Pulitzer-winning reporter Susanne Craig, who covered Trump’s fraud case for the New York Times and investigated the former president’s finances for years, talked to Ali Velshi about the verdict and warned that the issue could be “much larger.”
Craig started with Trump’s taxes
Trump sued the Times and three reports, David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner, over a 2018 article that alleged Trump engaged in “suspect tax schemes.” The lawsuit was dismissed, and the three investigative reports won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize over the same piece.
Craig still thinks about Trump’s taxes
Talking to Velshi, Craig reminded that Trump promised to release tax returns and explained, “If he had just released one or two of his tax returns, I don’t think it would’ve set a lot of this off.” She continued, “I don’t think we would’ve embarked on what we did, which turned out just because we kept finding new stuff.”
Craig’s life would have been different
The reporter said she often thinks about this and wonders how it would have affected her life if Trump had released tax returns. Craig continued, “It started with a simple question, and we started digging, and it ended up that we did a piece in 2018,” which earned the reports the Pulitzer Prize.
Interest in Trump was due to his presidency
Craig expressed that the interest was simply because Trump was in the White House, and people are curious because of the influence he had on various issues.
Valshi on standard business practices
Speaking about the civil fraud case, Velshi told Craig that Trump’s defense was trying to get the court to accept that certain business practices could be “wrong” or “illegal,” but they happen all the time. Craig said, “Just because everybody does it, it doesn’t mean it’s legal,” adding, “To me, that would be a confession” in the court.
Games with valuations
Craig pointed out there are many “games with valuations,” but “no one is ever brought to justice on that.” But, she continued, “Trump went way beyond,” including “misrepresenting cash on hand, adding, “Those sort of games he was doing was just part of this case, it’s much larger.”
Redirected to the IRS
Velshi said there’s more, “this is being redirected to the IRS” and possibly to the federal authorities. Craig said they reported on the IRS, adding, “The audit is another issue that’s not talked about,” despite the story being published in 2020.
“Penalty in excess of $100 million”
The reporter stated that Trump could face “a penalty in excess of $100 million, and I would imagine it’s growing every day” due to interest.
That’s on top of all the legal fees we know about
Craig warned, “There’s a lot we don’t know,” adding, “It’s a real issue… These are huge. And they’re not things you can put off for another day.” She recalled that Trump was ordered to pay $350 million plus interest in the fraud case and over $80 million to E. Jean Carroll.
Tip of the iceberg
Valshi declared, “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” in his conclusion. But, it was a busy week for Craig, who joined MSNBC host Katy Tur in discussing the fraud case with Tristan Snell and Lisa Rubin.
Craig on MSNBC
During her recent MSNBC appearance, the report said, “I think this case, and we’re going to read through it and dissect it when you step back, it’s also a shot from the judge and part of the reason why the Attorney General brought it was to say that this sort of behavior in New York, okay, you cannot submit false statements to financial institutions, and it’s okay. And just because everybody does it doesn’t mean it’s okay. In fact, that’s a confession.”
“Far over the line”
Craig repeated, “I’ve covered Donald Trump’s finances for a long time, and in doing so, I have talked to people in the ecosystem about this issue, particularly of appraisals, and we always go high in certain situations, talking to the IRS, we go low. There’s a range within that, I think, that’s acceptable, at least when we’ve looked at it, to the IRS. Donald Trump went far over that line, and that’s why he found himself here.”
Other reports on Trump’s upcoming trial
Trump’s criminal trial is set for March 25, and he’s accused of falsifying business records. Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart told PBS’ Geoff Bennett, “he’s going to trial. He’s going to be in a courtroom. And we will go from the theoretical to the real. And I’m looking forward to it because the dude needs to be held accountable in a court of law.”
Watch the video on YouTube.
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