Trump sent me an email letter complaining that he did not understand why I have not been sending him money. I told him, "You used to say you were so rich you could finance your own campaigns. What happened?" If he keeps doing this I will tell him how much I hate him.

 

Defense off to a rough start in Trump Org trial as judge sends jurors out of the room during opener

Tom Boggioni
October 31, 2022



Donald Trump -- (Photo by Saul Loeb for AFP)


According to Vice's Greg Walters who is live-tweeting the trial of the Trump Organization over accusations of criminal tax fraud, things did not start well for Donald Trump's legal team.

The trial with Trump Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg at the center of accusations of providing employees with benefits in an effort to avoid being taxed, kicked off on Monday with a prosecutor telling the 12-person jury, that "benefits that covered their personal expenses 'was a clever scheme; it just wasn’t legal,'" which then took an awkward turn when the defense began their presentation.

According to Walters, Trump Corp lawyer Susan Necheles was speaking when Judge Juan Merchan interrupted.

"Judge Juan Merchan pauses the defense lawyer's opening statement, releasing jurors out of the room for 15 minutes, saying he understands 'some of you' need a break," Walters wrote. "Judge Merchan then cautions the lawyers in the room not to explain the law (after Trump Org lawyers claimed the case was really only about cheating on personal income taxes)."

IN OTHER NEWS: Trump asks Supreme Court to halt IRS delivery of tax returns to House committee in emergency application

He then added Merchan stated, "I will permit you to say that he acted solely for his benefit, and that’s it. It’s a confusing area of the law, and for them to get confused at this point is not going to help anybody.”

Walters continued, "Man, I have never seen a judge excuse a jury for 15 minutes in the middle of an opening argument. For those who've never sat through a trial before, lawyers DO NOT like to be disrupted while making these openers. It's their chance to paint the big picture for the jury."

He then suggested, "Like, multiple sustained objections (3x so far) are one thing, but a lengthy break in the middle is just... weird. It seems a juror, or more than one, needed a break (relatable). But I think it's fair to say this not an auspicious start for the Trump Org defense."

You can follow him here.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-organization-trial-2658574884/

 

Supreme Court grants a stay, temporarily blocks release of Trump tax records to House Democrats
In 2021, the Justice Department said Congress should be able to review the records, a decision Trump challenged.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay, temporarily blocking former President Trump from having to turn over his tax records to Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Trump and his legal team on Monday filed asking the Supreme Court to block the release of his tax records.

The House Ways and Means Committee first requested six years of Trump's tax returns in 2019.

"Upon consideration of the application of counsel for the applicants, it is so ordered that the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, case No. 21-5289, is hereby stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the court," Roberts’ order states, requesting that the committee respond before Thursday, Nov. 10, by noon.

In 2021, the Justice Department said Congress should be able to review the records, a decision Trump and his legal team have appealed.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled last December that the Treasury Department should turn the tax returns over to the congressional committee, and a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with that ruling in August.

The full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court denied Trump's request to stop the release last week.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said last week that Trump has "tried to delay the inevitable."

 

Whatever is in those tax returns will not make Trump look good.

It will make me feel good.

 

Trump Org tax attorney ordered to 'clean things up' after he won the White House: report

Bob Brigham
November 01, 2022



Donald Trump in the White House. (vasilis asvestas / Shutterstock.com)


The Trump Organization changed its business practices after he was elected president, according to testimony at the company's fraud trial in New York.

Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney testified for the second day on Tuesday," CBS News reported.

McConney said longtime Trump attorney Sheri Dillon led a review of the company's tax practices.

When prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked if Dillion "basically directed you to clean things up at the Trump Organization," McConney replied, "she did."

The prosecutor also asked, "and after Ms. Dillon conducted such an investigation, did there come a time when the Trump Organization and the Trump Corporation stopped engaging in some of the practices that led to these charges?"

"Yes, sir," McConney replied.

The trial was paused when McConney tested positive for coronavirus.

Read the full report.



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-org-trial-2658583658/

 

Trump Org jury sees 1st evidence linking Donald Trump's Sharpie to alleged tax-dodge scheme
Laura Italiano
Tue, November 1, 2022 at 6:14 PM



Former President Donald Trump, left, and the exterior of Trump Tower, where the Trump Organization is headquartered.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, left. Nicolas Economou/Getty Images, right.

• 
  The Trump Organization tax-fraud trial is in its second week in a criminal courthouse in Manhattan.
  
  
• Jurors on Tuesday saw the first evidence linking the alleged fraud to the very top of the company.
  
  
• Donald and Eric Trump's signatures may refute defense claims that the scheme stopped with underlings.
  

Jurors in the Trump Organization criminal tax-fraud trial have seen the first evidence directly linking Donald Trump to the case, including key documents bearing the former president's distinctive Sharpie-scrawled signatures and initials.

