Robert Mueller hands out new tax and bank fraud charges to Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. Update!

Courtesy of Bloomberg:  

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his onetime deputy, Rick Gates, were indicted on tax and bank fraud charges as U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller mounted a fresh attack to strengthen his legal pressure against the men. Mueller used a new 32-count indictment in Alexandria, Virginia, to raise the legal stakes against the duo, who were initially indicted on Oct. 27 in Washington on charges of laundering millions of dollars and failing to register as foreign agents for their political consulting work over a decade in Ukraine.

The second indictment complicates the legal defense for both men and appears to signal that plea negotiations have been fruitless. Gates had been weighing a guilty plea, according to several reports. Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, has charged a total of 19 people and picked up the tempo of his public actions in recent days. 

“Manafort and Gates generated tens of millions of dollars in income as a result of their Ukraine work,” the new indictment said. “From approximately 2006 through the present, Manafort and Gates engaged in a scheme to hide income from United States authorities, while enjoying the use of the money.” 

The men are accused of filing false tax returns in each year from 2010 to 2014, and of conspiring to defraud three banks of more than $22 million through loans secured by Manafort’s properties. At one bank, a conspirator helped in the fraud, the indictment said. It also charged that as their political consulting income dwindled in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, Manafort and Gates defrauded banks to allow Manafort “to have the benefits of liquid income without paying taxes on it.”

Apparently part of the evidence used against these two idiots is an email of Manafort asking Gates to convert a fraudulent document from a word file to a pdf.

Y'all I'm dying, Manafort created an incriminating paper trail because he needed someone to help him convert a Word doc to PDF. pic.twitter.com/CTE4oV7zj0

— Susan Simpson (@TheViewFromLL2) February 22, 2018

Pair of real geniuses here.

Speaking of geniuses this kind of makes me wonder just HOW MUCH incriminating evidence that Mueller has compiled to use in this investigation.

I mean he started out with indictments against Manafort and Gates accusing them of conspiracy, and when they failed to cooperate he simply indicts them on tax and bank fraud charges like it's nothing.

One has to wonder what else he has in the chamber if Manafort continues to hold out on him?

(You can read these new indictments here.)

Update: Well that was quick.

Gates has now agreed to plead guilty.

Courtesy of NBC News:

Former campaign aide Rick Gates has agreed to plead guilty, becoming the third associate of President Donald Trump to make a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, a source familiar with the proceedings told NBC News. 

Gates, who was indicted with former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort in October on conspiracy and other charges related to their lobbying work in Ukraine, is expected to appear in federal court in Washington on Friday to enter the plea. 

The development comes a day after Mueller filed a new 32-count indictment against Gates and Manafort, hitting them with new charges of tax and bank fraud. It also follows a guilty plea by a Russia-linked lawyer who admitted he lied to investigators about his contacts with Gates.

And the dominoes just keep right on falling.

I think that once Mueller convinces Manafort to flip, that it is game over.

Update 2: Damn! Manafort just doubled down on his innocence.

NEW / Paul Manafort says Rick Gates did not have the “strength to continue the battle to prove our innocence” —> pic.twitter.com/2N3sDIDaqp

— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) February 23, 2018

Okay somebody has definitely been offered a presidential pardon.

New York Congressman, and felony tax evader, Michael Grimm finally resigns.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Rep. Michael Grimm announced late Monday night plans to resign from Congress, after pleading guilty to a felony tax evasion charge last week. 

The announcement came just hours after a source familiar with Grimm's thinking told CNN he would resign "sooner rather than later," after the New York Daily News broke the news of Grimm's plans to step down. 

"After much thought and prayer, I have made the very difficult decision to step down from Congress effective January 5th, 2015. This decision is made with a heavy heart, as I have enjoyed a very special relationship and closeness with my constituents, whom I care about deeply," Grimm said in a statement issued shortly before midnight by his office. 

The Staten Island congressman was indicted in April on 20 counts relating to his health food restaurant, Healthalicious, including charges that he filed false tax returns; engaged in mail fraud, wire fraud and perjury; and knowingly hired undocumented workers. 

House Speaker John Boehner called Grimm's decision to step down "honorable" in a statement on Tuesday.

