258000-from-his-charity-to-settle-legal-problems/2016/09/20/adc88f9c-7d11-11e6-ac8e-cf8e0dd91dc7_story.html?utm_term=.3a8e7e4815b0; David A. Farenthold, “How a Univision anchor found the missing $10,000 portrait that Trump bought with his charity’s money,” The Washington Post, September 21, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/21/how-a-univision-anchor-found-the-missing-10000-portrait-that-trump-bought-with-his-charitys-money/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.95ac1772c423; David A. Farenthold, “Trump directed $2.3 million owed to him to his tax-exempt foundation instead,” The Washington Post, September 26, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-directed-23-million-owed-to-him-to-his-charity-instead/2016/09/26/7a9e9fac-8352-11e6-ac72-a29979381495_story.html?utm_term=.624ecb9b3f81. ↩Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz, “Exclusive: Mueller Team’s Focus on Manafort Spans 11 Years,” CNN, September 20, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/politics/mueller-manafort-pressure-decade-investigation/index.html. ↩Cheryl Collins and David Corn, “This Top Mueller Aide Once Worked on an Investigation of a Trump Associate Tied to the Russian Mob,” Mother Jones, June 23, 2017, available at http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/trump-felix-sater-andrew-weissman/. ↩See Garrett M. Graff, “Robert Mueller Chooses His Investigatory Dream Team,” Wired, June 14, 2017, available at https://www.wired.com/story/robert-mueller-special-counsel-investigation-team/; CBS News, “These Are the Lawyers on Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel Team,” September 20, 2017, available at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/these-are-the-lawyers-on-robert-muellers-special-counsel-team/. ↩The New York Times, “Excerpts from the Times’s Interview with Trump,” July 19, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-transcript.html. ↩Craig Unger, “Trump’s Russian Laundromat,” New Republic, July 13, 2017, available at https://newrepublic.com/article/143586/trumps-russian-laundromat-trump-tower-luxury-high-rises-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate. ↩Franklin Foer, “Putin’s Puppet,” Slate, July 21, 2016, available at http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/07/vladimir_putin_has_a_plan_for_destroying_the_west_and_it_looks_a_lot_like.html. ↩Andrea Bernstein and others, “How Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., Avoided a Criminal Indictment,” The New Yorker, October 4, 2017, available at https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-ivanka-trump-and-donald-trump-jr-avoided-a-criminal-indictment. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Foer, “Putin’s Puppet”; Jeff Nesbit, “Donald Trump’s Many, Many, Many, Many Ties to Russia,” Time, August 2, 2016, available at http://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/. ↩O’Brien, “Trump, Russia and a Shadowy Business Partnership.” ↩Ibid. ↩Kelly Phillips Erb, “Trump & Kids Named, But Not Charged, In $250 Million Tax Evasion Case,” Forbes, July 28, 2016, available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/07/28/trump-kids-named-but-not-charged-in-250-million-tax-evasion-case/2/#765991d51e20. ↩Associated Press, “Trump Picked Mafia-Linked Stock Fraud Felon As Senior Adviser,” December 4, 2015, available at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-felix-sater-felon-adviser-20151204-story.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Ben Wieder and Kevin G. Hall, “Trump campaign bodyguard linked to ex-con who’s key in Russia probes,” McClatchy DC, September 21, 2017, available at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article174493821.html. ↩Matt Apuzzo and Maggie Haberman, “Trump Associate Boasted That Moscow Business Deal ‘Will Get Donald Elected,’” The New York Times, August 28, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-tower-putin-felix-sater.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Sam Thielman, “Trump’s Conduits For Capital From The Former Soviet Bloc Are Actually Old Pals,” Talking Points Memo, July 25, 2017, available at http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/michael-cohen-felix-sater-teenage-acquaintances-trump-organization; Russ Baker, “Spotlight on Michael Cohen – Trump’s Mysterious Lawyer with Deep Ukraine Ties,” Who.What.Why, September 18, 2017, available at https://whowhatwhy.org/2017/09/18/spotlight-michael-cohen-trumps-mysterious-lawyer-deep-ukraine-ties/. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Jason Leopold, Chris McDaniel, and Anthony Cormier, “A Suspicious Death in Trump’s Orbit? ‘Total Bullshit,’ Says Family,” Buzzfeed, March 6, 2017, available at https://www.buzzfeed.com/jasonaleopold/a-suspicious-death-in-trumps-orbit-total-bullshit-says-famil?utm_term=.wfkKZNPg1N#.dgwgkdDzQd. ↩Josh Saul, “Donald Trump, Felix Sater and the Mob: Lawyers Push to Unseal Court Documents They Say Could Show Fraud by President,” Newsweek, June 19, 2017, available at http://www.newsweek.com/trump-sater-mafia-mob-bayrock-russia-court-brooklyn-fraud-behar-627408. ↩Bryan Schatz, “A History of Donald Trump’s Bromance with Vladimir Putin,” Mother Jones, October 5, 2016, available at http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/trump-putin-timeline. ↩Greg Farrell and Christian Berthelsen, “Mueller Expands Probe to Trump Business Transactions,” Bloomberg, July 20, 2017, available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/mueller-is-said-to-expand-probe-to-trump-business-transactions. ↩Peter Stone and Greg Gordon, “Trump associate Cohen sold four NY buildings for cash to mysterious buyers,” McClatchy DC, October 27, 2017, available at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article180701541.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Christina S.N. Lewis, “Russian Billionaire Part of Record Deal for Trump Mansion,” The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2008, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121388918602688761. ↩Robert Frank, “Only in Palm Beach: The $95 Million Tear-Down,” The New York Times, August 27, 2016, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/business/only-in-palm-beach-the-95-million-tear-down.html?_r=0. ↩Ibid. ↩Rob Barry, Christopher S. Stewart, and Brett Forrest, “Russian State-Run Bank Financed Deal Involving Trump Hotel Partner,” The Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-state-run-bank-financed-deal-involving-trump-hotel-partner-1495031708. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Wendy Dent, Ed Pilkington, and Shaun Walker “Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch’s firm cited in money-laundering case,” The Guardian, July 24, 2017, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/24/jared-kushner-new-york-russia-money-laundering?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=236390&subid=18917142&CMP=GT_US_collection. ↩U.S. Department of Justice, “Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $5.9 Million Settlement of Civil Money Laundering and Forfeiture Claims Against Real Estate Corporations Alleged to Have Laundered Proceeds of Russian Tax Fraud,” May 12, 2017, available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/acting-manhattan-us-attorney-announces-59-million-settlement-civil-money-laundering-and. ↩The New York Times, “Read the Emails on Donald Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting,” July 11, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/11/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-email-text.html?_r=0. ↩Ibid. ↩Dent, Pilkington, and Walker, “Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch’s firm cited in money-laundering case.” The activities of Prevezon were originally discovered by the Russian lawyer and accountant, Sergei Magnitsky, who died under suspicious circumstances in a Moscow prison after revealing the scam. After his death, the United States responded by imposing sanctions on Russia through the Magnitsky Act, a move that Russian President Vladimir Putin has strongly opposed. In reaction to the U.S. sanctions, Russia banned American adoptions of Russian children. Thus, as pointed out in The New York Times, any discussion with the Kremlin, or their agents, of “adoptions” is essentially a discussion about the Russians trying to have U.S. sanctions lifted; the two topics are inseparable. For more information on the Magnitsky Act, see Julia Ioffe, “Why Does the Kremlin Care So Much About the Magnitsky Act?”, The Atlantic, July 27, 2017, available at https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/magnitsky-act-kremlin/535044/; Amanda Taub, “When the Kremlin Says ‘Adoptions,’ It Means ‘Sanctions,’” The New York Times, July 10, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/world/americas/kremlin-adoptions-sanctions-russia.html. ↩Dent, Pilkington, and Walker, “Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch’s firm cited in money-laundering case.” ↩Ibid. ↩U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, “Letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” July 12, 2017, available at https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/democrats.judiciary.house.gov/files/documents/7.12.17%20LETTER%20AG%20SESSIONS%20-%20WE%20WANT%20ANSWERS%20ON%20FRAUD%20SETTLEMENT%2C%20MEETING%20AT%20TRUMP%20TOWER.pdf. ↩Dent, Pilkington, and Walker, “Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch’s firm cited in money-laundering case.” ↩Ilya Marritz and Adnrea Bernstein, “Paul Manafort’s Puzzling New York Real Estate Purchases,” WNYC, March 28, 2017, available at http://www.wnyc.org/story/paul-manaforts-puzzling-new-york-real-estate-purchases/. ↩Amy Plitt, “Paul Manafort indicted: NYC real estate tied to money laundering charges,” Curbed, October 30, 2017, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2017/10/30/16570266/paul-manafort-indictment-new-york-real-estate. ↩Marritz and Bernstein, “Paul Manafort’s Puzzling New York Real Estate Purchases.” ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Jeff Horwitz and Chad Day, “AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid putin,” Associated Press, March 22, 2017, available at https://apnews.com/122ae0b5848345faa88108a03de40c5a/manaforts-plan-greatly-benefit-putin-government. ↩Chad Day, “Manafort offered to brief wealthy Russian during campaign,” Associated Press, September 21, 2017, available at https://www.apnews.com/220794f0b3e540e19e3195f40447930f. ↩Horwitz and Day, “AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin.” ↩Michael Rothfeld, “Paul Manafort Received Loans from Another Former Trump Adviser’s Bank,” The Wall Street Journal, March 29, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-manafort-received-loans-from-another-former-trump-advisers-bank-1490779800. ↩Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig, and Adam Entous, “Manafort Offered to Give Russian Billionaire ‘Private Briefings’ on 2016 Campaign,” The Washington Post, September 20, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manafort-offered-to-give-russian-billionaire-private-briefings-on-2016-campaign/2017/09/20/399bba1a-9d48-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?utm_term=.75692b6b910b. ↩Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman, Carol D. Leonnig, and Adam Entous, “Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign,” The Washington Post, September 20, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manafort-offered-to-give-russian-billionaire-private-briefings-on-2016-campaign/2017/09/20/399bba1a-9d48-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?utm_term=.75692b6b910b. ↩Sadie Gurman, Eric Tucker, and Jeff Horwitz, “Special counsel’s Trump investigation includes Manafort case,” Associated Press, June 3, 2017, available at https://apnews.com/35b610bf8d66416798be8abb2ebd85b0/Special-counsel’s-Trump-investigation-includes-Manafort-case. ↩Erica Orden, “Special Counsel Investigating Possible Money Laundering by Paul Manafort,” The Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/special-counsel-investigating-possible-money-laundering-by-paul-manafort-1500587532. ↩Rothfeld, Maremont, and O’Brien, “Former Trump Adviser Paul Manafort’s Bank Records Sought in Probe.” ↩Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger, and Rosalind S. Helderman, “FBI conducted predawn raid of former Trump campaign chairman Manafort’s home,” The Washington Post, August 9, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fbi-conducted-predawn-raid-of-former-trump-campaign-chairman-manaforts-home/2017/08/09/5879fa9c-7c45-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.66c2071aac85. ↩Ibid. ↩Aggelos Petropoulos and Richard Engel, “Manafort-Linked Accounts on Cyprus Raised Red Flag,” NBC News, March 29, 2017, available at http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/manafort-linked-accounts-cyprus-raised-red-flag-n739156. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Mike McIntire, “Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show,” The New York Times, July 19, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/paul-manafort-russia-trump.html. ↩Mike McIntire, “Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show,” The New York Times, July 19, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/paul-manafort-russia-trump.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Barbara McQuade, “Robert Mueller’s Message to Paul Manafort: Cooperate Now or You’ll Regret It,” The Daily Beast, October 30, 2017, available at https://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-muellers-message-to-paul-manafort-cooperate-now-or-youll-regret-it. ↩Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, “FinCEN Fines Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort $10 Million for Significant and Long Standing Anti-Money Laundering Violations,” Press release, March 6, 2015, available at https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-fines-trump-taj-mahal-casino-resort-10-million-significant-and-long. ↩Ibid. ↩Jose Pagliery, “Trump’s casino was a money laundering concern shortly after it opened,” CNN, May 22, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/trump-taj-mahal/index.html?sr=twCNN052217trump-taj-mahal-closed0111PMVODtopLink&linkId=37866730. ↩Tony Nitti, “Robert Mueller Employs Powerful Weapon in Trump-Russia Investigation: The IRS,” Forbes, September 1, 2017, available at https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonynitti/2017/09/01/robert-mueller-employs-powerful-weapon-in-trump-russia-investigation-the-irs/#658701975ace. ↩Derek Kravitz, Cezary Podkul, and Will Parker, “Here’s How Trump Transferred Wealth to His Son While Avoiding the Usual Taxes,” ProPublica, July 5, 2017, available at https://www.propublica.org/article/heres-how-trump-transferred-wealth-to-his-son-while-avoiding-usual-taxes. and This Trump real estate deal looks awfully like criminal tax fraud. ↩Adam Davidson, “Donald Trump’s Worst Deal,” The New Yorker, March 13, 2017, available at http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal. ↩Politico Magazine, “What Is Collusion? Is It Even a Crime?”, July 12, 2017, available at http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/12/what-is-collusion-215366. ↩Asha Rangappa, “What the FISA Warrants Against Paul Manafort Tell Us About Mueller’s Investigation,” Just Security, September 23, 2017, available at https://www.justsecurity.org/45255/fisa-warrants-paul-manafort-muellers-investigation/. ↩Ibid. ↩Ellen Nakashima, Devlin Barrett, and Adam Entous, “FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page,” The Washington Post, April 11, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-obtained-fisa-warrant-to-monitor-former-trump-adviser-carter-page/2017/04/11/620192ea-1e0e-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html?utm_term=.cf37ab6a1e15. ↩Pamela Brown, Jim Sciutto, and Evan Perez, “Trump aides were in constant touch with senior Russian officials during campaign,” CNN, February 15, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/. ↩See Shane Harris, Michael C. Bender, and Peter Nicholas, “GOP Activist Who Sought Clinton Emails Cited Trump Campaign Officials,” The Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-activist-who-sought-clinton-emails-cited-trump-campaign-officials-1498872923; Shane Harris, “GOP Operative Sought Clinton Emails from Hackers, Implied a Connection to Flynn,” The Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-operative-sought-clinton-emails-from-hackers-implied-a-connection-to-flynn-1498770851. ↩Harris, “GOP Operative Sought Clinton Emails from Hackers, Implied a Connection to Flynn.” ↩Katherine Skiba, David Heinzmann, and Todd Lighty, “Peter W. Smith, GOP operative who sought Clinton’s emails from Russian hackers, committed suicide, records Show,” Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2017, available at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-peter-smith-death-met-0713-20170713-story.html. ↩Tom Winter and others, “Ex-Trump Adviser George Papadopoulos Pleads Guilty in Mueller’s Russia Probe,” NBC News, October 30, 2017, available at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-campaign-adviser-george-papadopoulos-pleads-guilty-lying-n815596. ↩Julia Ioffe and Franklin Foer, “Did Manafort Use Trump to Curry Favor with a Putin Ally?” The Atlantic, October 2, 2017, available at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/emails-suggest-manafort-sought-approval-from-putin-ally-deripaska/541677/. ↩Associated Press, “Paul Manafort Offered ‘Private Briefings’ About Trump Campaign to Russian Billionaire,” September 20, 2017, available at http://fortune.com/2017/09/21/paul-manafort-donald-trump-russia-putin-deripaska/. ↩Andrew Higgins and Andrew E. Kramer, “Soviet Veteran Who Met with Trump Jr. Is a Master of the Dark Arts,” The New York Times, July 15, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/world/europe/rinat-akhmetshin-donald-trump-jr-natalia-veselnitskaya.html; Sharon LaFraniere and Adam Goldman, “Guest List at Donald Trump Jr.’s Meeting with Russian Expands Again,” The New York Times, July 18, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/us/politics/trump-meeting-russia.html. ↩Jo Becker, Adam Goldman, and Matt Apuzzo, “Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said,” The New York Times, July 11, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-russia-email-clinton.html. ↩Jo Becker, Adam Goldman, and Matt Apuzzo, “Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said,” The New York Times, July 11, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-russia-email-clinton.