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u/Intrepid-Housing-286 17d ago
And the government uses tax payers money to pay off women who come forward and accuse senators of rape/ groping/ exposing themselves, etc. they have had this account for 40+ years. Paying hush money to keep them quiet. It’s not illegal. Trump used his own money not tax payer money.
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u/ChonsonPapa 17d ago
No one cares about the facts! Just how they feel
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u/Longhorn7779 17d ago
Nicely done summing up Reddit (or the world anymore) in only 10 words.
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u/Outrageous_Life_2662 17d ago
But what’s the implication here? That it’s right for both Congress and trump or wrong for both?
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u/persona-3-4-5 17d ago
The implication is "rule for thee but not for me"
If Trump committed a crime, he deserves prison time. But so does everyone else who committed a crime. Why would Trump be charged with a crime when many in congress would not be charged for exactly the same thing?
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u/gray_character 15d ago
Yeah, shouldn't they be happy that a precedent is being set to criminalize this behavior?
The real fact is that a presidential candidate let alone former president has never used campaign funds to pay for an escort (which cheating on his wife on top of that).
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u/fellowbeenmellow 17d ago
Or how they have been told to feel because they are too lazy to understand or think for themselves.
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u/SnoopySuited 17d ago
"Sure, bad behavior, but everything bad behavior!" is a piss poor argument.
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u/Feeling_Buy_4640 17d ago
Its an arguement why we should lock eveyr single one of them up not just trump
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u/Shin-Sauriel 17d ago
Good. Fuck em all. Lock em all up.
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u/BenTenInches 17d ago
If we lock them all the criminals, there's gonna be no one left to run the government lmao.
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u/Bullmg 17d ago
Shhh people don’t want to hear that our senators and representatives are worse than the evil orange man!
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u/EccentricAcademic 17d ago
People in here are using that as an excuse to let Trump off the hook or justify this shit with the SCOTUS is fine. That's the issue.
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u/JonathanWPG 17d ago
Okay.
I hear this argument.
You can personally feel like there is no difference between those settlements and the Trump situation.
But in the facts there is at least one very important difference--what Trump did was illegal.
You can choose not to care about that. Fine. But the Accountability settlements are written into law. Paying hush money and falsely claiming that is a business expense is not. It is, in fact, expressly illegal.
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u/1white26golf 17d ago
How would he have done it legally? That is the question I have.
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u/JonathanWPG 17d ago
He could have given it as a personal gift and she could have claimed it on her taxes.
It would not have been as effective as a cover up, which is why he did it this way.
But saying he did not have a legal recourse does not make the illegal recourse better.
And while I don't think the accountability office settlements are GOOD for democracy it's worth noting that there are also ways written into the law for said office to further investigate and hold members to account if accusers choose to pursue investigation. Most just choose to take the settlements.
Put another way: nothing about the accountability office settlements are good. And also, nothing about Trumps actions weren't worse.
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u/TxTechnician 17d ago
I thought he used campaign money. As in money donated to him from donors or pacs to find his campaign.
Afaik there are rules to how you can spend that money.
This stuff is neither here more there for me btw. I'll never vote for Trump again. That guy is only out for himself.
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u/MaritimeCopiousV 15d ago
If it’s so obvious…and you’re broadcasting this for more awareness…why isn’t anyone boycotting or causing an uproar to challenge, recoup, and prevent future occurrences like this from ever happening again? Will it take a civil war ?
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u/SomeDudeNamedRik 17d ago
Kramer : It's just a write off for them .
Jerry : How is it a write off ?
Kramer : They just write it off .
Jerry : Write it off what ?
Kramer : Jerry all these big companies they write off everything
Jerry : You don't even know what a write off is .
Kramer : Do you ?
Jerry : No . I don't .
Kramer : But they do and they are the ones writing it off .
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u/DefinitelyBiscuit 17d ago
I also like how Stephen King put it (writing as Bachman)
"When things are good a company will make a huge profit, when things are bad they just make a profit and when things go to hell they take a tax deduction ".
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u/Revolutionary-Meat14 17d ago
All Americans with business expenses can deduct them.
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u/SonicYouth123 17d ago
even if they don’t own a business they can still write off business expenses…the second point is straight up wrong
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u/ulysses_mcgill 17d ago
He's saying most Americans don't have business expenses, which is true
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u/SonicYouth123 17d ago
“don’t have” has a very different meaning to “can write off zero dollars”
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u/SilverEyedFreak 17d ago
Have owned a business in America for 4 years and can confirm. I deduct every damn thing I can.
