Nothing in life is certain except death and rich people jumping through complicated hoops to avoid paying taxes. In case you needed any more convincing about the tax side of that, please see the latest travails of the Trumps.
On Thursday, the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, were charged with a “sweeping and audacious illegal payment scheme” of tax-related crimes. While that may sound juicy, it is duller (but no less devious) when you dig into the 15-count indictment. There is no smoking gun, just mounds of details about company perks, such as payment of school fees and rents that weren’t reported properly. Lots of grubby ruses that add up to massive, and possibly illegal, tax savings.
Don’t mistake a lack of style for a lack of substance, however. The devil – and Donald Trump’s potential downfall – is in the detail. While it is unlikely that Trump (who is not facing criminal charges yet) is going to jail imminently, Thursday’s indictment may well mark the beginning of the end of his business empire. That end will come sooner rather than later if Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trump family for nearly 50 years, decides to turn against Trump and cooperate with the investigation. So far, Weisselberg seems loyal, but that could always change. Weisselberg’s family, it is worth noting, aren’t all as pro-Trump as he is. Jennifer Weisselberg, his former daughter-in-law, has handed over numerous financial documents regarding her ex-husband, who was also a Trump Organization employee.
You think the Weisselbergs sound dysfunctional? Wait until the Trumps start turning on each other. It could be any day. On Thursday, Mary Trump, Donald’s estranged niece, told the cable news host Rachel Maddow that she believes the former president’s adult children won’t think twice before sacrificing their father to save themselves. “His relationship with them, and their relationship with him, is entirely transactional and conditional,” she said. “They’re not going to risk anything for him, just as he wouldn’t risk anything for them.”
Trump’s children, to be clear, haven’t been charged with anything yet. However, they have a lot to be worried about. As Donald Trump’s biographer said recently, one reason Weisselberg is in trouble is that he was allegedly paid as an employee and a nonemployee contractor – allowing various tax write-offs. A New York Times investigation reported that Ivanka Trump was similarly paid more than $700,000 (£500,000) in consulting fees while also collecting a salary as a full-time employee of the Trump Organization. It is likely Eric and Don Jr had similar arrangements in place – we only know for sure about Ivanka because she had to disclose the payments when she gave herself a job at the White House.
If any of the Trump kids are going to turn on their dad, my money is squarely on Ivanka. Indeed, she already seems to be distancing herself strategically from her no-longer-particularly-useful father. A couple of weeks ago, for example, there were reports that Trump’s complaints about the “stolen” 2020 election were driving Ivanka and Jared Kushner away. These reported leaks about Javanka are not new phenomena – they happened frequently throughout Trump’s presidency, leading some to suspect it was a PR tactic by a couple keen to remain in the good graces of liberals as well as the Maga crowd.
While Ivanka appears to be coolly attempting to control her own narrative behind the scenes, Donald Jr and Eric reacted to the Trump Organization criminal charges by having histrionics on camera. Eric Trump told Newsmax last week that “Don, Ivanka and I live really nice, clean lives”. Meanwhile, Don Jr posted a 13-minute video on Facebook calling the charges against his dad “banana-republic stuff”. He also (rather unhelpfully) acknowledged that the allegations Trump paid for Weisselberg’s grandchildren’s school fees were true. “My dad did that,” he said, because he is a “good guy”. A “good guy” who probably wishes he raised smarter kids. With children like these, who needs enemies?
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist