comment: >
  
  Of all the things we can indict Trump with -- lying about election fraud, sending fake collectors to the electoral college, violently trying to overthrow American democracy -- and the only thing we can bag him for is tAX fRaUd.
  Our justice system is a joke.
context: I'm so glad I paid over 36k worth in taxes while billionaires get refunds and minuscule payments.
  I don't mind paying even more if I could be guaranteed that it's going to help out anyone who's genuinely struggling.  But it's probably going to go to some corporate welfare. >
  
  Right?
  It's kind of like how we have a "healthcare market", but we're just subsidizing people to rip us off. 
  Hell, it's also like how the USDA buys produce and destroys it to keep prices high "for farmers".  We literally subsidize waste, greed and nothing else in this shithole country. >
  
  Privatized profits, socialized losses. Any company that has full time workers on food stamps is a welfare queen. >
  
  About 7-8 years ago, my niece got a job at wal mart. Part of her initial training included how to apply for Medicaid and food stamps. >
  
  Did she also have to watch the anti-union propaganda video as part of her training? I had to watch that one \~20 years ago. >
  
  all that and more nowadays, walmart employment even comes with an additional chance of being involved in a shooting or hostage situation as we saw last week 🤮 >
  
  Living in a world where guns are at the same time too dangerous to bring to work but not dangerous enough to do universal background checks on >
  
  That’s when you know you have a full blown gun problem. We should probably call it a gun pandemic.
  I say this as a responsible firearm owner: the second amendment proved its worthlessness on Jan 6th and I’m ready for it to be scrapped. 
  1st reason: Fucking armed traitors went to the capitol and many of them just got slaps on the wrist. The 2nd Amendment is for forming a well-regulated militia, meaning at the time it was written - whatever fire arm you had didn’t matter. It just mattered that you belonged to a state-recognized militia and that militia knew it could count on you if called on to defend your homeland. Where were all those “good guys with guns” on Jan 6th? Far the fuck away from the capitol and for good reason: NO ONE should have been there.
  2nd reason: Trump showed us that this country is playing fascy-footsie and loving it. The 2nd amendment is about stopping traitors like trump and their administration from abusing power. The idea of an armed populace was to help keep the govt in check (back then, it meant by wealthy land-owning white men… and since many legal firearm owners of color can still be outright killed because “they had a gun!”… there is no constitutionally protected right to own one then for anybody) If the second amendment failed at keeping modern-day fascism from rearing it’s disfigured and putrid head, then the amendment A. Doesnt mean what it says. B. Doesn’t protect any firearm owner, and doesnt serve its initial purpose.
  The second amendment needs to be rewritten entirely or tossed. And because we can’t have a level head about how that process would go due ti exasperated polarization in this country… we’re fucked.
  Go to walmart with kevlar on kids and pray the shooter isn’t a “headshot harry.” >
  
  He wrote off the Stormy payment. Trump really does not care >
  
  He doesn't care because he knows there are no consequences.  He knows he is above the law and that is why he acts the way he does. >
  
  He’s been doing this shit on his taxes for probably a long time. The tax code is like 75,000 pages long, that’s a lotta hoops you can jump through. I’m not a trump fan, but if they want people like him to pay taxes there is definitely a way, but they won’t do it because they’re all benefiting from the same shit he is. >
  
  Yeah, fucking restart the tax code.  Progressive tax bracket, no exemptions, tax summary comes from the government annually and citizens can challenge if they do decide. >
  
  Can I vote for you? >
  
  No, because I have biPolar and we all have seen what can happen when someone with power goes manic. >
  
  What's the worst you're capable of? You clearly have some brains and empathy. Unless you think you're likely to nuke New Zealand because of those damned hobbits, could it be worse than the scraps we currently have on the table? 
  President fardough 2024 >
  
  I did become a cult leader during a manic episode before I was diagnosed, just saying.
  I would be more worried about trying to imprison all billionaires until they relinquish 90% of their net worth to balance income inequality.  Manic me would be a tyrant if it ever happened while I had power. >
  
  
  
  Last president has a creepy cult, maybe you can make cults cool again
  
  
  Imprisoning billionaires seems like a net positive. The only people complaining are the ones who actively put us in these situations. 
  
