The Trump Organization is found guilty of tax fraud

Transcript

NIALA: Good morning! Welcome to Axios Today!

It’s Wednesday, December 7th.

I’m Niala Boodhoo.

Here’s what we’re covering today: a win in Georgia means a 51-seat majority in the U.S. Senate for Democrats. Plus, the aftermath of an attack on power stations in North Carolina. But first, the Trump organization is found guilty of tax fraud – that’s today’s One Big Thing.

NIALA: The Trump organization was found guilty yesterday by a Manhattan jury on charges related to a criminal tax fraud scheme. Axios’ Hans Nichols is here with us for more. Hey Hans.

HANS NICHOLS: Morning.

NIALA: Exactly what has the Trump organization been found guilty of?

HANS: Kind of broadly fraud. I mean, I think they're 15 counts. The basic issue is it's really hard to survive a trial when your former CFO, in this case, Allen Weisselberg, has already sort of admitted guilt and is cooperating with prosecutors. So, you know, I don't know if the outcome was never in doubt, but it didn't look great for the Trump organization for the last several weeks.

NIALA: And I have to say, this feels like the latest in a string of bad news for Donald Trump in the past month since he announced his 2024 candidacy for president, right?

HANS: Yeah, but you have to think about how Donald Trump processes bad news and what he thinks is bad news, because ultimately, you know, the real question here is will this have an influence on Trump to run or not to run? And it seems as though he's pretty committed to running and it seems as though any sort of potential bad news, he turns around in his own mind and actually thinks it's just another reason for him to run and that they're out to get him. So, you know, just take this case like the, they're obviously gonna appeal. You know, the fine is $1.6 million. Trump was never personally accused of criminal wrongdoing here, but like this is someone in the last, you know, week has talked about over like disregarding the constitution. And so, I sort of struggle to find why this case would prove to him that he can't run or convince him not to run when he's talking about throwing out the entire constitution.

NIALA: I guess the other question is, do people who support Donald Trump, would they care about this conviction or the Supreme Court forcing him to turn over tax returns to House Democrats?

HANS: Well, I guess the key question on the tax returns is will it be made public and, you know, how's Democrats have until sort of, you know, the new Congress January 3rd to figure that out. I would just say, I would put Trump's supporters into two to three buckets. I think his hardcore supporters that are convinced he's being persecuted, don't suspect this will have a huge effect on him. I think the Republican establishment is looking for reasons and they've been somewhat transparent about this, on turning on Trump and trying to make the case to those voters that the fever should break and that they should pick someone that could potentially win. And then, it's the big dollar donors. The big question for the donors and for the establishment is will they ever fully cut bait on Donald Trump?

NIALA: And given the number of outstanding legal issues plaguing the former president, what are you watching for next?

HANS: Oh, the criminal liability, right? I mean, is there going to be a case either in Georgia or Manhattan. Sort of, and the referral from the Department of Justice on the documents that he had at Mar-a-Lago. Will there be an indictment and will those cases get traction? Because then we're an entirely different category, which is to say that we could have a presidential candidate who's facing trial, who could potentially, and the emphasis on potentially, be convicted and incarcerated. And that is like something the country hasn't gone through before with an incarcerated presidential candidate running for office.

NIALA: Hans Nichols covers the White House for Axios. Thanks Hans.

HANS: Thanks for having me.

AUDIO OF WARNOCK: “I am Georgia"... (crowd cheers, applause)

NIALA: At last there’s a decision from Georgia voters, who are sending Democrat Rafael Warnock back to the U.S. Senate. The runoff race yesterday between Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker remained close throughout the night, with turnout high across the state. Warnock, who was the first Black man to be elected Senator in Georgia, last night also became the first Black American to be elected to a full six-year term to represent Georgia.

Democrats will now control the Senate with a 51-seat majority for the next two years.

In a moment, a gunfire attack over the weekend leaves tens of thousands of people in North Carolina without power.

