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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Paul Manafort Convicted in Fraud Trial

While Michael Cohen pleads to 8 counts.

Hypothesis: any constitutional issues associated with felonious actions of a sitting president are necessarily simpler and clearer if that sitting president has not yet appointed a supreme court justice that is on record as supporting l'etat cest moi. Therefore, it behooves Mueller to have substantial momentum behind his investigation prior to September 4.





am_Unition  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  
b_b  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Amazing that Giuliani can spin this as, "This proves Trump isn't guilty."

Meanwhile, Melania is trolling the shit out of him. Guess she likes her New York friends more than her husband. Big surprise.

OftenBen  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I hope the Melania thing is true. That's good storytelling right there.

b_b  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't necessarily buy it either. If it pisses Trump off though, I guess I don't care about the intent.

kleinbl00  ·  2289 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I cannot recall a public appearance made by that woman that has not been a net negative for the president.

The Occam's Razor on Melania Trump is she's a vindictive Mean Girl subtexting the shit out of her husband for ruining her comfy life.

ThurberMingus  ·  2289 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values / My parents impressed on me the values...

    That is a lesson that I continue to pass on to our son / Barack and I ... our children...

Too fun to overanalyze

ButterflyEffect  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    Mr. Cohen also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of tax evasion and bank fraud, bringing to a close a monthslong investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors who examined his personal business dealings and his role in helping to arrange financial deals with women connected to Mr. Trump.

Are we...are we Al Capone'ing these people!?

b_b  ·  2290 days ago  ·  link  ·  

$4 million in income that he didn't pay tax on apparently. It's hilarious that these morons, manafort included, never seem to want to pay taxes, even though (a) they would still have a lot of money and (b) they wouldn't go to jail. Is it like part of some special club whose roles are that you can't pay taxes to be a part of it? Good I hope the president hours down for tax evasion, too. Nothing, not even Trump rotting in jail, would make me happier than to see him poor.

kleinbl00  ·  2289 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Remind me - do you have an accountant do your taxes?

I do. Have done since 2007. At one point my wife and I had three businesses in two states. Shit gets complicated. And maybe it's because I'm in the entertainment industry, but the basic game of accountants is "we're going to save you every fucking nickel."

I've been through five accountants. The first one I shared with Hans Zimmer. His entire client list got audited because he was doing shit like not declaring foreign holdings. Except me. Apparently I was two poor. The second one had a death in the family and took two years to do one return. The third saddled us with the three businesses in two states (all of which needed to pay taxes). The fourth quit to take care of her kid. ALL of them were about dancing.

Buddy of mine will tell his accountants to be more aggressive. He's been audited three times. Because, as he says, "the worst they can do is make you pay the money you owe." It's a game: how much can you keep? How creative can you be? How many laws can you bend?

The odds of you ending up indicted are infinitesimal. That is, unless you're fronting for Mafiya oligarchs. Then your history of game-playing suddenly hits a new level.

People forget: the Mondale/Ferraro ticket was marred by Geraldine Ferraro hiring a housekeeper without checking her goddamn citizenship papers. In 1979. Shit that people treat as commonplace becomes ZOMG SCANDAL once it's useful.

That doesn't mean Cohen skating on $4m in taxes isn't a crime. But it does mean that we'd never know about it and he'd never pay any consequences if his boss wasn't president.

tacocat  ·  2287 days ago  ·  link  ·