  
  I mean, you clearly feel like you aren't right for the job, which probably means you're way more qualified than a majority of the dipshits that run trying to empower themselves. >
  
  Lol, I do agree we should be putting those in power who do not want power, but draw the line at someone who literally can become a maniac.
  In mania, you feel like a god, you feel you have been granted some supreme wisdom and power, you think at crazy speed, don’t need sleep, things seems so clear and profoundly simple.  Anything seems possible.  Again, anything seems possible.
  May decide to try to cure cancer, or maybe see a way to decrease the global population, or maybe decide to try to eliminate a people.
  I don’t feel we are monsters but we have them inside of us, and unmedicated & untreated it is a roll of the dice what the next manic episode will be focused on.  Scary part is we can be lost for months, focused on something our minds get fixated on and just pursue it till we hit a wall. Come out of it thousands in debt, started a successful company, or a cult.
  The real f’d part my friend is you remember it all, the feeling, the shame, the guilt, and you were truly only along for the ride.
  I pity people like Elon/Kanye even though it is their fault for not seeking treatment when they bounce out. >
  
  If billionaires can walk away without paying taxes due to stock or profit losses, I should be able to deduct any money I lose gambling. That’s not a joke; it’s the same shit. >
  
  Can I?
  “The amount of losses you deduct can't be more than the amount of gambling income you reported on your return. Claim your gambling losses up to the amount of winnings, as ‘Other Itemized Deductions.’” >
  
  I mean you wanted it to work exactly how it works for investments and you can’t use losses to offset more than your gains there, either >
  
  You can absolutely offset more than your gains, up to $3k a year, and if a given year is more than that, you can claim it on future taxes. >
  
  Someone needs to ask Trump on the record, today, if he is just as mentally and physically fit as he was when he left office, so that he can give a long explanation as to why he's more fit than anyone half his age...so that when his lawyer tries to have his sentence be for house arrest due to health issues, the judge can call bullshit and bring it up. >
  
  I love this idea >
  
  This article is a little odd. He keeps making statements like:
  
  But what Trump did again and again and again—taking expenses for businesses with no revenue—is so simple that jurors should have no trouble understanding the issues were Trump to be indicted by a federal or New York state grand jury.
  
  As if simply filing a Sch C (or similar state form) only claiming losses without revenue is itself illegal. It isn't. It is a red flag that the business doesn't exist though.  
  That is what happened in the New York case, as the article itself explains:
  
  Trump produced no receipts, no invoices, no work papers — nothing indicating the 1984 consulting business was more than a figment of his imagination.
  
  That was the actual problem. When they called Trump on his bluff, he had no cards. He appeared to be literally making the businesses up. That is what is illegal. 
  Especially since the losses don't exist at all in that situation. You can't get ahead through tax avoidance by purposely creating businesses to lose money. Because you'd actually be losing the money then, which would be greater than the amount you are "saving" on taxes. 
  So, for what has been released so far, the Sch Cs aren't some kind of proof that Trump made fraudulent claims. It is highly likely though. If he was actually audited or investigated and forced to provide proof of theses losses, it wouldn't be shocking if he had none because they're made up. Or that some were connected some other scheme. Same thing with the other issues addressed. 
  I just don't get why articles can't be clear about this. The title and many of his statements are misleading for no good reason. >
  
  2015: net operating losses of over hundred million -> donates 20 million to charity >
  
  I'm not sure why losses from his businesses would make it impossible for him to give money to charity. The tax returns don't really document how much money he has in the bank at any time. 
  Do I think he really gave $20 million to charity, or that he did with no self-dealing involved? No, but what we have now doesn't show that yet. >
  
  There's very little things that you can find on tax returns that would 100% conclude impossible. If the returns are accepted its already passed the hard stops. It sounds unlike anyone, especially Trump, would donate that amount on a bad year. 
  It more sounds like what someone else has suggested and massively overvalued or cycled money through donations >
  
  Haven't you heard? POS former POTUS says he has total immunity! He didn't specify but I'm guessing he just means blanket immunity for everything. Jan 6th, Mar a Lago papers, Georgia election fraud, tax fraud, etc.
  I'm not sure if he needs prison or a mental ward at this point tbh >
  
  Whichever one makes him more miserable is fine with me. >
  
  My ex-husband hasn’t paid income tax in over 30 years, makes $60-80,000 a month for 5-6 months a year and has since at least 2000. At that time, he owed $150,000 in taxes and has evaded them every year since. The IRS took $5,000. from me when I went back to work and was separated from him because I filed. He owes state taxes, too, to at least 4 states. NOTHING ever happens to him. He puts everything he owns in his girlfriend’s name so they can’t take it. 
  If someone like him can get away with it, certainly Trump will. As do every other megarich  SOB. >
  
