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.
Apparently brilliant minds think alike. I posted my response before I read down thread saw your response.
I agree with your take on it.
Judges are pretty vindictive if they think you have lied to them.
It’s simply unfathomable that the FISA Court judge hasn’t hauled the FBI agents butts back into court to answer for their actions.
If you or I pulled this nonsense, we’d face year behind bars.
I think the problem for President Trump is that presidential candidates for decades have submitted their tax returns for several years. When I ran for political office I had to list various things, including real estate I owned, which I would have preferred to not declare to the world for fear of vandalism, etc.