Butler is a husband, father, grandfather and entrepreneur. entrepreneurpolitical commentator.
We've all been watching the nationally shameful fiasco that was the “hush money” trial of former President Donald Trump, but I suspect most people haven't read about the actual charges he was convicted of. I won't get into the allegations that the entire trial was rigged or that the verdict was somehow predetermined, but I'd like to simplify those charges and point out some interesting aspects of this farce.
But first, let me state that I am not a Trump supporter (nor a Joe Biden supporter). I have voted in every presidential election since I turned 18. I did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, and I do not intend to vote in 2024. I did not vote for Hillary Clinton or Biden. I think presidential elections have gotten worse and worse in recent years.We Deserve Better.
With that in mind, consider the 34 counts against Trump, summarized below:
“A New York County Grand Jury has indicted the defendants on this indictment for one count of falsifying business records in the first degree, in violation of Penal Law § 175.10. The offenses were committed as follows: Defendants engaged in falsifying business records in New York County and elsewhere: [various dates ranging from February 14, 2017 through December 5, 2017]and made and caused false statements in the business records of a corporation with intent to defraud and to commit other crimes and to aid and abet the commission of the same. [transaction details and “enterprise” details]and is kept and controlled by the Trump Organization.”
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All 34 claims are for essentially the same activity over a period of time, but with different record types and involving two different organizations. Each claim uses identical wording except for different dates, transaction details, and “company” details.
For example, the transaction details and company details for the first four counts are as follows:
- Count 1: “…an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, listed as of record for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust…”
- Second count: “…an entry in the detailed general ledger of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust for voucher number 842457…”
- Count 3: “…Detailed general ledger entries for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, voucher number 842460…”
- The fourth charge: “…checks and check stubs made out to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account, dated February 14, 2017, check number 000138…”
Counts 5 through 7 are in the same format except that there is one invoice detail general ledger entry instead of two.
Records 8 through 10 have slightly different owners.
- The eighth charge: “… a demand letter from Michael Cohen dated April 13, 2017, and listed as a record of Donald J. Trump…”
- Count 9: “…detailed general ledger entries relating to Donald J. Trump, voucher number 858770…”
- Count 10: “…checks and check stubs dated June 19, 2017 made out to the account of Donald J. Trump…”
Matters 11 through 34 are also identical in nature: for each of the nine months from April through December 2017, there is one invoice from Michael Cohen marked as Donald J. Trump's records, one detailed general ledger entry in Donald J. Trump's records, and one check issued by Donald J. Trump in payment of the invoice.
What's interesting about these invoices is that they appear to match 11 invoices that Cohen issued each month for legal services. The group of invoices begins with invoices (11 issued each month from February 2017 through December 2017). Each of these invoices has detailed general ledger entry vouchers (the February invoice has two vouchers) and checks issued to pay the invoices. According to media accounts of the transactions, these were presented as monthly flat-rate invoices for services, but embedded in the amounts were reimbursements for amounts Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels.
The falsification apparently involved classifying some of the payments as “legal services” rather than listing them as election-related “hush payments.”
But what's more interesting is who these “falsified” records belonged to: the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and Donald J. Trump Individual, neither of which are “businesses.” A revocable trust is simply a legal device to organize personal assets and ensure they are distributed as you direct when you die. It is used to ensure that a deceased person's estate is not subject to the time and expense of a lengthy probate process, where the court determines how the assets are distributed. It is a common legal device for anyone with significant assets, not just the wealthy. Probate requirements vary by state, but are usually required if the estate exceeds $100,000 (much less in some states). By placing assets in a trust, you avoid the probate process. The trust includes investments, including privately held companies, of which Trump undoubtedly has a large number. But the trust itself is not a business; neither is Trump himself personally a business.
Although the complaints allege that the records were “in the custody and control of the Trump Organization,” this appears to merely have been a management service provided for Mr. Trump's benefit and paid for by him. The records themselves are Donald Trump's records, not the Trump Organization or any other company's records.
Presumably the invoice itself was issued to Trump's company, but personally paying such an invoice suggests that Trump understood it was not a business expense and therefore chose to pay from personal funds.
While I do not endorse Donald Trump's morals or ethics, whether personal or business related, I do question how he could be convicted of falsifying business records based strictly on personal records.
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