Admissions by Trump are Piling Up

  

“The foregoing does not purport to be an exhaustive list.” 

I am one of those pundits who does not believe that Donald Trump will actually run for another presidential term in 2024. He may wish to avoid a big embarrassment should he lose (and then have to fight another “voter fraud” battle) or, simply, he may not be legally allowed to run. His candidate endorsement cachet is falling. His obsession with purported voter fraud – the Big Lie – is getting old. He faces potential criminal charges and a host of lawsuits, outlined below in a document prepared by Trump’s own lawyers. There are also other candidates embracing this MAGA stance… without all the personal turmoil that seems to define his life. Ah, Donald, maybe there is a separate legal system just for you. Or maybe not! 

As the litany of Trump problems rises by the hour, there is one very recent piece de resistance providing a nasty summary of his track record, effectively by his own “corporate” admissions, through his own counsel, in government filings last month in connection with his seeking $875 million from the public to fund his new social media Truth site, sidestepping the risks of being taking on and off other social media sites for various continuing infractions of their rules. But first, let’s look at how his structure works.

There are many American corporate vehicles for raising public equity, but all require full disclosure to prospective investors, compliance with state and federal laws, and if offering is large enough, formal registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission and often equivalent state agencies as well. In recent years, “funds” within pre-formed corporate structures – SPACs – have been used by promoters to hit the ground running. The March 4th Forbes.com explains: “A SPAC is a special purpose acquisition company, also frequently called a blank check company. SPACs are a publicly traded vehicles that exist solely to raise money and acquire existing private companies… Going public by agreeing to be purchased by a SPAC reduces the red tape and costs associated with a traditional IPO [initial public offering]. The latter involves banks that underwrite the deal, roadshows for potential investors and high levels of financial statements.” 

Promoters seeking shortcuts to raising serious capital are willing to tolerate the high fees associated with using a SPAC, and often the new company merges into the SPAC to take advantage of a ready-made corporate vehicle. But if they are going out for more funding, registration with the SEC is still required. Enter Donald Trump, a self-described “very stable genius,” particularly when it comes to business. 

The SPAC in question is Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) which will combine with Trump’s social media company – formally the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) – to raise that additional public money and operate under the TMTG name. The relevant registration with the SEC – under an S-4 form – is a gem of a disclosure document, heavily focused, as it says, that the offering (by DWAC) is materially dependent on “the reputation and popularity of its Chairman, President Donald J. Trump.” Duh! So that offering registration document’s Risk Factors is an honest presentation that you have to read to believe. Sure, it poses standard business risks from natural disasters to civil unrest and cyberattacks, but the specific elevated risks attributed to Mr. Trump are stunning.

If you don’t want to read that document in its entirety, I will present a few of the highlights, most set forth in the section that reads: “Risks Related to our Chairman President Donald J. Trump.” While the disclosures are extensive, the above quote within the S-4 suggests that, “But wait, there might be much more.” With a little editorial help from LA Times OpEd columnist (May 29th edition of the Times), Michael Hiltzik, here are some of those S-4 disclosures: “A number of companies that were associated with President Trump have filed for bankruptcy… There can be no assurances that TMTG will not also become bankrupt.”…. starting with:

“The Trump Taj Mahal, which was built and owned by President Trump, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. The Trump Plaza, the Trump Castle, and the Plaza Hotel, all owned by President Trump at the time, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992. THCR, which was founded by President Trump in 1995, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the new name given to Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts after its 2004 bankruptcy, declared bankruptcy in 2009.” And continuing with those Trump licensees who lost their shirts:

“Trump Shuttle Inc., launched by President Trump in 1989, defaulted on its loans in 1990 and ceased to exist by 1992. Trump University, founded by President Trump in 2005, ceased operations in 2011 amid lawsuits and investigations regarding the company’s business practices. Trump Vodka, a brand of vodka produced by Drinks Americas under license from the Trump Organization, was introduced in 2005 and discontinued in 2011.”

Add: “Trump Mortgage, LLC, a financial services company founded by President Trump in 2006, ceased operations in 2007. GoTrump.com, a travel site founded by President Trump in 2006, ceased operations in 2007. Trump Steaks, a brand of steak and other meats founded by President Trump in 2007, discontinued sales two months after its launch.”

The disclosure also observes that “President Trump is involved in numerous lawsuits and other matters that could damage his reputation, cause him to be distracted from the business or could force him to resign from TMTG’s board of directors.”… Among them, the document specifies that “a congressional committee is investigating President Trump’s role, if any, in violence at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Two groups of U.S. Capitol Police officers, in two separate lawsuits, have sued President Trump for allegedly inciting riots on that date.”

Further, the S-4 mentions other “ongoing litigation involving President Trump related to the 2020 election,” including a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and a criminal investigation launched by “the Fulton County, Ga., district attorney’s office ... into President Trump’s alleged interference in the presidential election.”

Also, “the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform is investigating President Trump’s alleged destruction and removal of classified documents and White House records, as well as potential inaccurate financial statements filed by the Trump Organization in relation to the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C.”

Separate investigations have been launched by “the New York County (Manhattan) district attorney, the New York attorney general, and the Westchester County district attorney to determine if the Trump Organization made false valuations of property to avoid tax liability and for other financial benefits.”

The document continues, “On April 25, 2022, a New York state court judge held President Trump in civil contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena for documents related to the New York attorney general’s investigation of the Trump Organization. President Trump, along with his three eldest children (including Donald Trump Jr., a TMTG board member), are defendants in a class-action lawsuit accusing them and the Trump Corp. of defrauding investors in exchange for secret payments from multiple companies.”

Also, “The Trump Organization recently paid $750,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the District of Columbia accusing the organization of misusing nonprofit funds from the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee.”

On top of that, “President Trump is the defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed against him by E. Jean Carroll who claims that President Trump defamed her when he denied her allegations of sexual assault against him. In the past, President Trump has been involved in multiple lawsuits and settlements — and the subject of numerous accusations that did not result in legal action — related to sexual conduct and alleged misconduct.”

With the GOP as obvious co-conspirators – and no, the Capitol attackers weren’t “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” as the GOP officially declared back in February – Trump continues to wield significant political power over the form and shape of the entire Republican Party. If you look at Trump’s “blame and distract” efforts, over and above the “use every means possible to delay legitimate prosecutorial and judicial inquiry,” you also see a rising mention of the purported violations of Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden. The subtext suggests that if you let those “miscreants” go unpunished, efforts to bring Trump to justice are minor by comparison. Really? So, if other people go unpunished, that creates a blank check for Trump to violate the law as well? 

But neither Hillary Clinton nor Hunter Biden has any serious intention to run for office. They have nothing to do with Trump’s self-admitted misdeeds and those additional wrongs of which he stands accused. For those old enough to remember, think about former President Jimmy Carter’s brother Billy who used his “adjacent fame” in the 1970s to promote Peanut Lolita Liqueur and Billy Beer, and eventually registered as a foreign agent of the Libyan government, receiving a $220,000 loan from them. Bottom line: who cares about the sins of others who are not in a political contest with Donald Trump today? But Trump is still very much active and continues to run most or a significant part of the entire Republican Party.

I’m Peter Dekom, and as Donald Trump continues to self-destruct, we all need to be aware that his toxic, antidemocratic, polarizing message is alive and well in the platforms of virtually all of the serious GOP contenders for the presidency in 2024.