Trump Organization Responds to Indictment, Says It's an Attempt to Harm a Former President
The Trump Organization dismissed an indictment against one of its long-time employees as a political maneuver designed to hurt former President Donald Trump.
Allan Weisselberg, the company's chief financial officer, surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney's office on Thursday morning and is expected to be arraigned later in the day. The exact charges in the indictment, which a grand jury returned on Wednesday, have not been released, but they're expected to be related to tax evasion and fringe benefits Weisselberg received.
In a statement, the Trump Organization said Weisselberg was being used as a "pawn" in Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's attempts to harm Trump.
"The District Attorney is bringing a criminal prosecution involving employee benefits that neither the IRS nor any other District Attorney would ever think of bringing," the statement said. "This is not justice; this is politics."
Vance has been investigating the Trump Organization for more than two years, looking for improprieties in the company's operation. In May, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a state civil inquiry had turned into a criminal investigation and that state officials were helping Vance with his investigation.
Also helping with Vance's investigation are Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney, and Jennifer Weisselberg, the chief financial officer's former daughter-in-law, according to USA Today. Duncan Levin, who represents Jennifer, told the newspaper she provided 10 or more boxes of information to prosecutors and agreed to testify at a trial if she's needed.
She was privy to conversations where Trump discussed paying for school tuition and apartment renovations instead of a salary for Weisselberg, according to Levin.
Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges, including financially compensating women who claimed to have had sex with Trump, was once seen as one of Trump's major allies. However, he's since become a prominent critic of the former president, and on Wednesday he called the future indictment "just the beginning."
"[It] brings me a little relief knowing my assistance is helping to save our democracy," Cohen tweeted.
Cohen wrote on Twitter that the indictment was the result of 300 hours of testimony to nine different government agencies.
The Trump Organization called Weisselberg a "loving and devoted husband" as well as a "father and grandfather" who worked for the Trump Organization for nearly 50 years. Mary Mulligan and Bryan Skarlatos, Weisselberg's attorneys, told CNN he plans to plead not guilty to the charges and will "fight these charges in court."
Although the Trump Organization faces indictment as well, the former president has not been personally implicated in the case.