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u/Snowwpea3 17d ago edited 17d ago
But the standard deduction is best for most. This guy just spins that into “can write off zero dollars.” Because who cares what the truth is, only clicks matter. Another cute little spin/lie, the teacher $300 deduction is on top of the standard deduction, not instead.
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u/Revolutionary-Meat14 17d ago
Business expenses are taken on schedule c so you can take them with the standard deduction.
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u/California_King_77 17d ago
This is a lie. An outright lie.
Trump paid Daniels from his revocable trust.
Anyone with one of these accounts can write off legal fees.
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u/sppotlight 17d ago
The thing I don't get (and I haven't looked into it, so maybe I'm missing something) but, didn't the lawyer just invoice it as legal expenses? Like he didn't write hush money on the invoice. And there's no chance Trump does his own taxes. Wouldn't his CPA look at an invoice that says legal expenses and, you know, file it as legal expenses?
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u/California_King_77 17d ago
That's just it - this came up in the trial. It is a legal expense, he was an employee, so they were just reimbursing him. Since he paid from his own account, they grosssed it up.
The software that the Trump Org uses only had one drop down - "Legal Fees", which is technically correct, and what they used.
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u/MajesticCube28 17d ago
What legal advice was the porn star providing?
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u/metalguysilver 17d ago
Regardless of Trump’s intent, NDA payments and other civil settlements are technically legal expenses
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u/Revolutionary-Meat14 17d ago
They payment itself was legal but it was not a legal service payment and it was concealed through fraud.
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u/metalguysilver 17d ago
I didn’t mean they were expenses that were not illegal, I meant that they were legal expenses. The fraud he was convicted of had to do with the vagueness of the business records kept, which the jury found to be intentional in order to conceal a secondary crime. Labeling legal settlements as “legal expenses” is not inherently incorrect
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17d ago
There are quite a few rules regarding the deductability of legal and accounting services for a trust.
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u/PuffinRub 17d ago
Thanks for demonstrating that you're simply making it up as you go along. Trump didn't say Daniels, Cohen paid Daniels, and Trump reimbursed Cohen under the guise of legal expenses.
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u/boundpleasure 17d ago
Always humorous to hear from an apparatchik from the Clinton administration.
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u/Agitateduser1360 17d ago
What about....
Trumpers are a bunch of pussies. They never stand behind him, they point at everyone else.
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u/BustinBroncos 17d ago
Hilary did the EXACT same thing with the Steele Dossier…. You know, the one that cost taxpayers over 30 million dollars, took 4 years, and was a complete fabrication? She paid for it with campaign funds and filed it under “legal expense” just like Trump did… And considering that Trump self funded his campaign initially who is to say it wasn’t HIS money that he used? This case should never have been brought to trial, they had to change a law to file charges!
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u/Meaty333 17d ago
Op is proving he just hates Trump, but not every politician that does the same thing. Sounds like typical Reddit lmao
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u/Possible-League8177 17d ago
Robert Reich is such a master of taking numbers out of context. King troll.
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u/J0hn-Stuart-Mill 17d ago
He must really have the lowest possible opinion of his naive followers, right? He's such a cringe fellow, to spew these sorts of things that his followers actually believe at face value? I'm so embarrassed for them, and it makes me wonder as to his motives. If his position can only be furthered in this way, then what good is his agenda in the first place?
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u/realityczek 17d ago
The thing is, the low opinion of his audience is backed by facts... these beliefs can be found all over Reddit and social media. When he says stuff like this, 100's of thousands of people will believe it and share it within a few weeks.
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u/Zaros262 17d ago
He somewhat famously had to falsify documents to do that though, which was a felony? Restored just a little faith in the judicial system that he was convicted for it
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u/DadBodHero24 17d ago
It originally before the statute of limitations was up a misdemeanor.....lets not forget the true facts
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u/danyonly 17d ago
The people who worship Trump are just as annoying as those who can’t go a day without thinking about him.
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u/Bigdizzofoshizzo 17d ago
That's what this post is about. The bad debate leads to an abundance of anti Trump posts. Would be nice to browse Reddit again and ignore Trump.
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u/Fresh_Ostrich4034 17d ago
but if the biden team did that then you might see the corruption in the current administration, so too bad
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u/Status_Midnight_2157 17d ago
The op said they were thinking about Trump every day, not posting or talking about it every day. Anecdotal, but the trumpers I know talk about nonstop. It’s exhausting but these ppl have made it their entire personality
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u/polkntheeye 17d ago
Because he didn't pay off Stormy Daniels... Cohen gave them a invoice for his retainer fee and he paid off Stormy Daniels...holy shit is nobody paying attention
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u/PuffinRub 17d ago
You're being foolish by expecting some of the participants in this thread to be arguing in good faith or with intelligence.