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The aftermath of an attack on power stations in North Carolina

NIALA: Welcome back to Axios Today. I'm Niala Boodhoo.

A North Carolina County, outside of Raleigh, is under a state of emergency after a targeted attack caused the area to go completely dark for days. Over the weekend, gunfire damaged two electric substations in Moore County, North Carolina, leaving 60% of the county without.Four days later, the outage is still being felt as energy companies are working to turn the lights back on. Axios’ Zachary Eanes is based in Raleigh and just got back from Moore County.

What do we know so far about this attack?

ZACHERY EANES: So this power outage happened around 7 p.m. on Saturday night. It actually occurred during what was a pretty contentious incident in Moore County. For weeks, people had been, you know, battling in the press and on social media about a drag show that was gonna be happening in downtown Southern Pines. And, there were protesters and police presence at this drag show. And, during the show the power was cut out and you know, they actually finished the show in the darkness with people using their cell phone light and stuff.

It was the obvious question right away whether this had some sort of connection to the incident. And the Sheriff's department said that they are investigating whether there is a connection. However, at this time they said they have no reason to believe there is a connection, And while we don't know who did it or what their motive is yet, you know, officials have said that it was very targeted and that these people knew exactly what they were doing.

NIALA: Duke Energy says they've been working on having most customers power back by tonight, but what's it been like for the past four days for a lot of people to be essentially in the dark and this time of year too?

ZACHERY: Yeah. You walk down downtown, Southern Pines, a real hub of activity in Moore County. It is, you know, completely silent except for generators. Businesses that would be popping during the holiday period when a lot of these small companies are making the bulk of their revenue, are sitting empty. We walked into a wine shop, it was completely dark except for four people drinking wine and talking. And, you know, people were just very confused and shocked. And, you know, someone said, this is just, really devastated the community cause there are, you know, people that are here that live here. There are a lot of elderly people that live in this county. There are a lot of poor people that live in this county that don't have a lot of resources. And, you know, these people are suffering the most just for, you know, an incident that took an hour's time that they weren't even involved in.

NIALA: And the FBI is investigating this, but what does this mean for infrastructure in the US? Is this something that companies and communities should be preparing for beyond North Carolina? Is this maybe a wake up call?

ZACHERY: I think so. The governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, came down to Moore County on Monday to talk with reporters. And put it out there pretty bluntly that, you know, this is unacceptable that our infrastructure can be taken out this way. You know, a similar incident happened like this in California in 2013. And so this is clearly something that can happen and I don't know if there's any obvious fixes yet. But it's something I think people will be looking into in the next, you know, coming weeks and months.

NIALA: Zachery Eanes reports out of Raleigh for Axios. Thanks Zachery.

ZACHERY: Thanks, Niala.

Giving gifts this holiday season

NIALA: One fun thing before we end today – it’s the time of year when we focus on giving gifts! But it shouldn’t stress you out. I care a lot about giving good gifts….I definitely think of it as a big part of who I am…and a good thing because I have a HUGE family here in the US and in the UK and the Caribbean. So, after making the producers mad because I said I was pretty much finished my Christmas shopping, I thought I would share some advice. And it's actually seconding what I was reading in a great Vox article yesterday morning. The way to not stress out is keep a running list of gift ideas, buying presents that fit the bill throughout the year.

But I also think one of the keys to not stressing out is not thinking that this has to be extravagant or life changing. I think the best gifts are when you just notice something that someone wouldn’t get for themselves or you just think that will make them happy, even for just a moment.

One of the best gifts I got was a beautiful bone china tea set, from my cousins who knew how much I love the daily ritual of tea. And whenever I use it, I don't save it for special occasions. I feel closer to my far-away family.

How do you approach gift-giving this time of year or how do you make your loved ones feel special? Send us a voice memo to 202-918-4893. You can also share if your family has any unique gift traditions. And we’ll air some of your thoughts on the show before the holidays.

That’s it for us today! I’m Niala Boodhoo - thanks for listening - stay safe and we’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.