On Thursday (1st) local time, the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Wesselberg were prosecuted by the prosecutor for suspected tax crimes.
On the same day, the prosecutors in Manhattan, New York accused the Trump Organization of implementing a 15-year “tax fraud plan.” Wesselberg helped plan this plan in an attempt to subsidize himself and the “special” with unreported income. Other executives of the Lampe Group”. The prosecutors filed 15 charges against the group and Wesselberg, including tax fraud, conspiracy, major theft and falsification of business records.
According to US media reports, this is the first complaint initiated by the Trump Organization in nearly three years by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance and the New York Attorney General Leticia James. But what is strange is that compared with the three-year investigation, the scope of this allegation is narrower, and it only targets the Trump Organization executives suspected of tax evasion. The prosecutors previously said that several other important issues under investigation have not been mentioned.
In this regard, the prosecutor hinted that compared with the upcoming case, this is nothing but an “appetizer”. According to US media analysis, the deep meaning behind it is to use Wesselberg to catch “bigger fish”-former President Trump and his two sons Eric and Donald Jr.
At the hearing, the Assistant Attorney for the Manhattan District, Kyrie Dunn, stated that the 15-year-old “tax fraud plan” allowed Trump Organization executives to “secretly raise their salaries” without paying taxes. This is a “thorough and bold illegal payment plan.”
In a 25-page indictment, the prosecutor said that the plan would benefit at least three other Trump Organization executives and Wesselberg’s family. The 73-year-old Wesselberg is the central figure. He is suspected of concealing $1.76 million in “income”, including the rent of the Manhattan apartment, the rent of two Mercedes-Benz, and the tuition fees of his family. He is suspected of tax evasion of about $900,000 and A refund of $133,000 was collected.
↑Indictment submitted by the prosecutor. According to “New York Times”
The indictment clearly stated that the Trump Organization’s executives knew about the matter and tried to conceal: “About September 2016, Wesselberg instructed a staff member of the accounting department to work with Donald Trump since he was a child. The “Per Allen Weisselberg” mark was deleted from the entry in the detailed general ledger. These marks are related to the tuition paid on behalf of Weisselberg to the private school of his family.”
According to US media reports, once convicted, Wesselberg may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for major theft, while the Trump Organization faces fines and other penalties. After the grand jury indicted Wesselberg and the Trump Organization, he went to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to surrender on Thursday.
Why sued Wesselberg?US media: he can send Trump to jail
The US media pointed out that it is worth noting that the prosecutor stated in the accusation document that Wesselberg and “others” of the group planned the plan, but did not disclose who the “others” were. But Dunn said that the “former CEO” of the Trump Organization, former President Trump, personally signed “many illegal pay checks”. However, in this case, Trump was not prosecuted. What is going on?
Prosecutor Vance’s investigation was initially initiated by Trump’s “hush money” incident. In June 2016, during Trump’s campaign for the presidency of the United States, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid “hush money” to two women who claimed to have an affair with Trump, but this was denied by Trump. Vance believes that this fee may be paid by Wesselberg.
↑Cyles Vance, the District Attorney of Manhattan, New York (right) and the New York State Attorney General Leticia James (left). According to “New York Times”
In 2018, Vance launched an investigation into Trump’s company. Previous court documents showed that Vance’s investigation included “hush money” paid during the 2016 election, accusations that Trump misled lenders and taxation authorities on the value of his assets, and a $102 million exemption. Allegations that the debt was not properly taxed.
Since 2019, the New York State Attorney General’s Office has been investigating the Trump Organization at the same time. During the investigation, many employees of the Trump Organization were dismissed, including his son Eric Trump, and Shirley Dillon, a longtime Trump tax lawyer.
As a “veteran” figure of the Trump Organization, Wesselberg, the chief financial officer who is highly regarded by Trump, is undoubtedly the best entry point for the prosecution’s investigation. Wesselberg has been with the group since 1973, working for Trump’s father, Fred Trump, and has been in charge of group finances for decades. Trump once praised him for “taking all necessary measures to protect the bottom line of the company.”
In the words of the American media, “If anyone knows anything that can send Trump to jail, it must be Wesselberg who is now accused of tax evasion of $1.76 million.”
US media: suing “veteran” in order to force him to “betray” Trump
A person familiar with the investigation revealed that the prosecution had always focused its “firepower” on Wesselberg and spent several months trying to obtain his cooperation, but all ended in failure. US media reported that listing Weisselberg as the defendant shows that the prosecution has so far failed to persuade him to change his position.
After Wesselberg went to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to surrender, Bloomberg reported that he seemed to have decided to cooperate with the New York authorities, which may lead to more lawsuits against the Trump Organization and increase Trump’s exposure. The possibility of political allegations.
↑Wesselberg went to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to surrender. According to the “Washington Post”
But there are also reports from the US media that there is no public sign that Wesselberg has “rebelled.” In Thursday’s trial, he denied his crime. His lawyers Mary Mulligan and Brian Scaratos also issued a statement on the same day that Wesselberg “planned to defend these allegations in court.”
