General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFeds showed up this am at law firm rep. Trump, asked everyone to leave & put brown paper on doors.
Source says feds showed up this am, asked everyone to leave and put brown paper on the doors.
Link to tweet
Alderman Burke's law firm represented Trump's businesses for 12 years.
Link to tweet
Squinch
(50,774 posts)Trump is so screwed he even cancelled his date with his best crush to divert attention.
Jack from Charlotte
(2,367 posts)Deutsche Bank, known money launderers and last bank lenders to Trump, offices raided early this morning. Longtime Trump tax attorneys Chicago office raided today. Windows covered with paper by Fed agents. Longtime Trump attorney and fixer Cohen pleads guilty.....
Barzinni's dead. So is Phillip Tataglia. Moe Green. Stracci. Cunio.......
Squinch
(50,774 posts)Harker
(13,880 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)He is going to look back and conclude that running for President was the dumbest thing that he ever did, among a pile of dumb shit from him.
Wawannabe
(5,580 posts)Prize for you!!
flying rabbit
(4,612 posts)enough to come to that conclusion. It's everyone else's fault.
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)Jeffersons Ghost
(15,235 posts)Kingofalldems
(38,361 posts)Seriously, this is huge. The freaking walls are closing in on the Trumps.
byronius
(7,369 posts)FSogol
(45,360 posts)SWBTATTReg
(21,859 posts)declare their land as agriculture in nature thus getting by w/ paying very little property tax (when their land is located in or next to a booming suburban/urban area). I am tired of these so called wealthy people ignoring their responsibilities to society. Nail them!
Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)SWBTATTReg
(21,859 posts)and people seem to get away w/ it.
DemocracyMouse
(2,275 posts)These people arent rich, theyre overpaid.
Similarly, you and I are either underpaid (formerly poor) or we are well paid (formerly middle class).
Rich and poor are Orwellian terms in my book. The so-called rich are often impoverished of soul, whike the so-called poor, by necessity, are often rich in soul, barter-based community, and determination to survive.
Leghorn21
(13,520 posts)MARVELOUS NEWS!!!
OH HOLY HELL
lindysalsagal
(20,444 posts)SergeStorms
(18,903 posts)I guess any color will do, as long as there's at least one piece of paper that's an indictment saying, 'Donald J. Trump' on it.
Leghorn21
(13,520 posts)SergeStorms
(18,903 posts)Perfect. Corsi, Manafort, Stone and Trump can use that for toilet paper in the Big House.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,063 posts)hedda_foil
(16,368 posts)Anza404
(34 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Probably not in the "17 angry Democrats" group. Truth is, just like judges, legal folk are sworn to uphold justice, as best they see it, not as a Republican or Democrat. Surely they have certain leaning...we see this on the SCOTUS...it's called 3-4 now 5-2. The rating is, as I understand it, is conservative vs liberal...which just happens to describe our two political parties, for the most part. The Cretin is too stupid to know this basic, legal fact, however and refers to them as a D or R.
My first personal experience of this...not politically...but domestically...when getting a divorce and custody, our two attorneys tore each other an ripped each other an additional a##hole. I happened to stop off at the same bar they were after court...and they were chatting, and laughing and patting each other on the back. Had been my first time in a court..hiring an attorney, etc. I was livid. But, then a friend told me the deal. Still frosts my rear end. But we need them...and you don't ask them how they voted when you hire them.
Hamlette
(15,394 posts)is talk about any information I obtained from my client or talk about any ongoing case. Not ever. And no one else did either.
We kept it civil and professional and I would encourage all attorneys to do the same.
I'm so pissed about Trump I can hardly stand to be in the same room as a Trump voter but it would do a disservice to my clients if I treated opposing counsel the same way. Opposing counsel can make my life miserable, make me do unnecessary work, delay proceedings or refuse to grant me a continuance if i sorely need one. And when they do, it costs my client.
I understand why you were upset to see the attorneys looking all buddy buddy, trust me you were better off for it.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)The post just brought back the memory and "learning experience
I also remember the first words out of the first attorney's mouth when he learned who my ex had hired..."Do you have 10 grand?" Wanted to wipe the flipping smirk right off his smug face.
But, I got over it all. Life. Those who have had a heated custody/divorce situation with a toddler, a wounded animal for a husband, and father's parents with unlimited money, will understand.