This early prosecution breakthrough came Tuesday in the Manhattan courtroom where Trump's real-estate and golf resort empire — though not Trump himself — is on trial for allegedly helping its executives cheat on their income taxes.

Jurors were shown what the prosecution said and what a witness confirmed were Trump's signatures on some half-dozen important letters and payroll documents. It's evidence meant to soundly refute defense claims that the tax-dodge scheme stopped one rung down from the very top of the company, meaning just short of involving anyone named Trump.

The documents were introduced through the trial's first witness, Jeffrey McConney, who as Trump Organization's controller is responsible for its payroll and tax reporting.

McConney would wind up derailing the trial on Tuesday afternoon by testing positive for COVID-19 over the lunch break. His testimony — and the trial itself — is tentatively scheduled to resume Monday morning.

But during his morning on the stand on Tuesday — and in between bouts of coughing — McConney managed to do some damage to the defense by saying "Donald Trump," "Mr. Trump" and "President Trump" repeatedly as he was asked to identify the signatures being shown on courtroom screens.

"Who's signature is that?" Joshua Steinglass, one of the two lead prosecutors, asked McConney as jurors looked at an overhead projection of a May 1, 2005 letter.

"President Trump," McConney said of the signature, identifying the now widely-recognized, mini mountain range of Sharpie ink at the bottom of the letter.

"And is that his full signature?"

"Yes," McConney answered.

In the 17-year-old letter, Trump personally authorized a $6,500-a-month lease for an apartment on Manhattan's Hudson River waterfront; Trump's letter said it was to be lived in exclusively by his longtime chief financial officer.

"In other words, Donald J. Trump authorized Donald J. Trump to sign the lease" for the apartment, Steinglass asked of the letter's content. The coughing controller answered "yes."

"Who signed this lease?" for the apartment, Steinglass then asked, showing the lease itself on the screen.

"That's President Trump's signature," McConney answered.

The now former CFO who enjoyed that free company apartment — in what was once the Trump Place on Riverside Boulevard — is an even more important prosecution witness, Allen Weisselberg, who started with the company back when Trump's father was running it in 1973.

Now a "special advisor" who's on leave but still getting his salary and a defense lawyer on Trump's dime, Weisselberg admitted in August to living in the apartment for years as part of an off-the-tax-books package of Trump Organization executive "perks."

The entire case is about these "perks" — fringe benefits ranging from luxury cars and apartments to free electronics, carpeting, and private school tuition for Weisselberg's son and grandkids.

Weisselberg admitted in his guilty plea that he pocketed more than $1.76 million in perks over the 15-year life of the tax-dodge scheme. Although the perks were a part of his pay, he never paid income taxes on them as required by law.

Weisselberg is now the fall guy in the defense strategy. No one named Trump participated in the tax-dodge scheme, jurors were told in defense opening statements Monday. Instead, the scheme started and stopped with the CFO.

"Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," as Trump Organization lawyer Michael van der Veen told jurors repeatedly in openings.

On Tuesday the prosecution theory — which alleges that at least on some occasions Trump, and therefore the company, did it for Weisselberg — is being bolstered by a scattering of paperwork in this already document-dense trial.

At one point Tuesday, jurors saw Trump's black marker initials on two 2011 invoices. In one, from P.C. Richard & Son, Trump signed off on $1,954.17 in electronics. On the other, he signed off on nearly $7,000 in carpeting from ABC Carpet and Home.

Prosecutors say both the electronics and carpeting were part of Weisselberg's package of illegally untaxed perks.

Eric Trump's signature also surfaced on a 2020 document shown to jurors Tuesday.

McConney testified that the document is a record of Eric Trump signing off on that year's pay for Weisselberg, including $640,000 plus a $500,000 bonus, and for McConney, who was to earn $300,000 plus a $125,000 bonus.

Trump himself personally signed some of the six years worth of private school tuition checks for Weisselberg's grandchildren, prosecutors have alleged in describing yet more untaxed perks.

"Are you aware that Allen Weisselberg's grandchildren went to a private school" in Manhattan, Steinglass asked McConney on Tuesday.

"Yes," the controller answered.

When Steinglass asked him what the school's name is, McConney answered "Columbia something. I don't remember."

"Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School?" the prosecutor suggested.

"I believe so," McConney answered.

"That's also where Donald Trump's son went?" the prosecutor continued.

"I believe so," McConney answered again.

"Who paid the tuition" for Weisselberg's grandkids, the prosecutor asked.

"Mr. Trump," the controller mumbled.

"You said Mr. Trump?" the prosecutor asked.

"President Trump," the controller answered.

"Did he sign those checks himself?" the prosecutor asked.

"I believe so, yes," the controller answered.

"Who decided that Donald Trump would pay Allen Weisselberg's tuition," the prosecutor then asked.

