(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Al Capone: Tax Evasion, Trump: Document Concealment [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2022-08-31 When reflecting on the career of the infamous Chicago gangster, Al Capone, many people fail to realize how the US government was finally able to apprehend him and send him to Alcatraz. Al Capone was not convicted of murder, extortion, bootlegging, prostitution, bribery, or racketeering. He was ultimately charged with the heinous crime of … tax evasion. You heard that right. That famous child of Italian immigrant parents was ultimately sentenced to eleven years in prison – not for his alleged role in ordering the seven executions in the Valentine’s Day Massacre – but for his inability to account for his assets. Al Capone was a tax cheat. You might ask, why on earth would the government want to charge such a powerful, violent, and ruthless man with such a mundane, nonviolent charge as tax evasion? From the perspective of the US government, the answer is simple and straightforward – it was an easy, airtight, foolproof case. The government simply ordered Mr. Capone to provide evidence of how he was able to pay for his mansions, yachts, cars and other luxury items. When he was unable to provide this evidence, they were able to charge and convict him. Evidently, the art of money laundering hadn’t evolved to its current level of complexity. I liken Trump’s current legal predicament with respect to the Mar-A-Lago secret documents to Capone’s troubles with his taxes. From my view, it appears that Merrick Garland is much smarter, methodical, and strategic than I ever gave him credit for. I am certainly not a lawyer, but all of the legal experts I have been reading and listening to have come to a similar conclusion: the legal case against Trump illegally possessing government documents is overwhelming. In basketball terms, it is a slam dunk. Admittedly, my visceral inclination is that Trump should be charged with a crime much more ominous sounding – something like inciting a riot, seditious conspiracy, or treason. A part of me wants Trump to suffer gravely for his assault on our democracy and his disregard for the rule of law – something akin to being locked up in a rat-infested, feces-infused solitary jail cell for ten thousand lifetimes while being forced to listen to the Jonas Brothers greatest hits without end. Such consequences, however, are unlikely. An argument could even be made that meting out draconian punishment for Donald Trump might not be in our nation’s best interest. The punishment must be strategic and effective in its implementation. I want Trump’s legal punishment to accomplish two things: to cause Donald Trump enduring humiliation and to render Donald Trump politically powerless. In my view, Merrick Garland should first pursue charges related to Trump’s illegally harboring government documents – namely, the Espionage Act, the mishandling of government documents, and the obstruction of justice charges. Like Al Capone’s tax evasion charges, Trump’s document possession crimes would be easy to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence for criminal intent, knowledge, and conduct for these three crimes is overwhelming. Along with all of the government documents seized from the three visits to Mar-a-lago, there are plenty of witnesses, video footage, and official documented correspondence to support a conviction In my view, the government should pursue the three charges related to the illegally possessed documents first. I am certainly not saying that Trump’s crimes of inciting riots, seditious conspiracy, and corruptly obstructing a government proceeding should be ignored. I am merely stating that these crimes would be complicated, lengthy, and far more difficult to prove. By initially focusing on the illegally possessed documents, the Justice Department would operate from a position of strength. In such a scenario, the government would be able to dictate the course of a plea agreement favorable to their desired outcome. As part of an agreement to avoid jail time, the Justice Department could entice Trump to sign a document stating that he knowingly and willfully put the public at risk, that he betrayed the trust of the American people, and that he willingly relinquishes any future right to holding public office. I cannot imagine a worse fate for Donald Trump than the result of signing such a statement as part of a plea agreement. Doing so would humiliate Trump and hasten his political slide. It would ruin him as completely as Alcatraz did Al Capone. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/31/2119581/-Al-Capone-Tax-Evasion-Trump-Document-Concealment Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/