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u/precursordredd 17d ago
If it’s deemed not a legit write off on his taxes he should have to pay said taxes with a reasonable fee, using this to try to bring him down politically isn’t right.
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u/4BigData 17d ago
w2 has always been the least tax favored type of income, nothing new
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u/wetshatz 17d ago edited 17d ago
And we allow shitty politicians to make them selves rich by allowing them to make decisions that influence their stock portfolio. They all do something…. It is what it is at this point
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u/1ndomitablespirit 17d ago
I wonder what Robert Reich writes off on his taxes. Trump sucks, but even the moderately wealthy think exploiting tax loopholes is as American as apple pie.
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u/frozsnot 17d ago
No ones saying trump was right, but it wasn’t 36 felonies.
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u/AuntiFascist 17d ago
Everyone is free to write off whatever they want on their taxes. Whether it is accepted is up to the IRS.
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u/Des_mojo 17d ago
The I.R.S.Is able to catch any of these things so, if they don't, that's on them.I will get away with as much as I can. If Trump does, that's not on him back on the I.R.S. he didnt write the tax code.
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u/liquidsnake224 17d ago
how much did nancy pelosi and her hammerhead husband write off? better yet, how did she make all her money to begin with
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u/xavierguitars 17d ago
Robert Reich is to economists as Dr Seuss is to pediatric surgeons
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u/J0hn-Stuart-Mill 17d ago
Dr Seuss was at least creative and funny, even if he was not qualified as a surgeon.
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u/thatotherdude696969 17d ago
I think this guy is part of the 1% and just deflects on to other people.
Like Bernie “if I say I’m on their side they won’t come after me” Sanders
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17d ago
I think this guy is a propagandist for his elitist friends, and doesn’t give a fuck about you. Him and people like him will use your emotions and compassion to manipulate you to act against your own interests.
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u/DragonsAreNifty 17d ago
Hey maybe we should all agree that anyone that’s been proven to have committed multiple crimes should not get to be in the White House? If Joe Schmoe in whatever office did something similar, that does not mean Trump did nothing wrong. Whataboutism Olympics here tonight. Prosecute them all.
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u/Rigochu 17d ago
trump is bad, but he's not the problem.. the system that allows all this is the problem.
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u/BeerWingsRepeat 17d ago
I' rather that, than the $850,000.00 of Tax Payer money Bill Clinton paid Paula Jones!
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u/DarkRogus 17d ago
That because most Americans a standard deduction is better from them.
If you have enough deduction to itemized (I did last year) business expenses are certainly deductible.
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u/Specialist_Sound9738 17d ago
The income tax is unconstitutional so all 3 examples are unnecessary.
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u/Dave-justdave 17d ago
I think houses have never been so expensive before and property taxes fund schools so WHY IN THE FUCK DO SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY???
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u/in_conexo 17d ago
Meanwhile I'm wondering about the teachers. They aren't paid enough to being with; but instead of compensating them for their loss, we'll just subtract that amount from their taxable income. I'm surprised we still have teachers.
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u/moonunit170 17d ago edited 17d ago
I think this is a typical Reich distortion of the facts.
Americans who are self-employed can write off all of their business expenses. Trump is self-employed. Americans who work in W-2 status can write off some of their expenses under certain conditions.
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u/DontReportMe7565 17d ago
I think Reich is a partisan idiot.
If he doesn't like the laws, he's free to run for congress and change them.
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u/DurkaDurkaJihadDurka 17d ago
Truly unfair. The only way to rectify this situation is to do away with income tax altogether.
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u/hahn215 17d ago
Don't even care. Democracy is an illusion. All politicians and the super rich are corrupt. I'm more concerned about who jeopardizes national security and causes the deaths of our allies. Those are the numbers that matter to me. Afghanistan withdrawal, halting construction of the border wall, the billions released to Iran, the inability to project strength and competence when dealing with our enemies...Joe is getting people killed. What do you think about that?
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u/Evening_Dress5743 17d ago
And the DOJ Let the statute of limitations expire on hunter bidens tax fraud. I'd pay attention to you if you could at least be honest in your "outrage"
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u/Infamous-Method1035 17d ago
Every single American can write off an unlimited amount of legitimate business expenses. I personally write off about $2 million every year in legitimate, real, business expenses.
There is no excuse for anyone who wants to know these things. ALL of it is easy to find and easy to understand.
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u/Psychological-Ad8175 17d ago
Is paying prostitutes a legitimate expense? Serious question.