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Justin Sink, “Here Are Trump Jr.’s Shifting Explanations for His Russia Meeting,” Bloomberg, July 11, 2017, available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-11/trump-s-son-has-offered-shifting-explanations-for-russia-meeting. ↩Meghan Keneally, “Timeline leading up to Jeff Sessions’ recusal and the fallout,” ABC News, July 26, 2017, available at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-leading-jeff-sessions-recusal-fallout/story?id=45855918. ↩Josh Rogin, “Trump campaign guts GOP’s anti-Russia Stance on Ukraine,” The Washington Post, July 18, 2016, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-campaign-guts-gops-anti-russia-stance-on-ukraine/2016/07/18/98adb3b0-4cf3-11e6-a7d8-13d06b37f256_story.html?utm_term=.f97983408e04. ↩Andrew Kaczynski, Nathan McDermott, and Chris Massie, “Trump adviser Roger Stone repeatedly claimed to know of forthcoming WikiLeaks dumps,” CNN, March 20, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/kfile-roger-stone-wikileaks-claims/index.html. ↩Julia Ioffe, “The Secret Correspondence Between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks,” The Atlantic, November 13, 2017, available at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/the-secret-correspondence-between-donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks/545738/. ↩Georgia Wells and Natalie Andrews, “Five Things to Know About Hidden Russian Influence on Facebook, Twitter, Google,” The Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/five-things-to-know-about-hidden-russian-influence-on-facebook-twitter-google-1507201203. ↩Issie Lapowsky, “Did Trump’s Data Team Help Russians? Facebook Might Have the Answer,” Wired, July 14, 2017, available at https://www.wired.com/story/trump-russia-data-parscale-facebook/. ↩Betsy Woodruff, “Trump Data Guru: I Tried to Team Up with Julian Assange,” Daily Beast, October 25, 2017, available at https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-data-guru-i-tried-to-team-up-with-julian-assange. ↩Lapowsky, “Did Trump’s Data Team Help Russians? Facebook Might Have the Answer.” ↩Politico Magazine, “What Is Collusion? Is It Even a Crime?” ↩The American Presidency Project, “Articles of Impeachment Adopted by the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary,” July 27, 1974, available at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=76082. ↩Barry H. Berke, Noah Bookbinder, and Norman Eisen, “Did President Trump Obstruct Justice?” Brookings, October 10, 2017, available at https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/10/10/did-president-trump-obstruct-justice/. ↩Sari Horwitz and Adam Entous, “Flynn in FBI interview denied discussing sanctions with Russian ambassador,” The Washington Post, February 16, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/flynn-in-fbi-interview-denied-discussing-sanctions-with-russian-ambassador/2017/02/16/e3e1e16a-f3d5-11e6-8d72-263470bf0401_story.html?utm_term=.d0d42feb8db2; Charlie Savage, “What Michael Flynn’s Guilty Plea Means in Mueller’s Russia Inquiry,” The New York Times, December 1, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/us/politics/michael-flynn-guilty-plea-what-it-means.html. ↩Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, “FBI reviewed Flynn’s calls with Russian ambassador but found nothing illicit,” The Washington Post, January 23, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-reviewed-flynns-calls-with-russian-ambassador-but-found-nothing-illicit/2017/01/23/aa83879a-e1ae-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html?utm_term=.a7c9ee417461. ↩Matthew Rosenberg and Matt Apuzzo, “Flynn Is Said to Have Talked to Russians About Sanctions Before Trump Took Office,” The New York Times, February 9, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/flynn-is-said-to-have-talked-to-russians-about-sanctions-before-trump-took-office.html; Spencer Ackerman, “Democrats demand transcripts from Michael Flynn’s talks with Russian ambassador,” The Guardian, February 16, 2017, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/michael-flynn-transcripts-russia-democrats-investigation. ↩Peter Baker and others, “Flynn’s Downfall Sprang From ‘Eroding Level of Trust’,” The New York Times, February 4, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/fbi-interviewed-mike-flynn.html. ↩Karoun Demirjian, “Flynn probably broke the law by failing to disclose foreign payments, House Oversight leaders say,” The Washington Post, April 25, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/flynn-likely-broke-the-law-by-failing-to-disclose-foreign-payments-house-committee-says/2017/04/25/249fc22c-29cc-11e7-a616-d7c8a68c1a66_story.html?utm_term=.a8586fb334e4. ↩Devlin Barrett and Sari Horwitz, “Yates says she expected White House to take action on Flynn,” The Washington Post, May 8, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/yates-set-to-testify-about-white-house-meeting/2017/05/08/ade2ca2c-33f7-11e7-b4ee-434b6d506b37_story.html?utm_term=.17afad9313cb. ↩Philip Bump, “What Jeff Sessions said about Russia, and when,” The Washington Post, March 2, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/03/02/what-jeff-sessions-said-about-russia-and-when/?utm_term=.e45f65e9b7db. ↩Matt Zapotosky, “Why Jared Kushner Has Had to Update His Disclosure of Foreign Contacts More than Once,” The Washington Post, July 17, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/why-jared-kushner-has-had-to-update-his-disclosure-of-foreign-contacts-more-than-once/2017/07/17/b04e8158-6b05-11e7-96ab-5f38140b38cc_story.html?utm_term=.566c9f59028c. ↩The New York Times, “Full Transcript and Video: James Comey’s Testimony on Capitol Hill,” June 8, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/08/us/politics/senate-hearing-transcript.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩CNN, “James Comey’s Prepared Testimony,” June 8, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/07/politics/james-comey-memos-testimony/index.html. ↩Ibid. ↩Michael D. Shear and Matt Apuzzo, “F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump,” The New York Times, May 9, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/09/us/politics/james-comey-fired-fbi.html. ↩Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman, and Matthew Rosenberg, “Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure from Investigation,” The New York Times, May 19, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html?_r=0. ↩Ali Vitali and Corky Siemaszko, “Trump Interview with Lester Holt: President Asked Comey If He Was Under Investigation,” NBC News, May 11, 2017, available at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-reveals-he-asked-comey-whether-he-was-under-investigation-n757821. ↩Alex Whitting, “A Prosecutor’s View: The Evidence of Trump’s Obstruction is Now Compelling,” Just Security, May 17, 2017, available at https://www.justsecurity.org/41079/prosecutor-start-build-obstruction-case-trump/. ↩Margaret Talev, “Trump Drafted Letter Arguing for Comey’s Ouster, Sources Say,” Bloomberg, September 1, 2017, available at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-02/trump-is-said-to-have-drafted-letter-arguing-for-comey-s-ouster. ↩Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima, “Trump asked intelligence chiefs to push back against FBI collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence,” The Washington Post, May 22, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-asked-intelligence-chiefs-to-push-back-against-fbi-collusion-probe-after-comey-revealed-its-existence/2017/05/22/394933bc-3f10-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?utm_term=.b4594550a9b9. ↩Adam Entous, “Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe,” The Washington Post, June 6, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.885c4414ebf7. ↩Ashley Parker, Carol D. Leonnig, Philip Rucker, and Tom Hamburger, “Trump dictated son’s misleading statement on meeting with Russian lawyer,” The Washington Post, July 31, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-dictated-sons-misleading-statement-on-meeting-with-russian-lawyer/2017/07/31/04c94f96-73ae-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.6900faad479e. ↩Ibid. ↩The New York Times, “Excerpts from The Times’s Interview with Trump,” July 19, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-transcript.html. ↩Michael S. Schmidt, Maggie Haberman, and Matt Apuzzo, “Trump Aides, Seeking Leverage, Investigate Mueller’s Investigators,” The New York Times, July 20, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/us/politics/donald-trump-robert-mueller-russia-investigation.html. ↩Zachary Cohen, Cristina Alesci, and Marshall Cohen, “Trump attorney reached out to Kremlin to pursue Moscow Trump Tower project,” CNN, September 5, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/28/politics/trump-tower-plan-moscow-during-election/index.html. ↩Emily Rauhala and William Wan, “In a Beijing ballroom, Kushner family pushes $500,000 ‘investor visa’ to wealthy Chinese,” The Washington Post, May 6, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-a-beijing-ballroom-kushner-family-flogs-500000-investor-visa-to-wealthy-chinese/2017/05/06/cf711e53-eb49-4f9a-8dea-3cd836fcf287_story.html?utm_term=.93ed1de10283&wpisrc=nl_most-draw14&wpmm=1. ↩Jesse Drucker, Eric Lipton, and Maggie Haberman, “Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Still Benefitting from Business Empire, Filings Show,” The New York Times, March 31, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/us/politics/ivanka-trump-and-jared-kushner-still-benefiting-from-business-empire-filings-show.html. ↩Drew Griffin and Curt Devine, “Exclusive: Jared Kushner’s White House Connection Still Being Used to Lure Chinese Investors,” CNN, July 21, 2017, available at http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/20/politics/draft-kushner-visas/index.html?adkey=bn. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Erica Orden, Aruna Viswanatha, and Byron Tau, “U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Kushner Cos. Over Investment-For-Visa Program,” The Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-attorney-subpoenas-kushner-cos-over-investment-for-visa-program-1501717119. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Jo Becker, Matthew Rosenberg, and Maggie Haberman, “Senate Committee to Question Jared Kushner Over Meetings with Russians,” The New York Times, March 27, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/us/politics/senate-jared-kushner-russia.html. ↩Ibid. ↩David Filipov and others, “Explanations for Kushner’s meeting with head of Kremlin-linked bank don’t match up,” The Washington Post, June 1, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/explanations-for-kushners-meeting-with-head-of-kremlin-linked-bank-dont-match-up/2017/06/01/dd1bdbb0-460a-11e7-bcde-624ad94170ab_story.html?utm_term=.bb5506c5a058. ↩Ibid. ↩Ibid. ↩Nathan Layne and others, “Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings,” Reuters, March 17, 2017, available at http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-property/. ↩Nick Penzenstadler, Steve Reilly, and John Kelly, “Most Trump Real Estate Now Sold to Secretive Buyers,” USA Today, June 13, 2017, available at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/06/13/trump-property-buyers-make-clear-shift-secretive-llcs/102399558/. ↩Erica Orden, “Sally Yates, Preet Bharara Stress High Bar for Criminal Charges in Russia Probe,” The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2017, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/sally-yates-preet-bharara-stress-high-bar-for-criminal-charges-in-russia-probe-1507158408. ↩Randall D. Eliason, “Robert Mueller just undercut Trump’s use of the pardon power,” The Washington Post, September 1, 2017, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robert-mueller-just-undercut-trumps-use-of-the-pardon-power/2017/09/01/0d944b80-8e89-11e7-8df5-c2e5cf46c1e2_story.html?utm_term=.a7bfa6fcedd5. ↩

I’m tired of Trump followers not accepting that Trump has been gaming the system for years, has many cases of fraud proven against him, and is facing criminal prosecution when his leaves office. Rather than have them look it up,I’m presenting it right here for anyone to read. 3500 legal cases involving Donald Trump, including fraud: Nest time you want to question the validity of public accusations against Trump, read the following article, which is very well documented.It’s interesting that Trump claims he pays his taxes when evidence indicates he has not paid any local taxes and has been citied by the local governments for non payment in multiple cases. He pays little in the way of federal taxes because he is such a terrible businessman. The Trump organization lost a racial discrimination case in which elder Trump built the apartments with federal money then refused to rent to people of color. Trump denies he is racist but the facts prove otherwise.People like Sean Hannity need to read up on the facts before they spew their hatred out for public consumption. His lies and disinformation may spell his own end. People ae tired of the lies and it would be well if the Republican party got it together and quit working against America, and began a new course of action that includes not attacking our greatest institutions, which are a part of this marvelous country.Legal affairs of Donald Trump - WikipediaLegal affairs of Donald TrumpFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to search(November 2020)For lawsuits arising out of his actions as president, see List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump.This article is part ofa series aboutDonald TrumpPresident of the United StatesIncumbentPresidencyTransitionInaugurationTimelineExecutive actions proclamationspardonsTrips internationalNorth Korea summits SingaporeHanoiDMZHelsinki summitShutdowns Jan 20182018–19PollsLawsuitsProtests St. John's Church photo opSocial mediaVeracity of statementsKillings al-BaghdadiSoleimaniCOVID-19 pandemic TaskforceCommunicationGovernment response CARES ActOperation Warp SpeedWhite House outbreakInterference with science agenciesAppointmentsCabinet speculationAmbassadorsFederal judges GorsuchKavanaughBarrettSupreme Court candidatesExecutivesU.S. AttorneysFormer ComeyPoliciesEconomy tax cuts repeal of the ACA individual mandatetariffsChina trade warEnvironment Paris withdrawalForeign policy America FirstIran dealGulf crisisJerusalemGolan HeightsTrump peace planAbraham Accords UAEBahrainSudanUSMCAKosovo–Serbia agreementImmigration travel banwallfamily separationmigrant detentionstroop deploymentsnational emergencyInfrastructureSocial issues cannabisSpace Space ForceImpeachmentEarly effortsTrump–Ukraine scandalInquiry and hearingsSenate trialshowPresidential campaignsshowInteractions involving RussiashowBusiness and personalvteAn analysis by USA Today published in June 2016 found that over the previous three decades, Donald Trump and his businesses have been involved in 3,500 legal cases in U.S. federal courts and state court, an unprecedented number for a U.S. presidential candidate.[1]Of the 3,500 suits, Trump or one of his companies were plaintiffs in 1,900; defendants in 1,450; and bankruptcy, third party, or other in 150.[1]Trump was named in at least 169 suits in federal court.[2]Over 150 other cases were in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering Broward County, Florida) since 1983.[3]In about 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Trump. In hundreds more, cases ended with the available public record unclear about the resolution.[1]Where there was a clear resolution, Trump won 451 times, and lost 38.[4]The topics of the legal cases include contract disputes, defamation claims, and allegations of sexual harassment. Trump's companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and on "at least three dozen" occasions the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has obtained tax liens against Trump properties for nonpayment of taxes.[1]On a number of occasions, Trump has threatened legal action but did not ultimately follow through.[5]Of Trump's involvement in the lawsuits, his lawyer Alan Garten said in 2015 that this was "a natural part of doing business in [the United States]",[5][6]and in the real estate industry, litigation to enforce contracts and resolve business disputes is indeed common.[5]Trump has, however, been involved in far more litigation than fellow real-estate magnates; the USA Today analysis in 2016 found that Trump had been involved in legal disputes more than Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Donald Bren, Stephen M. Ross, Sam Zell, and Larry Silverstein combined.[1]The Trump lawsuits[5][6]have attracted criticism from Trump's opponents, who say that this is not a trait that conservatives should support.[5]James Copland, director of legal policy at the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute, states that "Trump clearly has an affinity for filing lawsuits, partly because he owns a lot of businesses" and has sometimes used litigation as a "bullying tactic".[5]Although Trump has said that he "never" settles legal claims, Trump and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases (mostly involving personal injury claims arising from injuries at Trump properties), with settlements ranging as high as hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars[1]and recently as high as tens of millions of dollars.[7]Among the most well-known Trump legal cases was the Trump University litigation. Three legal actions were brought alleging fraud, one by the New York State attorney general and the others by class action plaintiffs.[8]In November 2016, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle the litigation.[7]Contents1Lawsuits 1973–19991.11970s1.21980s1.31990s1.3.1Business1.3.2Personal and sexual2Lawsuits 2000–20093Lawsuits 2010–present3.1Construction and property law matters3.2Defamation matters3.3Financial matters3.3.1ALM lawsuit3.3.2ACN lawsuit3.3.3Mary L. Trump lawsuit3.4Trump University litigation3.5Breach of contract matters3.5.120133.5.220143.5.320153.5.420183.6Assault claims3.7Poll watching controversy3.8Nevada early voting Latino turnout controversy3.9Lawsuit for inciting violence at March 2016 campaign rally3.10Payments related to alleged affairs3.11Lawsuits over congressional subpoenas4Special Counsel investigation5Allegations of business links to organized crime6Use of bankruptcy laws6.119916.219926.320046.420097Campaign contributions8Inaugural committee9Donald J. Trump Foundation10Controversy over tax returns11Destruction of documents12See also13References14Further readingLawsuits 1973–1999[edit]1970s[edit]Trump initially came to public attention in 1973 when he was accused by the Justice Department of violations of the Fair Housing Act in the operation of 39 buildings. The Department of Justice said that black "testers" were sent to more than half a dozen buildings and were denied apartments, but a similar white tester would then be offered an apartment in the same building.[9]The government alleged that Trump's corporation quoted different rental terms and conditions to blacks and made false "no vacancy" statements to blacks for apartments they managed in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.[10]Representing Trump, Roy Cohn filed a counter-suit against the government for $100 million, asserting that the charges were irresponsible and baseless.[9][11]A federal judge threw out the countersuit, calling it a waste of "time and paper".[12]Trump settled the charges out of court in 1975 without admitting guilt, saying he was satisfied that the agreement did not "compel the Trump organization to accept persons on welfare as tenants unless as qualified as any other tenant".[13]Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump's book, The Art of the Deal, said that the housing case was "a classic example" of Trump being "a counterpuncher": someone accuses Trump of doing something horrible, and he "goes back at them with all guns blazing.... And admits nothing." If Trump loses, he will "declare victory".[14]The corporation was required to send a bi-weekly list of vacancies to the New York Urban League, a civil rights group, and give them priority for certain locations.[15]In 1978 the Trump Organization again was in court for violating terms of the 1975 settlement; Trump denied the charges.[9][12][16]1980s[edit]In 1985, New York City brought a lawsuit against Trump for allegedly using tactics to force out tenants of 100 Central Park South,[17]which he intended to demolish together with the building next door. After ten years in court, the two sides negotiated a deal allowing the building to stand as condominiums.[18]In 1988, the Justice Department sued Trump for violating procedures related to public notifications when buying voting stock in a company related to his attempted takeovers of Holiday Corporation and Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1986. On April 5, 1988, Trump agreed to pay $750,000 to settle the civil penalties of the antitrust lawsuit.[19]1990s[edit]Business[edit]In late 1990, Trump was sued for $2 million by a business analyst for defamation, and Trump settled out of court.[20]Shortly before Trump's Taj Mahal opened in April 1990, the analyst had said that the project would fail by the end of that year. Trump threatened to sue the analyst's firm unless the analyst recanted or was fired. The analyst refused to retract the statements, and his firm fired him for ostensibly unrelated reasons.[21]Trump Taj Mahal declared bankruptcy in November 1990, the first of several such bankruptcies.