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Plea Deal Requires Weisselberg to Testify at Trump Organization Trial


Allen H. Weisselberg, who for decades was one of Donald J. Trump’s most trusted executives, is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to a lengthy tax scheme at the family business. of the former president – a serious blow to the company that could give it a chance in an upcoming trial.

According to people with knowledge of the matter, the plea agreement would allow Mr Weisselberg, who is facing 15 years in prison, to sit behind bars for 100 days. And it does not require Mr. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, to cooperate with the Manhattan district attorney’s office on the broader investigation into Mr. Trump, who has not been accused of misconduct.

But Mr Weisselberg is expected to admit to all 15 felonies he has been charged with and will have to testify about his role in a scheme to avoid paying taxes on the company’s lavish perks, who people said. That request would put the company at a disadvantage and make Mr Weisselberg the central witness at the trial in October, where the company will face many of the same charges.

Mr. Weisselberg is not expected to be associated with Mr. Trump or his family when he takes a stand during his trial in October, the people said, and upon re-examination, the company’s lawyers have could accuse him of pleading guilty only to receive a heavier sentence himself. .

But his testimony – an admission from one of the top Trump Organization executives that he committed the crimes listed in the indictment – would cut any efforts by the attorneys. company to assume that no crime has been committed. The indictment has placed Mr Weisselberg at the heart of the company’s plans and his testimony could allow prosecutors to argue that his admission goes a long way to substantiating the broader claims. mine.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Mr Weisselberg was close to reaching a settlement with prosecutors, and CNN reported on Wednesday that he agreed to testify at the Trump Organization trial.

Mr. Weisselberg’s attorneys, Nicholas Gravante Jr. and Mary E. Mulligan, declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Weisselberg, 75, and the Trump Organization were indicted by the district attorney’s office last year and accused of orchestrating a scheme in which some executives were compensated with special off-the-books perks. book. Weisselberg, prosecutors said, has avoided paying taxes on $1.76 million of his income over the past 15 years.

The CEO, who entered Trump’s orbit as a junior accountant to Mr. Trump’s father and climbed the ranks at the Trump Organization in the decades that followed, possesses incomparable knowledge. about the organization’s business practices and prosecutors pressured him to cooperate with their organization. investigation of the former president. But the district attorney who prosecuted him, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., was unable to shake him, and Vance’s successor, Alvin L. Bragg, was also unsuccessful.

Still, the deal could represent a win for Mr Bragg as his prosecutors prepare for the highest trial of his young tenure.



What we consider before using anonymous sources.
How do sources know the information? What is their motivation to tell us? Have they proven reliable in the past? Can we verify the information? Even if these questions are satisfied, The Times still uses anonymous sources as a last resort. Reporters and at least one editor know the source’s identity.

The investigation into Mr Trump has mainly focused on whether he fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate and other assets to obtain loans and other financial benefits. During the last year, prosecutors examined Mr. Trump’s annual financial statements, which he provided to banks and insurance companies.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a civil investigation into similar allegations, and several of her attorneys are involved in the criminal investigation. Earlier this month, her office ousted Mr. Trump, who declined to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, prompting the attorney general to decide whether to file a lawsuit against the former president. president or not.

Mr. Trump’s refusal to answer questions came after an FBI search of his Florida home as part of an unrelated criminal investigation. He also faces scrutiny in Washington, DC and Georgia for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

In Manhattan, the investigation has long presented a significant threat to Mr. For years, Mr Vance’s prosecutors searched his tax returns, a battle that reached the Supreme Court twice. Before the court rules in favor of the district attorney, Bloomberg News reported about some of the privileges Mr. Weisselberg had received, prompting prosecutors to take a closer look at the chief financial officer’s conduct.

Mr. Weisselberg, they found, had rented Mercedes-Benzes, a rented apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and private school tuition for his grandchildren. In the indictment, prosecutors said he avoided reporting those privileges to tax authorities and that they were not reflected in the Trump Organization’s general ledger, even though they were tracked on spreadsheets. in company.

Even after the indictment, residents said, Weisselberg refused to cooperate with and testify against Trump, making a plea agreement confusing. But negotiations have been fruitful in recent weeks, culminating in a meeting on Monday between Mr Weisselberg’s attorneys and prosecutors and the state Supreme Court judge presiding over the case, Juan Mercan.

The judge will not sentence Mr Weisselberg until after the Trump Organization trial, providing prosecutors with some leverage over him until he testifies. If Justice Mercan finds that Mr Weisselberg did not live up to the terms of the plea agreement, he could impose a heavier sentence than the five months expected.



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