Trump’s remained rich despite his many failed ventures (most of which were secretly bailed out by his billionaire father before he passed away) because of money laundering (including for the Russian mafia and oligarchs since the 80s), fraud, and refusing to pay people for work done for him.
This stuff matters. It’s an extreme indictment of the corruption in our justice system: the richer you are, the less likely you are to be prosecuted, even though your crimes affect way more of society. And it establishes the pattern that Trump’s still following in office: laziness, unprofessionalism, serial lying, and criminal fraud. He doesn’t care to govern; he just wants prestige, influence (and the ability to buy both when he wants).
This month, two incredible investigative stories have given us an opportunity to lift the hood of the Trump Organization, look inside, and begin to understand what the business of this unusual company actually is. It is not a happy picture. The Times published a remarkable report, on October 2nd, that showed that much of the profit the Trump Organization made came not from successful real-estate investment but from defrauding state and federal governments through tax fraud. This week, ProPublica and WNYC co-published a stunning story and a “Trump, Inc.” podcast that can be seen as the international companion to the Times piece. They show that many of the Trump Organization’s international deals also bore the hallmarks of financial fraud, including money laundering, deceptive borrowing, outright lying to investors, and other potential crimes.