[22]The NYSE later ordered the firm to compensate the analyst $750,000; the analyst did not release the details of his settlement with Trump.[23]In 1991, Trump sued the manufacturers of a helicopter that crashed in 1989, killing three executives of his New Jersey hotel casino business.[24]The helicopter fell 2,800 feet after the main four-blade rotor and tail rotor broke off the craft, killing Jonathan Benanav, an executive of Trump Plaza, and two others: Mark Grossinger Etess, president of Trump Taj Mahal, and Stephen F. Hyde, chief executive of the Atlantic City casinos.[25][26][27]One of the defendant companies was owned by the Italian government, providing a basis for removing it to federal court, where the case was dismissed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the dismissal in 1992, and the Supreme Court denied Trump's petition to hear the case in the same year.[28]In 1991, Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for moving African American and female employees from craps tables in order to accommodate high roller Robert LiButti, a mob figure and alleged John Gotti associate, who was said to fly into fits of racist rage when he was on losing streaks.[29]There is no indication that Trump was ever questioned in that investigation, he was not held personally liable, and Trump denies even knowing what LiButti looked like.[29]In 1991, one of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was found guilty of circumventing state regulations about casino financing when Donald Trump's father bought $3.5 million in chips that he had no plans to gamble. Trump Castle was forced to pay a $30,000 fine under the settlement, according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement director Jack Sweeney. Trump was not disciplined for the illegal advance on his inheritance, which was not confiscated.[30]In 1993, Donald Trump sued Jay Pritzker, a Chicago financier and Trump's business partner since 1979 on the Grand Hyatt hotel. Trump alleged that Pritzker overstated earnings in order to collect excessive management fees.[31]In 1994, Pritzker sued Trump for violating their agreement by, among other ways, failing to remain solvent.[32]The two parties ended the feud in 1995 in a sealed settlement, in which Trump retained some control of the hotel and Pritzker would receive reduced management fees and pay Trump's legal expenses.[33]In 1993, Vera Coking sued Trump and his demolition contractor for damage to her home during construction of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.[34]In 1997, she dropped the suit against Trump and settled with his contractor for $90,000.[35]Coking had refused to sell her home to Trump and ultimately won a 1998 Supreme Court decision that prevented Atlantic City from using eminent domain to condemn her property.[36][37]In 1996, Trump was sued by more than 20 African-American residents of Indiana who charged that Trump reneged on promises to hire 70% of his work force from the minority community for his riverboat casino on Lake Michigan. The suit also charged that he hadn't honored his commitments to steer sufficient contracts to minority-owned businesses in Gary, Indiana. The suit was eventually dismissed due to procedural and jurisdiction issues.[38][39]In the late 1990s, Donald Trump and rival Atlantic City casino owner Stephen Wynn engaged in an extended legal conflict during the planning phase of new casinos Wynn had proposed to build. Both owners filed lawsuits against one another and other parties, including the State of New Jersey, beginning with Wynn's antitrust accusation against Trump.[40][41]After two years in court, Wynn's Mirage casino sued Trump in 1999 alleging that his company had engaged in a conspiracy to harm Mirage and steal proprietary information, primarily lists of wealthy Korean gamblers. In response, Trump's attorneys claimed that Trump's private investigator dishonored his contract by working as a "double agent" for the Mirage casino by secretly taping conversations with Trump. All the cases were settled at the same time on the planned day of an evidentiary hearing in court in February 2000, which was never held.[42]Personal and sexual[edit]In 1992, Trump sued ex-wife Ivana Trump for not honoring a gag clause in their divorce agreement by disclosing facts about him in her bestselling book. Trump won the gag order.[43][44][45]The divorce was granted on grounds that Ivana claimed Donald Trump's treatment of her was "cruel and inhuman treatment".[46][47]Years later, Ivana said that she and Donald "are the best of friends".[48]A sexual assault claim from 1994 for child rape was filed against Trump on October 14, 2016,[49]a case that was dropped and refiled, remaining in suspension as of November 4, 2016.[50]In April 1997, Jill Harth Houraney filed a $125,000,000 lawsuit against Trump for sexual harassment in 1993, claiming he "'groped' her under her dress and told her he wanted to make her his 'sex slave'". Harth voluntarily withdrew the suit when her husband settled a parallel case. Trump has called the allegations "meritless".[51][52]Lawsuits 2000–2009[edit]In 2000, Donald Trump paid $250,000 to settle fines related to charges brought by New York State Lobbying Commission director David Grandeau. Trump was charged with circumventing state law to spend $150,000 lobbying against government approval of plans to construct an Indian-run casino in the Catskills, which would have diminished casino traffic to Trump's casinos in Atlantic City.[53][54]From 2000 on, Trump tried to partner with a German venture in building a "Trump Tower Europe" in Germany. The company founded for this, "TD Trump Deutschland AG" was dissolved in 2003, several lawsuits following in the years thereafter.[55]In 2001, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought a financial-reporting case against Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., alleging that the company had committed several "misleading statements in the company's third-quarter 1999 earnings release". Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. consented to the commission's cease-and-desist order, said the culprit had been dismissed, and that Trump had personally been unaware of the matter.[56][57][58]Trump sued Leona Helmsley,[59]and Helmsley counter-sued Trump[60]due to contentions regarding ownership and operation of the Empire State Building. In 2002, Trump announced that he and his Japanese business partners, were selling the Empire State Building to partners of his rival Leona Helmsley.[61][62]In 2003, the city of Stuttgart denied TD Trump Deutschland AG, a Trump Organization subsidiary, the permission to build a planned tower due to questions over its financing. Trump Deutschland sued the city of Stuttgart, and lost. In 2004 Trump's German corporate partner brought suit against the Trump Organization for failure to pay back a EUR 200 million pre-payment as promised. In 2005, the German state attorney prosecuted Trump Deutschland and its partners for accounting fraud.[63][64][65]In 2004, Donald Trump sued Richard T. Fields in Broward County Circuit Court (in Florida); Fields was once Trump's business partner in the casino business, but had recently become a successful casino developer in Florida apart from Trump. Fields counter-sued Trump in Florida court. Trump alleged that Fields misled other parties into believing he still consulted for Trump, and Fields alleged improprieties in Trump's business.[66]The two businessmen agreed in 2008 to drop the lawsuits when Fields agreed to buy Trump Marina in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for $316 million,[67]but the deal was unsettled again in 2009 because Trump resigned his leadership of Trump Entertainment after Fields lowered his bid.[68]Fields never bought the company, which went into bankruptcy about the same time and was sold for $38 million.[69][70]Trump's lawsuit was dismissed after a hearing in 2010.[71]In 2004, the Trump Organization partnered with Bayrock Group on a $200 million hotel and condo project in Fort Lauderdale Beach, to be called Trump International Hotel & Tower. After proceeding for five years, real estate market devaluation stymied the project in 2009 and Trump dissolved his licensing deal, demanding that his name be removed from the building. Soon after this, the project defaulted on a $139 million loan in 2010.[72]Investors later sued the developers for fraud. Trump petitioned to have his name removed from the suit, saying he had only lent his name to the project. However his request was refused since he had participated in advertising for it.[73]The insolvent building project spawned over 10 lawsuits, some of which were still not settled in early 2016.[74]In 2006, the Town of Palm Beach began fining Trump $250 per day for ordinance violations related to his erection of an 80-foot-tall (24 m) flagpole flying a 15 by 25 feet (4.6 by 7.6 m) American flag on his property. Trump sued the town for $25 million, saying that they abridged his free speech, also disputing an ordinance that local businesses be "town-serving". The two parties settled as part of a court-ordered mediation, in which Trump was required to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities. At the same time, the town ordinance was modified allowing Trump to enroll out-of-town members in his Mar-a-Lago social club.[75]Trump International Hotel and Tower in ChicagoAfter the 2008 housing-market collapse, Deutsche Bank attempted to collect $40 million that Donald Trump personally guaranteed against their $640 million loan for Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. Rather than paying the debt, Trump sued Deutsche Bank for $3 billion for undermining the project and damage to his reputation.[76]Deutsche Bank then filed suit to obtain the $40 million. The two parties settled in 2010 with Deutsche Bank extending the loan term by five years.[77]In 2008, Trump filed a $100 million lawsuit for alleged fraud and civil rights violations[78]against the California city of Rancho Palos Verdes, over thwarted luxury home development and expansion plans upon part of a landslide-prone golf course in the area, which was purchased by Trump in 2002 for $27 million.[78]Trump had previously sued a local school district over land leased from them in the re-branded Trump National Golf Club, and had further angered some local residents by renaming a thoroughfare after himself.[78]The $100 million suit was ultimately withdrawn in 2012 with Trump and the city agreeing to modified geological surveys and permit extensions for some 20 proposed luxury homes (in addition to 36 homes previously approved).[79][80]Trump ultimately opted for a permanent conservation easement instead of expanded housing development on the course's driving range.[81]In 2008, developer Leslie Dick Worldwide Ltd., New York, filed a RICO complaint against 17 parties, including Donald Trump, financier George Soros, Fortress Investment Group and Cerberus Capital Management, over the 2003 sale of the General Motors Corp. Building in midtown Manhattan. The case was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice a year later.[82][83]In 2009, Donald Trump sued a law firm he had used, Morrison Cohen, for $5 million for mentioning his name and providing links to related news articles on its website. This lawsuit followed a lawsuit by Trump alleging overcharging by the law firm, and a countersuit by Morrison Cohen seeking unpaid legal fees.[84]The suit was dismissed in a 15-page ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten, who ruled that the links to news articles concerned "matters of public interest."[85]In 2009, Trump was sued by investors who had made deposits for condos in the canceled Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico.[86]The investors said that Trump misrepresented his role in the project, stating after its failure that he had been little more than a spokesperson for the entire venture, disavowing any financial responsibility for the debacle.[87]Investors were informed that their investments would not be returned due to the cancellation of construction.[86]In 2013, Trump settled the lawsuit with more than one hundred prospective condo owners for an undisclosed amount.[88]Lawsuits 2010–present[edit]Construction and property law matters[edit]In 2011, Donald Trump sued Scotland, alleging that it built the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm after assuring him it would not be built. He had recently built a golf course there and planned to build an adjacent hotel. Trump lost his suit, with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruling in favor of the Scottish government in 2015.[89][90]In 2013, 87-year-old Jacqueline Goldberg unsuccessfully sued Trump on allegations that he cheated her in a condominium sale by bait-and-switch when she was purchasing properties at the Trump International Hotel and Tower.[91]In 2015, Trump initiated a $100 million lawsuit against Palm Beach County claiming that officials, in a "deliberate and malicious" act, pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to the Palm Beach International Airport over his Mar-a-Lago estate, because he said the airplanes damaged the building and disrupted its ambiance.[92]Trump had previously sued the county twice over airport noise; the first lawsuit, in 1995, ended with an agreement between Trump and the county; Trump's second lawsuit, in 2010, was dismissed.[92]Trump is suing the town of Ossining, New York, over the property tax valuation on his 147-acre (59 ha) Trump National Golf Club Westchester, located in Briarcliff Manor's portion of the town, which Trump purchased for around $8 million at a foreclosure sale in the 1990s and to which he claimed, at the club's opening, to have added $45 million in facility improvements.[93]Although Trump stated in his 2015 FEC filing that the property was worth at least $50 million, his lawsuit seeks a $1.4 million valuation on the property, which includes a 75,000-square-foot clubhouse, five overnight suites, and permission to build 71 condominium units,[93]in an effort to shave $424,176 from his annual local property tax obligations.[94]Trump filed the action after separately being sued by Briarcliff Manor for "intentional and illegal modifications" to a drainage system that caused more than $238,000 in damage to the village's library, public pool, and park facilities during a 2011 storm.[94]In October 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Trump, together with two principals of a connected developer, could be sued for various claims, including oppression, collusion and breach of fiduciary duties, in relation to his role in the marketing of units in the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, Canada.[95]A subsequent application for leave to appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada in March 2017.[96]Also in October 2016, JCF Capital ULC (a private firm that had bought the construction loan on the building) announced that it was seeking court approval under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to have the building sold in order to recoup its debt, which then totaled $301 million.[97]The court allowed for its auction[98]which took place in March 2017, but no bidders, apart from one stalking horse offer, took part.[99]Defamation matters[edit]Also in 2011, an appellate court upheld a New Jersey Superior Court judge's decision dismissing Trump's $5 billion defamation lawsuit against author Timothy L. O'Brien, who had reported in his book, TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald (2005), that Trump's true net worth was really between $150 and $250 million. Trump had reportedly told O'Brien he was worth billions and, in 2005, had publicly stated such.[100]Trump said that the author's alleged underestimation of his net worth was motivated by malice and had cost him business deals and damage to his reputation.[101]The appellate court, however, ruled against Trump, citing the consistency of O'Brien's three confidential sources.[102]In 2014, the former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin ultimately settled a $5 million arbitration judgment against her, having been sued by Trump after alleging that the Miss USA 2012 pageant results were rigged. Monnin wrote on her Facebook page that another contestant told her during a rehearsal that she had seen a list of the top five finalists, and when those names were called in their precise order, Monnin realized the pageant election process was suspect, compelling Monnin to resign her Miss Pennsylvania title. The Trump Organization's lawyer said that Monnin's allegations had cost the pageant a lucrative British Petroleum sponsorship deal and threatened to discourage women from entering Miss USA contests in the future.[103]According to Monnin, testimony from the Miss Universe Organization and Ernst & Young revealed that the top 15 finalists were selected by pageant directors regardless of preliminary judges' scores.[104]As part of the settlement, Monnin was not required to retract her original statements.[103]On January 17, 2017, Summer Zervos, represented by attorney Gloria Allred, filed a defamation suit against President-elect Donald Trump for claiming that she had lied in her public sexual assault allegations against him.[105]Financial matters[edit]ALM lawsuit[edit]In July 2011, New York firm ALM Unlimited filed a lawsuit against Trump for non-payment. ALM had been hired in 2003 to seek offers from clothing companies for a Trump fashion line, and it had arranged a meeting between Trump and PVH, which licensed the Trump name for dress shirts and neckwear. ALM, which had received over $300,000 during a three-year period, alleged in the lawsuit that Trump's discontinuation of payments in 2008 was against their initial agreement. In pre-trial depositions, Trump and two of his business officials – attorney George H. Ross and executive vice president of global licensing Cathy Glosser – gave contradictory statements regarding whether ALM was entitled to payments. Trump, who felt that ALM had only a limited role in the deal between him and PVH, said "I have thousands of checks that I sign a week, and I don't look at very many of the checks; and eventually I did look, and when I saw them (ALM) I stopped paying them because I knew it was a mistake or somebody made a mistake."[106]Trump and ALM failed to settle, and in January 2013 a judge ordered that the case go to trial.[107]During the trial in April 2013, Trump said that ALM's role in the PVH agreement was insubstantial, stating that Regis Philbin (rather than ALM) was the one who recommended PVH to him. Trump's attorney, Alan Garten, said ALM was not legally entitled to any money.[107][108][109]The judge ruled in favor of Trump later that month because there had never been a valid contract between him and ALM.[109]ACN lawsuit[edit]Main article: ACN Inc.As of 2019, investors are suing Donald Trump and his family for fraud, false advertising, and unfair competition. They allege that Trump recommended the multi-level marketing company ACN as a good investment and that Trump did not disclose that he was being paid by ACN.Mary L. Trump lawsuit[edit]Further information: Fred Trump § Wealth and death, Fred Trump Jr., and Too Much and Never EnoughTrump's niece, Mary L. Trump, opened a lawsuit against the president and his siblings Robert and Maryanne Trump, alleging that they conducted fraud to keep her and her brother out of the will of Fred Trump (Donald's father), including by conspiring with a trustee assigned to her, and acted to devalue her interests in the family business—effectively defrauding her of tens of millions of dollars. Further, she alleges that these accomplices pressured her to sign a settlement agreement by threatening to bankrupt interests benefitting her and cut off the healthcare insurance for her infant nephew, who was then suffering from cerebral palsy.[110]Trump University litigation[edit]Main article: Trump University § Allegations of impropriety and lawsuitsIn 2013, in a lawsuit filed by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, Trump was accused of defrauding more than 5,000 people of $40 million for the opportunity to learn Trump's real estate investment techniques in a for-profit training program, Trump University, which operated from 2005 to 2011.