“Money is at the core of the brand Mr. Trump has so successfully sold to the world. Yet essential to that mythmaking has been keeping the truth of his money — how much of it he actually has, where and whom it came from — hidden or obscured. Across the decades, aided and abetted by less-than-aggressive journalism, Mr. Trump has made sure his financial history would be sensationalized far more than seen.” If you haven’t already read it, make time to read the NYT’s 14,000 word, Pulitzer destined, tour de force on Donald Trump’s financial history, and the roots of how he built the myth that led him into our living rooms and ultimately into the Oval Office. Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father. The Times’ story is more than a blockbuster. It’s a pulling back of the curtain that concealed the most successful con job in American history. Trump has successfully swatted away the slings and arrows aimed by the media. But this is a nuclear bomb. It peels back decades of tax fraud and stolen financial valor. It’s public and it’s personal. It’s about his father and about his legacy. It’s lie after lie, dramatically exposed after a lifetime of deception. Will it make a difference? That’s unclear for at least two reasons. First, for almost as long as Trump has been manufacturing stories about himself, he’s been attacking and manipulating the media to soften the damage that could be done by even the most thunderous blows. And Second, for people to really accept that a person is a complete conman, they have to accept that they’re someone who could be conned.

+ Even if you don’t read the piece, the NY tax authorities are reading it. “The Tax Department is reviewing the allegations … and is vigorously pursuing all appropriate avenues of investigation.” (Sidenote: If the NYT has 14,000 words on Trump’s financial dealings, Bob Mueller has 14,000,000…)