Here was a strategic question. Could the defense pin this on Weisselberg doing it for Weisselberg? Who but Trump himself could decide to uncap his marker and sign his own checks?

"I have no idea," the controller answered, one of several occasions when he stopped short of implicating "the boss," as he called the former president.

Those Trump-signed tuition checks, including one totaling $89,000 from 2015, have yet to be shown to jurors.

Now sick with COVID, McConney won't be back on the stand — and the trial will not resume, and the tuition checks will remain in an evidence thumb drive — until Monday morning at the earliest.

Read the original article on Business Insider

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-org-jury-sees-1st-001431660.html

 

Trump Org Suddenly Settles With Protesters Beat Up by Its Security Guards


Leonardo Munoz/Getty

Inundated with lawsuits and ongoing trials, the Trump Organization on Wednesday chose to settle with anti-MAGA protesters who were beaten up by corporate security guards outside Trump Tower in 2015 rather than trying to convince a Bronx jury.

After three days of struggling to find jurors who didn’t already have strong feelings about former President Donald Trump and his eponymous company—a difficult undertaking in liberal New York City—defense lawyers at the last minute chose to settle.

Minutes after Justice Andrew Cohen sent potential jurors out to lunch at midday, Trump Organization lawyers approached the protesters who filed the suit and presented them with a stack of papers that they quietly signed.



A lawyer representing the Trump Organization, Jeffrey Goldman, was overheard telling the judge that everything was golden—and that nearly everyone had finished signing “the agreement.”

Efrain Galicia, the lead plaintiff, signed the paperwork along with Florencia Tejeda Perez, Miguel Villalobos, and Norberto Garcia.

“The parties all agree that the plaintiffs in the action, and all people, have a right to engage in peaceful protest on public sidewalks,” read a joint statement, which was also signed by Trump Organization defense lawyer Alina Habba.


In court, Habba declined to discuss the terms of the settlement. She signed the agreement at 12:32 p.m. Benjamin Dictor, who represents the protesters, said, “The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.”

In a later statement, Habba added: “Although we were eager to proceed to trial to demonstrate the frivolousness of this case, the parties were ultimately able to come to an amicable resolution. We are very pleased with this outcome and are happy to finally put this matter to rest once and for all.”

The Bronx—a diverse, blue-collar borough known for its no-nonsense street smarts—is famous for the way juries there often reward plaintiffs with outsized awards, especially when punishing corporations and the rich.

As legal writer Victoria Bekiempis recently explained on Twitter, civil rights lawyers have described Bronx jurors’ “Robinhood-ism,” and the way “they take from the rich and give to the rest of us.”

Galicia and fellow protesters showed up outside Trump Tower weeks after Trump announced his presidential run in the summer of 2015. They were angry about his racist comments in which he berated Mexican migrants seeking refuge in the United States as “rapists.” They also sought to draw attention to the potential dangers of Trump’s statements and presidential ambitions, given that he had just been endorsed by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

When they showed up on Fifth Avenue outside Trump Tower in KKK hoods and large signs–remaining on the public street–Trump corporate security guards attacked them, tackled Galicia, and ripped a sign from his hand.

Although the protesters soon sued the company, the lawsuit was held up while Trump remained in the White House. It wasn’t until this year that damning details came out from a surprise witness in the office upstairs: Michael Cohen, Trump’s then right-hand lawyer, who revealed that the executive had personally ordered his security chief to get rid of the protesters–and later reveled in their abuse.

“Justice was done,” Galicia said walking down the courthouse steps after the agreement was signed.

“And remember, the sidewalk belongs to the people–no matter whose name is on the building,” Dictor added.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-org-suddenly-settles-protesters-164601019.html

 

Yeah this is huge. New York AG Letitia James has just been kicking Trump's ass every step of the way. But now that the Trump Organization in on criminal trial in Manhattan James just cut off Trump's route of escape for both the Manhattan criminal trial and her own suit against Trump. Anyone facing suits with a lot of liability will try to shift and hide their assets. And James just cut Trump off at the pass.


Trump Org loses court battle — must be overseen by outside monitor: NY judge

Bob Brigham
November 03, 2022



Composite image of Donald Trump and Trump Tower / Shutterstock


Shortly after the conclusion of oral arguments, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron granted a motion by New York Attorney General Letitia James' office for the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization.

The move came as part of New York's $250 million fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump's family company and his children Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump.

Judge spent multiple pages discrediting the Trump Organization's claims before noting the severity of the alleged fraud.

"Although, for present purposes, the Court need not detail every instance of fraud found in the record, the following examples are particularly compelling," Engoron wrote.

IN OTHER NEWS: Conservative OAN host rages about being dropped from another cable network

He went on to list the Trump Tower Triplex, Trump Park Avenue rent-stabilized apartments, 40 Wall Street, and Mar-a-Lago.