[111][112][113]Trump ultimately stopped using the term "University" following a 2010 order from New York regulators, who called Trump's use of the word "misleading and even illegal"; the state had previously warned Trump in 2005 to drop the term or not offer seminars in New York.[114][115][116]Although Trump has claimed a 98% approval rating on course evaluations, former students recounted high-pressure tactics from instructors seeking the highest possible ratings, including threats of withholding graduation certificates,[117]. In addition, the high reviews were solicited before the courses ended, when the students still anticipated receiving benefits that ultimately never materialized. Subsequently, more than 2,000 students sought and received course refunds before the end of their paid seminars.[117]In a separate class action civil suit against Trump University in mid-February 2014, a San Diego federal judge allowed claimants in California, Florida, and New York to proceed;[118]a Trump counterclaim, alleging that the state attorney general's investigation was accompanied by a campaign donation shakedown, was investigated by a New York ethics board and dismissed in August 2015.[119]Trump filed a $1 million defamation suit against former Trump University student Tarla Makaeff, who had spent about $37,000 on seminars, after she joined the class action lawsuit and publicized her classroom experiences on social media.[87]Trump University was later ordered by a U.S. district judge in April 2015 to pay Makaeff and her lawyers $798,774.24 in legal fees and costs.[87][120]Donald Trump was found to have defrauded students, and was forced to pay $25 million in restitution.Breach of contract matters[edit]2013[edit]In 2013 Trump sued comedian Bill Maher for $5 million for breach of contract.[121]Maher had appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had offered to pay $5 million to a charity if Trump produced his birth certificate to prove that Trump's mother had not mated with an orangutan. This was said by Maher in response to Trump having previously challenged Obama to produce his birth certificate, and offering $5 million payable to a charity of Obama's choice, if Obama produced his college applications, transcripts, and passport records.[122][123]Trump produced his birth certificate and filed a lawsuit after Maher was not forthcoming, claiming that Maher's $5 million offer was legally binding. "I don't think he was joking," Trump said. "He said it with venom."[122]Trump withdrew his lawsuit against the comedian after eight weeks.[124]2014[edit]In 2014, model Alexia Palmer filed a civil suit against Trump Model Management for promising a $75,000 annual salary but paying only $3,380.75 for three years' work. Palmer, who came to the US at age 17 from Jamaica under the H-1B visa program in 2011,[125]claimed to be owed more than $200,000. Palmer contended that Trump Model Management charged, in addition to a management fee, "obscure expenses" from postage to limousine rides that consumed the remainder of her compensation. Palmer alleged that Trump Model Management promised to withhold only 20% of her net pay as agency expenses, but after charging her for those "obscure expenses", ended up taking 80%.[126]Trump attorney Alan Garten claimed the lawsuit is "bogus and completely frivolous".[127][128]Palmer filed a class-action lawsuit against the modeling agency with similar allegations.[129]The case was dismissed from U.S. federal court in March 2016, in part because Palmer's immigration status, via H1-B visa sponsored by Trump, required labor complaints to be filed through a separate process.[126][130]2015[edit]In 2015, Trump sued Univision, demanding $500 million for breach of contract and defamation when they dropped their planned broadcast of the Miss USA pageant. The network said that the decision was made because of Trump's "insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants".[131]Trump settled the lawsuit with Univision CEO Randy Falco out of court.[132]In July 2015, Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court for breach of contract against Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés, claiming that he backed out of a deal to open the flagship restaurant at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.[133][134]Andrés replied that Trump's lawsuit was "both unsurprising and without merit"[135]and filed an $8 million counterclaim against a Trump Organization subsidiary.[134][136]Also in July 2015, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian also withdrew from the Washington, D.C., project with Andrés in the wake of Trump's comments on Mexican illegal immigrants, and is expected to lose his own $500,000 restaurant lease deposit as a result.[135]Trump denounced and then sued Zakarian in August 2015 for a sum "in excess of $10 million" for lost rent and other damages.[137]Trump's lawsuit called Zakarian's offense at his remarks "curious in light of the fact that Mr. Trump's publicly shared views on immigration have remained consistent for many years, and Mr. Trump's willingness to frankly share his opinions is widely known".[137][138]Disputes with both chefs were eventually settled in April 2017.[139]In 2015, restaurant workers at Trump SoHo filed a lawsuit that from 2009 to at least the time of the filing, gratuities added to customers' checks were illegally withheld from employees. The Trump Organization has responded that the dispute is between the employees and their employer, a third-party contractor. Donald Trump has been scheduled to testify in court on September 1, 2016.[140][141]2018[edit]Further information: List of lawsuits involving Donald TrumpIn 2018, Noel Cintron, the personal driver for Donald Trump before he became the president of the United States, filed a lawsuit Cintron v Trump Organization LLC with the Supreme Court of the State of New York (Manhattan). The lawsuit claims that during his 25-year employment by Trump, he was not compensated for overtime and the second time his salary was raised he was induced to surrender his health insurance, an action which saved Trump approximately $17,866 per year.[142]The lawsuit seeks $178,200 of overtime back pay, plus $5,000 in penalties that are seen under the New York State Labor Law.[143]Assault claims[edit]In September 2015, five men who had demonstrated outside of a Trump presidential campaign event at Trump Tower in New York City sued Donald Trump, alleging that Trump's security staff punched one of them. They also allege that Trump's security guards had been advised by city police that they were permitted to protest there. Several people videotaped the incident.[144][145]In June 2015, the Culinary Workers Union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that the owners of Trump Hotel Las Vegas "violated the federally protected rights of workers to participate in union activities" and engaged in "incidents of alleged physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by management".[146]In October 2015, the Trump Ruffin Commercial and Trump Ruffin Tower I, the owners of Trump Hotel Las Vegas, sued the Culinary Workers Union and another union, alleging that they had knowingly distributed flyers that falsely stated that Donald Trump had stayed at a rival unionized hotel, rather than his own non-unionized hotel, during a trip to Las Vegas.[5][146]Poll watching controversy[edit]On October 31, 2016, a New Jersey federal judge, John Michael Vazquez, ordered the Republican National Committee (RNC) to hand over all communications with the Trump campaign related to poll watching and voter fraud. He asked for testimony and documents relating to Kellyanne Conway, RNC officials Ronna Romney McDaniel of Michigan, and Rob Gleason from Pennsylvania.[147]It is claimed Gleason, McDaniel, and Roger Stone recruited poll watchers to check for voter fraud. The state Democratic parties of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Ohio filed lawsuits against Trump for encouraging illegal voter intimidation. The states' Democratic parties are also suing their respective Republican party counterparts, along with Roger Stone, who is allegedly recruiting poll watchers and organizing ballot security efforts in a number of states. Stone runs the group "Stop the Steal." It claims Trump supporters yelled at voters outside Las Vegas area polling places when they said they weren't voting for the Republican nominee, and that Stone is asking supporters to conduct an illegitimate "exit polling" initiative aimed at intimidating voters of color.Pat McDonald, the director of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Ohio, reported that "Trump supporters have already visited the county elections board identifying themselves as poll observers, even though they did not appear to be credentialed as poll observers as required under Ohio law." Election officials have expressed concern about "instability on Election Day," one lawsuit claims, and discussed the possibility of bringing police to polling sites to address conflicts. In Clark County of Nevada, a lawsuit claims: "A Trump supporter harassed and intimidated multiple voters outside of the Albertson's supermarket early voting location on Lake Mead Boulevard, repeatedly asking voters for whom they were voting, and then yelling at them belligerently and attempting to keep them from entering the voting location when they stated they were not voting for Donald Trump." When poll staffers told the Trump supporters to stop harassing voters, "the Trump supporter told poll workers that he had 'a right to say anything he wanted to the voters.'" Poll staffers called police, and the Trump supporter left. The lawsuit also claims similar incidents took place in neighboring Nye County as well. In Pennsylvania, Murrysville City Councilman Josh Lorenz supposedly posted instructions for the way Clinton supporters could vote online, even though there is no online voting in Pennsylvania. Eight registered electors, mostly from the Philadelphia area, challenged the portion of the state Election Code that prevents poll watchers from observing elections outside of the counties where they live.[148][149][150]In Pompano Beach, Florida, police asked two poll watchers to leave a polling site. Two precinct clerks were also fired for not adhering to policy and training. No arrests were made. No other incidents were reported in South Florida.[151][152]Nevada early voting Latino turnout controversy[edit]On November 8, 2016, Trump filed a lawsuit claiming early voting polling places in Clark County, Nevada, were kept open too late. These precincts had high turnout of Latino voters. Nevada state law explicitly states that polls are to stay open to accommodate eligible voters in line at closing time. Hillary Clinton campaign advisor Neera Tanden says the Trump campaign is trying to suppress Latino voter turnout. A political analyst from Nevada, Jon Ralston tweeted that the Trump lawsuit is "insane" in a state that clearly allows the polls to remains open until everyone in line has voted. Former Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, posted the statute that states "voting must continue until those voters have voted". Miller said: "If there are people in line waiting to vote at 7 pm, voting must continue until everyone votes.... We still live in America, right?"[153]A Nevada judge denied Trump's request to separate early voting ballots. Judge Gloria Sturman, of the District Court for Clark County Nevada, ruled that County Registrar of Voters Joe P. Gloria was already obligated by state law to maintain the records that the Trump campaign is seeking. Sturman said: "That is offensive to me because it seems to go against the very principle that a vote is secret."[154][155]Diana Orrock, the Republican National Committeewoman for Nevada and a vocal Trump ally, said she was unaware of the lawsuit before Politico contacted her. "I know that the [Clark County] registrar was on TV this morning saying that anybody who's in line was allowed to participate in the voting process until all of them came through," she said. "If that's what they did, I don't have a problem with that ... I don't know that filing a suit's going to accomplish anything." Orrock doubts the lawsuit will have any impact.[156]Lawsuit for inciting violence at March 2016 campaign rally[edit]During a campaign rally on March 1, 2016, in Louisville, Kentucky, Trump repeatedly said "get 'em out of here" while pointing at anti-Trump protesters as they were forcibly escorted out by his supporters. Three protesters say they were repeatedly shoved and punched while Trump pointed at them from the podium, citing widely shared video evidence of the events. They also cited previous statements by Trump about paying the legal bills of supporters who got violent, or suggesting a demonstrator deserved to be "roughed up."[157][158][159][160]The lawsuit accuses Donald Trump of inciting violence against protesters in Louisville, Kentucky. The plaintiffs are Kashiya Nwanguma (21), Molly Shah (36) and Henry Brousseau (17). The suit is against Trump, his campaign, and three Trump supporters (Matthew Heimbach, Alvin Bamberger and an unnamed defendant). Bamberger, who was wearing a Veteran's uniform in the video, apologized to the Korean War Veterans Association immediately after the event, writing that he "physically pushed a young woman down the aisle toward the exit" after "Trump kept saying 'get them out, get them out."[157]Trump's attorneys requested to get the case dismissed, arguing he was protected by free speech laws, and wasn't trying to get his supporters to resort to violence.[159][161]They also stated that Trump had no duty to the protesters, and they had assumed the personal risk of injury by deciding to protest at the rally.[157]On Friday, April 1, 2017, Judge David J. Hale in Louisville ruled against the dismissal of a lawsuit, stating there was ample evidence to support that the injuries of the protesters were a "direct and proximate result" of Trump's words and actions. Hale wrote, "It is plausible that Trump's direction to 'get 'em out of here' advocated the use of force," and, "It was an order, an instruction, a command." Hale wrote that the Supreme Court has ruled out some protections for free speech when used to incite violence.[citation needed]Defendant Heimbach requested to dismiss the discussion in the lawsuit about his association with a white nationalist group, and also requested to dismiss discussion of statements he made about how a President Trump would advance the interests of the group. The request was declined, with the judge saying the information could be important for determining punitive damages because they add context.[157]Hale also declined to remove the allegation that Plaintiff Nwanguma, who is African-American, was victim to ethnic, racial and sexist slurs at the rally from the crowd. The judge stated that this context may support claims by the plaintiffs' of incitement and negligence by Trump and the Trump campaign. The judge wrote, "While the words themselves are repulsive, they are relevant to show the atmosphere in which the alleged events occurred."[157]The judge stated that all people have a duty to use care to prevent foreseeable injury. "In sum, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that their harm was foreseeable and that the Trump Defendants had a duty to prevent it." The case was referred a federal magistrate, Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl, who will handle preliminary litigation, discovery and settlement efforts.[162]Heimbach filed a separate counterclaim in April 2017, arguing that Trump was "responsible for any injuries" he [Heimbach] "might have inflicted because Mr. Trump directed him and others to take action". Heimbach, "a self-employed landscaper", and a member of the Traditionalist Youth Network, "which advocates separate American 'ethno states', "spends much of his time" online writing "against Jews, gays and immigrants and urging whites to stand up for their race." He wrote his own lawsuit which requested that Trump pay Heimbach's "legal fees, citing a promise Mr. Trump made at an earlier rally to pay legal costs of anyone who removed protesters."[163]Heimbach's "counterclaim" against Trump has "probed the limits of free speech and public protest while confronting the courts with a unique legal argument".[163]On May 5, Trump's lawyers submitted legal filings that argue that Heimbach's "indemnity claim should be dismissed on the same grounds". According to a University of Virginia law professor, Leslie Kendrick, this indemnity or "impleader" case is "highly unusual."[163]New York University's Samuel Issacharoff, a professor of constitutional law, argued that care must be taken to not allow speech, in the "context of a political rally" to be "turned into something that is legally sanctionable."[163]Payments related to alleged affairs[edit]See also: Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal and Karen McDougal § Alleged affair with Donald TrumpAdult film actress Stormy Daniels has alleged that she and Trump had an extramarital affair in 2006, months after the birth of his youngest child.[164]Just before the 2016 presidential election Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Trump's attorney Michael Cohen as part of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), through an LLC set up by Cohen; he says he used his own money for the payment.[165]In February 2018, Daniels filed suit against the LLC asking to be released from the agreement so that she can tell her story. Cohen filed a private arbitration proceeding and obtained a restraining order to keep her from discussing the case.[166]According to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump has denied the allegations.[167]On March 6, 2018, Daniels sued Trump in California Superior Court, claiming among other things that the NDA never came into effect because Trump did not sign it personally.[168]On March 16 Cohen, with Trump's approval, asked for Daniels' suit to be moved from state to federal court, based on the criteria that the parties live in different places and the amount at stake is more than $75,000; Cohen asserted that Daniels could owe $20 million in liquidated damages for breaching the agreement.[169]The filing marked the first time that Trump himself, through his personal attorney, had taken part in the Daniels litigation.[170]In early April 2018, Trump said that he did not know about Cohen paying Daniels, why Cohen had made the payment or where Cohen got the money from.[171]On April 30, Daniels further sued Trump for defamation.[172]In May 2018, Trump's annual financial disclosure revealed that he reimbursed Cohen in 2017 for expenditures related to the Daniels case.[173]In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, admitting paying hush money of $130,000 and $150,000 "at the direction of a candidate for federal office", to two women who alleged affairs with that candidate, "with the purpose of influencing the election". The figures match sums of payments made to Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.[174][175]American Media, Inc. had reportedly in 2016 bought for $150,000 the rights to a story by McDougal alleging an affair with a married Trump from 2006 which lasted between nine months to a year.[176][177][178]David Pecker (AMI CEO/chairman and friend of Trump), Dylan Howard (AMI chief content officer) and Allen Weisselberg (chief financial officer of the Trump Organization) were reportedly granted witness immunity in exchange for their testimony regarding the illegal payments.[179][180]In response, Trump said that he only knew about the payments "later on"; Trump also said regarding the payments: "They didn't come out of the campaign, they came from me."[181]The Wall Street Journal reported on November 9, 2018, that federal prosecutors have evidence of Trump's "central role" in payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal that violated campaign-finance laws.