Trouble for Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr
Authorities seem laser-focused on bringing down the Trump “dynasty.” According to the Daily Beast (“DB”), Washington, D.C.’s attorney general is trying to force testimony out of three Trump associates. Yes, D.C., not New York. This case stems from Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee that gouged people to line Trump’s pockets to the tune of over $1 million according to DB.
Recall that Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who was involved in the inauguration and briefly served as an aide to Melanie Trump, became a cooperating witness for the government in this case. She likely shared enough with investigators to gave them what they needed to continue their probe. At the center of this investigation is, according to DB, “how Trump’s kids blurred the lines between the family business and what’s supposed to be a non-profit . . . by funneling events to the Trump International Hotel in Washington where the committee may have overpaid for services.” You think? That is all Donald Trump’s “presidency” was about. He never wanted to help the American people or the country; he wanted to prop up his failing businesses, and he was blatant with it.
Even more is coming out about the Trumps. According to Mother Jones (“MJ”), Donald Trump Jr. “provided false testimony” during his deposition in February, and records obtained by MJ contradicted Ivanka Trump’s testimony. Wolkoff told DB during her interview that: “Everything they did was all about self-dealing. They had a nonprofit pay them for their own hotel at an inflated cost.” None of this is surprising. These people are completely classless and are nothing more than common criminals. As a result of Wolkoff’s testimony and the lies of Donald Jr. and Ivanka, the D.C. attorney general now wants to question Allen Weisselberg; Gentry Beach, who served on the finance committee and is a college buddy of Donald Jr.; and Kara Hanley, a former executive assistant at the Trump Organization. Can you feel the walls closing in on the Trump crime family?
DB further reported that the AG is interested in Weisselberg because he “played a peculiar role” by reviewing financial transactions of the inauguration committee, which was supposed to be an independent body that had nothing to do with the Trump Organization. Why, then, would the Trump Organization’s CFO be overseeing work on behalf of an organization that had nothing to do with the company? Gentry Beach is the person who coordinated reservation of hotel rooms, charging a $50,000 “business expense” that was satisfied by the nonprofit. It is not clear what Kara Hanley’s role may have been beyond being guest-listed for the event, but there is no telling what she knows.
The tangled Trump web is being unraveled, one string at a time. With both D.C. and New York squeezing Weisselberg, it is only a matter of time before he spills his guts. Though the D.C. action is civil and seeks only to recoup illicitly spent funds, the investigation is still yet another kick in the gut to the Trump crime family. Between the criminal investigation and this civil investigation, someone is going down.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years