Hamlette
(15,394 posts)divorces, divorces were by far the hardest. Give me a murderer or mentally ill person any day. Divorces are so emotionally charged no one is happy no matter what happens. Keep me married 44 years. People are hurt to begin with and the legal proceedings are like salt on the wound.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)add in kids and multiply the above in spades. That doesn't even count the in-laws, the out-laws, even the neighbors.
bronxiteforever
(9,287 posts)The investigation than to tie Cheeto to a corrupt Chicago dem. Imagine the calisthenics the GOP would have to perform if this case is related to the Special Counsel.
I know I made a couple of big leaps here but the possibility should have the GOP sweating.
mobeau69
(11,079 posts)Judas Priest!
Haggis for Breakfast
(6,831 posts)Can you imagine the news dump tomorrow ? Or trmpie's wild twitter rantings this weekend ?
OAITW r.2.0
(23,860 posts)This day is getting more interesting by the minute...
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)That includes running the workers compensation program for the citys workforce, excluding sworn police and fire personnel injured in the line of duty.
In 2012, a federal grand jury demanded that Burkes Finance Committee turn over records related to a duty disability program that in 2011 alone paid out $115 million to disabled city workers, according to documents the Chicago Tribune obtained at the time.
The 2012 subpoenas were issued about one week after city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, a former federal prosecutor, announced that Burkes committee had rebuffed his attempts to obtain many of the same records.
mikeysnot
(4,755 posts)his Alderman office, so it might not have anything to do with trump...
Cartoonist
(7,298 posts)The Feds ruining people's lives. Lol
ScratchCat
(1,957 posts)very quickly at this point. They aint playin', and people are going to prison.
triron
(21,916 posts)Augiedog
(2,541 posts)0rganism
(23,856 posts)what are the rates for sending a building to Moscow?
bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)* raid on Deutsche Bank for material related to Panama papers
* state and local police raid chancery of Galveston-Houston archòdiocese
Houston raid reported yesterday at Wm Lindsay's blog bilgrimage.blogspot.com
He links Houston tv station video about raid.
They were searching for and seizing info about priests charged with sex abuse.
Wm states this raid is especially signoficant because the cardinal for the archdiocese is head of the US Bishops council
cilla4progress
(24,589 posts)Seriously?! Whee!!
yonder
(9,631 posts)Snowballs be a snowballin'
Turnkey keys a jinglin'
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
duhneece
(4,105 posts)Have a very Mueller Christmas...
Botany
(70,291 posts)C_U_L8R
(44,897 posts)This must be some serious investigating
Ponietz
(2,905 posts)neohippie
(1,142 posts)neohippie
(1,142 posts)https://www.illinoispolicy.org/chicago-alderman-seeks-millions-in-property-tax-breaks-for-trump-tower/
The Trump Organization is trying to lower its Chicago property tax bill, and is looking to property tax attorney and Chicago Alderman Ed Burke, 14th Ward, to help.
Burke recently filed his sixth lawsuit on behalf of President Donald Trumps business interests in an effort to win back millions of property tax dollars paid since 2009, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. One of the lawsuits has been dismissed, but the other five are still active.
Though the exact amount Burke is seeking is not clear, one estimate from states attorneys documents indicate it could be more than $3 million.
This is not the first time Burke has played a part in Trumps business.
In 2002, Burke, in his role as alderman, voted in favor of allowing the development of Trump Tower.
Burkes law firm, Klafter & Burke, has represented Trump since 2006. And had helped cut the property taxes on Trump International Hotel and Tower by nearly 40 percent as of 2016, according to the Sun-Times.
All in all, Klafter & Burke has saved Trump $14.1 million in property taxes by appealing valuations made by the Cook County Assessors Office.
But it didnt end there.
Burke has also taken Trumps case before the Illinois Property Tax Appeals Board. In 2011, Burke sought a $6 million cut in Trumps assessment that wouldve given the future president a tax refund of more than $1 million, according to the Sun-Times. In 2013, Burke went back to the board, this time fighting the $2.5 million Trump had to pay. And in every year since, Burke has filed lawsuits to get Trumps taxes down.
But Burke isnt the only Illinois politician who moonlights as a property tax appeals lawyer and Trump isnt the only wealthy property owner benefiting from Cook Countys property tax system.