[182][183]In a December 7, 2018 sentencing memorandum for Cohen, federal prosecutors implicated Trump in directing Cohen to commit the campaign finance law felonies for which Cohen had pleaded guilty. Shortly after the memorandum court filing, Trump tweeted, “Totally clears the president. Thank you!”[184]Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison.[185]On December 13, 2018, Trump denied directing Cohen to make hush payments.[186]That same day, NBC News reported that Trump was present in an August 2015 meeting with Cohen and David Pecker when they discussed how American Media could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, confirming previous reporting by The Wall Street Journal.[187][188]In 2019, Cohen testified to Congress that Trump did order to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 as hush money and then lie about the payment.[189]Lawsuits over congressional subpoenas[edit]Further information: Trump v. Mazars USA, LLPIn March 2019, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform opened an investigation into Trump's finances, and issued a subpoena for ten years of his tax returns.[190]Trump later sued the chairman of the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, seeking to quash the subpoena.[191]In April 2019, Trump (along with his children Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr, as well as the Trump Organization) sued Deutsche Bank, bank Capital One, his accounting firm Mazars USA, and House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings, in an attempt to prevent congressional subpoenas revealing information about Trump's finances.[192][193]On May 20, 2019, DC District Court judge Amit Mehta ruled that Mazars must comply with the subpoena.[194]Trump's attorneys filed notice to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit the next day.[195]On May 22, 2019, judge Edgardo Ramos of the federal District Court in Manhattan rejected the Trump suits against Deutsche Bank and Capital One, ruling the banks must comply with congressional subpoenas.[196][197]On October 7, 2019, Judge Victor Marrero of the federal District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 75-page ruling that Trump must comply with the subpoena and provide his tax returns to a New York grand jury. Minutes later, however, Trump's attorney filed an emergency request with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which immediately placed a temporary stay on the subpoena.[198]In November, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the former District Court ruling and ordered Trump to turn over his tax returns to Congress.[199]Trump soon appealed to the Supreme Court, which blocked the order by the Second Circuit temporarily.[200]Special Counsel investigation[edit]Main articles: Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) and Mueller ReportThe Special Counsel investigation is a United States law enforcement investigation of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and any Russian (or other foreign) interference in the election, including exploring any possible links or coordination between Trump's campaign and the Russian government, "and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."[201]Since May 2017, the investigation has been led by a United States Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mueller's investigation took over several FBI investigations including those involving former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.It has been noted that Trump has experienced a high turnover with respect to the attorneys handling this matter, as well as a large number of prominent lawyers and law firms publicly declining offers to join Trump's legal team.[202][203]On March 22, 2019, Mueller concluded his investigation and gave the final report to Attorney General William Barr.[204]On March 24, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress summarizing the findings of the report.[205]Barr said that the special counsel found did not find that Trump colluded with Russia. But the report did in fact outline many events of Trump operatives working with Russian operatives to help Trump get elected. On the question of obstruction of justice, Barr stated that Mueller did not reach a conclusion; he quotes the special counsel as saying "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."[206][205]Barr wrote, "The special counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the attorney general to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime," adding that he and Rosenstein "concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."[207][208]However, Mueller's report does in fact outline dozens of actions Trump took that were in fact obstructing the investigation, and Mueller concluded that he would have charged Trump with crimes had he been allowed to.Allegations of business links to organized crime[edit]Trump maintained a connection with organized crime members to supply the concrete for Trump Tower. According to former New York mobster Michael Franzese, "the mob controlled all the concrete business in the city of New York," and that while Trump was not "in bed with the mob ... he certainly had a deal with us. ... he didn't have a choice."[209]Mafia-connected union boss John Cody supplied Trump with concrete in exchange for giving his mistress a high-level apartment with a pool, which required extra structural reinforcement.[209]Trump admitted in 2014 that he had "had no choice" but to work with "concrete guys who are mobbed up." He further stated that "I don't like getting close to people like that, but they respected me."[209]Journalists David Cay Johnston and Wayne Barrett, the latter of whom wrote an unauthorized 1992 Trump biography, have claimed that Trump and his companies did business with New York and Philadelphia families linked to the Italian-American Mafia.[210][211]A reporter for The Washington Post writes, "he was never accused of illegality, and observers of the time say that working with the mob-related figures and politicos came with the territory."[212]Trump helped a financier for the Scarfo family get a casino license, and constructed a casino using firms controlled by Nicodemo Scarfo.[213]Trump also bought real estate from Philadelphia crime family member Salvatore Testa, and bought concrete from companies associated with the Genovese crime family and the Gambino crime family.[210][211][212]Trump Plaza paid a $450,000 fine leveled by the Casino Gaming Commission for giving $1.6 million in rare automobiles to Robert LiButti, the acquaintance of John Gotti already mentioned.[29]Starting in 2003, the Trump Organization worked with Felix Sater, who had a 1998 racketeering conviction for a $40 million stock fraud scheme orchestrated by the Russian mafia, and who had then become an informant against the mafia.[214][215]Trump's attorney has said that Sater worked with Trump scouting real estate opportunities, but was never formally employed.[216]Use of bankruptcy laws[edit]Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, but hotel and casino businesses of his have been declared bankrupt four times between 1991 and 2009 to re-negotiate debt with banks and owners of stock and bonds.[217][218]Because the businesses used Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they were allowed to operate while negotiations proceeded. Trump was quoted by Newsweek in 2011 saying, "I do play with the bankruptcy laws – they're very good for me" as a tool for trimming debt.[84][219]These types of bankruptcies are common in the business world for restructuring to avoid having to close a business. In the case of Trump's bankruptcies, three were tied directly to gaming industry, which as a whole had suffered during the time the bankruptcies were declared.[220]According to a report by Forbes in 2011, the four bankruptcies were the result of over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City: Trump's Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (2004), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009).[221][222]Trump said "I've used the laws of this country to pare debt.... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on The Apprentice. It's not personal. It's just business."[223]He indicated that many "great entrepreneurs" do the same.[221]1991[edit]In 1991, Trump Taj Mahal was unable to service its debt and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[223]Forbes indicated that this first bankruptcy was the only one where Trump's personal financial resources were involved. Time, however, maintains that $72 million of his personal money was also involved in a later 2004 bankruptcy.[224]1992[edit]On November 2, 1992, the Trump Plaza Hotel filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Trump lost his 49 percent stake in the luxury hotel to Citibank and five other lenders.[225]In return Trump received more favorable terms on the remaining $550+ million owed to the lenders, and retain his position as chief executive, though he would not be paid and would not have a role in day-to-day operations.[226]2004[edit]Donald Trump's third corporate bankruptcy was on October 21, 2004, involving Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, the publicly traded holding company for his three Atlantic City casinos and some others.[227]Trump lost over half of his 56% ownership and gave bondholders stock in exchange for surrendering part of the debt. No longer CEO, Trump retained a role as chairman of the board. In May 2005[228]the company emerged from bankruptcy as Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings.[229]In his 2007 book, Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life, Trump wrote: "I figured it was the bank's problem, not mine. What the hell did I care? I actually told one bank, 'I told you you shouldn't have loaned me that money. I told you the goddamn deal was no good.'"[230]2009[edit]Trump's fourth corporate bankruptcy occurred in 2009, when Trump and his daughter Ivanka resigned from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts; four days later the company, which owed investors $1.74 billion against its $2.06 billion of assets, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At that time, Trump Entertainment Resorts had three properties in Atlantic City: Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (closed in 2014), and Trump Marina (formerly Trump's Castle, sold in 2011). Trump and some investors bought the company back that same year for $225 million. As part of the agreement, Trump withdrew a $100 million lawsuit he had filed against the casino's owners alleging damage to the Trump brand. Trump re-negotiated the debt, reducing by over $1 billion the repayments required to bondholders.[231][232]In 2014, Trump sued his former company to remove his name from the buildings since he no longer ran the company, having no more than a 10% stake; he lost the suit.[233]Trump Entertainment Resorts filed again for bankruptcy in 2014[234]and was purchased by billionaire philanthropist Carl Icahn in 2016, who acquired Trump Taj Mahal in the deal.[235]Campaign contributions[edit]According to a New York state report, Trump circumvented corporate and personal campaign donation limits in the 1980s – although he did not break any laws – by donating money to candidates from 18 different business subsidiaries, rather than giving primarily in his own name.[212][236]Trump told investigators he did so on the advice of his lawyers. He also said the contributions were not to curry favor with business-friendly candidates, but simply to satisfy requests from friends.[212][237]Inaugural committee[edit]The New York Times reported in December 2018 that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn are investigating whether Middle Eastern foreigners sought to buy influence over American policies by using straw donors to illegally funnel donations to Trump's inaugural committee and a pro-Trump Super PAC.[238]The Trump inaugural committee received a subpoena from federal prosecutors on February 4, 2019. The SDNY subpoena demanded a comprehensive array of documents involving the committee's donors, finances, attendees and activities.[239]The subpoena reportedly covered allegations of conspiracy to defraud the United States government, money laundering, false statements, mail and wire fraud, disclosure violations and prohibitions against contributions by foreign nations.[240][241]Donald J. Trump Foundation[edit]Main article: Donald J. Trump FoundationDuring the 2016 U.S. presidential election, media began reporting in detail on how the Donald J. Trump Foundation was funded and how Donald Trump used its funds. The Washington Post in particular reported several cases of possible misuse, self-dealing and possible tax evasion.[citation needed]Regarding the various irregularities in the Trump Foundation, former head of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Exempt Organizations Division Marc Owens told The Washington Post: "This is so bizarre, this laundry list of issues.... It's the first time I've ever seen this, and I've been doing this for 25 years in the IRS, and 40 years total. When interviewed for the Post's article, Trump spokesperson Boris Epshtein said that Trump did not knowingly violate any tax laws.[citation needed]The office of New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman investigated the foundation "to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York." The Trump Foundation was in fact found to have committed fraud and misappropriated funds, and was ordered to be shut down.[242]Controversy over tax returns[edit]Main article: Tax returns of Donald TrumpIn October 2016, The New York Times published some tax documents from 1995. Trump claimed on his tax returns that he lost money, but did not recognize it in the form of canceled debts. Trump might have performed a stock-for-debt swap. This would have allowed Trump to avoid paying income taxes for at least 18 years. An audit of Trump's tax returns for 2002 through 2008 was "closed administratively by agreement with the I.R.S. without assessment or payment, on a net basis, of any deficiency." Tax attorneys believe the government may have reduced what Trump was able to claim as a loss without requiring him to pay any additional taxes.[243][244]It is unknown whether the I.R.S. challenged Trump's use of the swaps because he has not released his tax returns. Trump's lawyers advised against Trump using the equity for debt swap, as they believed it to be potentially illegal.[245]Destruction of documents[edit]In June 2016, a USA Today article reported that Donald Trump and his companies have been deleting emails and other documents on a large scale,[246]including evidence in lawsuits, sometimes in defiance of court orders and under subpoena since as early as 1973.[247][248][249]In October 2016, Kurt Eichenwald published new research findings in Newsweek. The findings were first published by Paul Singer[250]on June 13, 2016[251]and gained larger attention[252][253]after a new report in Newsweek on October 31, 2016. According to Newsweek, Trump and his companies "hid or destroyed thousands of documents" involving several court cases from as early as 1973."Over the course of decades, Donald Trump's companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded in official proceedings, often in defiance of court orders.... In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled—sometimes in vain—to obtain records."—Kurt Eichenwald, Donald Trump's Companies Destroyed Emails in Defiance of Court Orders Newsweek, October 31, 2016In 1973 Trump, his father and their company were in court for civil charges for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans. After their lawyers had delayed court requests for documents for several months, Trump, then being under subpoena, said his company had destroyed corporate records of the past six months "for saving space". In a court case beginning in 2005 against Power Plant Entertainment, LLC, an affiliate of real estate developer Cordish Cos., it was revealed that Trump's companies had deleted the data requested by court.[254]Cordish Cos. had built two American Indian[255]casinos in Florida under the Hard Rock brand and Donald Trump accused them of cheating him out of that deal. Nonetheless, Trump's lawyers had refused to instruct workers to keep all records related to the case during litigation.[247]Trump had established a procedure to delete all data from their employees' computers every year at least since 2003,[252]despite knowing at least since 2001 that he might want to file a lawsuit. Even after the lawsuit was filed, Trump Hotels disposed of a computer of a key witness without having made a backup of the data. A former general counsel of the Trump casino unit confirmed that all data were deleted from nearly all companies' computers annually. Trump and his lawyers claimed they were not keeping records and digital data although it was revealed that Trump had launched his own high-speed internet provider in 1998 and an IBM Domino server had been installed for emails and digital files in 1999.”[247][253]Attribution:Legal affairs of Donald Trump - Wikipedia

This is not a hoax and it is consistent with Trump and the Trump family’s behavior since Trump entered the real estate field and continued into his presidency. The term “scum bag” does not fully describe what a refugee from an unflushed toilet bowl Donald J. Trump is. I will show a bit of the pattern of his unethical and criminal behavior.Legal affairs of Donald Trump Legal affairs of Donald Trump - WikipediaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to searchFor Lawsuits arizing out of his actions as president, see List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump.This article is part ofa series aboutDonald TrumpPresident of the United StatesIncumbentPresidencyTransitionInaugurationTimelineExecutive actions proclamationspardonsTrips internationalNorth Korea summits SingaporeHanoiDMZHelsinki summitShutdowns Jan 20182018–19PollsLawsuitsProtestsSocial mediaVeracity of statementsKillings al-BaghdadiSoleimaniCOVID-19 pandemicAppointmentsCabinet formationAmbassadorsFederal judges GorsuchKavanaughSupreme Court candidatesExecutivesU.S. AttorneysDismissals ComeyPoliciesEconomy tax cutstariffsChina trade warEnvironment Paris withdrawalForeign policy Iran dealJerusalemGolanTrump peace planImmigration travel banwallfamily separationmigrant detentionstroop deploymentsnational emergencyInfrastructureSocial issues cannabisSpaceImpeachmentEarly effortsTrump–Ukraine scandalInquiry and hearingsSenate trialshowPresidential campaignsshowInteractions involving RussiashowBusiness and personalvteAn analysis by USA Today published in June 2016 found that over the previous three decades, Donald Trump and his businesses have been involved in 3,500 legal cases in U.S. federal courts and state court, an unprecedented number for a U.S. presidential candidate.[1]Of the 3,500 suits, Trump or one of his companies were plaintiffs in 1,900; defendants in 1,450; and bankruptcy, third party, or other in 150.[1]Trump was named in at least 169 suits in federal court.[2]Over 150 other cases were in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida (covering Broward County, Florida) since 1983.[3]In about 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Trump. In hundreds more, cases ended with the available public record unclear about the resolution.[1]Where there was a clear resolution, Trump won 451 times, and lost 38.[4]The topics of the legal cases include contract disputes, defamation claims, and allegations of sexual harassment. Trump's companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and on "at least three dozen" occasions the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has obtained tax liens against Trump properties for nonpayment of taxes.[1]On a number of occasions, Trump has threatened legal action but did not ultimately follow through.[5]Of Trump's involvement in the lawsuits, his lawyer Alan Garten said in 2015 that this was "a natural part of doing business in [the United States]",[5][6]and in the real estate industry, litigation to enforce contracts and resolve business disputes is indeed common.