Big day today. As I write this President Zelensky is either somewhere over the Atlantic or close to arriving in Washington already, I understand. I’m sure he realizes that once Republicans take the majority in the House, military aid from the U.S. will likely dry up. But he will address Congress and do his best to open right-wing eyes.
And yesterday we pretty much got the Holy Grail, also known as Trump’s taxes. They’ll be released as soon as some personal information like people’s Social Security numbers have been redacted. But what’s come out so far is that the IRS failed to do its duty to audit Trump’s taxes while he was in office (yet chose to do “deep audits” of Andrew McCabe and James Comey). Further, it appears Trump made all kinds of claims of deductions and write-offs and losses and values without providing any documentation. One suspects he just pulled numbers out of his ass.
Susanne Craig of the New York Times commented yesterday,
I’ve long felt Donald Trump didn’t want his tax return information released because it exposes him as a wildly unsuccessful businessman. In 2019, we obtained a printout of Trump’s official Internal Revenue Service tax transcripts from 1985 to 1994, when Trump lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer. That’s right — more money than any other individual in the country. We were able to establish this by comparing his results for those years with detailed information the I.R.S. compiles on an annual sampling of high-income earners.
And one suspects he’s been fudging numbers on his tax returns for years to keep himself financially afloat. A real audit could ruin him. Anyone got popcorn?
And the January 6 committee’s final report is supposed to be released today. Possibly the best news is that we learned yesterday that the committee had already been cooperating with and sending documents to special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Enjoy the moment. I’m not hearing any reports on how Trump is handling all this, but here is a good guess.
One suspects he just pulled numbers out of his ass.
Big ass (literally and figuratively); big numbers!
Other than showing that Trump is a tax cheat and not a real billionaire and that he has income flows from other countries, what is there to see!
It will be interesting to see how much his real wealth is less than how much he inherited from his Klan Daddy.
Narcisistic implosion is underway. Will be interesting to see how soon and in what manner the Rs finally realize they need to save themselves. Some (Elise Stefanik) never will.
TFG will be an amazing study for psychiatrists and historians, not only for how he managed to con a nation to get the top job, and all the international implications this entails, but for the intervention it took to remove him and begin to confront his lies. People talk about the madness of King George, a historical figure from a few centuries ago, but generations to come will instead reference TFG. King George had nowhere the impact of Trump nor was his every interaction so well documented.
Last post, I left a link to lunch with Nancy and Chuck. I was thinking about an anecedote Pelosi told from that interview, where, at the first meeting Trump had with this duo, the first words out of his mouth were “I won the popular vote”. Pelosi immediately rebutted this lie.
This is exactly how Trump conned / hypnotized people. Michael Cohen explained it in detail during his congressional testimony. Trump speaks the lie out loud directly to your face, in an attempt to hypnotize you into believing it. Over and over this is how he got thru life.
I would be hard pressed to find a reference, but I remember reading about social status and lying. We had a saying frequently repeated on the golf course during wagering on the first tee box that the first liar didn't have a chance. Certainly, lying in Texas is the norm, and being able to tell the biggest whopping lie without someone calling bullshit on you is a true sign if high status in some parts. We were certainly taught as children that family elders were not to be corrected even if you knew they were wrong, which is good manners in a way. One thing for sure with Trump it is not a case of good manners. Etiquette has never been his forte. He is not from Texas so that is no excuse. To lead with a lie may be common for the sociopath and grifter types, as to assessment as to what they can weasel out of you, but I lack a proper reference. Cleckley would be a good place to start.
I can guarantee one thing, I'll never live long enough to see the authorities get to the bottom of Trump's tax fraud schemes. With Trump having over 500 companies in which to shift funds and declare deductions and losses it will take years to sort out all of his criminality. If it can even be done.
I just want to know who MTG's lawyer is. Cassidy Hutchinson had a WH lawyer telling her to lie and say "i can't recall"(neither could Jim Jordan). So did mtg have same legal help?
Like with Eastman can we get these lawyers disbarred please?
