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Rep. Mark Sanford: Trump's

artappraiser — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 19:12:55 +0000

Rep. Mark Sanford: Trump's conduct with Putin mandates he release his tax returns

By Schuyler Kroft @ (Charleston) PostandCourier.com, July 18

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford — his days numbered in Congress — renewed his call for President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, saying the president's pro-Moscow performance in Finland mandates he clear the air.

Additionally, the South Carolina Republican said it would be in the GOP's best interest to take up the push in light of Trump's coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Sanford suggested Trump's initial failure to condemn Putin and Russia for tampering in the 2016 election may have been tainted by factors that might be discernible in tax documents [....]

Op-ed from July 4 NYTimes.com

artappraiser — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 19:09:43 +0000

In reply to Tax returns, back again

Op-ed from July 4 NYTimes.com:

How to Make Trump’s Tax Returns Public

By David Cay Johnston

Mr. Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of two books about Donald Trump.

On June 14, the New York State attorney general, Barbara Underwood, filed a civil complaint against President Trump and his three oldest children, accusing them of “persistently illegal conduct” in using the Donald J. Trump Foundation as “little more than a checkbook for payments from Mr. Trump or his businesses to nonprofits, regardless of their purpose or legality.”

Ms. Underwood believes there is abundant evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr. Trump as well. She made that position very clear in the letters she sent to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission in Washington recommending “further investigation and legal action.”

Ms. Underwood sent those letters, at the same time she filed the civil complaint, because New York state law does not grant her automatic authority to initiate criminal investigations. Her criminal referral to Washington noted that it would be a crime for the president to interfere in such an investigation. However, given Mr. Trump’s assertion that he has the power to halt any criminal inquiry and to pardon himself for federal crimes, a criminal investigation by any part of the federal executive branch seems highly unlikely.

The attorney general could, however, easily gain that authority. All that’s needed is for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Police or the state Department of Taxation and Finance to make a request, and the authority would be granted to her. Criminal jurisdiction also rests with Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney. Mr. Vance has shown no interest, so far, in investigating other complaints against Mr. Trump [.....]

Is Investigation a Backdoor

artappraiser — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 19:06:53 +0000

In reply to Tax returns, back again

Is Investigation a Backdoor to President Trump's Tax Return?

Attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout said shifting from a civil case to a criminal probe into the Trump Foundation could lead to the release of the president's tax returns.

By Bernard Condon @ Associated Press, July 19

Is there a backdoor to getting at President Donald Trump’s tax returns?

At least one Democratic activist says yes, and it’s through a New York state investigation into Trump’s charity.

Attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout held a news conference in front of Trump Tower on Wednesday calling on the governor to grant authority to state prosecutors pursuing a civil case against the Trump Foundation to launch a criminal probe, a shift that she says could lead to the release of the president’s tax returns. Trump has refused to release his returns, bucking decades of precedent.

“Not having Donald Trump’s tax returns is a national security issue,” said Teachout, a law professor at Fordham University. “We don’t know foreign money flows to the president.” [.....]