Wednesday, November 23, 2016

trump foundation = impeachment

"And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on ..........."  In an article I read this morning in USA Today (on line), it was reported that " President-elect [d]onald [t]rump's charitable foundation transferred assets to a disqualified person, possibly [t]rump himself, according to a 2015 tax filing submitted to the nonprofit information center GuideStar and posted online Tuesday."  The article goes on to note that "[t]rump has been under heavy scrutiny in recent months for using tax-exempt foundation money to pay for personal expenses, such as legal settlements with governments and personal expenses, including paintings of himself."  

Whether or not trump was a recipient of the 'self dealing' funds (as this type of activity is known) or not is inconsequential with relation to impeachment.  If trump was in fact the recipient, though, it will make the case even that much stronger, in my opinion.  

The preparers checked two boxes "yes" on the filing, that the organization had transferred "any income or assets to a disqualified person....."  Sounds illegal to me!  So, I looked up Federal Misdemeanors and found the following:

http://ms.fd.org/other/4_Table_Federal_Misdemeanors.pdf

   - Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure
     Bribery, Graft, and Conflicts of Interest
 
     18:§203-209 These apply where the defendant "engages" rather than ''willfully engages" in prohibited conduct

The above may only be applicable if the person committing the crime is currently a Federal employee, so I dug further and found an  IRS document on "self dealing" from non profit organizations to disqualified individuals:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicq85.pdf

   - IRC 4941 - THE NATURE OF SELF-DEALING

     IRC 4941(d)(1)(E) provides that the transfer to, or use by or for the benefit of, a disqualified person of the income or assets of a private foundation is an act of self-dealing.

Certainly trump and the tax filing for the trump foundation fall under this law.  Therefore, it becomes very simple, IMPEACH the asshole!   He's a self admitted criminal.  To reimburse the foundation does not excuse him from criminal activity.  If a person admittedly steals a car and then returns it, that person is still subject to criminal prosecution  and after pleading guilty will still be subject to penalty, as provided for by the law.

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