I'm sure someone told MTG all you have to do is say "I can't recall" and never veer from that and she'll be fine. She's not smart enough to figure this out nor is she disciplined enough to pull it off on her own.
Why execute a former leader when you can inflict upon him "The American Death of a Thousand Cuts" – and all legal ones at that!
Execution's too quick and (maybe?) merciful a death for corrupt "leader" like presiDUNCE Small Hands.
Sue him for something new every week and he might beg to be executed.
But we won't allow that!
NO!!!
We want to immerse and bathe ourselves in his Fascist tears.
BTW: Who ya think is gonna be the first feckin' eedjit RepubliKKLAN House member who yells out something feckin' stupid while Zelensky is speaking?
My money's on America's pimp, Matt Gaetz.
Of course, MTG & Lauren (bobo) are also prime suspects to become the winner of the "Dishonorable 'YOU LIE!' Award" – given to the RepubliKKLAN dim/nit/half/fuck-wit (but I repeat myself. Multiple times) whose only talents are are having the loudest volume and lowest IQ.
Who will take home "The Gold (painted) Toilet Seat Award" this year?!?
Someone over at the WaPo called them "the Putin wing" of the Republican party. Same commenter reminded me that most Rs actually have voted to fund the Ukrainians. And so there's hope…
We have to remember that trump's taxes are nothing like his actual financials and so we won't learn nearly as much from them as many people seem to think we will. For example, taxes don't indicate net worth, just income. But you're right that we will get a good look at what kind of machinations he goes through to avoid paying taxes and whether those machinations are actually legal.
As for the Republican majority in the House…don't count out serious pushback from moderate Republicans, of which there are still some in the House, against the crazy caucus. I've said since the election that I think there is a possibility, getting stronger now than even then, that those moderates will be willing to make a deal to put Jeffries into the Speaker's chair in exchange for some power sharing deal, say committee chair positions and committee makeup along with a shared say in what legislation moves forward.
To me that is becoming a greater possibility by the day. As for Ukraine aid there is a lot that will be in the bill about to be passed. I think it is a telling point about the weakness of McCarthy and his cadre of crazies that his threats against Senators if they vote for the budget bill is being mostly laughed off by enough Senators to make passage pretty certain. It contains a lot of aid for Ukraine, both economic and military.
I watched the end of the Zelensky address. Seems like he was well-received by both parties. If the message has the effect of consolidating public support, (currently at 66 to 70%) opposing Ukraine from Congress won't get you reelected. Supporters of Moscow are dancing around the issue, trying to limit US aid. Republicans do not feel the wind at their back after the last election. I expect them to watch the polls closely.
I think the general climate will get worse after the GOP pulls a series of shutdowns, which historically backfire. It's worth noting that by passing the budget until October next year, the first opportunity to shut down the government will happen closer to the mid-terms. (It's not passed yet, but seems likely to.) The voters will remember who to blame for the chaos in '24.
Re tax returns: the early fact that stands out is that the IRS did NOT do the required mandatory audits of the president. So the House is vindicated in its quest for the returns (and the associated IRS records.) I think some of the audits began retroactively after the House requested the information. The IRS knows its audits will go under the microscope if/when the House flips back. I'm biased, but I do not see a lot of reasons why the IRS would cut Trump any slack. IMO, the IRS usually avoids a full fight over taxes with a billionaire. Some in the GOP are publicly advocating defunding the IRS – the democrats provided the recent boost in IRS funding. Does the IRS recognize which side is supporting them? I think so.
On the subject of business accountability – Wells Fargo agreed to pay 3.7 billion in fines for fraudulent practices. They agreed – because it might have been worse in a trial. This isn't taxes but it is related. One side is (sometimes) taking on big business and the other side is all about providing them cover.
Regarding Trump's state-of-mind: I think Trump will gravitate to one solution to all his problems, all the civil suits, and (I'm anticipating) all the criminal actions, both state and federal. He's going to want ONE answer to make all of it go away. Nuance and patience are two arrows not in his quiver.
I'd keep a very close eye on Eric Prince and big money flowing his direction for munitions and mercenaries.