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Trump could be held liable on Civil RICO charges [1]

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Date: 2025-05-22

Fani Willis, and her RICO case against Trump and all the others in Fulton County, Georgia, had the right idea.

All the elements are here for a new case:

Extortion: The law firms and universities. Bribery and it's solicitation: The meme coin lottery for the dinner with Trump happening this evening, May 22nd. And the $400 million Qatar plane. Obstruction of justice: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, just to start.

Jonathan Zasloff lays it out in a Slate article. I had already forgotten Trump's confession to extortion in the TIME Magazine interview:

TIME: You've used threats and lawsuits, other forms of coercion -—

Trump: Well, I gotta be doing something right, because I've had a lot of law firms give me a lot of money.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, makes it, "...unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise --- to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity."

An enterprise is any individual, partnership, corporation, association, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity.

This would be Trump and his aides, Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials.

Pattern of activity is two or more times. Trump has extorted multiple large law firms. The same for threatening universities and colleges for canceling grants. Withholding funds from states he doesn't like.

He has solicited bribes multiple times with the cryptocurrency $1.5 million a plate dinner, the 220 crypto dinner winners with foreign countries buying millions right out in the open for access to Trump. The Qatari 747. Business deals just confirmed in his MidEast trip with hotels, golf courses and resorts with Saudi investments in the billions. Yeah, bribery works.

Obstruction of justice starts with all the Venezuelans sent to El Salvador after being ordered not to. Leaving Kilmar Abrego Garcia in CECOT after the Supreme Court ordered him returned. If you want to go back in history a little bit there were the 10 instances of obstruction of justice that Robert Mueller documented in his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. And, of course, there's the attempt in 2020 and 2021 trying to overturn the election. And January 6th specifically. Then after he left office there's the attempt to conceal the classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. Most likely he told Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveiri to move the boxes. Could bring that up again. Nothing stopping it. For good measure, they could include that "perfect" one hour phone call to Brad Raffensperger. That one was not only obstruction of justice but also extortion with threat to Raffensperger of prosecution if he didn't find those 11,780 votes.

I'm sure we can find still more qualified crimes to add. False arrest of judges, the mayor in New Jersey. Charging the Congress people visiting the detention facility with assault. Stephen Miller threatening suspending the writ of habeas corpus. Stock manipulation with the on again, off again tariff announcements. The list is practically endless.

The articles of impeachment from Shri Thanedar and Al Green will draw attention to Trump's crimes, but impeachment and conviction won't happen. But the attempt needs to be done.

Here is a functional RICO case. Who has standing to pursue it? The law firms, for one. Now that Perkins Coie won their case, they could easily take on Trump. It would literally be poetic justice. There's also Jenner & Block and WilmerHale on extortion, bribery and obstruction of justice.

His threats of and intimidation against judges make it more likely that they will rule against targeted law firms and thus assist his extortion. Trump's bribery scheme assists some firms by funneling work to them while blocking others.

Universities could sue because of Trump's attempt to make them strip First Amendment rights from students as well as withholding grant money if they don't teach what Trump wants them to teach.

A lawsuit will allow discovery of all the missing details like the foreign bribery. There is the ability to depose those around Trump under oath. Can get them for perjury if they aren't truthful.

In 1982, Nixon vs. Fitzgerald, gave a president immunity from civil lawsuits for actions while in office. But they have to be "official acts."

The Supreme Court found that, "the President's absolute immunity extends to all acts within the 'outer perimeter' of his duties of office."

What the "outer perimeter" means is left up to a judge or a jury. The decision was partly clarified by Clinton vs. Jones, which held that a president is subject to civil suits for actions taken before becoming president. Trump is automatically liable for actions before Jan. 20, 2017. Also from Jan. 21, 2021 to Jan. 19, 2025, because he was not in office.

The "outer perimeter" needs to be defined, but that doesn't stop a lawsuit from being started, discovery, and filings in the case.

Trump has made himself vulnerable by acting like he is invulnerable. There always is a way to take Trump down, and a civil RICO case is a way to do it. There is a group of possible plaintiffs. I'd like it to be the law firms banding together. They've got the resources to do it. Universities might find firms to pro bono the case.

If found liable, the penalties are treble charges of plaintiff's losses, legal fees, asset forfeiture of gains of the criminal enterprise, and dissolution of the criminal enterprise. Trump and his cabinet. This would be the high crimes and misdemeanors needed to impeach Trump as well.

Trump acting like a mob boss could be his undoing. He most definitely is a racketeer.

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