In discussing how lawyers for the Trump Organization claimed his 10,996 square foot Trump Tower Triplex was 30,000 square feet, the judge wrote in a footnote, "it belies all common sense to assert that Mr. Trump, who resided in the Triplex for over 35 years and who purports to be 'one of the top businesspeople' was not aware that he was over-representing the size of his home by nearly 200%."

The judge ruled the defendants, "are hereby preliminary enjoined from selling, transferring, or otherwise disposing of any non-cash asset listed on the 2021 Statement of Financial Condition of Donald J. Trump."

"This Court will appoint an independent monitor, to be paid by defendants, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this order," the judge wrote.





Judge Arthur Engoron ruling / screengrab



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-org-outside-monitor/

 

Trump cannot delay watchdog for his company, court rules

Midterm elections night at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach
Luc Cohen
Wed, November 9, 2022 at 2:50 PM



By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday lost a bid to delay the appointment of a watchdog at his real estate company, which is facing a civil fraud lawsuit by the New York state attorney general.

The Appellate Division, a mid-level state appeals court, rejected Trump's request for a stay of Manhattan-based Justice Arthur Engoron's Nov. 3 order requiring an independent monitor for the Trump Organization.

New York Attorney General Letitia James had filed a $250 million civil lawsuit in September against Trump; his adult children Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka; the New York-based Trump Organization and others for allegedly overvaluing assets and Trump's net worth through a decade of lies to banks and insurers.



She asked in October for a monitor to be installed before the case goes to trial to halt ongoing fraud at the company. That came after Trump's company created a new entity, "Trump Organization II LLC," that she viewed as a possible attempt to offload assets out of her reach.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said at the time that the Trump Organization had "no intention of doing anything improper."

Trump said Engoron "rubber-stamped" James' attempt to interfere in private commercial transactions "without any express statutory authority." James' office has said state law allows her to sue.

Habba did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Engoron, a Manhattan trial court judge, gave both sides a Nov. 10 deadline to recommend three candidates for the job.

The order bars the defendants from transferring assets without court approval, and requires that the monitor receive a "full and accurate description" of the Trump Organization's structure and assets.

Engoron called appointing a monitor "the most prudent and narrowly tailored mechanism to ensure there is no further fraud or illegality," citing misrepresentations in Trump's statements of financial condition from 2011 to 2021.

James' office said in a court filing earlier on Wednesday that a stay would allow Trump and his company to "engage in clandestine transactions" to prevent the attorney general from recovering funds or assets, adding that a monitor would "preserve the status quo."

Trump, a Republican, last week called Engoron's order "ridiculous," and the Trump Organization called it an attempt by James, a Democrat, to influence Tuesday's midterm elections.

The case is among many legal battles Trump faces as he mulls an expected 2024 bid for the presidency.

Testimony began last week in another Manhattan courtroom in a criminal case by the Manhattan district attorney's office accusing the Trump Organization of scheming to defraud tax authorities for at least 15 years.

The company has pleaded not guilty.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-cannot-delay-watchdog-company-215012671.html

 

Top exec testifies note on Trump's personal ledger was removed before it was sent to Manhattan DA

Sky Palma
November 10, 2022



Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Gage Skidmore/ Flickr)


A Trump Organization executive admitted that a note on Donald Trump's personal ledger was removed before it was handed it over to the grand jury in his tax fraud case, CBS News reports.

Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney "was shown a page of Trump's 2012 ledger — an accounting of expenses paid from Trump's personal coffers — provided to prosecutors by accounting firm Mazars USA. Beneath a ledger entry for a 2012 payment of more than $30,000 to a private school appears the phrase 'per Allen Weisselberg,' referring to the company's former chief financial officer who in August entered a guilty plea to fraud and tax evasion," CBS News' report stated. "McConney was then shown a copy of the same 2012 personal ledger page provided by the Trump Organization to a Manhattan grand jury in 2021. The phrase 'per Allen Weisselberg' appeared to be missing."

McConney told the prosecutors Joshua Steinglass that if one goes "into the system on the general ledger program, you can change descriptions."

IN OTHER NEWS: ‘Obviously he’s misinformed’: Nevada official fires back at Trump’s corruption smear

"Are you saying someone deleted the phrase 'per Allen Weisselberg'?" asked Steinglass.

"Yes," McConney replied, although he was unable to say who deleted the entry.

As CBS News points out, the Trump Organization and Weisselberg have been charged by the Manhattan District Attorney with more than a dozen criminal counts related to allegations that some executives were provided with untaxed "indirect" compensation in the form of luxury benefits. The Trump Organization denies the charges.

Read more at CBS News.