Currently, Wesselberg has been released awaiting trial, but the prosecution has confiscated his passport on the grounds of the risk of escape. He will have a few months to decide whether to plead guilty and may reach an agreement with the prosecutor.
According to US media analysis, in order to pry open this hole, the prosecution may use the greatest advantage to lure Wesselberg, such as the greatest reduction of sentence. If the other party still refuses to cooperate, the prosecution may also throw out some additional “temptations”, such as promising not to file charges against his family. Because it is mentioned in the indictment that Wesselberg’s family benefited from this “tax fraud plan”. For example, his son Barry lived in a rent-free apartment in New York during his tenure at the Trump Organization. In the apartment.
The analysis said that regardless of the outcome, after Thursday’s allegations, the prosecutors are one step closer to obtaining Wesselberg’s convincing testimony. They undoubtedly found a “shortcut” and are approaching Trump step by step. The highest level of the group-Trump and his two sons.
On Thursday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office emphasized that the Trump Organization investigation is still ongoing. New York State Attorney General James also stated in a statement that day that the lawsuit is a landmark event in the investigation of the Trump Group’s potential criminal conduct. The prosecution will continue to investigate in depth based on facts and the law.
Analysis: The prosecution’s follow-up investigation will focus directly on Trump himself
After being prosecuted, the Trump Organization responded that day that the Democratic prosecutor Vance made the charges out of political motives. The group lawyer stated in a statement that the allegation was entirely due to the company’s name “Trump” and that the case was inappropriate and unfair and should be resolved by the civil tax authorities.
Trump himself refuted in the statement that the accusation of tax evasion by his company was a “witch hunt” aimed at dividing the United States.
The prosecution denied that the case was politically motivated. Dunn stated that the grand jury approved the prosecution and there was “no politics” in the grand jury.
↑Analysis believes that the current indictment only focuses on taxation plans, but it may lay the foundation for a broader investigation in the next step.Associated Press
According to US media reports, on Thursday, Trump’s lawyers told the judge that Trump offered to let House Democrats take a look at the financial statements of his own companies and the 8 signed with the accounting firm before he ran for president in 2016. Annual contract, but he still refuses to disclose more sensitive source data or internal communications.
In 2019, the House of Representatives issued a subpoena to Trump, requesting the American Mazars Accounting Firm to provide Trump’s financial records from 2011 to 2018. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July last year that Congress required that the subpoena for the current president’s information should not “exceed what was reasonably necessary” and sent the issue back to the lower courts.
At the end of June this year, Trump urged a federal judge in Washington to end the deadlock, saying that Congress’s request was unconstitutional and could not be implemented. Subsequently, the court ordered a mediation, Trump agreed to allow House Democrats to take a look at the financial report, but the mediation still ended in failure.
US media reported that this subpoena is only a small part of the fight over Trump’s tax information. In March this year, after the Supreme Court made another ruling, Mazars Certified Public Accountants has handed over the relevant documents to Vance. The latter formally filed its first complaint on the Trump Organization’s tax issues on Thursday.
The US media said that although Trump has officially “come back” and hinted that he will strive to enter the White House again in 2024, the endless legal issues may make his future political career more complicated.
According to the analysis, the Manhattan prosecutors’ allegations against the Trump Organization and Wesselberg have opened a new stage of investigation of Trump and his company’s business practices. Although the current indictment only focuses on tax planning, these allegations may lay the foundation for a broader investigation. And then, the prosecution’s investigation will focus directly on Trump himself.
“A weapon of mass distraction”?
Just a few minutes before Wesselberg was subpoenaed by the prosecution, the Trump office issued a statement on the subject of “Who shot Ashley Babbitt?” Ashley Babbitt was a protester who was shot and killed in the Capitol riots on January 6. She was shot and killed by Congress police after she rushed into the Capitol.
US media commented that Trump himself detonated another “mass distraction weapon” when the company and the chief financial officer were about to be charged with 15 counts. When he did this, it meant that he gave up all the excuses about the riots and put himself and the rioters in the same camp.
At the same time, investigations involving riots have also made new progress. On July 1, local time, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Democrat Pelosi appointed eight members of the Special Committee to investigate the incident, including seven Democrats and Republicans Cheney. US media reported that one of the focus of the committee’s investigation is Trump’s role in inciting riots.
On the other hand, Republicans are busy helping Trump “clean up the mess.” According to reports, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy threatened to deprive any Republicans who cooperated with the committee to investigate the committee. On Thursday, he expressed shock at Cheney’s acceptance of the appointment. Cheney had previously served as chairman of the Republican Party meeting of the House of Representatives and was the third-ranked Republican in the House of Representatives. He was later dismissed by the Republicans for “undermining party unity” because of repeated public criticisms of Trump.
Red Star News reporter Xu Chang
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