The Trump Organization Is Back In Court To Fight Tax Fraud Charges In New York

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Allen Weisselberg (center), the longtime chief financial officer of former President Donald Trump’s family business, stands behind Trump and Donald Trump Jr. during a 2017 news conference at Trump Tower in New York City.

Evan Vucci/AP

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Evan Vucci/AP

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Trump’s Family Business, CFO Weisselberg Are Charged With Tax Crimes

While proceedings play out in court, behind the scenes prosecutors with Vance’s office have been continuing to work with New York state Attorney General Letitia James’ office on an ongoing probe into Trump’s business dealings in New York. There are plenty of signs that Vance and James are aggressively working on this case, including an unannounced court appearance in August by attorneys for both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization.

«The fact that they are having sealed proceedings is consistent with an ongoing grand jury investigation and suggests the district attorney may be considering further charges or defendants,» said Adam Kaufmann, a former investigations division chief at the Manhattan district attorney’s office who is currently a partner with the law firm Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss.

Vance’s investigation started in 2018 around the time Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to payments of hush money to women who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with Trump.

The Trump Organization may also ultimately face civil charges as part of a related investigation James’ office launched in 2019 after Cohen told Congress that Trump manipulated the value of his properties to obtain bank loans and lower his tax obligations.

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