MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough ridiculed Donald Trump on Monday morning after the former president seemed to acknowledge the existence of tax schemes that his company was charged with while denying he knew they were crimes.
At a rally in Sarasota, Florida on Saturday, Trump addressed the indictment brought against the Trump Organization and its CFO Allen Weisselberg last week by the Manhattan district attorney over an alleged tax fraud scheme.
“They go after good, hard-working people for not paying taxes on a company car. ’You didn’t pay tax on the car! Or a company apartment! You used an apartment because you need an apartment because you have to travel too far where your house is. And didn’t pay tax. Or education for your grandchildren,” Trump said, referring to the charges. “I don’t even know. Do you have to, does anybody know the answer to that stuff?”
After playing clips of Trump’s excuses on “Morning Joe,” Scarborough burst out laughing.
“This guy who claims to be this business genius, ‘Oh, you have to pay taxes on apartments? Whoever knew you had to pay taxes on cars and apartments?’” Scarborough said. “You know who did? They did. Because they had two spreadsheets. They were keeping two sets of books, according to the charges. And according to the information, it seems they knew all too well the ramifications of not paying almost $1 million in taxes on those benefits.”
According to the indictment, the purpose of the scheme was to compensate Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives off the books so that they could pay significantly less federal, state and local taxes than they should have.
“The beneficiaries of the scheme received substantial portions of their income through indirect and disguised means, with compensation that was unreported or misreported by [the Trump Organization] to the tax authorities,” the indictment stated.
Dave Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, told Scarborough that Trump’s comments could be damaging for his indicted employee.
“That sound you hear is the sound of the Trump bus rolling over Allen Weisselberg at that Sarasota rally,” Aronberg said. “I do take it as admissions and they’re going to hurt Allen Weisselberg, they’re going to hurt the Trump Organization and could come back to be used against Trump himself if he’s ever charged in this matter.”
Aronberg said Trump’s claim about not knowing what was going on was a preview of his future defense if he’s ever charged.
“We see that defense all the time here in the prosecutor business when it comes to white-collar fraud cases,” Aronberg said.
Watch the segment below courtesy of Raw Story: