Gockomo

Garcia: So, to be clear, we have a president that is $2 billion richer just from this last year. We have a son whose wedding is being paid for by rich Russians and oligarchs that have connections to Putin. We have Jared Kushner, who got $2 billion for his investment firm from the Saudis while also doing diplomacy in the Middle East. We have the Kushners who are trying to buy private islands and selling all sorts of merchandise that’s being promoted, oftentimes through government resources. We also have, of course, this insane amount of stock trading that the president himself is doing to enrich himself and his family. And, of course, the sons sitting on boards of private companies that are then getting contracts from the federal government. The amount of corruption is unprecedented. And not only are they lining their pockets, they’re stealing the wealth of hardworking Americans, they’re stealing the hard-earned labor and wealth of working-class people, and then funneling that money to themselves and to the rich donors and large corporations and CEOs across this country. As they get richer, costs go up for the American people. And we know that Republicans in the House and in the Senate are complicit by not calling out this corruption.

Wolf: What hasn’t been discussed publicly, to my knowledge, is the fact that, in my opinion, President Trump committed a crime in negotiating the settlement agreement in this case and it’s possible that Mr. Blanche would be found to be a co-conspirator in that crime. Let me try to explain… Congress enacted a statute that makes it illegal for the president or the vice president to directly or indirectly request the initiation or termination of a tax investigation. There’s a potential five-year prison term for violating that statute. Donald Trump would not have immunity from criminal prosecution for violating that statute in this case because he filed this lawsuit in his personal capacity. Therefore, negotiating the settlement was not an official act for which he has immunity as president. So, in this case, he was negotiating essentially with himself. As Judge Williams said in Trump v. IRS—a case in which I’m one of the 35 plaintiffs who, through excellent lawyers, persuaded the court to reopen the case and find that this was not a genuine case—it wasn’t a real case or controversy that was legitimately in federal court. It was a collusive case brought for an improper purpose: to get a personal benefit for President Trump, his family, and his allies.