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Trump Organization found guilty of tax fraud and falsifying records – AOC under investigation by House Ethics Committee – Biden vows further gun control legislation – Musk slams Trump
A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found the real estate company owned by former President Donald Trump guilty of a 15-year-long criminal tax fraud scheme that lasted into his presidency.
Former president Donald Trump was not charged in the case. The Trump Organization operates hotels, golf courses, and other ventures around the world.
The Trump Organization was convicted of paying personal expenses for top executives and issuing bonus checks to them as if they were independent contractors, Reuters reported.
The jury found the Trump organization guilty of 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The company faces up to $1.6 million in fines, NPR reported. Attorneys for the company said they would appeal the ruling.
Among the top executives named in the case is former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, 75, who took a plea deal with a sentence of five months in jail.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, according to a statement by the panel’s acting chair on Wednesday, The Hill reported.
In the statement, the committee did not specify what it was probing in its investigation regarding Ocasio-Cortez, and noted that its acknowledgment of an investigation “does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.”
The House Ethics panel said it received the matter from the nonpartisan Office of Congressional Ethics in June and typically has 45 days to review a matter. The panel said it plans to “announce its course of action” in the next Congress.
Speaking at the 10th Annual National Gun Control Vigil on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden mentioned his gun control legislation while quickly adding, “it’s still not enough.”
“Our work continues to limit the number of bullets that can be in a cartridge, type of weapons that can be purchased and sold, attempt to ban ‘assault weapons,'” Biden said. “A whole range of things that are just common sense.”
On Saturday, former President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that the Constitution should be terminated over his election fraud claims, The Hill reported.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Twitter CEO Elon Musk blasted Trump’s comments, writing in a tweet: “The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story.”