[5]Trump has, however, been involved in far more litigation than fellow real-estate magnates; the USA Today analysis in 2016 found that Trump had been involved in legal disputes more than Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Donald Bren, Stephen M. Ross, Sam Zell, and Larry Silverstein combined.[1]The Trump lawsuits[5][6]have attracted criticism from Trump's opponents, who say that this is not a trait that conservatives should support.[5]James Copland, director of legal policy at the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute, states that "Trump clearly has an affinity for filing lawsuits, partly because he owns a lot of businesses" and has sometimes used litigation as a "bullying tactic".[5]Although Trump has said that he "never" settles legal claims, Trump and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases (mostly involving personal injury claims arizing from injuries at Trump properties), with settlements ranging as high as hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars[1]and recently as high as tens of millions of dollars.[7]Among the most well-known Trump legal cases was the Trump University litigation. Three legal actions were brought alleging fraud, one by the New York State attorney general and the others by class action plaintiffs.[8]In November 2016, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle the litigation.[7]Contents1Lawsuits 1973–19991.11970s1.21980s1.31990s1.3.1Business1.3.2Personal and sexual2Lawsuits 2000–20093Lawsuits 2010–present3.1Construction and property law matters3.2Defamation matters3.3Financial matters3.3.1ALM lawsuit3.3.2ACN lawsuit3.4Trump University litigation3.5Breach of contract matters3.5.120133.5.220143.5.320153.5.420183.6Assault claims3.7Poll watching controversy3.8Nevada early voting Latino turnout controversy3.9Lawsuit for inciting violence at March 2016 campaign rally3.10Payments related to alleged affairs3.11Lawsuits over congressional subpoenas4Special Counsel investigation5Allegations of business links to organized crime6Use of bankruptcy laws6.119916.219926.320046.420097Campaign contributions8Inaugural committee9Donald J. Trump Foundation10Controversy over tax returns11Destruction of documents12See also13References14Further readingLawsuits 1973–1999[edit]1970s[edit]Trump initially came to public attention in 1973 when he was accused by the Justice Department of violations of the Fair Housing Act in the operation of 39 buildings. The Department of Justice said that black "testers" were sent to more than half a dozen buildings and were denied apartments, but a similar white tester would then be offered an apartment in the same building.[9]The government alleged that Trump's corporation quoted different rental terms and conditions to blacks and made false "no vacancy" statements to blacks for apartments they managed in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.[10]Representing Trump, Roy Cohn filed a counter-suit against the government for $100 million, asserting that the charges were irresponsible and baseless.[9][11]A federal judge threw out the countersuit, calling it a waste of "time and paper".[12]Trump settled the charges out of court in 1975 without admitting guilt, saying he was satisfied that the agreement did not "compel the Trump organization to accept persons on welfare as tenants unless as qualified as any other tenant".[13]Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trump's book, The Art of the Deal, said that the housing case was "a classic example" of Trump being "a counterpuncher": someone accuses Trump of doing something horrible, and he "goes back at them with all guns blazing.... And admits nothing." If Trump loses, he will "declare victory".[14]The corporation was required to send a bi-weekly list of vacancies to the New York Urban League, a civil rights group, and give them priority for certain locations.[15]In 1978 the Trump Organization again was in court for violating terms of the 1975 settlement; Trump denied the charges.[9][12][16]1980s[edit]In 1985, New York City brought a lawsuit against Trump for allegedly using tactics to force out tenants of 100 Central Park South,[17]which he intended to demolish together with the building next door. After ten years in court, the two sides negotiated a deal allowing the building to stand as condominiums.[18]In 1988, the Justice Department sued Trump for violating procedures related to public notifications when buying voting stock in a company related to his attempted takeovers of Holiday Corporation and Bally Manufacturing Corporation in 1986. On April 5, 1988, Trump agreed to pay $750,000 to settle the civil penalties of the antitrust lawsuit.[19]1990s[edit]Business[edit]In late 1990, Trump was sued for $2 million by a business analyst for defamation, and Trump settled out of court.[20]Shortly before Trump's Taj Mahal opened in April 1990, the analyst had said that the project would fail by the end of that year. Trump threatened to sue the analyst's firm unless the analyst recanted or was fired. The analyst refused to retract the statements, and his firm fired him for ostensibly unrelated reasons.[21]Trump Taj Mahal declared bankruptcy in November 1990, the first of several such bankruptcies.[22]The NYSE later ordered the firm to compensate the analyst $750,000; the analyst did not release the details of his settlement with Trump.[23]In 1991, Trump sued the manufacturers of a helicopter that crashed in 1989, killing three executives of his New Jersey hotel casino business.[24]The helicopter fell 2,800 feet after the main four-blade rotor and tail rotor broke off the craft, killing Jonathan Benanav, an executive of Trump Plaza, and two others: Mark Grossinger Etess, president of Trump Taj Mahal, and Stephen F. Hyde, chief executive of the Atlantic City casinos.[25][26][27]One of the defendants was owned by the Italian government, providing a basis for removing it to federal court, where the case was dismissed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the dismissal in 1992, and the Supreme Court denied Trump's petition to hear the case in the same year.[28]In 1991, Trump Plaza was fined $200,000 by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for moving African American and female employees from craps tables in order to accommodate high roller Robert LiButti, a mob figure and alleged John Gotti associate, who was said to fly into fits of racist rage when he was on losing streaks.[29]There is no indication that Trump was ever questioned in that investigation, he was not held personally liable, and Trump denies even knowing what LiButti looked like.[29]In 1991, one of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was found guilty of circumventing state regulations about casino financing when Donald Trump's father bought $3.5 million in chips that he had no plans to gamble. Trump Castle was forced to pay a $30,000 fine under the settlement, according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement director Jack Sweeney. Trump was not disciplined for the illegal advance on his inheritance, which was not confiscated.[30]In 1993, Donald Trump sued Jay Pritzker, a Chicago financier and Trump's business partner since 1979 on the Grand Hyatt hotel. Trump alleged that Pritzker overstated earnings in order to collect excessive management fees.[31]In 1994, Pritzker sued Trump for violating their agreement by, among other ways, failing to remain solvent.[32]The two parties ended the feud in 1995 in a sealed settlement, in which Trump retained some control of the hotel and Pritzker would receive reduced management fees and pay Trump's legal expenses.[33]In 1993, Vera Coking sued Trump and his demolition contractor for damage to her home during construction of the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.[34]In 1997, she dropped the suit against Trump and settled with his contractor for $90,000.[35]Coking had refused to sell her home to Trump and ultimately won a 1998 Supreme Court decision that prevented Atlantic City from using eminent domain to condemn her property.[36][37]In 1996, Trump was sued by more than 20 African-American residents of Indiana who charged that Trump reneged on promises to hire 70% of his work force from the minority community for his riverboat casino on Lake Michigan. The suit also charged that he hadn't honored his commitments to steer sufficient contracts to minority-owned businesses in Gary, Indiana. The suit was eventually dismissed due to procedural and jurisdiction issues.[38][39]In the late 1990s, Donald Trump and rival Atlantic City casino owner Stephen Wynn engaged in an extended legal conflict during the planning phase of new casinos Wynn had proposed to build. Both owners filed lawsuits against one another and other parties, including the State of New Jersey, beginning with Wynn's antitrust accusation against Trump.[40][41]After two years in court, Wynn's Mirage casino sued Trump in 1999 alleging that his company had engaged in a conspiracy to harm Mirage and steal proprietary information, primarily lists of wealthy Korean gamblers. In response, Trump's attorneys claimed that Trump's private investigator dishonored his contract by working as a "double agent" for the Mirage casino by secretly taping conversations with Trump. All the cases were settled at the same time on the planned day of an evidentiary hearing in court in February 2000, which was never held.[42]Personal and sexual[edit]In 1992, Trump sued ex-wife Ivana Trump for not honoring a gag clause in their divorce agreement by disclosing facts about him in her bestselling book. Trump won the gag order.[43][44][45]The divorce was granted on grounds that Ivana claimed Donald Trump's treatment of her was "cruel and inhuman treatment".[46][47]Years later, Ivana said that she and Donald "are the best of friends".[48]A sexual assault claim from 1994 for child rape was filed against Trump on October 14, 2016,[49]a case that was dropped and refiled, remaining in suspension as of November 4, 2016.[50]In April 1997, Jill Harth Houraney filed a $125,000,000 lawsuit against Trump for sexual harassment in 1993, claiming he "'groped' her under her dress and told her he wanted to make her his 'sex slave'". Harth voluntarily withdrew the suit when her husband settled a parallel case. Trump has called the allegations "meritless".[51][52]Lawsuits 2000–2009[edit]In 2000, Donald Trump paid $250,000 to settle fines related to charges brought by New York State Lobbying Commission director David Grandeau. Trump was charged with circumventing state law to spend $150,000 lobbying against government approval of plans to construct an Indian-run casino in the Catskills, which would have diminished casino traffic to Trump's casinos in Atlantic City.[53][54]From 2000 on, Trump tried to partner with a German venture in building a "Trump Tower Europe" in Germany. The company founded for this, "TD Trump Deutschland AG" was dissolved in 2003, several lawsuits following in the years thereafter.[55]In 2001, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought a financial-reporting case against Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., alleging that the company had committed several "misleading statements in the company's third-quarter 1999 earnings release". Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. consented to the commission's cease-and-desist order, said the culprit had been dismissed, and that Trump had personally been unaware of the matter.[56][57][58]Trump sued Leona Helmsley,[59]and Helmsley counter-sued Trump[60]due to contentions regarding ownership and operation of the Empire State Building. In 2002, Trump announced that he and his Japanese business partners, were selling the Empire State Building to partners of his rival Leona Helmsley.[61][62]In 2003, the city of Stuttgart denied TD Trump Deutschland AG, a Trump Organization subsidiary, the permission to build a planned tower due to questions over its financing. Trump Deutschland sued the city of Stuttgart, and lost. In 2004 Trump's German corporate partner brought suit against the Trump Organization for failure to pay back a EUR 200 million pre-payment as promised. In 2005, the German state attorney prosecuted Trump Deutschland and its partners for accounting fraud.[63][64][65]In 2004, Donald Trump sued Richard T. Fields in Broward County Circuit Court (in Florida); Fields was once Trump's business partner in the casino business, but had recently become a successful casino developer in Florida apart from Trump. Fields counter-sued Trump in Florida court. Trump alleged that Fields misled other parties into believing he still consulted for Trump, and Fields alleged improprieties in Trump's business.[66]The two businessmen agreed in 2008 to drop the lawsuits when Fields agreed to buy Trump Marina in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for $316 million,[67]but the deal was unsettled again in 2009 because Trump resigned his leadership of Trump Entertainment after Fields lowered his bid.[68]Fields never bought the company, which went into bankruptcy about the same time and was sold for $38 million.[69][70]Trump's lawsuit was dismissed after a hearing in 2010.[71]In 2004, the Trump Organization partnered with Bayrock Group on a $200 million hotel and condo project in Fort Lauderdale Beach, to be called Trump International Hotel & Tower. After proceeding for five years, real estate market devaluation stymied the project in 2009 and Trump dissolved his licensing deal, demanding that his name be removed from the building. Soon after this, the project defaulted on a $139 million loan in 2010.[72]Investors later sued the developers for fraud. Trump petitioned to have his name removed from the suit, saying he had only lent his name to the project. However his request was refused since he had participated in advertising for it.[73]The insolvent building project spawned over 10 lawsuits, some of which were still not settled in early 2016.[74]In 2006, the Town of Palm Beach began fining Trump $250 per day for ordinance violations related to his erection of an 80-foot-tall (24 m) flagpole flying a 15 by 25 feet (4.6 by 7.6 m) American flag on his property. Trump sued the town for $25 million, saying that they abridged his free speech, also disputing an ordinance that local businesses be "town-serving". The two parties settled as part of a court-ordered mediation, in which Trump was required to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities. At the same time, the town ordinance was modified allowing Trump to enroll out-of-town members in his Mar-a-Lago social club.[75]Trump International Hotel and Tower in ChicagoAfter the 2008 housing-market collapse, Deutsche Bank attempted to collect $40 million that Donald Trump personally guaranteed against their $640 million loan for Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. Rather than paying the debt, Trump sued Deutsche Bank for $3 billion for undermining the project and damage to his reputation.[76]Deutsche Bank then filed suit to obtain the $40 million. The two parties settled in 2010 with Deutsche Bank extending the loan term by five years.[77]In 2008, Trump filed a $100 million lawsuit for alleged fraud and civil rights violations[78]against the California city of Rancho Palos Verdes, over thwarted luxury home development and expansion plans upon part of a landslide-prone golf course in the area, which was purchased by Trump in 2002 for $27 million.[78]Trump had previously sued a local school district over land leased from them in the re-branded Trump National Golf Club, and had further angered some local residents by renaming a thoroughfare after himself.[78]The $100 million suit was ultimately withdrawn in 2012 with Trump and the city agreeing to modified geological surveys and permit extensions for some 20 proposed luxury homes (in addition to 36 homes previously approved).[79][80]Trump ultimately opted for a permanent conservation easement instead of expanded housing development on the course's driving range.[81]In 2009, Donald Trump sued a law firm he had used, Morrison Cohen, for $5 million for mentioning his name and providing links to related news articles on its website. This lawsuit followed a lawsuit by Trump alleging overcharging by the law firm, and a countersuit by Morrison Cohen seeking unpaid legal fees.[82]The suit was dismissed in a 15-page ruling by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten, who ruled that the links to news articles concerned "matters of public interest."[83]In 2009, Trump was sued by investors who had made deposits for condos in the canceled Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico.[84]The investors said that Trump misrepresented his role in the project, stating after its failure that he had been little more than a spokesperson for the entire venture, disavowing any financial responsibility for the debacle.[85]Investors were informed that their investments would not be returned due to the cancellation of construction.[84]In 2013, Trump settled the lawsuit with more than one hundred prospective condo owners for an undisclosed amount.[86]Lawsuits 2010–present[edit]Construction and property law matters[edit]In 2011, Donald Trump sued Scotland, alleging that it built the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm after assuring him it would not be built. He had recently built a golf course there and planned to build an adjacent hotel. Trump lost his suit, with the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously ruling in favor of the Scottish government in 2015.[87][88]In 2013, 87-year-old Jacqueline Goldberg unsuccessfully sued Trump on allegations that he cheated her in a condominium sale by bait-and-switch when she was purchasing properties at the Trump International Hotel and Tower.[89]In 2015, Trump initiated a $100 million lawsuit against Palm Beach County claiming that officials, in a "deliberate and malicious" act, pressured the FAA to direct air traffic to the Palm Beach International Airport over his Mar-a-Lago estate, because he said the airplanes damaged the building and disrupted its ambiance.[90]Trump had previously sued the county twice over airport noise; the first lawsuit, in 1995, ended with an agreement between Trump and the county; Trump's second lawsuit, in 2010, was dismissed.[90]Trump is suing the town of Ossining, New York, over the property tax valuation on his 147-acre (59 ha) Trump National Golf Club Westchester, located in Briarcliff Manor's portion of the town, which Trump purchased for around $8 million at a foreclosure sale in the 1990s and to which he claimed, at the club's opening, to have added $45 million in facility improvements.[91]Although Trump stated in his 2015 FEC filing that the property was worth at least $50 million, his lawsuit seeks a $1.4 million valuation on the property, which includes a 75,000-square-foot clubhouse, five overnight suites, and permission to build 71 condominium units,[91]in an effort to shave $424,176 from his annual local property tax obligations.[92]Trump filed the action after separately being sued by Briarcliff Manor for "intentional and illegal modifications" to a drainage system that caused more than $238,000 in damage to the village's library, public pool, and park facilities during a 2011 storm.[92]In October 2016, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Trump, together with two principals of a connected developer, could be sued for various claims, including oppression, collusion and breach of fiduciary duties, in relation to his role in the marketing of units in the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto, Canada.[93]A subsequent application for leave to appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada in March 2017.[94]Also in October 2016, JCF Capital ULC (a private firm that had bought the construction loan on the building) announced that it was seeking court approval under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to have the building sold in order to recoup its debt, which then totaled $301 million.[95]The court allowed for its auction[96]which took place in March 2017, but no bidders, apart from one stalking horse offer, took part.[97]Defamation matters[edit]Also in 2011, an appellate court upheld a New Jersey Superior Court judge's decision dismissing Trump's $5 billion defamation lawsuit against author Timothy L. O'Brien, who had reported in his book, TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald (2005), that Trump's true net worth was really between $150 and $250 million. Trump had reportedly told O'Brien he was worth billions and, in 2005, had publicly stated such.[98]Trump said that the author's alleged underestimation of his net worth was motivated by malice and had cost him business deals and damage to his reputation.[99]The appellate court, however, ruled against Trump, citing the consistency of O'Brien's three confidential sources.[100]In 2014, the former Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin ultimately settled a $5 million arbitration judgment against her, having been sued by Trump after alleging that the Miss USA 2012 pageant results were rigged. Monnin wrote on her Facebook page that another contestant told her during a rehearsal that she had seen a list of the top five finalists, and when those names were called in their precise order, Monnin realized the pageant election process was suspect, compelling Monnin to resign her Miss Pennsylvania title. The Trump Organization's lawyer said that Monnin's allegations had cost the pageant a lucrative British Petroleum sponsorship deal and threatened to discourage women from entering Miss USA contests in the future.[101]According to Monnin, testimony from the Miss Universe Organization and Ernst & Young revealed that the top 15 finalists were selected by pageant directors regardless of preliminary judges' scores.[102]As part of the settlement, Monnin was not required to retract her original statements.[101]On January 17, 2017, Summer Zervos, represented by attorney Gloria Allred, filed a defamation suit against President-elect Donald Trump for claiming that she had lied in her public sexual assault allegations against him.[103]Financial matters[edit]ALM lawsuit[edit]In July 2011, New York firm ALM Unlimited filed a lawsuit against Trump for non-payment. ALM had been hired in 2003 to seek offers from clothing companies for a Trump fashion line, and it had arranged a meeting between Trump and PVH, which licensed the Trump name for dress shirts and neckwear. ALM, which had received over $300,000 during a three-year period, alleged in the lawsuit that Trump's discontinuation of payments in 2008 was against their initial agreement. In pre-trial depositions, Trump and two of his business officials – attorney George H. Ross and executive vice president of global licensing Cathy Glosser – gave contradictory statements regarding whether ALM was entitled to payments. Trump, who felt that ALM had only a limited role in the deal between him and PVH, said "I have thousands of checks that I sign a week, and I don't look at very many of the checks; and eventually I did look, and when I saw them (ALM) I stopped paying them because I knew it was a mistake or somebody made a mistake."[104]Trump and ALM failed to settle, and in January 2013 a judge ordered that the case go to trial.[105]During the trial in April 2013, Trump said that ALM's role in the PVH agreement was insubstantial, stating that Regis Philbin (rather than ALM) was the one who recommended PVH to him. Trump's attorney, Alan Garten, said ALM was not legally entitled to any money.[105][106][107]The judge ruled in favor of Trump later that month because there had never been a valid contract between him and ALM.[107]ACN lawsuit[edit]Main article: ACN Inc.As of 2019, investors are suing Donald Trump and his family for fraud, false advertising, and unfair competition. They allege that Trump recommended the multi-level marketing company ACN as a good investment and that Trump did not disclose that he was being paid by ACN.Trump University litigation[edit]Main article: Trump University § Allegations of impropriety and lawsuitsIn 2013, in a lawsuit filed by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman, Trump was accused of defrauding more than 5,000 people of $40 million for the opportunity to learn Trump's real estate investment techniques in a for-profit training program, Trump University, which operated from 2005 to 2011.[108][109][110]Trump ultimately stopped using the term "University" following a 2010 order from New York regulators, who called Trump's use of the word "misleading and even illegal"; the state had previously warned Trump in 2005 to drop the term or not offer seminars in New York.[111][112][113]Although Trump has claimed a 98% approval rating on course evaluations, former students recounted high-pressure tactics from instructors seeking the highest possible ratings, including threats of withholding graduation certificates,[114]and more than 2,000 students had sought and received course refunds before the end of their paid seminars.[114]In a separate class action civil suit against Trump University in mid-February 2014, a San Diego federal judge allowed claimants in California, Florida, and New York to proceed;[115]a Trump counterclaim, alleging that the state attorney general's investigation was accompanied by a campaign donation shakedown, was investigated by a New York ethics board and dismissed in August 2015.[116]Trump filed a $1 million defamation suit against former Trump University student Tarla Makaeff, who had spent about $37,000 on seminars, after she joined the class action lawsuit and publicized her classroom experiences on social media.[85]Trump University was later ordered by a U.S. district judge in April 2015 to pay Makaeff and her lawyers $798,774.24 in legal fees and costs.[85][117]Donald Trump was found to have defrauded students, and was forced to pay $25 million in restitution.Breach of contract matters[edit]2013[edit]In 2013 Trump sued comedian Bill Maher for $5 million for breach of contract.[118]Maher had appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had offered to pay $5 million to a charity if Trump produced his birth certificate to prove that Trump's mother had not mated with an orangutan. This was said by Maher in response to Trump having previously challenged Obama to produce his birth certificate, and offering $5 million payable to a charity of Obama's choice, if Obama produced his college applications, transcripts, and passport records.[119][120]Trump produced his birth certificate and filed a lawsuit after Maher was not forthcoming, claiming that Maher's $5 million offer was legally binding. "I don't think he was joking," Trump said. "He said it with venom."[119]Trump withdrew his lawsuit against the comedian after eight weeks.[121]2014[edit]In 2014, model Alexia Palmer filed a civil suit against Trump Model Management for promising a $75,000 annual salary but paying only $3,380.75 for three years' work. Palmer, who came to the US at age 17 from Jamaica under the H-1B visa program in 2011,[122]claimed to be owed more than $200,000. Palmer contended that Trump Model Management charged, in addition to a management fee, "obscure expenses" from postage to limousine rides that consumed the remainder of her compensation. Palmer alleged that Trump Model Management promised to withhold only 20% of her net pay as agency expenses, but after charging her for those "obscure expenses", ended up taking 80%.[123]Trump attorney Alan Garten claimed the lawsuit is "bogus and completely frivolous".[124][125]Palmer filed a class-action lawsuit against the modeling agency with similar allegations.[126]The case was dismissed from U.S. federal court in March 2016, in part because Palmer's immigration status, via H1-B visa sponsored by Trump, required labor complaints to be filed through a separate process.[123][127]2015[edit]In 2015, Trump sued Univision, demanding $500 million for breach of contract and defamation when they dropped their planned broadcast of the Miss USA pageant. The network said that the decision was made because of Trump's "insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants".[128]Trump settled the lawsuit with Univision CEO Randy Falco out of court.[129]In July 2015, Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court for breach of contract against Spanish celebrity chef José Andrés, claiming that he backed out of a deal to open the flagship restaurant at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.[130][131]Andrés replied that Trump's lawsuit was "both unsurprising and without merit"[132]and filed an $8 million counterclaim against a Trump Organization subsidiary.[131][133]Also in July 2015, Chef Geoffrey Zakarian also withdrew from the Washington, D.C., project with Andrés in the wake of Trump's comments on Mexican illegal immigrants, and is expected to lose his own $500,000 restaurant lease deposit as a result.[132]Trump denounced and then sued Zakarian in August 2015 for a sum "in excess of $10 million" for lost rent and other damages.[134]Trump's lawsuit called Zakarian's offense at his remarks "curious in light of the fact that Mr. Trump's publicly shared views on immigration have remained consistent for many years, and Mr. Trump's willingness to frankly share his opinions is widely known".[134][135]Disputes with both chefs were eventually settled in April 2017.[136]In 2015, restaurant workers at Trump SoHo filed a lawsuit that from 2009 to at least the time of the filing, gratuities added to customers' checks were illegally withheld from employees. The Trump Organization has responded that the dispute is between the employees and their employer, a third-party contractor. Donald Trump has been scheduled to testify in court on September 1, 2016.[137][138]2018[edit]Further information: List of lawsuits involving Donald TrumpIn 2018, Noel Cintron, the personal driver for Donald Trump before he became the president of the United States, filed a lawsuit Cintron v Trump Organization LLC with the Supreme Court of the State of New York (Manhattan). The lawsuit claims that during his 25-year employment by Trump, he was not compensated for overtime and the second time his salary was raised he was induced to surrender his health insurance, an action which saved Trump approximately $17,866 per year.[139]The lawsuit seeks $178,200 of overtime back pay, plus $5,000 in penalties that are seen under the New York State Labor Law.[140]Assault claims[edit]In September 2015, five men who had demonstrated outside of a Trump presidential campaign event at Trump Tower in New York City sued Donald Trump, alleging that Trump's security staff punched one of them. They also allege that Trump's security guards had been advised by city police that they were permitted to protest there. Several people videotaped the incident.[141][142]In June 2015, the Culinary Workers Union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), alleging that the owners of Trump Hotel Las Vegas "violated the federally protected rights of workers to participate in union activities" and engaged in "incidents of alleged physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by management".[143]In October 2015, the Trump Ruffin Commercial and Trump Ruffin Tower I, the owners of Trump Hotel Las Vegas, sued the Culinary Workers Union and another union, alleging that they had knowingly distributed flyers that falsely stated that Donald Trump had stayed at a rival unionized hotel, rather than his own non-unionized hotel, during a trip to Las Vegas.[5][143]Poll watching controversy[edit]On October 31, 2016, a New Jersey federal judge, John Michael Vazquez, ordered the Republican National Committee (RNC) to hand over all communications with the Trump campaign related to poll watching and voter fraud. He asked for testimony and documents relating to Kellyanne Conway, RNC officials Ronna Romney McDaniel of Michigan, and Rob Gleason from Pennsylvania.[144]It is claimed Gleason, McDaniel, and Roger Stone recruited poll watchers to check for voter fraud. The state Democratic parties of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Ohio filed lawsuits against Trump for encouraging illegal voter intimidation. The states' Democratic parties are also suing their respective Republican party counterparts, along with Roger Stone, who is allegedly recruiting poll watchers and organizing ballot security efforts in a number of states. Stone runs the group "Stop the Steal." It claims Trump supporters yelled at voters outside Las Vegas area polling places when they said they weren't voting for the Republican nominee, and that Stone is asking supporters to conduct an illegitimate "exit polling" initiative aimed at intimidating voters of color.Pat McDonald, the director of Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in Ohio, reported that "Trump supporters have already visited the county elections board identifying themselves as poll observers, even though they did not appear to be credentialed as poll observers as required under Ohio law." Election officials have expressed concern about "instability on Election Day," one lawsuit claims, and discussed the possibility of bringing police to polling sites to address conflicts. In Clark County of Nevada, a lawsuit claims: "A Trump supporter harassed and intimidated multiple voters outside of the Albertson's supermarket early voting location on Lake Mead Boulevard, repeatedly asking voters for whom they were voting, and then yelling at them belligerently and attempting to keep them from entering the voting location when they stated they were not voting for Donald Trump." When poll staffers told the Trump supporters to stop harassing voters, "the Trump supporter told poll workers that he had 'a right to say anything he wanted to the voters.'" Poll staffers called police, and the Trump supporter left. The lawsuit also claims similar incidents took place in neighboring Nye County as well. In Pennsylvania, Murrysville City Councilman Josh Lorenz supposedly posted instructions for the way Clinton supporters could vote online, even though there is no online voting in Pennsylvania. Eight registered electors, mostly from the Philadelphia area, challenged the portion of the state Election Code that prevents poll watchers from observing elections outside of the counties where they live.[145][146][147]In Pompano Beach, Florida, police asked two poll watchers to leave a polling site. Two precinct clerks were also fired for not adhering to policy and training. No arrests were made. No other incidents were reported in South Florida.[148][149]Nevada early voting Latino turnout controversy[edit]On November 8, 2016, Trump filed a lawsuit claiming early voting polling places in Clark County, Nevada, were kept open too late. These precincts had high turnout of Latino voters. Nevada state law explicitly states that polls are to stay open to accommodate eligible voters in line at closing time. Hillary Clinton campaign advisor Neera Tanden says the Trump campaign is trying to suppress Latino voter turnout. A political analyst from Nevada, Jon Ralston tweeted that the Trump lawsuit is "insane" in a state that clearly allows the polls to remains open until everyone in line has voted. Former Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, posted the statute that states "voting must continue until those voters have voted". Miller said: "If there are people in line waiting to vote at 7 pm, voting must continue until everyone votes.... We still live in America, right?"[150]A Nevada judge denied Trump's request to separate early voting ballots. Judge Gloria Sturman, of the District Court for Clark County Nevada, ruled that County Registrar of Voters Joe P. Gloria was already obligated by state law to maintain the records that the Trump campaign is seeking. Sturman said: "That is offensive to me because it seems to go against the very principle that a vote is secret."[151][152]Diana Orrock, the Republican National Committeewoman for Nevada and a vocal Trump ally, said she was unaware of the lawsuit before Politico contacted her. "I know that the [Clark County] registrar was on TV this morning saying that anybody who's in line was allowed to participate in the voting process until all of them came through," she said. "If that's what they did, I don't have a problem with that ... I don't know that filing a suit's going to accomplish anything." Orrock doubts the lawsuit will have any impact.[153]Lawsuit for inciting violence at March 2016 campaign rally[edit]During a campaign rally on March 1, 2016, in Louisville, Kentucky, Trump repeatedly said "get 'em out of here" while pointing at anti-Trump protesters as they were forcibly escorted out by his supporters. Three protesters say they were repeatedly shoved and punched while Trump pointed at them from the podium, citing widely shared video evidence of the events. They also cited previous statements by Trump about paying the legal bills of supporters who got violent, or suggesting a demonstrator deserved to be "roughed up."[154][155][156][157]The lawsuit accuses Donald Trump of inciting violence against protesters in Louisville, Kentucky. The plaintiffs are Kashiya Nwanguma (21), Molly Shah (36) and Henry Brousseau (17). The suit is against Trump, his campaign, and three Trump supporters (Matthew Heimbach, Alvin Bamberger and an unnamed defendant). Bamberger, who was wearing a Veteran's uniform in the video, apologized to the Korean War Veterans Association immediately after the event, writing that he "physically pushed a young woman down the aisle toward the exit" after "Trump kept saying 'get them out, get them out."[154]Trump's attorneys requested to get the case dismissed, arguing he was protected by free speech laws, and wasn't trying to get his supporters to resort to violence.[156][158]They also stated that Trump had no duty to the protesters, and they had assumed the personal risk of injury by deciding to protest at the rally.[154]On Friday, April 1, 2017, Judge David J. Hale in Louisville ruled against the dismissal of a lawsuit, stating there was ample evidence to support that the injuries of the protesters were a "direct and proximate result" of Trump's words and actions. Hale wrote, "It is plausible that Trump's direction to 'get 'em out of here' advocated the use of force," and, "It was an order, an instruction, a command." Hale wrote that the Supreme Court has ruled out some protections for free speech when used to incite violence.[159]Defendant Heimbach requested to dismiss the discussion in the lawsuit about his association with a white nationalist group, and also requested to dismiss discussion of statements he made about how a President Trump would advance the interests of the group. The request was declined, with the judge saying the information could be important for determining punitive damages because they add context.[154]Hale also declined to remove the allegation that Plaintiff Nwanguma, who is African-American, was victim to ethnic, racial and sexist slurs at the rally from the crowd. The judge stated that this context may support claims by the plaintiffs' of incitement and negligence by Trump and the Trump campaign. The judge wrote, "While the words themselves are repulsive, they are relevant to show the atmosphere in which the alleged events occurred."[154]The judge stated that all people have a duty to use care to prevent foreseeable injury. "In sum, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that their harm was foreseeable and that the Trump Defendants had a duty to prevent it." The case was referred a federal magistrate, Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl, who will handle preliminary litigation, discovery and settlement efforts.[160]Heimbach filed a separate counterclaim in April 2017, arguing that Trump was "responsible for any injuries" he [Heimbach] "might have inflicted because Mr. Trump directed him and others to take action". Heimbach, "a self-employed landscaper", and a member of the Traditionalist Youth Network, "which advocates separate American 'ethno states', "spends much of his time" online writing "against Jews, gays and immigrants and urging whites to stand up for their race." He wrote his own lawsuit which requested that Trump pay Heimbach's "legal fees, citing a promise Mr. Trump made at an earlier rally to pay legal costs of anyone who removed protesters."