Klafter & Burke is just one of the cadre of Chicago-based law firms with political connections that handle Cook County property tax appeals.
Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, and state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, also work at law firms that handle property tax appeals in Cook County.
The Cook County Assessors Office, headed up by Assessor Joe Berrios, calculates the value of each county property, which ultimately decides how much the owners owe in property taxes. Property owners can then appeal the assessors valuation in order to get their property tax bill reduced.
Thats where Burke and his ilk come in.
While there are multiple ways to fight Cook County property taxes, property owners can opt to hire one of the politically connected law firms in Cook County, such as Klafter & Burke or Madigan & Getzendanner, in order to appeal their valuations. And with two-thirds of all appeals resulting in a reduction, theres a good chance of a return on investment.
However the Cook County property tax valuation scheme is hardly a victimless crime. As the politically connected win more appeals cases, the countys property tax burden gets pushed downward. An investigation from the Chicago Tribune published in June revealed that the assessors office regularly lowballed the value of wealthy properties in Cook County, while overvaluing lower-income homes, resulting in an unequal property tax system that has hurt the poor to help the rich.
Trumps choice of Burke while indicative of the problem is just the tip of the iceberg.
erronis
(14,955 posts)Given that Chi is also a bit of a non-repuglicon (euphemism) town, I wonder how far this spreads.
lindysalsagal
(20,444 posts)Gonna need more popcorn...
mobeau69
(11,079 posts)progressoid
(49,827 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)There's already a ton of corruption associated with it. It wouldn't surprise me at all if this guy, being a property tax lawyer, is involved in it, somehow.
spanone
(135,636 posts)yardwork
(61,418 posts)Probable cause, right?
Scruffy1
(3,239 posts)It's well known that this law firm specializes in appealing property tax evaluations and freely uses its insider status. It sounds like they found a whole lot of bribery has been going on. The "thing" was just one of their clients and they dropped him lately. I suspect Alderman Burke and a whole lot of other pols are going down, but if it turns out his Orangeness was knowingly involved in bribery it would be nice. However I doubt this would be provable. It has been my experience that law firms bribes are usually hidden in the fees so it is hard to ptove the clients knoledge. I'm thinking they work on a percentage and have been kicking back some of it to those responsible for making decisions on disputed property tax evaluations.https://news.wttw.com/2016/05/03/ald-burkes-law-firm-helps-trump-trim-117m-property-taxes
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I cant read it, dang it!
getagrip_already
(14,250 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)demmiblue
(36,751 posts)Alderman Solis
Room 204
Zoning
Just Knock
(arrow)
cwydro
(51,308 posts)MineralMan
(146,192 posts)This is sort of a remarkable event, I think. I wonder what Trump will think when he learns of it?
"Brown papered law firms
All tied up with strings.
These are a few of my
Favorite things."
ETA: See the complete lyrics at: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211488030
ProfessorGAC
(64,425 posts). . .that plane touches down. Still half a day to go.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)MineralMan
(146,192 posts)Dave in VA
(2,034 posts)I just finished cleaning the soda off my laptop screen! Sooooooooo funny!!!!!!
erronis
(14,955 posts)MineralMan
(146,192 posts)Fortinbras Armstrong
(4,473 posts)I wanted to take my bow of burning gold and my arrows of desire and shoot both Blake and Parry.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Yavin4
(35,357 posts)Methinks that when the Feds start digging into Trump, they're going to turn up others who did the same thing. This is only the tip of the iceberg.
47of74
(18,470 posts)...fuckheads misadministration of this country.
Hestia
(3,818 posts)Equinox Moon
(6,344 posts)What is the brown paper aspect of this?
blugbox
(951 posts)Imagine if an employee is peeping at what they are doing, and they notice an agent looking through one of their "no no" folders and they are able to make a call that alerts someone involved... Unlimited number of similar possibilities.
This is much simpler. You don't get to see what we are looking at.
George II
(67,782 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Justin Kennedy...Justice Kennedy's sons, was the loan officer who made huge loans...that the bank he worked for here in the states...could not possibly make to one client. Seems they said it was over 1/4 of the bank's total assets. Theory that's why Justice Kennedy resigned...this matter...theory by some was to get him and his son out of the hot seat, perhaps, and let another bank launder it.
(Maybe why The Cretin is not wanting to step on European soil just now????)
