Trump Org Indictment Watch
The Manhattan District Attorney could file charges against the Trump Organization this week related to the fringe benefits that were given to the company’s top financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg. According to people with knowledge of the matter, an indictment of Trump’s company could be made by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance at any moment.
Prosecutors have been investigating whether taxes were paid on the benefits Weisselberg and other executives at the Trump Organization received, which include cars, apartments, and paid school tuition.
Charges from the New York District Attorney would be disastrous for Trump and his family and would most likely lead to bankruptcy and destroy any remaining business relationships Donald Trump might have. More importantly, an indictment against the Trump Organization could seriously hinder the former president’s ability to stage a political comeback and launch another bid for the presidency.
The New York Times was first to report the possibility of the impending charges and Trump’s lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, confirmed this was correct shortly after publication. Fischetti also made a statement in which he said, “there are no charges that are going to be leveled against Mr. Trump himself.”
Fischetti also claims that while prosecutors seem to have no intention of charging Trump personally and confirmed personal charges against Trump are not “what’s coming down this week,” he made a point to tell the Washington Post on Monday that the investigation is ongoing: “I can’t say he’s out of the woods yet completely.”
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has also assigned two lawyers from her office to work with the Manhattan DA on this criminal investigation, while her office pursues a civil investigation of Trump’s business. The attorney general has been specifically investigating whether the Trump Organization inflated property values to obtain better terms on loans, and then lowered their values to obtain property tax breaks.
Fischetti also confirmed that a 90-minute virtual meeting with the District Attorney’s Office was held last Thursday, in which Fischetti made a stringent attempt to dissuade prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges against the Trump Organization.
“The charges are absolutely outrageous and unprecedented, if indeed the charges are filed,” Fischetti told the Associated Press last Friday. “This is just to get back at Donald Trump. We’re going to plead not guilty, and we’ll make a motion to dismiss.”
Prosecutors have been investigating Weisselberg and his role at the Trump Organization, specifically his son Barry’s use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost, and other benefits worth thousands of dollars that Weisselberg’s children and grandchildren may have received at company expense.
Failing to account for any of these perks on tax returns or other financial filings could put Weisselberg at great legal risk, But, Trump’s lawyer claims that any criminal charges against Weisselberg or others, based on fringe benefits, would represent a speculative break from precedent.
“We looked back 100 years of cases, and we haven’t found one in which an employee has been indicted for fringe benefits and certainly not a corporation,” Fischetti told the Associated Press. “[In order to be a crime,] it would have to be for the benefit of the corporation with the knowledge of the corporation. They don’t have the evidence at all.”
While Weisselberg has continued to maintain his normal schedule, and report to the Trump Organization for duty during the entirety of the investigation, there has been speculation about whether the current chief financial officer would cooperate with the authorities to avoid personal criminal charges.
While we can only speculate about the possibility of charges being levied against the Trump Organization at this point, the amount of work done in the last week by Fischetti to attempt to spin a favorable outlook for the former president is glaringly apparent. Trump made a rally appearance in Ohio this weekend, and his lawyer’s recent efforts with publicity may have been intended to protect Trump’s immediate political endeavor, specifically his popularity to encourage rally attendance.
Regardless, this specific probe involving Trump’s company and the benefits received by Weisselberg is merely one of several ongoing investigations that may include personal criminal charges for Trump and his family. Stay tuned to SHERO, where I will be breaking down the legal ramifications of any future indictments, or the decision to decline to press charges, and what this all means for Trump’s financial and political future.
For more information about the many current investigations Trump and his business are currently facing at the criminal and civil level, read Five Ongoing Investigations Against Trump.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC Radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter at @girlsreallyrule.
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I am worried and preparing for the worst...no charges. “Let’s heal and move on” baloney. I wish someone would understand that millions
of people like me will never heal from Trump.