Trump Organization CFO Pleads Guilty in Tax Case

BUCK: You may not have seen this ’cause there’s so much going on with regard to the effort to take down all things Trump. But you got this CFO of the Trump Organization has pleaded guilty in a tax evasion case. This is a former top executive now at the Trump family business. I just want to take a moment here to remind everybody, Clay, they have been trying for, what is it now, six years to unseal all of Trump’s tax returns.

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: They have been trying to get a court to do that. They’ve been bringing all kinds of investigations into the Trump Organization. They’ve now gone after a senior Trump — a former Trump executive now. This is for his business, right? Nothing to do with the White House on taxes.

And I want to remind everybody, you can see a pattern here. For people who handle classified information, if the government really wants to, especially if you’re involved in taking some of it for your personal use because you’re a former president, hey can find some excuse to say, “Oh, you’re mishandling classified information.” Everybody knows, if the IRS goes deep enough into your taxes, they’re gonna find something.

Now, I’m not saying this guy Weisselberg didn’t do anything bad. I haven’t looked that much into it. It says that he took over $1.7 million of untaxed perks. So essentially he accepted gifts and didn’t declare them on his taxes. Now, I’m just gonna say this. How many people out there, if the IRS decided to come after you, would find something? Not maybe $1.7 million, but something? The point here, Clay, is the machine has been mobilized, obviously. The legal and prosecutorial machinery of the federal government to go after all things Trump. They’re settling the scores.

CLAY: I read all about this case because so many of these investigations are fascinating to me as one who did former criminal defense work and how significant are the allegations that are being brought. Buck, a lot of these improprieties on his tax return are based on things like he was given access to a car while he was working at these organizations and didn’t declare it, for instance, right? If you’ve got a lease that was paid for by the company, technically almost anything can be classified as income. This is me talking as a lawyer.

I was blown away when I started looking at tax law and the way that different aspects of day-to-day existence can be considered a taxable benefit. And so is cars. I think he had access to an apartment that was paid for by the company. And theoretically, according to these charges, he should have how do you understand as income and did not and that’s why they caught him on some of these allegations.

BUCK: There have been books written about this, Three Felonies a Day, which I know you’re familiar with as well. If the government decides that they’re gonna get you on not what would be considered malum in se, things that are just bad, but malum prohibitum, things that they say are bad, right?

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: You know, hitting somebody over the head with a baseball bat for no reason, we all know that’s bad, that’s criminal, you go to jail, right? Not declaring on your tax returns that you had access to a company car that you don’t earn — that you don’t own, that’s malum prohibitum. You see what’s going on here, folks? You see the game they’re playing? They’re settling the scores, and they’re using the law to do it.