It's now international. Just imagine who all is involved. Reminds of that Dutch guy that got a month in jail a number of months ago, just for lying to the FBI.
The raids today are not coincidental. For the first time,I think he just may be screwed. I'm not sure how Executive Privilege...even if he manages to stay while his Congressional cohorts are frantically trying to find a way out...other than forcing him to resign or resigning themselves, which a number have done.
This is past the soap opera phase and is into the crime dramas.
demmiblue
(36,751 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)bigtree
(85,919 posts)Azathoth
(4,603 posts)It's not exactly unheard of for the Feds to raid a longtime Chicago boss, and Trump was only one of Burke's clients. And, as I understand it, Burke only handled Chicago property issues for Trump. He's not like Cohen, who was Trump's in-house counsel and ball-washer.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)I'm not at all sure this has anything to do with donnie.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-chicago-alderman-ed-burke-offices-raided-fbi-20181129-story.html
That includes running the workers compensation program for the citys workforce, excluding sworn police and fire personnel injured in the line of duty.
In 2012, a federal grand jury demanded that Burkes Finance Committee turn over records related to a duty disability program that in 2011 alone paid out $115 million to disabled city workers, according to documents the Chicago Tribune obtained at the time.
The 2012 subpoenas were issued about one week after city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, a former federal prosecutor, announced that Burkes committee had rebuffed his attempts to obtain many of the same records.
libdem4life
(13,877 posts)Just a coincidence? And right after Cohen brings in apparently new info and Meuller asks for 10 more days? Mere coincidences stretches even the imagination, let along the fact.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)We'll see. Nobody wants that entire putrid family taken down as much as any NYer.
gordianot
(15,226 posts)If we actually survive this drama.
LuckyLib
(6,814 posts)stand to relive the horror.
gordianot
(15,226 posts)Not sure we will live to see it this time.
nolabear
(41,915 posts)We wish you a Mueller Christmas,
We wish you a Mueller Christmas...
brooklynite
(93,873 posts)apnu
(8,722 posts)Chakaconcarne
(2,387 posts)Denzil_DC
(7,188 posts)But even so, it must have ramped up the Cheeto Charlatan's paranaoia a notch or two.
LudwigPastorius
(8,944 posts)Burke's firm also represented Jared Kushner in property tax matters regarding the AT&T building he owned/owns on W. Randolph in Chicago.
I would love this to be the beginning of tactics by Mueller to squeeze Kushner into testifying against his daddy-in-law.
Azathoth
(4,603 posts)Seems to have been his particular racket.
volstork
(5,394 posts)just painting in there or something...
ailsagirl
(22,840 posts)Gothmog
(144,005 posts)C Moon
(12,188 posts)...my whole life (up until now) I'd thought shredding was spelled shreading. :/
snowybirdie
(5,191 posts)There have been many other charges about Burke that are purely local issues over the years.
SleeplessinSoCal
(8,998 posts)There is movement on Deutsche Bank, Michael Cohen and now this. Stand back!
LakeSuperiorView
(1,533 posts)JDC
(10,084 posts)barbtries
(28,702 posts)hey #TrumpCrimeFamily guess what? Laws apply to you, too.
ffr
(22,649 posts)Ald. Edward M. Burke, left, with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump at the City Club of Chicago. | AP file photo
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/chicago-democratic-ward-boss-edward-burke-saved-donald-trump-16-7-million-on-trump-tower-taxes/
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)Homer Wells
(1,576 posts)The plot persists in thickening.
Thrill
(19,178 posts)red dog 1
(27,648 posts)lpbk2713
(42,696 posts)And a lot of scumbags are going to fall with him.
I love it.
chwaliszewski
(1,514 posts)My guess is Mueller is throwing Cheeto Mussolini a surprise Xmas party.
sandensea
(21,530 posts)JohnnyRingo
(18,581 posts)You'd think his neck would be pretty sore by now.
Fortunately, his accomplice in the House of Representatives is gone soon so it may be harder to ignore the obvious law breaking.
JDC
(10,084 posts)Or maybe not.
45* is in very deep trouble. He's not media dumping his way out of this one.
Jeffersons Ghost
(15,235 posts)Initech
(99,915 posts)Maybe a job as a manager at a Cinnabon in Lincoln, Nebraska is next in line for Trump's attorneys?