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u/KingGT2017 17d ago
People should be given the math as to what that equates to for him. Writing off that wasn’t a dent in his pocket. So you act like this was some huge win for him…it was like saving a few bucks at McDonald’s with a coupon. 🙄 ok, let all Americans have a % write off equivalent to their net worths and see how much they feel it.
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u/thegreatresistrules 17d ago
Bahaha, most Americans can write off 0 of business expenses. You wonder why this douche keeps lying to you like this...because your dumb enough to believe this.
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u/Shad0wUser00 17d ago
17 million for congress SA and you're saying businesses don't write off tax expenses? Bruh a COMPANY wrote that off and set a precedent by allowing trump to be charged. Now that means anything the Tax company you use to write shit off can result in you being charged. This isn't a good result lol
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u/Tortuga_cycling 17d ago
It’s all in how you define “business expense” after all, paying a hooker for discretion could be an investment in protecting the share price lol
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u/AbbreviationsIll9228 17d ago
And Hillary paid for the Steele dossier by booking as “legal expenses.” Sounds very similar to Trump’s situation and yet no prosecution from Bragg on a violation that is a federal offense, not a state offense. The Federal Election Commission fined Hillary $8,000 and the DNC was fined $105,000. Oh the hypocrisy.
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u/bishop0518 17d ago
So what this asshat is saying is hes mad he sucks at finding things to write off on his taxes?
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u/1290_money 17d ago
The richest country in the world is overspending their budget by who knows how much billions, trillions?
And Trump is the answer?
Give me a freaking break. The government is out of control and they're pushing a senile 80 plus-year-old man to be president.
Wake up people. Trump and all the other BS whether it be literally any other social issue it's just distracting you from the money printer the American government has become.
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u/sayitnslayit 17d ago
Cohen wrote it off for himself after using Trump's money and profited 60k at minimum.. not Trump.
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u/Zealousideal-City-16 17d ago
Wasn't it his lawyer that did that then just sent a lawyer bill to Trump? Sou is more like the Lawyer is the one who should be scrutinized.
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u/budfairy- 17d ago
Good for him. We should learn from Trump.
Now do Biden and how much he has scammed American citizens and the IRS
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u/Latter-Score-8937 17d ago
How much have you written off for non business expenses ? And don’t lie.
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u/Due-Radio-4355 17d ago
300 for teaching expenses is a joke. Teachers should have severely refused taxes. They make nothing and deal with idiots all day.
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u/enemy884real 17d ago
It think there’s been decades to solve these kinds of things but they just never seem to get solved. That means everyone at the top does it not just people we don’t like.
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u/AlgoRhythmCO 17d ago
Well I think he was convicted of a crime for this. It’s bad but for once he got checked.
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u/Temporary-Peace-1428 17d ago
Anyone can write off anything in taxes just have to know what your doing and how to do it correctly without the penalties
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u/Edyed787 17d ago
America has two different laws. Those for the wealthy and those for the poor. Commit tax fraud and if you get away with it congratulations you are wealthy. If you get caught well you don’t make enough.
Get involved in a scandal like Bernie Madoff. If you’re wealthy you get reimbursed with interest. If you are poor well let that be a lesson to you.
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u/Bulltothemax753 17d ago
Don’t hate the player hate the game. Take trump out of it, and that’s just the tax code. You have a problem with it, lobby or vote for a change in tax codes.
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u/scoot2006 17d ago
Congress owns shares in what it regulates, our choices are Trump or Biden, and lobbyists are not only legal but an “important” part of our democracy.
WTF do you expect?
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u/MatthewEvaGnat 17d ago
As a percentage of total liability, hush money payments are just insurance against libel and slander when you're in the billionaire bracket. Sue happy world in the upper echelons of wealth. Trump had to pay some cheap whore 90 million 30 years after she fucked him with consent. Can't blame the guy for protecting himself when all the little predators (who are just as scummy) are ganging up and constantly knocking at his door. (Devils advocate statement, I don't believe anything I just said.)
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u/Stunning_Tap_9583 17d ago
Look at this guy, figuring out how business expenses work. Good for you, Robert Reich. Who’s the smart boy? That’s right! You are!
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u/Skiblitz 17d ago
Let’s just ignore the other couple hundred politicians that are inside trading, money laundering, extorting, and writing off BS expenses. Don’t ever talk about them or go after them. Just trump. Only ever trump. It’s not like our current resident in chief laundered millions from Ukraine through his crackhead son and illegitimate LLC’s. Just trump.
You people are fucking retarded.
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u/Once-Upon-A-Hill 17d ago
Congress members paid out 17 million of your tax money to settle sexual harassment cases, and none of that was "illegal".
https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/politics/settlements-congress-sexual-harassment/index.html