Donald Trump dismissed the allegations and called it a “political stunt”.
New York:
The trial of Donald Trump’s family business on charges of fraud and tax evasion began in New York on Monday, with the former US president immediately dismissing it as a political stunt.
Manhattan prosecutors have charged the Trump Organization, currently run by Trump’s two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump, with concealing compensation paid to top officials between 2005 and 2021.
Trump, who has not been named in the case, dismissed the allegations as a “witch hunt” by rivals just weeks before his November 8 congressional election.
“A highly partisan Democrat witch hunt is underway, this time in New York … right during the crucial midterm elections,” he said on social media.
If found guilty, the company could face potential fines of more than $1.5 million.
One of the implicated executives, longtime CFO Alan Weiselberg, has already pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax fraud, and is expected to testify against his former company as part of a plea deal.
A close friend of the Trump family, 75-year-old Wesselberg admitted that he planned with the company to obtain undisclosed benefits such as a rented apartment in a posh area of Manhattan, luxury cars for him and his wife, and private school tuition Was. his grandson.
As per his plea deal, Weiselberg has agreed to pay nearly $2 million in fines and penalties in exchange for testimony during the trial, and to complete a five-month prison sentence for which jury selection began Monday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in August, “This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activities and Wesselberg is required to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial against the corporation.”
Weiselberg has so far refused to testify directly implicating the former president in the scheme.
– Many legal matters –
Two subsidiaries of the Trump family’s sprawling real estate, golf and hospitality business have been targeted by the suit.
While Donald Trump is not named in the case, he is facing charges along with his three eldest children in a civil investigation led by New York Attorney General Leticia James.
James, a Democrat, has accused the family of purposefully inflating and disregarding the value of its properties in order to avoid tax liabilities and obtain more favorable loan and insurance deals.
His office is seeking a $250 million fine against the former president, and his family barred from doing business in the state.
The suit also calls for three of Trump’s children – Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka – to be banned from buying real estate in New York for five years.
Trump, 76, who has heavily hinted but has yet to announce a 2024 White House run, is also facing legal action on several other fronts.
He is at the center of a Justice Department investigation into his handling of highly classified documents that the FBI confiscated in a raid from his Florida home, as well as his involvement in several state and federal investigations on January 6, 2021. Went. US Capitol.
The Congressional Committee investigating the Capitol riots has issued a subpoena requiring it to submit documents by November 4 and affidavits by mid-November.
Without confirming that Trump had received the subpoena, his attorney David Warrington has said his team will “review and analyze” the document and “respond appropriately to this unprecedented action.”
Trump’s compliance would mean testifying under oath.
If he refuses, the House of Representatives can hold him in a vote recommending for trial for criminal contempt.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)