Bill Clinton was endlessly harassed by Republicans over the supposed fraud he and Hillary committed in the Whitewater real estate deal. Eventually, the pointless investigation run by Kenneth Starr, and assisted to by no less than Brett Kavanaugh, resulted in the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The crime was not that any fraud had been committed. The crime was that Bill Clinton had lied to investigators about a sexual tryst with a White House intern. The Republican Congress impeached Bill Clinton over something Donald Trump has done numerous times.
But just as Whitewater began with a New York Times story about money lost by the Clintons, a fresh new story by the New York Times promises that Donald Trump’s wealth will be scrutinized.
The lead of the NYT article reads: “President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, that greatly increased the fortune he received from his parents.”
According to the article, the Trumps avoided inheritance taxes on one billion dollars by paying less than one-tenth the taxes that should have been paid. And even if the statute of limitations have passed and Trump cannot be prosecuted as a felon by the IRS, nothing prevents New York authorities from pressing civil charges against Trump.
Republicans spun a nothing story into a $70 million independent counsel inquiry, which found no malfeasance on the part of the Clintons. As the Republican controlled house will not initiate an investigation into Trump, it is up to the New York State authorities to determine the level of Donald Trump’s involvement in the commission of a tax fraud scheme.
As the NYT article correctly points out, the fraud undermines the myth of Trump as a self-made millionaire. Of course it would take more than facts to dissuade Republicans that Trump is a fraud. To Republicans, it’s party over country.