Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal money laundering bust looms large in Trump-Russia scandal

| 12:30 am EST March 1, 2018
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If you think it’s a “wild coincidence” that Robert Mueller has charged thirteen Russians in absentia and is now shining a spotlight on potential money laundering by the NRA and questionable family loans in connection with the Trump-Russia probe, here’s a leftover nugget from Trump’s Taj Mahal to consider.

While dredging the swamp looking for creatures from the black lagoon, Robert Mueller has been able to follow a trail of slimy footprints that Trump Inc and his sloppy swamp creatures left behind. On June 16, 2015 Trump announced his official bid for the Presidency. Three months earlier, this little token was given to Donald J. Trump for Robert Mueller and investigators to eventually cash in:

“The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today imposed a $10 million civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (Trump Taj Mahal), for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In addition to the civil money penalty, the casino is required to conduct periodic external audits to examine its anti-money laundering (AML) BSA compliance program and provide those audit reports to FinCEN and the casino’s Board of Directors.”

In April of 2017, Palmer Report was the first to report on this money laundering bust, after it had remained entirely under the media’s radar for more than two years. In response to our reporting, the Senate Judiciary Committee began attempting to subpoena the Treasury records of the Taj Mahal a few weeks later. The key detail is that the bust goes back several years, to when Donald Trump still held a significant stake in the Taj Mahal. You can find the original FinCEN press release here.

The words “willful and repeated” connected to money laundering are what stand out in my mind. That, and a ten million dollar fine levied against a man who’s no stranger to bankruptcy, struggles to sell bottled water and still refuses to show his taxes. If anyone thinks that Trump’s crooked path to the White House ends in contrition, they’ve already forgotten the words “willful and repeated”. It’s pathological. Trump has no history to suggest he’s a selfless servant when he brags about “donating” his salary. Trump hit the ultimate “pay for play” jackpot when he won the Presidency. To him, “donating” such measly earnings are a small price to pay for hitting the ultimate jackpot.