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-organization-trial-2658631272/

 

Longtime Trump executive details rampant tax fraud at NYC trial

Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News
Thu, November 10, 2022 at 5:38 PM



NEW YORK — A longtime Trump Organization senior executive painted himself Thursday as a lowly accountant who followed the boss’ orders and kept his head down, unaware he was engaging in rampant tax fraud.

Jeff McConney’s testimony at the Manhattan Supreme Court trial of former President Donald Trump’s family real estate business came more than a week after he tested positive for COVID-19. Judge Juan Merchan put the proceedings on ice after he got the virus, too.

Back on the stand, McConney acknowledged illegal practices at the Trump Organization, like the company’s habit of paying longtime employees as independent contractors when they got their hefty Christmas bonuses — saving the staffers’ tax deductions and the company on Medicare taxes.

McConney also admitted that top executives got away without paying New York City taxes because he left company-provided rent-free apartments in Manhattan off their returns.



The balancing act was to subtract apartment costs from their sky-high salaries. McConney said Former Trump Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg once told him Trump was aware of the practice, which is illegal.

“Mr. McConney, did you try to help (employees) evade their income tax?” Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass asked on direct examination.

“‘Evade’ is a very strong word. I tried to help them in any way I could,” said McConney.

The Trump Organization controller and senior vice president, who has worked at the company for 35 years, is not charged in the case. McConney testified eight times before the grand jury. Prosecutors tried in vain to declare him a hostile witness when it emerged that Trump’s company was paying his legal bills, and their lawyers were coaching him.

The Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corp. attorneys argue that Weisselberg, who has worked for the Trumps since the 1970s, worked alone and cheated on his taxes unbeknownst to anyone.

Weisselberg is expected to take the stand next week. He was charged in June 2021 alongside the two Trump entities with orchestrating a 15-year tax fraud scheme. Prosecutors said he and the companies dodged more than $1 million in taxes through untaxed fringe benefits. The 75-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges in August for a reduced prison sentence.

On cross-examination with Trump Organization lawyer Susan Necheles, McConney sounded more like a witness for the defense. He said that the buck stopped with Weisselberg, whose micromanaging meant he oversaw every company transaction, no matter how small.

During one line of questioning under Steinglass, the prosecutor asked McConney if he was sure about an answer he gave last week when he said that the company cleaned up its books when Trump became president in 2017.

“Is that your testimony?” asked Steinglass, “that it was a coincidence?”

“Yes,” said McConney. “Nobody told me specifically that this change was because Mr. Trump became President Trump.”

The Trump companies have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Donald Trump has not been criminally charged.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/longtime-trump-executive-details-rampant-003800492.html

 

This has always been the wild card. Allen Weisselberg l got a really sweetheart deal from the New York prosecutors. Basically a slap on the wrist when he could have been looking at 15 years. But that included him agreeing to testify at the Trump Organization criminal trial. And at sentencing the judge warned him. If you don't testify truthfully and fully the deal is off and you get the 15 years. So the question was would Weisselber risk that long in prison just to protect Trump? And its looking like he is not willing to risk it.


Allen Weissleberg stuns courtroom by revealing Trump Org never fired him: report

Bob Brigham
November 15, 2022



Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. arrive for a news conference at Trump Tower in New York, as Allen Weisselberg, center, chief financial officer of The Trump, looks on Jan. 11, 2017. - TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/AFP/TNS


The trial of the Trump Organization in New York civil court on Tuesday took a fascinating twist on hours before Donald Trump's major announcement at Mar-a-Lago.

"In public, disgraced Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg lost his job after getting indicted for cheating on his taxes. But in private, Weissleberg kept doing the same work and retained his seven-figure salary," The Daily Beast reported. "Testifying under oath for the first time at the company’s criminal trial on Tuesday, Weisselberg shocked the courtroom by admitting that he’s essentially kept living life as normal after everything seemed to come crashing down last year."

Also on Tuesday, it was revealed that Weisselberg's top lieutenant, Jeffrey McConney was still being paid $450,000 by the Trump Organization.

"On the stand, Weisselberg testified that he still shows up to work in Midtown Manhattan, where he personally advises Eric Trump on prospective business deals, analyzes new mortgages, leases office spaces, and oversees company cash management," The Beast reported.

Weisselberg is still making $640,000 a year and expects to receive a $500,000 bonus.

"The arrangement calls into question whether Weisselberg will be helpful to the DA’s office, which is trying to use him as a star witness to nail the Trump Organization for running its operations like a lawless zoo—paying its executives with untaxed benefits and creating a no-show job for Weisselberg’s wife," The Beast reported. "The only demotion Weisselberg appears to have actually suffered was literal, as he got bumped from Trump Tower’s executive offices on the 26th floor down to the boring 25th."

Read the full report.


https://www.rawstory.com/trump-org-trial-2658653063/

 

I don't think this was expected.

