New details on the criminal case against Trump organization
2022.12.05 06:15
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New details on the criminal case against Trump organization
Budrigannews.com – Following four weeks of testimony and arguments about executive pay practices at Donald Trump’s real estate company that prosecutors claim amounted to a criminal scheme that spanned years, jurors in the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial are scheduled to begin deliberating on Monday.
In 2021, the company of the former president of the United States was accused of paying some executives’ personal expenses without reporting their income and compensating them as though they were independent contractors.
Allen Weisselberg, the company’s long-time chief financial officer, pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution.
There were no charges brought against Trump, who announced a third bid for the presidency in 2024 last month. However, in an effort to counter the defense’s claim that Weisselberg, 75, only wanted to benefit himself and concealed his wrongdoing from the Trump family, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass stated in his closing argument on Friday that Trump was aware of the scheme.
Steinglass stated to the jury, “He is not on trial here, but that does not mean that you should believe the defense’s narrative that Allen Weisselberg…went rogue.”
Trump, a Republican, has stated that the allegations are motivated by politics.The current Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is a Democrat, as is Cyrus Vance, the DA who brought the charges last year.
The Trump Organization has declared itself innocent. If found guilty, the company could face fines of up to $1.6 million.
Its lawyers have argued that Donald Bender, an outside accountant from Mazars USA who prepared the company’s tax returns, should have discovered Weisselberg’s fraud and reported it.
In her closing argument on Thursday, defense lawyer Susan Necheles stated that Bender “turned a blind eye to Allen Weisselberg’s wrongdoing.”President Trump put his trust in Donald Bender and Mazars to keep an eye on things.
The main witness called by the defense was Bender, who has immunity from prosecution. He said in his testimony that he had faith that Weisselberg would provide him with accurate financial data to include in the company’s tax returns and that he was not required to conduct additional research.
This year, Mazars severed ties to the Trump Organization.
The case is one of a few legitimate difficulties confronting the 76-year-old Trump.In addition, he is the subject of investigations by the Department of Justice into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his removal of government records from the White House after he left office.
He is also the subject of an investigation by the state of Georgia into an effort to overturn his election loss in that state.
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