39 Comments
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Jeff Lazar's avatar

"The whole arrangement is dripping with contempt for the American people. We can’t let it disappear into the pile of Trump outrages that benumb us. We must keep the brightest light we can kindle shining on this kleptocratic heist."

I stopped crying lone enough to get all the way to the end. What suggestions do you have, Harry, for WE THE PEOPLE? Feeling despondent is not working for me.

Jeanne's avatar

Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Willie Sutton, Donald Trump, they have one thing in common: they are all crooks.

Swbv's avatar

Roy Cohn, Bad Bondi, Todd Blanche, Eagle Ed Martin, Ka$h Patel..... only the best!

Jeanne's avatar

Trump travels with the best, yeah, right! Birds of a feather.

Susan Berg's avatar

I’ve read and heard respected lawyers insist this is not a “settlement agreement” as there was no case to settle. Trump or Blanche pulled their lawsuit with the IRS because it was not even valid. A plaintiff cannot sue himself or a department under his control. They knew the judge was about to dismiss it. So they concocted what they call a “settlement agreement,” when it is really Trump/Blanche allocating taxpayer money to something they created for their own benefit. Pressure must be on Congress to take back their Constitutional authority to manage the federal budget.

P. Chabot's avatar

Brazen. Criminal. Lock him up - or let satan do it.

paulc's avatar

I REALLY agree w this.

It is easy to let the next outrage push this to the back.

Hopefully you and others can keep it front and center.

It is emblematic of so much that is wrong w these people, and so obvious that even doubters will have to contort themselves.

Thank you.

Ranulf de Glanvill's avatar

The grifting alone is enough to set one’s hair on fire. But the sheer condescension towards us, the American public, is beyond imagination. Did Blump really think that no one in a country of 330 million people would look at the relevant statute? Did Blump really think that no one in this country could, without a law school education, see that the statute ran totally against the grift? There must a sentencing guideline that allows extra time to be added because the defendant was a total a-shole.

Ming's avatar

“A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” "He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation." "He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good." –Declaration of Independence

ml elliott's avatar

Leaking his tax returns should not be our price to pay but the IRS contractor alone. I never even saw them on any platform. This grifting has to end. He is bankrupting this country by billions every day. He doesn't fix a thing. He just rips and tears, creates chaos and leaves his mess for the next administration. He never should have been on the ballots in 2016 let alone 2020 and 2024. FDT.

Karena's avatar

FDT & IDT

I like these because they can have multiple interpretations.

Tam's avatar

It's so brazenly obvious.

Another acting AG that's a lawyer about to lose his American BAR license...

Another one bites the dust.

Swbv's avatar

Once a Trump defense lawyer, always a Trump defense lawyer

Julie W's avatar

BLUMP - Thank you ! Death by 1000 cuts. Nothing Stops the Escalation of #47 Pedo Turd Traitor in Chief and Cabinet Cronies' Grift, Destruction, Lawlessness. IMPEACH, CONVICT, REMOVE NOW! 💪 ⚖️ 🗽

noeire's avatar

Thank you for the forthrightness and clarity. This piece needs to ring out 24/7.

willsx2's avatar

This is such a well laid out clear explanation.

Don Smith's avatar

Three questions:

Every president - EVERY one that is, but Trump - since Nixon has voluntarily released his tax returns. What true, actual “harm” did Trump claim to suffer as a result of the subcontractor’s actions?

And, despite the I.R.S.’s memo supporting a defense against Trump’s allegations, why did the Justice Department not pursue the case Trump brought?

Why are we not seeking impeachment of Attorney General Blanche for malfeasance?

Swbv's avatar

CONFIRMED. Once a Trump defense lawyer, always a Trump defense lawyer. Us little people just don't matter. Everyone outside of the top 1% just don't matter. This requires a brief bow to John Roberts and his Citizens United abomination in 2010.

HL : "One day after the court dismissed the case, Blanche signed a separate order on AG letterhead. It purports to release, waive, and forever discharge Trump, his family members, and his companies from any tax liability, including for returns filed before the settlement’s effective date. A golden forever pass, with no court supervision, no pending case, and no legal instrument authorizing it."

Elizabeth Fenlon's avatar

Excellent and perfectly-analyzed essay, Mr. Litman! I love your essays; they are always excellent, clear, and perfectly analyzed. You are a rock star, sir. Thank you for this essay about a huge grift that is flying under the radar. It bugs me when writers call it a “settlement” when it’s not a valid settlement at all. The “claim” was blatantly bogus. God, he’s such a crook.

Swbv's avatar
1dEdited

It would be a great relief to know that Gym Jordan and James Comer and Chuck Grassley have read this post. They alongside the internal Trump Administration fabrication machine are entirely responsible for this legal travesty having legs. Weaponization is their particular fetish but, I admit, they and their colleagues in the GOP are much, much better at it than the Democrats. One would think that the fact that the prosecutions that took place under Biden were a complete sweep in the courts would give the lie to Fox and their friends in the GOP.