Ivanka Trump was deposed yesterday in “misuse of inauguration funds” lawsuit

Introversion

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/ivanka-trump-deposition/index.html

CNN said:
Ivanka Trump, the President's daughter and adviser, sat for a deposition Tuesday with investigators from the Washington, DC, attorney general's office as part of its lawsuit alleging the misuse of inaugural funds, according to a court filing.

In January, the DC attorney general's office sued the Trump Organization and Presidential Inaugural Committee alleging they abused more than $1 million raised by the nonprofit by "grossly overpaying" for use of event space at the Trump hotel in Washington for the 2017 inauguration.

Depositions of witnesses as part of the lawsuit have been underway over the past several weeks.

Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee, was deposed on November 17, according to the court filing.

The attorney general's office has also subpoenaed records from Barrack, Ivanka Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Rick Gates, the former inaugural committee deputy chairman, the filing said.

According to the lawsuit, Gates "personally managed" discussions with the Trump hotel about event space.

In December 2016, Gates wrote to Ivanka Trump that he was "a bit worried about the optics of PIC [Presidential Inaugural Committee] paying Trump Hotel a high fee and the media making a big story out of it," according to the lawsuit.

...

No worries, I’m sure Dad’s got a pardon queued up for her.
 

Brightdreamer

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I'd bet good money none of them see the inside of a jail cell.

Their kind never do - long before this regime, unfortunately. Too many cronies in too many places, too many hooks, too many secret handshakes and bribes and connections.
 

Roxxsmom

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Nope. This is the kind of injustice and contempt for the law and for "the little people" that should have everyone who isn't in the top 10% in this country united. Electing Trump to drain the swamp in Washington is a bit like hiring a packrat to solve our country's problem with litter.
 

Belle_91

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Yeah, I'm with Brightdreamer. This is another thing, while wrong, that they'll manage to slither out of. Part of me wonders if the whole time this wasn't just a scheme for them to make more money and they tapped into GOP fears and hysteria to make bank.

Honestly, I feel like Trump's election loss was the first time he didn't get what he wanted. And thus he melted down like a toddler who's parents are making him leave Chucky Cheese.

I wonder what the movie version of all of this will look like.
 
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MaeZe

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Yeah, I'm with Brightdreamer. This is another thing, while wrong, that they'll manage to slither out of. Part of me wonders if the whole time this wasn't just a scheme for them to make more money and they tapped into GOP fears and hysteria to make bank.

Honestly, I feel like Trump's election loss was the first time he didn't get what he wanted. And thus he melted [is melting] down like a toddler who's parents are making him leave Chucky Cheese.

I wonder what the movie version of all of this will look like.
FTFY

Trump is nowhere near past tense here.
 

micahkolding

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I wouldn't be so pessimistic; Donald may finally have reached a level of visibility where his sins can't be so easily brushed under the rug. We're already watching a bunch of his old cronies distance themselves from him. I think there's decent odds that at least one of the traitor tots may end up spending a little time behind bars.
 

darkprincealain

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I have my doubts anyone will spend time behind bars for any of this. Maybe there is better luck in the southern district of New York sealed indictments that we might not find out about until January 20th at the earliest, but I still suspect no matter what any of these people did, and what is proven, there’s a chance they’ll all escape real prison time.
 

micahkolding

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I'm not going to be super-naïve and say you're wrong, but I will say that there's been a lot about this administration that has been far from the usual. And something that Donald has going against him is that he may very well be looking at financial ruination, which not only robs him of a lot of his ability to dodge justice, but may by itself be the next best thing to him going to jail anyway.
 

Roxxsmom

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I don't know about that. When incredibly wealthy people are "broke" it means something very different than when people of more ordinary means are "broke." They may not have a lot of cash, but they still have all these assets, and unlike the average middle-class family, those assets are things they can sell off (or even just shuffle them around--essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul) and still live very well. They never seem to end up living in a van down by the river. Trump has been "bankrupt" a number times already. So as nice as it is to fantasize about a Trading Places type situation as the ultimate justice for him, I don't think it's likely.

As far as I'm concerned he's far closer to treason than any POTUS has ever been, and some of his followers are over the line (if seriously suggesting that a military "intervention" is warranted in a free and fair election isn't technically the US definition treason, it certainly is sedition, which is a crime, even in free speech societies like the US).

I find it very disheartening how few checks we really have on the Presidency, or on abuses of power by people at or near the top of the government. So much in this country has depended on leaders having a modicum of restraint and/or wanting what is best for the country as a whole. Some still do, clearly, judging by the GOP election chairs, governors, and other leaders who are calling for the certification of election results that don't favor their party, even knowing they are going to pay a price politically and personally. But there are a disturbing number who are too indoctrinated in right-wing ideology, or too ambitious, or too afraid (or some combination of all of these things) to do the right thing.

For all those who are expressing relief that our system worked, I want to put out there that it was way too close to not working. We are in a very fragile state right now and aren't out of the woods by any means.
 
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micahkolding

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If I'm not mistaken, Donald has technically never been bankrupt before. He's had numerous businesses declare bankruptcies while he cashed out on them, but if the books are opened on his tax dodges and overseas accounts, it'll be a whole new kettle of fish for him.

And yes, it is disquieting how close our system was to not working. On the bright side, we can now say that we're a country who recognized authoritarianism and voted it out of office at the first opportunity.
 

MaeZe

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Per Maddow tonight, these are civil charges, not affected by Presidential pardons which only affect federal crimes.

Seems like they get slaps on the wrists for this stuff but I'd love to see a big fat lien put on their property and bank accounts.
 

darkprincealain

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I do think without a certain kind of GOP person, (Raffensberger and the one GOP member who voted to certify in Michigan) our free and fair election would have failed. We came perilously close to something akin to a sham election, and so few people worked to stop it that this can’t happen again this way and our systems hold. Something will have to be done.
 

lizmonster

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Something will have to be done.

You're right, of course, but I'm struggling to figure out what. We're now in a post-truth world, where nearly half the country literally does not believe facts. How do you combat that?

I think the MSM could help a lot by refusing to cover *rump once he's left office. Let him starve for attention. It won't fix everything, but starving his mythos of fuel will deplete his numbers a bit, and maybe give reality a chance to regain some traction.
 

cbenoi1

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Marie Antoinette will leave her little Hameau in cuffs? Awww. So sad. Thoughts and prayers.

-cb
 

frimble3

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New York is probably the best place for any 'trial' of the Trumps. The New York judiciary has tons of experience in both big fraud and embezzlement trials, and big mob trials. They've probably been waiting for this for years.
 

darkprincealain

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You're right, of course, but I'm struggling to figure out what. We're now in a post-truth world, where nearly half the country literally does not believe facts. How do you combat that?

I think the MSM could help a lot by refusing to cover *rump once he's left office. Let him starve for attention. It won't fix everything, but starving his mythos of fuel will deplete his numbers a bit, and maybe give reality a chance to regain some traction.

I don’t really have any suggestions, because the certification pieces that were attacked are state law and not federal, so we’re talking about 50 separate solutions based on the way certification work in each state, but a relatively lowly certification official whose position has never had an affect on the election before suddenly being heightened to the level it has because he voted against certification which seems to be against state law seems preposterously dangerous.