The guilty verdict came on the second day of deliberations after a trial in which the Trump Organization was accused of complicity in a scheme by top executives to avoid paying personal income taxes on work perks such as rent-free apartments and luxury cars. The conviction is a vindication for New York prosecutors, who have spent three years investigating the former president and his businesses, although the penalties are not expected to be severe enough to jeopardize the future of Trump’s company. As punishment, the Trump Organization could be fined up to US$1.6 million — a relatively small amount for a company of its size, although the conviction could make some of its future deals more complicated. Trump, who recently announced he would run for president again, said the case against his company was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” waged against him by vindictive Democrats. Trump himself was not on trial, but prosecutors claimed he “knew exactly what was going on” with the scheme, although he and the company’s lawyers denied this. The case against the company relied heavily on the testimony of former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weiselberg, who previously pleaded guilty to charges that he manipulated the company’s books and his own compensation package to illegally lower them his taxes. Weiselberg testified in exchange for the promised five-month prison sentence. Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weiselberg leaves a courtroom in New York, November 15. (Yuki Iwamura/Reuters)
Prosecutors say Trump knew about the scheme
To convict the Trump Organization, prosecutors had to convince jurors that Weisselberg or his subordinate, senior vice president and controller Jeffrey McConney, were “senior executives” acting on behalf of the company and that the company also benefited from the scheme of. Lawyers for the Trump Organization repeated the mantra “Weisselberg did it for Weiselberg” throughout the month-long trial. They argued that the executive had gone rogue and betrayed the company’s trust. No one in the Trump family or the company was to blame, they argued. Although he testified as a prosecution witness, Weiselberg also tried to take responsibility on the witness stand, saying no one in the Trump family knew what he was doing. “It was my personal greed that led to this,” testified an emotional Weiselberg. Trump Organization lawyers William Brennan and Michael van der Veen return to Manhattan Criminal Court after a break following jury deliberations in New York on Tuesday. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion on $1.7 million in additional benefits, testified that he and McConney conspired to hide this additional compensation from his income by deducting their costs from his pre-tax salary and issuing false W-2 forms. During his closing arguments, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass tried to counter the claim that Trump knew nothing about the plan. He showed jurors a lease signed by Trump for Weiselberg’s company-paid apartment and a note initialed by Trump authorizing a pay cut for another executive who received benefits. “Mr. Trump is specifically imposing sanctions on tax fraud,” Steinglass argued. The verdict does not end Trump’s battle with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat who took office in January. Bragg said a related investigation into Trump that began under his predecessor, Attorney General Cyrus Vance Jr., is “active and ongoing.” In that wide-ranging investigation, investigators looked into whether Trump misled banks and others about the value of his real estate, golf courses and other assets — allegations at the center of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ pending lawsuit against the former president and his company. The attorney general’s office has also been investigating whether state laws were violated when Trump allies made payments to two women who claimed they had sex with the Republican years ago. Near the end of his term last year, Vance directed lawmakers to present evidence to a grand jury for a possible indictment against Trump. After taking office, however, Bragg let that grand jury disband so he could take a fresh look at the case. On Monday, he confirmed that a new chief prosecutor had been hired to handle that investigation, again signaling that it was still active.