  It'd be really funny when his GF realizes that since everything is her name, he doesn't really have shit and she can keep it all if they break up. >
  
  You would think, right! But she’s been with him for almost 15 years now and she is none the wiser. And he treats her like dirt. I used to feel sorry for her because she is from a really small town in AL, and she was so naive. But, 15 years? Yeah, good luck with that. >
  
  I mean if she were to find things were in her name, money has a way of making people figure things out... >
  
  She knows. She’s not real bright. 😄 >
  
  Damn you still watching his moves w his new chick after 15 years? >
  
  We have children together. Unfortunately, I still have to deal with him. >
  
  Well at least he gave you something good. >
  
  I dunno, he probably has a micro penis >
  
  I meant their children. Jeez. >
  
  If Al Capone can go to prison for tax evasion, then so can this orange piece of cheating shit. >
  
  The sad part is, if Al Capone lived today he would never have gone to prison for tax evasion. >
  
  Hell, if Al Capone lived today, he may have been President. >
  
  Didn’t Al Capone basically invent the concept of a soup kitchen? He provided regular meals to the unemployed during the Great Depression. 
  That’s better than anything the Cheeto stain has done in his entire life. I would literally vote for Al Capone over Donald fucking Trump. >
  
  He had a lot to do with getting expiration dates on milk and what not standardized too. Kind of interesting. >
  
  Trump committing crimes isn't news, although I still appreciate the author's work and OP for posting. My only point is that Trump is the most obvious white collar crook of all time, but he's allowed to get away with it. >
  
  What about Jarred? Do you suppose he paid taxes on the two billion he “borrowed” from Qatar? >
  
  You don't pay taxes on a loan. They will likely figure out some shenanigans though when the Saudis inevitably forgive the loan, just like Deutche bank did for Trump.
  Which reminds me, Did that forgiven loan show up on Trump's taxes? >
  
  Why would the Saudis forgive a loan they didn’t make? >
  
  Qatar refused to give him another loan.
  It was the Saudis he got the $2B from. >
  
  I swear, every single citizen needs to just refuse to file taxes this year until the rich start having to pay like the rest of us. >
  
  They don't go after the rich because it's hard.
  They do go after the poor because it's easy. >
  
  Can’t go after all of us. >
  
  Does the court system even have the resources to prosecute the entire populace at once???
  All it would take is enough people refusing to pay and we could cripple them.... >
  
  No. If even 10% of people that take a plea bargain said: “I want my day in court!” The court system would nearly instantly grind to a complete halt.
  Also, as I underhand it the only right to a speedy trial violations happen if the prosecution is the cause of the delay. If it’s the court itself, due to not having an opening until the seventh Tuesday of the sixth week of next February, that doesn’t matter and you may get to sit in jail and wait months for your day in court. >
  
  Pretrial incarceration proves that "innocent until proven guilty" is a lie.
  If I spent 3 months in jail and then the charges got dropped, someone owes me a big check or we're going to have a lot more problems. You just bought 3 months of my life and now you're going to pay up one way or another. >
  
  Pre-trial incarceration should only happen for people that are truly a danger to themselves, society or national security.
  Cash bail should go away in 98% of cases like yesterday, and we should be working on figuring out the last 2% ASAP. >
  
  I had a buddy once get held on a $100 bond.
  The insanity of spending thousands of dollars to keep somebody locked up just because they didn't have 100 bucks...
  Plus the absurdity that if he is truly a flight risk or a danger to the community, why would only a $100 convince the court to change their mind? >
  
  All the anger I see over an unjust system that rewards the rich and powerful... there are more of us than them. They know that. Don't forget it. Write your congress people to put an end to this kind of horse shit. Tell then your vote depends on it. More importantly, tell then you're a moderate and on the fence and that it's your most important issue. They'll listen if enough people complain. You're the reason they have power. Exercise your rights while you still can. >
  
  He should have been convicted well before 2016.   He bought off whoever he had to back then.   Those people need to be prosecuted too >
  
  They definitely need to chase down all the tendrils to the end and get everyone involved. I don’t care what letter is in front of their name. Get them all.
  Shit, I’m all for a full audit of all elected and appointed officials. Anyone found to have committed crimes is indicted appropriately and banned from office. Special Elections can be held for any role that had a criminal vacated from it.