Trump Tax Records Reveal New Inconsistencies

Newly unearthed tax and loan documents appear to show that Donald Trump’s business reported wildly conflicting occupancy rates for Trump Tower — depending on who the intended audience was, ProPublica reports.

The documents appear to show the president’s business reported a high occupancy rate to lenders, but a lower rate in official tax filings.

Jonathan Chait: “This isn’t being clever, finding a complicated tax shelter, or taking full advantage of what the law allows. It’s just, by all indications, straight up fraud. What these figures can’t settle is whether Trump is defrauding his lenders, cheating on his taxes, or both. Both of those forms of fraud are crimes. None of the experts contacted by ProPublica could formulate an innocent explanation.”