[161]Heimbach's "counterclaim" against Trump has "probed the limits of free speech and public protest while confronting the courts with a unique legal argument".[161]On May 5, Trump's lawyers submitted legal filings that argue that Heimbach's "indemnity claim should be dismissed on the same grounds". According to a University of Virginia law professor, Leslie Kendrick, this indemnity or "impleader" case is "highly unusual."[161]New York University's Samuel Issacharoff, a professor of constitutional law, argued that care must be taken to not allow speech, in the "context of a political rally" to be "turned into something that is legally sanctionable."[161]Payments related to alleged affairs[edit]See also: Stormy Daniels–Donald Trump scandal and Karen McDougal § Alleged affair with Donald TrumpAdult film actress Stormy Daniels has alleged that she and Trump had an extramarital affair in 2006, months after the birth of his youngest child.[162]Just before the 2016 presidential election Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Trump's attorney Michael Cohen as part of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), through an LLC set up by Cohen; he says he used his own money for the payment.[163]In February 2018, Daniels filed suit against the LLC asking to be released from the agreement so that she can tell her story. Cohen filed a private arbitration proceeding and obtained a restraining order to keep her from discussing the case.[164]According to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump has denied the allegations.[165]On March 6, 2018, Daniels sued Trump in California Superior Court, claiming among other things that the NDA never came into effect because Trump did not sign it personally.[166]On March 16 Cohen, with Trump's approval, asked for Daniels' suit to be moved from state to federal court, based on the criteria that the parties live in different places and the amount at stake is more than $75,000; Cohen asserted that Daniels could owe $20 million in liquidated damages for breaching the agreement.[167]The filing marked the first time that Trump himself, through his personal attorney, had taken part in the Daniels litigation.[168]In early April 2018, Trump said that he did not know about Cohen paying Daniels, why Cohen had made the payment or where Cohen got the money from.[169]On April 30, Daniels further sued Trump for defamation.[170]In May 2018, Trump's annual financial disclosure revealed that he reimbursed Cohen in 2017 for expenditures related to the Daniels case.[171]In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws, admitting paying hush money of $130,000 and $150,000 "at the direction of a candidate for federal office", to two women who alleged affairs with that candidate, "with the purpose of influencing the election". The figures match sums of payments made to Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.[172][173]American Media, Inc. had reportedly in 2016 bought for $150,000 the rights to a story by McDougal alleging an affair with a married Trump from 2006 which lasted between nine months to a year.[174][175][176]David Pecker (AMI CEO/chairman and friend of Trump), Dylan Howard (AMI chief content officer) and Allen Weisselberg (chief financial officer of the Trump Organization) were reportedly granted witness immunity in exchange for their testimony regarding the illegal payments.[177][178]In response, Trump said that he only knew about the payments "later on"; Trump also said regarding the payments: "They didn't come out of the campaign, they came from me."[179]The Wall Street Journal reported on November 9, 2018, that federal prosecutors have evidence of Trump's "central role" in payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal that violated campaign-finance laws.[180][181]In a December 7, 2018 sentencing memorandum for Cohen, federal prosecutors implicated Trump in directing Cohen to commit the campaign finance law felonies for which Cohen had pleaded guilty. Shortly after the memorandum court filing, Trump tweeted, “Totally clears the president. Thank you!”[182]Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison.[183]On December 13, 2018, Trump denied directing Cohen to make hush payments.[184]That same day, NBC News reported that Trump was present in an August 2015 meeting with Cohen and David Pecker when they discussed how American Media could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, confirming previous reporting by The Wall Street Journal.[185][186]In 2019, Cohen testified to Congress that Trump did order to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 as hush money and then lie about the payment.[187]Lawsuits over congressional subpoenas[edit]In March 2019, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform opened an investigation into Trump's finances, and issued a subpoena for ten years of his tax returns.[188]Trump later sued the chairman of the committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, seeking to quash the subpoena.[189]In April 2019, Trump (along with his children Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr, as well as the Trump Organization) sued Deutsche Bank, bank Capital One, his accounting firm Mazars USA, and House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings, in an attempt to prevent congressional subpoenas revealing information about Trump's finances.[190][191]On May 20, 2019, DC District Court judge Amit Mehta ruled that Mazars must comply with the subpoena.[192]Trump's attorneys filed notice to appeal to the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit the next day.[193]On May 22, 2019, judge Edgardo Ramos of the federal District Court in Manhattan rejected the Trump suits against Deutsche Bank and Capital One, ruling the banks must comply with congressional subpoenas.[194][195]On October 7, 2019, Judge Victor Marrero of the federal District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a 75-page ruling that Trump must comply with the subpoena and provide his tax returns to a New York grand jury. Minutes later, however, Trump's attorney filed an emergency request with the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals, which immediately placed a temporary stay on the subpoena.[196]In November, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the former District Court ruling and ordered Trump to turn over his tax returns to Congress.[197]Trump soon appealed to the Supreme Court, which blocked the order by the Second Circuit temporarily.[198]Special Counsel investigation[edit]Main articles: Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) and Mueller ReportThe Special Counsel investigation is a United States law enforcement investigation of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and any Russian (or other foreign) interference in the election, including exploring any possible links or coordination between Trump's campaign and the Russian government, "and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation."[199]Since May 2017, the investigation has been led by a United States Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mueller's investigation took over several FBI investigations including those involving former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.It has been noted that Trump has experienced a high turnover with respect to the attorneys handling this matter, as well as a large number of prominent lawyers and law firms publicly declining offers to join Trump's legal team.[200][201]On March 22, 2019, Mueller concluded his investigation and gave the final report to Attorney General William Barr.[202]On March 24, Barr sent a four-page letter to Congress summarizing the findings of the report.[203]Barr said that the special counsel found did not find that Trump colluded with Russia. But the report did in fact outline many events of Trump operatives working with Russian operatives to help Trump get elected. On the question of obstruction of justice, Barr stated that Mueller did not reach a conclusion; he quotes the special counsel as saying "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."[204][203]Barr wrote, "The special counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the attorney general to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime," adding that he and Rosenstein "concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."[205][206]However, Mueller's report does in fact outline dozens of actions Trump took that were in fact obstructing the investigation, and Mueller concluded that he would have charged Trump with crimes had he been allowed to.Allegations of business links to organized crime[edit]Journalists David Cay Johnston and Wayne Barrett, the latter of whom wrote an unauthorized 1992 Trump biography, have claimed that Trump and his companies did business with New York and Philadelphia families linked to the Italian-American Mafia.[207][208]A reporter for The Washington Post writes, "he was never accused of illegality, and observers of the time say that working with the mob-related figures and politicos came with the territory."[209]Trump helped a financier for the Scarfo family get a casino license, and constructed a casino using firms controlled by Nicodemo Scarfo.[210]Trump also bought real estate from Philadelphia crime family member Salvatore Testa, and bought concrete from companies associated with the Genovese crime family and the Gambino crime family.[207][208][209]Trump Plaza paid a $450,000 fine leveled by the Casino Gaming Commission for giving $1.6 million in rare automobiles to Robert LiButti, the acquaintance of John Gotti already mentioned.[29]Starting in 2003, the Trump Organization worked with Felix Sater, who had a 1998 racketeering conviction for a $40 million stock fraud scheme orchestrated by the Russian mafia, and who had then become an informant against the mafia.[211][212]Trump's attorney has said that Sater worked with Trump scouting real estate opportunities, but was never formally employed.[213]Use of bankruptcy laws[edit]Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, but hotel and casino businesses of his have been declared bankrupt four times between 1991 and 2009 to re-negotiate debt with banks and owners of stock and bonds.[214][215]Because the businesses used Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they were allowed to operate while negotiations proceeded. Trump was quoted by Newsweek in 2011 saying, "I do play with the bankruptcy laws – they're very good for me" as a tool for trimming debt.[82][216]These types of bankruptcies are common in the business world for restructuring to avoid having to close a business. In the case of Trump's bankruptcies, three were tied directly to gaming industry, which as a whole had suffered during the time the bankruptcies were declared.[217]According to a report by Forbes in 2011, the four bankruptcies were the result of over-leveraged hotel and casino businesses in Atlantic City: Trump's Taj Mahal (1991), Trump Plaza Hotel (1992), Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (2004), and Trump Entertainment Resorts (2009).[218][219]Trump said "I've used the laws of this country to pare debt.... We'll have the company. We'll throw it into a chapter. We'll negotiate with the banks. We'll make a fantastic deal. You know, it's like on The Apprentice. It's not personal. It's just business."[220]He indicated that many "great entrepreneurs" do the same.[218]1991[edit]In 1991, Trump Taj Mahal was unable to service its debt and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[220]Forbes indicated that this first bankruptcy was the only one where Trump's personal financial resources were involved. Time, however, maintains that $72 million of his personal money was also involved in a later 2004 bankruptcy.[221]1992[edit]On November 2, 1992, the Trump Plaza Hotel filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Trump lost his 49 percent stake in the luxury hotel to Citibank and five other lenders.[222]In return Trump received more favorable terms on the remaining $550+ million owed to the lenders, and retain his position as chief executive, though he would not be paid and would not have a role in day-to-day operations.[223]2004[edit]Donald Trump's third corporate bankruptcy was on October 21, 2004, involving Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, the publicly traded holding company for his three Atlantic City casinos and some others.[224]Trump lost over half of his 56% ownership and gave bondholders stock in exchange for surrendering part of the debt. No longer CEO, Trump retained a role as chairman of the board. In May 2005[225]the company emerged from bankruptcy as Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings.[226]In his 2007 book, Think BIG and Kick Ass in Business and Life, Trump wrote: "I figured it was the bank's problem, not mine. What the hell did I care? I actually told one bank, 'I told you you shouldn't have loaned me that money. I told you the goddamn deal was no good.'"[227]2009[edit]Trump's fourth corporate bankruptcy occurred in 2009, when Trump and his daughter Ivanka resigned from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts; four days later the company, which owed investors $1.74 billion against its $2.06 billion of assets, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At that time, Trump Entertainment Resorts had three properties in Atlantic City: Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino (closed in 2014), and Trump Marina (formerly Trump's Castle, sold in 2011). Trump and some investors bought the company back that same year for $225 million. As part of the agreement, Trump withdrew a $100 million lawsuit he had filed against the casino's owners alleging damage to the Trump brand. Trump re-negotiated the debt, reducing by over $1 billion the repayments required to bondholders.[228][229]In 2014, Trump sued his former company to remove his name from the buildings since he no longer ran the company, having no more than a 10% stake; he lost the suit.[230]Trump Entertainment Resorts filed again for bankruptcy in 2014[231]and was purchased by billionaire philanthropist Carl Icahn in 2016, who acquired Trump Taj Mahal in the deal.[232]Campaign contributions[edit]According to a New York state report, Trump circumvented corporate and personal campaign donation limits in the 1980s – although he did not break any laws – by donating money to candidates from 18 different business subsidiaries, rather than giving primarily in his own name.[209][233]Trump told investigators he did so on the advice of his lawyers. He also said the contributions were not to curry favor with business-friendly candidates, but simply to satisfy requests from friends.[209][234]Inaugural committee[edit]The New York Times reported in December 2018 that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn are investigating whether Middle Eastern foreigners sought to buy influence over American policies by using straw donors to illegally funnel donations to Trump's inaugural committee and a pro-Trump Super PAC.[235]The Trump inaugural committee received a subpoena from federal prosecutors on February 4, 2019. The SDNY subpoena demanded a comprehensive array of documents involving the committee's donors, finances, attendees and activities.[236]The subpoena reportedly covered allegations of conspiracy to defraud the United States government, money laundering, false statements, mail and wire fraud, disclosure violations and prohibitions against contributions by foreign nations.[237][238]Donald J. Trump Foundation[edit]Main article: Donald J. Trump FoundationDuring the 2016 U.S. presidential election, media began reporting in detail on how the Donald J. Trump Foundation was funded and how Donald Trump used its funds. The Washington Post in particular reported several cases of possible misuse, self-dealing and possible tax evasion.[citation needed]Regarding the various irregularities in the Trump Foundation, former head of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Exempt Organizations Division Marc Owens told The Washington Post: "This is so bizarre, this laundry list of issues.... It's the first time I've ever seen this, and I've been doing this for 25 years in the IRS, and 40 years total. When interviewed for the Post's article, Trump spokesperson Boris Epshtein said that Trump did not knowingly violate any tax laws.[citation needed]The office of New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman investigated the foundation "to make sure it's complying with the laws governing charities in New York." The Trump Foundation was in fact found to have committed fraud and misappropriated funds, and was ordered to be shut down.[citation needed]Controversy over tax returns[edit]Main article: Tax returns of Donald TrumpIn October 2016, The New York Times published some tax documents from 1995. Trump claimed on his tax returns that he lost money, but did not recognize it in the form of canceled debts. Trump might have performed a stock-for-debt swap. This would have allowed Trump to avoid paying income taxes for at least 18 years. An audit of Trump's tax returns for 2002 through 2008 was "closed administratively by agreement with the I.R.S. without assessment or payment, on a net basis, of any deficiency." Tax attorneys believe the government may have reduced what Trump was able to claim as a loss without requiring him to pay any additional taxes.[239][240]It is unknown whether the I.R.S. challenged Trump's use of the swaps because he has not released his tax returns. Trump's lawyers advised against Trump using the equity for debt swap, as they believed it to be potentially illegal.[241]Destruction of documents[edit]In June 2016, a USA Today article reported that Donald Trump and his companies have been deleting emails and other documents on a large scale,[242]including evidence in lawsuits, sometimes in defiance of court orders and under subpoena since as early as 1973.[243][244][245]In October 2016, Kurt Eichenwald published new research findings in Newsweek. The findings were first published by Paul Singer[246]on June 13, 2016[247]and gained larger attention[248][249]after a new report in Newsweek on October 31, 2016. According to Newsweek, Trump and his companies "hid or destroyed thousands of documents" involving several court cases from as early as 1973."Over the course of decades, Donald Trump's companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded in official proceedings, often in defiance of court orders.... In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled—sometimes in vain—to obtain records."—Kurt Eichenwald, Donald Trump's Companies Destroyed Emails in Defiance of Court Orders Newsweek, October 31, 2016In 1973 Trump, his father and their company were in court for civil charges for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans. After their lawyers had delayed court requests for documents for several months, Trump, then being under subpoena, said his company had destroyed corporate records of the past six months "for saving space". In a court case beginning in 2005 against Power Plant Entertainment, LLC, an affiliate of real estate developer Cordish Cos., it was revealed that Trump's companies had deleted the data requested by court.[250]Cordish Cos. had built two American Indian[251]casinos in Florida under the Hard Rock brand and Donald Trump accused them of cheating him out of that deal. Nonetheless, Trump's lawyers had refused to instruct workers to keep all records related to the case during litigation.[243]Trump had established a procedure to delete all data from their employees' computers every year at least since 2003,[248]despite knowing at least since 2001 that he might want to file a lawsuit. Even after the lawsuit was filed, Trump Hotels disposed of a computer of a key witness without having made a backup of the data. A former general counsel of the Trump casino unit confirmed that all data were deleted from nearly all companies' computers annually. Trump and his lawyers claimed they were not keeping records and digital data although it was revealed that Trump had launched his own high-speed internet provider in 1998 and an IBM Domino server had been installed for emails and digital files in 1999.[243][249]