You know there are a lot of slimy politicians in Congress, but this guy was one of the slimiest. 

And it is somewhat unbelievable that despite the fact that he certain to be convicted he was still reelected.

And don't forget this is the same shit heel who threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony and break him in half "like a boy." 

Don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out douchebag.

Mitt Romney "rented" Mormon Church's tax exempt status to avoid paying taxes for fifteen years. It looks like SOME people owe Harry Reid an apology.

Courtesy of Current TV:

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney used a loophole to “rent” the Mormon church’s tax exemption status and defer paying taxes for 15 years, according to a new report. 

Tax returns obtained by Bloomberg News through a Freedom of Information Act request indicated that Romney set up a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT) in June 1996 just before Congress cracked down on the loophole in 1997. 

“In this instance, Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity — the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing — to defer taxes for more than 15 years,” Bloomberg’s Jesse Drucker explained. “At the same time he is benefitting, the trust will probably leave the church with less than what current law requires.” 

Estates lawyer Jonathan Blattmachr told Bloomberg that Romney’s trust benefits from the Mormon church’s exempt status because charities don’t pay capital gains taxes when they make a profit from the sale of assets. 

“The main benefit from a charitable remainder trust is the renting from your favorite charity of its exemption from taxation,” Blattmachr said, adding that the charitable contribution “is just a throwaway” and the church would receive little if any financial benefit from the trust. 

The CRUT allows individuals to “defer capital gains taxes on any profit from the sale of the assets, and receive a small upfront charitable deduction and a stream of yearly cash payments,” Drucker wrote. “Like an individual retirement account, the trust allows money to grow tax deferred, while like an annuity it also pays Romney a steady income. After the funder’s death, the trust’s remaining assets go to a designated charity.” 

In fact, the amount available to go to the Mormon church has decreased from at least $750,000 in 2001 to $421,203 at the end of 2011 as Romney has collected yearly cash payments from the trust. 

The Romney campaign declined to answer questions about the trust but insisted that it was “operated in accordance with the law” in an email to Bloomberg.

"Operated in accordance with the law." Is anybody else tired of hearing Mitt Romney's financial activities described in those words?

Yes perhaps it WAS legal (Just barely), but was it ethical? And it is ethical to run for President of the United States on a platform that promises to reduce taxes even further for people in your income bracket, while leaving the overall financial burden for those that can least afford it? And doing so after using every trick in the book to get out of  paying YOUR fair share?

This HAS to be what Harry Reid was talking about when he accused Romney of not paying taxes for ten years. (And look, he was even five years too generous!) And as the highest ranking Mormon in public office he would undoubtedly have known about this, which in my opinion also explains his obvious anger that Romney has now become the public face of his church. Even going so far as to state that "He is not the face of Mormonism."

Okay can SOMEBODY please tell me why this son-of-a-bitch has ANY support in this election?

How stupid are these people?

Bain Capital under investigation for tax evasion.

Courtesy of Forbes:

The New York Times is reporting that Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, is among a number of firms being investigated by New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, for failing to pay taxes. 

The New York AG’s Taxpayer Protection Bureau has issued subpoenas to at least twelve financial firms, including Bain, looking into whether the companies converted management fees (taxed as ordinary income) paid by investors into fund investments which are taxed at a dramatically lower rate. 

The controversial tax avoidance scheme came to light last month when Bain Capital internal financial information was published online by Gawker.com , however the investigation had reportedly commenced prior to the publication and is not believed to be tied to the document dump. 

While Governor Romney has not been active at Bain Capital for quite some time, he does continue to receive profits from the company and held investments in some of the funds that utilized the tax avoidance strategy. 

The Romney campaign issued a statement indicating that the Governor had not benefited from the practice.

Well of COURSE the Romney campaign will say that  Mitt the Twit did not benefit from these practices. But since they refuse to release his tax results we can't know that, now can we?

However THIS is a very big deal, and it cannot help but cast a shadow over Mitt Romney, and the company that he helped to found. Of course this will make absolutely NO difference to those who were always going to vote for the Republican ticket, but it might have a withering effect on the3 undecideds whose vote might still be up for grabs.