In the case of Al Capone, you had a guy that was a known underworld figure. That being the case, it may have been justified.
Of course Trump is a sitting president, honestly elected, and seemingly adhering to the laws of the land.
With the courts we have today, I don’t know if Capone would have been convicted, or if Trump will be able to avoid turning over his returns.
We’ll see, at least the Trump part.
I think the difference is greater than that. In Capone’s case, he was recognized as a leading underworld figure who, through underlings, was the benefactor of illegally gotten gains. His tax returns did not reflect that income. So that was the predicate for the tax charge against him
In Trump’s case, there is no independent and verifiable claim of under-reporting income to the IRS in an effort to evade paying taxes. If Trump used legal loopholes that were codified in law, then good for him. There is no underlying illegality. The whole basis of the claim is an effort to find something that is more embarrassing than illegal.
I believe the Supreme Court will come down hard on this as it does reflect a huge intrusion on 4th Amendment protections.
The granting of certiorari alone tells you the Court thinks there is a problem right from the start. I’d love to be able to hear the oral arguments on this one.