Weisselberg: Trump 'authorized' tax fraud scheme at heart of his business' criminal trial

Matthew Chapman
November 15, 2022



Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg/Screenshot


On Tuesday, Rolling Stone reported that Allen Weisselberg, the longtime top accountant for the Trump Organization, testified at trial that former President Donald Trump was aware of — and personally approved — the fraudulent accounting for which his family business is now under criminal indictment.

"Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg testified Tuesday that Donald Trump personally green-lighted untaxed benefits that are the center of a Manhattan criminal trial against several of the ex-president’s eponymous companies — including a gratis residence in New York City," reported Victoria Bekiempis. "'The rent was authorized by Donald Trump,' Weisselberg said less than two hours into his time on the stand in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The septuagenarian, who sported a deep gray suit and pale blue tie, spoke matter of factly."

"Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization participated in an illicit compensation scheme that illegally lined Weisselberg’s pockets to the tune of $1.7 million of untaxed income," said the report. "Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to a 15-count indictment related to these unlawful payouts and, according to Weisselberg’s plea agreement, he 'must testify truthfully' if called to testify at trial."

In addition to this revelation, Weisselberg reportedly shocked officials in the courtroom by revealing that, despite wide reporting that the Trump family fired Weisselberg from his CFO position following his indictment to minimize the Trump Organization's legal exposure, he was secretly still being paid and still doing all the same work he was doing before his supposed termination.

Lawyers representing the Trump family have fought back, trying to throw Weisselberg under the bus and accusing him of lying.

"The trial is rooted in the 2021 indictment of several Trump businesses, including The Trump Organization, for a purported 15-year-long tax fraud plot," said the report. "The prosecution claimed that Weisselberg’s loyalty to Trump and his ilk paid off. Beginning in 2005, Weisselberg lived in an apartment rent-free on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The Trump Corporation leased the apartment and, in addition to covering the rent, covered his utility and parking fees, the indictment claimed. Trump’s eponymous company is also accused of paying the leases on two Mercedes-Benz vehicles that Weisselberg and his wife treated as their personal cars. Trump’s business entities also provided cash to Weisselberg around Christmas, so he could dole out 'personal holiday gratuities.'"



https://www.rawstory.com/weisselberg-testimony/

 

This was not supposed to happen. Everything I read leading up to this trial said Weisselberg would testify against the Trump Organization but he would not finger Trump directly. But I guess the possibility of 15 years in prison can cut a lot of ties.


Allen Weisselberg links Trump to illegal tax scheme

Samaa Khullar, Salon
November 16, 2022



Donald Trump, Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump Jr. (AFP)


Former Trump Organization financial chief Allen Weisselberg took the stand in Manhattan State Supreme Court on Tuesday in the company's criminal trial on tax fraud charges. He testified that he received $1.76 million in untaxed, off-the-books perks from the Trump Organization, confirming several aspects of the district attorney's case against the former president's company.

Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization was involved in an illicit compensation scheme that lined the pockets of executives like Weisselberg. After pleading guilty to a 15-count indictment in August, Weisselberg agreed to "testify truthfully" against the Trump firm.

He testified that Trump suggested in 2005 that he move into a luxury Riverside Drive apartment using company funds, and even signed the lease for the property. In addition to paying for Weisselberg's rent, the Trump Organization covered his utility and parking fees, according to the indictment.

"It's your understanding that was authorized by Mr. Trump?" Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger asked about the payment of utilities at the rent-free apartment on Tuesday.

"That was my understanding, yes," Weisselberg responded.

"He said it would help me be able to spend more time at the office rather than sitting on a train for three hours back and forth [from Long Island] … and make my life easier," Weisselberg told the jury.

Trump's companies also paid for Weisselberg's "homes and for an apartment maintained by one of his children," including "new beds, flat-screen televisions, the installation of carpeting, and furniture for Weisselberg's home in Florida," according to prosecutors.

Weisselberg admitted that he knew he owed taxes on the Upper West Side apartment, as well as leases on two Mercedes-Benz and his grandchildren's private school tuition. He confirmed that he underreported his income and thus knew his tax forms were false.

When asked if Trump paid for the private schools personally, Weisselberg said "correct" and added that he knew that these perks should have been taxed, but both he and the Trump Payroll Corporation did not treat them as reported income on his W-2s.

"Did you know at the time you owed taxes on those amounts, sir?" Hoffinger asked.

"Yes," Weisselberg replied.

Hoffinger then asked whether Jeffrey McConney, senior vice president and controller for Trump Corporation, helped Weisselberg in the tax fraud scheme.

"In my mind, I absolutely felt that [McConney] knew it should have been reported," Weisselberg said. "I asked Jeffrey McConney to back those amounts out of my bonus and salary."

Weisselberg also told prosecutors that Trump entities would often provide cash to him around Christmas so he could give out "personal holiday gratuities."

He said he knowingly withheld information about the perks from accountants because he knew they were inappropriate. "They may not have wanted to sign my tax return and prepare my taxes," he said in court.

Weisselberg attested that the tax fraud helped both him and the company, as the Trump Organization would have had to give him a raise that was double the amount that they spent on his personal expenses in order to provide the same benefit if taxes were withheld.

Trump authorized Weisselberg's compensation and that of other senior executives, and had an "open door policy" within the company according to Weisselberg's testimony.

"Who authorized executive compensation?" Hoffinger asked Weisselberg.

"Donald Trump," he responded.

"Did you authorize compensation for Matthew Calamari?" she asked.

"No," he responded.

"Jason Greenblatt?" Hoffinger asked, referring to the Trump Organization's general counsel.

"No," he repeated.



As per the terms of his plea deal, after the trial ends, Weisselberg is expected to be sentenced to five months in Rikers Island prison, with an additional five years probation. However, if he violates the agreement, he could face up to 15 years, according to Judge Juan Merchan. He is also expected to return $2 million in unpaid taxes.

However, Weisselberg revealed that even after stepping down as CEO, pleading guilty, and testifying against the company, he is still receiving his full six-figure salary, and continues to show up to work in Midtown Manhattan. He still personally advises Eric Trump on business dealings and oversees company cash management.



Weisselberg even celebrated his birthday at Trump Tower after finalizing his plea deal. "It was a small cake. It was a cake. That was the party," he said of his birthday celebration.

Weisselberg is now on a paid leave of absence and told the jury that he will "hopefully" receive his $500,000 bonus in January in addition to his $640,000 yearly salary.

As for the Trump Organization, if convicted, they could be fined $1.6 million. Trump is not on trial, but prosecutors have closely connected him to the alleged illegal activity. In the opening statements on Oct. 31, prosecutors said that "when most of the criminal conduct occurred," between 2005 to 2017, the companies were "owned by Donald Trump."

Even after Trump became president, the enterprises "were still effectively owned by Donald Trump through a trust called the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust," according to Hoffinger.

Trump's companies have pleaded not guilty, with his team dismissing the entire case as a political witch hunt. During her opening statement, Susan Necheles, who represents the Trump Corporation, said that Weisselberg was the guilty party when it came to the company's tax fraud, but that he was "paraded in front of cameras in handcuffs" and will endure "public humiliation."

"This was a man who had a beautiful life, he was a chief financial officer of a prestigious company, at his peak he made over $1 million a year and lived very well," Necheles said. "Allen Weisselberg had everything a man could want. But once he was arrested, he realized he was in danger of losing all of that and being sentenced to jail for years."

Necheles told the jury that the tax shenanigans "started with Allen Weisselberg and it ended with Allen Weisselberg."

"It was Allen Weisselberg who wanted to clean things up. Allen Weisselberg knew that he had been cheating on his personal taxes and all of a sudden the Trump Organization was going to get a lot of scrutiny," she claimed. "Donald Trump did not know that Allen Weisselberg was cheating on Allen Weisselberg's personal tax return."

However, the prosecution dismissed this argument when they called Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney to the stand. Despite McConney's attempt to play dumb about his role in the tax scheme, assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass was determined to get a straight answer out of him.

"You have a college degree in accounting, correct?" Steinglass asked. "You worked at an accounting firm for eight or nine years before you joined the Trump Organization, correct? You were in charge of payroll at a multi-billion dollar corporation for 30 years… you're a paid tax preparer. That requires at least some familiarity with the tax code, correct?"

McConney continued to insist that he wasn't aware the company needed to report untaxed corporate benefits.

Tensions have been rising since Monday, when McConney testified that he didn't know creating a fake job for Weisselberg's wife so that she could gain taxpayer benefits like Social Security was illegal.

"I knew it wasn't correct," McConney said. "Wasn't sure it was illegal."

Jurors also heard from Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff, who admitted that Weisselberg instructed her to go back and deleted evidence of a crime.

When asked why a copy of the company's ledger the DA's office obtained via a subpoena was missing the instruction "per Allen" next to a listed, untaxed company perk, Tarasoff responded: "somebody went in and deleted the name." Asked who, Tarasoff said "me." She also admitted that on Sept. 26, 2016, she and McConney deleted a dozen of those lines from the company's ledgers.

https://www.rawstory.com/allen-weisselberg-links-trump-to-illegal-tax-scheme/

 

The state of new york is suing trump over alleged Federal tax evasion?
Even after the feds already audited his returns?

Isn't that a form of double jeopardy?
And prosecutorial overreach?

Ah. No matter.
When despicables engage in illegal acts its just politics, eh?

 

Now you are getting back closer to your average. You got that one stalked in about 11 minutes. But this time with a hilariously ignorant reply. The Trump Organization is on trial in New York for evading New York taxes. They have no jurisdiction and nothing to do with federal income taxes.

