Thanks to excellent reporting from The New York Times, we know that Donald Trump has been using complex schemes to avoid paying taxes for decades. He has taken questionable deductions (i.e. $70,000 for hair styling), funneled money to family members by calling them independent contractors, and other possibly illegal financial moves that could expose him to serious legal jeopardy.
But it’s not just the Donald who could be facing a long stay in prison, according to former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman, who looked into Richard Nixon’s tax returns back in the 1970s. As it turns out, the president’s favorite child, Ivanka, is also in hot water, Akerman noted, beginning with an explanation of how tax fraud is defined during an appearance on CNN:
“Tax avoidance is simply taking the tax code and getting the most deductions you can get under the code that is perfectly legal. Tax fraud, however, is lying about what your income was, lying about what your deductions are, and there’s a couple of items that just stand out in that report from the New York Times that really appear to go beyond tax avoidance.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Tish James are both known to be investigating Trump and the Trump Organization, focusing specifically on possible charges of insurance and tax fraud. And that, Akerman added, means Donald and Ivanka are facing some serious time behind bars wearing orange jumpsuits:
“Tax evasion is a five-year felony. It’s a pretty serious crime, and the more money that’s stolen, the longer you go to jail for.”
Akerman also addressed the $747,622 in so-called “consulting fees” that Ivanka was paid. Those, he warned, could wind up being all the evidence a good prosecutor:
“There is no legitimate reason for her to get those consulting fees since she was being paid already as a Trump employee. The only possible reason for doing this was to somehow move money around so that it wouldn’t be taxed to Donald Trump but would in effect go on Ivanka Trump’s tax return, who probably had certain losses that she could take against it. So in the end, the government gets zero dollars.”
Ex-Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman says the NYT’s report on Trump’s taxes shows that both he and his daughter, Ivanka could face legal liabilities. “The only thing saving him at this point is the Department of Justice’s guideline that says you can’t indict a sitting president.” pic.twitter.com/kOytMsQTgQ
— CNN (@CNN) September 29, 2020
Just consider the irony: By being daddy’s little princess and his all-time favorite child, Vanky may get rewarded with a trip to the big house.
Lock them both up and throw away the damn key!