Don Jr. and Eric Trump: People Dodge Taxes All the Time, It’s Not a Big Deal - Vanity Fair

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The Trump boys think the amount of money Allen Weisselberg allegedly hid from the IRS is chump change no one should care about. 

By Bess Levin

July 2, 2021

As you’ve probably heard by now, on Thursday, the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO, Allen Weisselberg, were indicted on 15 criminal charges, including conspiracy, grand larceny, and multiple counts of tax fraud and falsifying records. Obviously, this is bad news for Donald Trump’s company, which former executives predict is finished; for Weisselberg, who faces more than a decade in prison if convicted on all charges; and for Trump, who may ultimately find himself personally charged and possibly behind bars. But according to his two adults sons who took over the day-to-day running of the family business in 2017? None of this is a big deal and people dodge six to seven figures worth of taxes all the time.

Appearing on Fox News last evening, the ex-president’s namesake nodded in agreement as host Jesse Watters’s suggested that the amount of money Weisselberg is alleged to have hid from the IRS is basically pocket change.

“They’re alleging $100,000 a year in perks over 15 years. This is a $2 billion company, the Trump Organization, so we’re talking about pennies on the dollar, okay? Pennies on the dollar,” Watters declared. “So this is all they can find? This is all they can find? After promising, what, illegal loans from Moscow? Illegal tax shelters? They promised us the world. So if this is all they can find, a Mercedes that wasn’t properly filed in a tax return? This is usually dealt with from my understanding, maybe a fine, maybe you just refile the tax. Never have they ever charged anybody criminally like this before.” To which Don Jr. responded, “Correct.”

For one thing, we love the idea that Watters and Trump Jr. are all, “That’s all you got?? $1.5 million? Our butlers make more money in a year than that,” when the MAGA crowd is supposedly the party that actually cares about the middle and working class, and the average American makes somewhere in the range of $40,000 a year. For another, as many have pointed out, this is very likely just the beginning of the investigation, not the end.

Don Jr., of course, isn‘t the only Trump boy trying to downplay the situation. After citing Daily Mail comments as a legal defense, Eric Trump also showed up on Fox News to claim that there are way more important things for New York prosecutors to be doing than worrying about an unrepentant alleged tax cheat. (Weisselberg, along with the Trump Organization, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.)

Channeling his father, who spent the last year of his presidency claiming New York and other states that didn’t vote for him are crime-infested hellholes, Eric ranted: “Crime is rampant, people are leaving the city in record numbers, it’s dirty, it’s disgusting, New York is no longer what it is. And they have an entire district attorney’s office and attorney general’s office that’s focused on $3.5 million to take down a political opponent? I mean this is what they do, this is New York state for you, this is worse than a banana republic, it’s truly horrible. And Raymond, you know this better than anybody, they’re afraid that my father is going to run in 2024 and they are afraid that he is going to win.” As he, his brother, and all conservatives are contractually obligated to do, Eric then went on to invoke Joe Biden’s son. “They don’t look at corrupt Hunter Biden,” Trump sneered. “No they don’t care about any of that. They care about going after innocent, great human beings.”

In perhaps related news, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen told MSBNC on Thursday: “I think that [COO] Matthew Calamari is on the chopping block…on top of that I also believe that there are other members of the Trump Organization, including the children who are next to come up on to these indictments.”

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Speaking of Trump‘s offspring...

According to his niece, they’ll have no qualms about turning on him to save themselves:

Donald Trump’s children would likely flip on their father if they faced criminal charges, Mary Trump, the former president’s niece, suggested. She told MSNBC on Thursday that Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr. would be unlikely to show the same sort of loyalty to their father during a criminal case as Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, had.

Mary Trump told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that she thought Trump’s three eldest children “should be quite anxious right now.” She said that while her uncle would “expect the same kind and level of loyalty from them as he expects from Allen,” it would likely not be forthcoming.

She said she thought he “would be surprised to learn that I don’t believe my cousins would exercise that kind of loyalty towards him, because his relationship with them and their relationship with him is entirely transactional and conditional.”

In June, Mary Trump told CNN how she believes the situation would go vis-à-vis Trump not thinking twice about ratting out his kids. Asked by Chris Cuomo, “What would it mean to Donald Trump if they came after his kids?…Would that change his disposition, you think? Would he take one for his kids,” Mary Trump responded: “No, he wouldn’t.”

It’s a real heartwarming family tale!

Who is bankrolling Trumpworld’s new social media network?

A foundation of an on-the-lam billionaire, of course. Per the Daily Beast:

On Thursday, [Trump adviser Jason] Miller announced the launch of “Gettr,” a new social media app aimed at conservatives that promises to be “cancel-free.” Trump fans wary of social media censorship on more prominent platforms like Twitter and Facebook started to sign up for the platform after Politico reported on the existence of the new site. What’s not made clear to Gettr’s new users, though, is that the site received initial funding from a foundation owned by Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and his family. In an interview with the Daily Beast on Thursday, Miller said Guo’s “family foundation” provided Gettr with early funding. “Some of the initial seed money has come from his family foundation,” Miller said of Guo, who also goes by the name Miles Kwok.

Guo, a vocal critic of the Chinese government who is wanted in that country on corruption charges, has developed close ties to top Trump allies. The billionaire paid former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon at least $1 million, and teamed up with him to promote a Chinese doctor’s claims that the coronavirus was created by the Chinese government. When federal authorities arrested Bannon on fraud charges in August 2020, they found him on a yacht owned by Guo.

In an interview on Thursday, Miller told Fox News that GETTR, which claims its MO is about “fighting cancel culture, promoting common sense, defending free speech, challenging social media monopolies, and creating a true marketplace of ideas,” will be “be the envy of the social media world.”

Elsewhere!

Robinhood IPO Filing Shows Power of Meme-Stock Boom (WSJ)

U.S. Job Growth Surges Most in 10 Months, Jumping Past Forecast (Bloomberg)

U.S. deficit will hit $3 trillion, one of the biggest imbalances ever, then drop quickly, CBO says (The Washington Post)

Florida condo board saw construction flaws in tests after 2018 engineer’s report (The Washington Post)

Biden aide charges “sabotage” of Harris (Axios)

IRS data shows some high-income people received $1,400 checks (CNBC)

Biden administration issues first rules to protect patients from unexpected medical bills (The Washington Post)

White House targets corporate giants in draft executive order (Politico)

Couple hires guards to protect “world’s most expensive mango” (NYP)

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Don Jr. and Eric Trump: People Dodge Taxes All the Time, It’s Not a Big Deal - Vanity Fair
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