From the White House to the Big House

By Bill Fox/Columnist

I have said for some time that Trump is desperate. He cannot possibly envision losing the power he now holds in the White House. His lies and corruption will continue until Inauguration Day (Jan. 20) because, otherwise, as you will see below he will be going from the White House to the Big House.

Back in 1973 Trump was accused by the New York Justice Department of violations in the operation of 39 buildings he owned. The Justice Department sent black test subjects to more than half a dozen of his buildings and were denied apartments, but an undercover white person would then be offered an apartment in the same building. The government alleged that Trump’s corporation quoted different rental terms and conditions to black people and made false “no vacancy” statements for apartments they managed. Trump then had his lawyer file a counter-suit against the government for $100 million, asserting that the charges against him were irresponsible and baseless. His countersuit was thrown out as having no basis. Trump settled the charges out of court in 1975 without admitting guilt.

The ghostwriter of Trump’s book, The Art of the Deal,  said that the housing case was “a classic example” of Trump being “a counterpuncher”:  “…if someone accuses Trump of doing something horrible, he goes back at them with all guns blazing!”

I guess similarly if he is on the wrong end of an election, he will never admit defeat. As we have often seen in his life, even when Trump loses, he will “declare victory.”

It seems Trump can be a lawyer’s best friend as he has been involved in hundreds of litigations.

Because of Justice Department policy opposing any federal prosecution of a sitting president, after Inauguration Day, many will be waiting to take Trump to court. He already faces two separate inquiries into his business dealings by the New York state attorney general and the New York City district attorney.

There are also civil suits against Trump by two women claiming he defamed them by calling them liars when they accused him of sexual crimes. There’s also the further possibility that federal prosecutors could charge Trump with obstruction of justice or other crimes relating to the Robert Mueller investigation, and the same campaign-finance violations his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, went to prison for.

In fact, many legal experts think Mueller was building a case against Trump for prosecutors to use once he is out of office.

Once Trump can no longer claim presidential privilege to hold off prosecutors, there will be active investigations looking at his problematic finances. Topics of further legal cases include more contract disputes, defamation claims, and allegations of sexual misconduct.

In fact, Trump’s companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and on “at least three dozen” occasions the New York State Finance Department has obtained liens against Trump properties for non-payment of taxes.

We have seen that Donald Trump is indeed a fighter, famous for legal skirmishes over everything from his golf courses to his tax bills to Trump University.

An exclusive USA TODAY analysis of legal filings across the United States found that Trump and his businesses had been involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts during the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits, to personal defamation lawsuits. The sheer volume of lawsuits is mind-boggling.

I find it so sad that many good people have defended Trump because they see the position of President of the United States as almost a demi-god. According to one study, the issue most American voters saw as the number one issue in this past election was the economy, followed by health care and in at number three is the coronavirus. If patriots believed everything Trump was saying about his role in the economy, and could ignore other issues, it seems they voted to keep him in power. Sad.

I’m at bdfox@rogers.com apologizing for a “political column” that I felt had to be written.