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97 points of detail... Center For American Progress's "A RICO Explainer"
Donald Trump and Criminal Conspiracy Law
A RICO Explainer
Introduction and summary
The scope of investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others into the activities of President Donald Trump, his campaign, and businesses is sweeping.
<snip>
#7. If prosecutors, including the special counsel, were to approach the alleged actions of the Trump campaign and The Trump Organization as a criminal conspiracy, such as through the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), it would give them a set of powerful tools, albeit tools that come with some substantial risks for the prosecution. A RICO case would likely not be a silver bullet to magically put an end to the Trump administration, but it might be an intriguing tool used in conjunction with state level investigations into the activities of Trump and his associates to uncover and punish any potential wrongdoing.
<snip>
#28. So, although there are a large number of potential offensives that have received high profile treatment in the media, some seem highly unlikely to meet the RICO threshold. For example, Trump’s repeated abuses related to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, while potentially illegal, would probably not constitute a RICO predicate act. Similarly, the initial charges against Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will likely continue to be prosecuted as stand-alone charge—unless money laundering and other charges were part of a more widely orchestrated effort of which Manafort was only a part. The RICO statute is designed to allow prosecutors to use initial charges as an effective vehicle for incentivizing cooperation from those charged to move further up the criminal food chain.
#29. The three areas that might be of greatest interest to a special prosecutor looking at The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies through a RICO lens fall into three broad time periods and categories: activities before the presidential campaign, particularly complex financial crimes; coordination with Russian or Russian-supported entities during the campaign; and obstruction of justice since the election. - CenterForAmericanProgress
A RICO Explainer
Introduction and summary
The scope of investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others into the activities of President Donald Trump, his campaign, and businesses is sweeping.
<snip>
#7. If prosecutors, including the special counsel, were to approach the alleged actions of the Trump campaign and The Trump Organization as a criminal conspiracy, such as through the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), it would give them a set of powerful tools, albeit tools that come with some substantial risks for the prosecution. A RICO case would likely not be a silver bullet to magically put an end to the Trump administration, but it might be an intriguing tool used in conjunction with state level investigations into the activities of Trump and his associates to uncover and punish any potential wrongdoing.
<snip>
#28. So, although there are a large number of potential offensives that have received high profile treatment in the media, some seem highly unlikely to meet the RICO threshold. For example, Trump’s repeated abuses related to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, while potentially illegal, would probably not constitute a RICO predicate act. Similarly, the initial charges against Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will likely continue to be prosecuted as stand-alone charge—unless money laundering and other charges were part of a more widely orchestrated effort of which Manafort was only a part. The RICO statute is designed to allow prosecutors to use initial charges as an effective vehicle for incentivizing cooperation from those charged to move further up the criminal food chain.
#29. The three areas that might be of greatest interest to a special prosecutor looking at The Trump Organization and Kushner Companies through a RICO lens fall into three broad time periods and categories: activities before the presidential campaign, particularly complex financial crimes; coordination with Russian or Russian-supported entities during the campaign; and obstruction of justice since the election. - CenterForAmericanProgress
