Trump says liberal philanthropist George Soros should face RICO investigation

Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros answers questions after delivering a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros answers questions after delivering a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

US President Donald Trump says Jewish philanthropist George Soros will be investigated for potential RICO charges over what he says is the funding of rioting.

The US president says “we’re going to look into” the prominent liberal donor.

Soros’ group, Open Society Foundations, has rejected these allegations before.

“We do not pay people to protest or directly train or coordinate protestors,” it said in August.

Charges under the RICO Act are usually used to prosecute organized criminal activity, including protection schemes, illegal bookmaking and loan sharking. They can result in heavy prison sentences.

Critics say Trump has increasingly shown a willingness to use his presidential powers to go after political enemies.

Reviled by conservatives, and often the target of antisemitic conspiracies, the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, 95, used his wealth amassed as a financier in the 1970s and 80s to create the Open Society Foundations, which support a broad arrange of causes and NGOs worldwide, ranging from good-governance and democracy-building programs to liberal public policy initiatives.

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