Trump's tax news is akin to the "Emperor's New Suit"

Expert: Court reminds Trump that he is not immune

(CNN Business) -

The New York Times just ran one of the biggest stories of the last five years.

The story is about President Donald Trump's tax evasion.

This is a time similar to the tale of "The Emperor's New Suit" for Trump and the beginning of a long and extensive news cycle about his finances.

As CNN's John Harwood put it during Sunday night's news coverage, the story gives you "a devastating picture of a president who is financially bleeding and who is depending on his presidency to support him financially."

The front page of The New York Times this Monday has a six-column, two-line headline that is almost as large as the printed copy.

The headline reads, "PRESIDENT'S TAX CHART SHOWS CHRONIC LOSSES, AUDIT BATTLE, AND INCOME TAX EVASION."

• The New York Times: Trump Paid No Income Taxes In 10 Of The Last 15 Years Starting In 2000

All three firms belong to Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig, and Mike McIntire.

David Kirkpatrick, Kitty Bennett and Jesse Drucker of The New York Times also contributed reporting.

Trump's Tax Evasion Report is a Public Service

Now when I say that history is "important," I am not saying that it will change many people.

That was the defense of some Trump supporters Sunday: that no one in your world will care about these revelations.

As Oliver Darcy told me, in a text message: “Trump supporters who are locked in the Fox bubble where this will be handled with leniency.

And they have been conditioned to believe that the NYT is an arm of the Democratic machine.

Maybe he is right.

The majority of Trump supporters are determined and some are already voting.

But the dollar figures in history are still staggering.

I think the history of tax evasion is uniquely important because it occupies so much of the Trump portrait.

Voters, journalists, and historians should have the fullest possible portrait of Trump and Joe Biden.

So the NYT has done a real public service.

• ANALYSIS |

  Tax bombing reveals Trump's image is a sham

Trump is reluctant to release his tax return 2:31

Trump's predictable smears

A few minutes after The New York Times story ran, Trump began a pre-planned press conference rambling on about Biden and other topics.

When reporters like CNN's Jeremy Diamond inquired about the tax reports, Trump mocked them as "fake news" and proceeded to lie about the newspaper.

He then sought out his friendly right-wing lifeguards, in the same way that game show contestants try to call a friend for help.

It's hard to determine who asked what, but the softball players included John Gizzi of Newsmax;

Christina Bobb of One America News and a TBD member of the foreign press.

After the press conference, CNN anchor Ana Cabrera noted that Trump turned to right-wing interlocutors and said that "he could solve all this by publishing his tax returns, making them public ..."

Behind the scenes of The New York Times

This scoop was very, very contained within the NYT, as was the newspaper's 2018 Trump tax exposure.

They told me that the reporters in the story have been working "around the clock" since they got their treasure trove of tax return data.

Sunday's article was described as an "overview" with this note: "Additional articles to be published in the coming weeks."

That's what The New York Times reporters say privately too: There's more to come ...

The newspaper says it will not publish the actual tax filing documents

To quote Executive Editor Dean Baquet's letter to readers: “We will continue our reports and publish additional articles on our findings in the coming weeks.

We are not going to make the records themselves public because we do not want to jeopardize our sources, who have taken enormous personal risks to help inform the public.

Baquet's letter was a defense for the newspaper against the inevitable attacks from the Trump world: “Some will raise questions about the release of the president's personal tax information.

But the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment allows the press to publish newsworthy information that was legally obtained by reporters even as those in power struggle to keep it hidden.

That powerful First Amendment principle applies here.

This is what Fox News coverage might look like

Oliver Darcy said in an email: “Every time there is a big news story that Fox News has to cover on their so-called 'direct news' shows, the network does so by leading Trump's denial.

Sunday night was no different.

The headline on Fox's website focused solely on Trump's denial and his attacks on the NYT.

Elsewhere in the right-wing media, some focused on the NYT story line that said the documents they obtained do not "reveal any previously unreported connection to Russia."

He hopes these are the angles that the pro-Trump media will take in the next 24 hours… »

>> Meanwhile, the Drudge Report continues to excite Trump.

The banner headline on Sunday night read: "THE FALSE BILLIONAIRE?"

>> Trump fans like Mark Levin already claim that the leak is the real scandal.

Expect to hear much more of that ...

Notes and quotes

This was the coverage of the news of Trump's tax evasion in some media:

- One of the reasons why it is important: "The tax indictments go to the very heart of Trump's appeal," said Jill Colvin ... (AP)

- Another reason this news matters: If Trump “loses the election,” wrote former prosecutor Michael Bromwich, “he will face federal and state prosecution for bank fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud, just like everything else. his family …".

(Twitter)

- The NYT story says Trump has "more than $ 300 million in loans" that mature in the next four years.

One of the biggest unanswered questions on Monday is, as Jim Sciutto put it, "To whom exactly does the commander-in-chief owe this money?"

(Twitter)

- Former New York Times reporter Michael Luo, now in The New Yorker, tweeted: “Arguably no other news organization in the world could invest as much time / resources in Trump's tax investigations as the NYT has done. .

Maybe The Washington Post and ProPublica too?

Three reporters;

unlimited time.

Support investigative journalism as a bulwark of democracy.

- Paul Farhi, media reporter for The Washington Post: “The subtext of the NYT report is the crucial importance of 'The Apprentice' to Trump's finances and ultimately to his political career.

No 'The Apprentice', no cash flow to prop up many losing businesses.

No 'apprentice', no myths of Trump as a financial genius to follow.

(Twitter)

- Michael Cohen is taking a victory lap… (Twitter)

- Biden's campaign is selling "I paid more income taxes than Donald Trump" stickers… (Twitter)

- Public opinion researcher Gary Langer, summarizing his latest poll for ABC / WaPo, found a "net total of 5% likely voters who can be considered undecided, a small portion, although potentially enough to import in some states ..." ( ABC)

Donald Trump Tax