Opinions - I've prosecuted Trump. Documents matter more than Weisselberg now.

[DonViejo]

Tristan Snell 23 hrs ago

Allen Weisselberg’s indictment on Thursday brought an especially intense focus on the man everyone seems to agree is the star witness in the prosecution of the Trump Organization for alleged tax and bank fraud. He is, after all, the company’s chief financial officer, and even that lofty title understates his role: He micromanaged the finances of hundreds of Trump Organization subsidiaries and acted as the hatchet man, shutting down lines of business that were underperforming. Weisselberg was the single most indispensable figure in the company other than its namesake.

This has led many observers to conclude that without Weisselberg’s cooperation, prosecutors will be unable to make a case against former president Donald Trump.

But what if Weisselberg is not the star witness, the sine qua non without whom the case will fall apart? What if the star witness here is not a witness at all, but rather a collection of emails, spreadsheets and other corporate files?

The dramatization of the American courtroom centers on its dialogues and soliloquies — the heat of a witness being cross-examined, the oratory of a closing argument. Yet just as most cases never go to trial, most cases are not won or lost on witness testimony, but instead on documents, especially in white-collar cases where there’s usually a trove of business records. Witnesses make great TV, but it’s the “receipts” that make great cases.

more/NO PAYWALL:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/opinions-i-e2-80-99ve-prosecuted-trump-documents-matter-more-than-weisselberg-now/ar-AALJz3d

[snowybirdie]

1. They wouldn't have

brought charges just depending on one person's testimony. Can't wait for next shoe to drop. BTW, thanks for putting pay wall information here. So frustrating when you want to read more of a story and get stopped by an unannounced pay wall.

[NCjack]

2. But, documents do not express the tone that implies intent. Weisselberg

is very important. If not him, then his deputy or one of Trump's 3 children.

[drray23]

3. this depends on the law being broken.

not every law requires intent to be proven.

[wnylib]

11. Or Cohen.

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. Cohen said they have the documents. nt

[Joinfortmill]

4. Thank you. I passed this along.

[paleotn]

5. They may not even be trying to flip Weisselberg....

(I keep thinking Weaselberg) It's assumed, but not necessarily the case. His cooperation may not be necessary, thus no deal for him even if he wants one.

[C_U_L8R]

6. Trump signed the checks.

The receipts are enough to put them all away.
But the prosecution team would surely welcome a few witnesses
to amplify their case. The Trump cabal are all too scared to flip right now...
meaning there's much worse stuff going on.

[wnylib]

12. Oh, certainly worse stuff going on.

[Hekate]

7. KnR

[George II]

8. They've got 3 million documents. There's LOTS of incriminating evidence in those documents....

Most likely incriminating the officers of the trump organization - Junior, Eric, AND daddy himself. And I believe both Ivanka and Jared worked for them, too.

Jared has already been punished for shady real estate deals. It's quite a criminal enterprise, worthy of many RICO charges and eventually convictions.

Know what also goes along with RICO convictions other than prison time? ASSET FORFEITURE! The whole organization is coming down.

[empedocles]

15. traitortrump campaign manager manafort was convicted by using documents

[George II]

23. Yes, and I'm sure the investigators still have those documents along with the documents....

....they got for this recent (and ongoing) investigation.

[patphil]

9. Based on just what's been in the news, I don't think Weisselberg is that essential.

There seems to be a lot of physical evidence, including Trump's signature on checks.
He's just the appetizer; setting the table for the later courses still to come.
Justice always moves slowly. Patience will be rewarded later in the summer and into the fall.

[W_HAMILTON]

10. Yeah, I never understood this fascination on flipping Weisselberg.

Sure, it would probably make the prosecution's case easier -- and probably uncover even more crimes than they already were aware of -- but in regards to financial transactions and the like, it's not necessary for him to flip in order for them to prove fraud or other criminal acts. I mean, there were apparently two sets of books being kept in regards to all the financial crimes surrounding Weisselberg's compensation. This is in itself evidence of "intent" -- if that is even needed to prove some of these crimes -- and there are so many attestations that you sign when you complete many official financial documents that, if you signed something that turned out to be false, you are still gonna be in a world of trouble regardless.

[dianaredwing]

14. It would be good theater

You can't even decipher TFG's signature. Very boring looking at documents. Seeing terror in the face of an old man. Hey, that's much more interesting.

[SheltieLover]

13. K&R!

[bello]

16. Weisselberg cooperating

First a very big waning: I am not a lawyer. Very much not a lawyer.

Am I reading these statements wrong? When someone says that Weisselberg is “refusing to cooperate,” I interpret that to mean that Weisselberg is exercising his fifth amendment privilege to not incriminate himself.

It also seems to me that there are multiple ways to pierce that fifth amendment privilege. A) You could offer some sort of inducement to get him to change his mind. This is what seems to not be currently working. B) you could prosecute him. Once the prosecution is over, he cannot further incriminate himself. C) you could offer immunity. The would also remove further prosecution and the fifth amendment privilege is again moot.

What am I missing? -B

[bello]

17. Mea culpa

Waning => warning.

IANAL, hell, I’m not even a speller.

[Jon King]

19. This is just the groundwork, inflating/deflating assets will get TFG.

Prosecutors are just laying the PR spin so the public gets used to knowing that the Organization is a criminal enterprise.

The big case will be the inflating of assets to the banks and deflating assets to the tax authorities. The amounts involved will be $100s of million which means real jail time. And the evidence is the documents, they say one thing to the banks, another to the tax agencies. Very clear cut and massive fraud.

[Eyeball_Kid]

21. In one of his depositions, Trump declared that...

the net worth of his company is entirely subjective. IOW, it's what he THINKS IT IS. So he believes that if he says that his company, or an asset is worth 130% of its actual value, his WORD supersedes the actual worth.

Of course, he's delusional. Once the issue gets discussed in Court, the only evidence that matters will be what's on paper. Trump's beliefs will be cast aside as wishful thinking-- to be generous. And he'll be convicted because his beliefs are not the law, as much as he wishes otherwise.

[Eyeball_Kid]

20. That's an absolutely true and accurate perspective.

Prosecutors will tend to favor DOCUMENTS as evidence rather than personal testimony, even if it's sworn testimony. They know that personal testimony can always be cross-examined to expose the subjectivity of accounts of evidence and thus, create doubts about a prosecution's allegations. Documents are much more persuasive because they do not change over time.

[Mr. Ected]

22. Is there any wonder why we have the Big Lie?

And now the Magaful Misery Tour, Part II?

The criminal justice system has Trump's nuts in a vice, so he's calling for social riots to misdirect.

And the media laps it up because they have no vision, no perspective, no memory of every time they've been taken in the past.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

24. From what I've heard from people who know, TV & Movie trials

bear little resemblance the real thing.

Side note: Also true of wills. That dramatic "reading of the will" to a gathering of family & select friends or colleagues rarely happens.

And don't get me started on tv and movies claiming to represent a true biography of a person or an accurate depiction of a historical event. Yet even people who know better tend to internalize the false version. I know I've got loads of false mental images that came from the entertainment industry.