I do wish you would have got it stocked in less than 10 minutes though and I might have had time to catch and edit my strike over formatting error.

 

Really. Reach out to Stanley. You'll feel better.

You haven't read the actual indictment, right? Cause otherwise you wouldn't make a statement like; "They have no jurisdiction and nothing to do with federal income taxes."

You should read the second count just for example;

"From at least 2005 through the date of this indictment, the named defendants and others, including Unindicted Co-conspirator #1, agreed to and implemented a compensation scheme with the objectofenabling Weisselberg to underreport his income to federal authorities, and thereby evade taxes and falsely claim federal tax refunds to which he was not entitled. As a result of the conspirators’ actions, during the periodof the conspiracy, Weisselberg took approximately $94,902 from the United States Intemal Revenue Service in federal tax refunds to which he was not entitled.
​

trump-organization-indictment.pdf (documentcloud.org)

 

I stand corrected on not having anything to do with federal income taxes but stand firm on the part New York is not persecuting the Trump Organization for federal income tax evasion. And does not have jurisdiction over federal income tax evasion.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/23/trump-org-tax-fraud-charges-cfo-new-york


And that state courts do not have jurisdiction over federal income tax evasion.


Trial Courts
Income tax litigation begins in one of three trial courts: U.S. Tax Court; U.S. District Courts; and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

1. The United States Tax Court hears only federal tax cases. If this Court is chosen, the taxpayer does not have to pay the disputed tax prior to litigation. Although based in Washington, D.C., Tax Court judges travel throughout the country and hear cases in all major cities. Prior to 1943, this court was called the U.S. Board of Tax Appeals.

The U.S. Tax Court issues Regular, Memorandum, and Summary Opinions.

Regular Opinions (TC) are issued in cases involving a new or unusual point of law. These opinions may be found on the U.S. Tax Court website

and in following print case reporters:
- Tax Court Reporter, CCH, 1999-2012
- United States Tax Court Reports, GPO, 1942-2014
- U.S. Board of Tax Appeals Reports, GPO, 1924-1942

Memorandum Opinions (TCM) involve established legal issues and interpretation of facts. These opinions may be found on the U.S. Tax Court website

and in the following print case reporters:
- Tax Court Memorandum Decisions, CCH, v. 1-108
- Tax Court Reporter, CCH, 1999-2012

Summary Opinions are issued by the Tax Court's Small Cases division, and involve disputes of $50,000 or less – these opinions cannot be appealed or used as precedent pursuant to 26 USC § 7463(b).

2. The United States District Courts are the only tax trial court where a jury trial can be requested by a taxpayer. Taxpayers must pay the amount in dispute and sue for a refund as a condition to litigating in this Court. These opinions may be found online through Justia and Findlaw and in the following print case reporters:

- Federal Supplement (1933-1998), Federal Supplement 2d (1998-2014), Federal Supplement 3d (v.1-191), West
- U.S. Tax Cases, CCH

3. The United States Court of Federal Claims was called the United States Claims Court prior to 1992. Taxpayers must pay the disputed amount prior to litigation. These opinions may be found online at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims site and in the following print case reporters:

- Federal Claims Reporter, West (1992-2014)
- United States Claims Court Reporter, West (1983-1992)
- United States Court of

https://libraryguides.law.marquette.edu/c.php?g=318579&p=2127548

So while I might have gotten a little careless there and made a mistake I still got two out of the three correct. And not as laughable as you trying to claim somehow this is double jeopardy because Trump claims he was audited.

Are you willing to admit you are wrong about that?

 

Now this was Trump's best shot at getting the Supreme Court to come to his aid and bail him out so he coukd at least run out the clock until the new treasonous conservative/America Hating/Republican House takes over in January. But now the House Ways and Means Committee.committee gets the returns with plenty of time to investigate and take action.



Supreme Court OKs handover of Trump tax returns to Congress


MARK SHERMAN
Tue, November 22, 2022 at 12:39 PM




WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the imminent handover of former President Donald Trump's tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight.

The court, with no noted dissents, rejected Trump's plea for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee.

Alone among recent presidents, Trump refused to release his tax returns either during his successful 2016 campaign or his four years in the White House, citing what he said was an ongoing audit by the IRS. Last week, Trump announced he would run again in 2024.

It was the former president's second loss at the Supreme Court in as many months, and third this year. In October, the court refused to step into the legal fight surrounding the FBI search of Trump's Florida estate that turned up classified documents.


In January, the court refused to stop the National Archives from turning over documents to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Justice Clarence Thomas was the only vote in Trump's favor.

In the dispute over his tax returns, the Treasury Department had refused to provide the records during Trump's presidency. But the Biden administration said federal law is clear that the committee has the right to examine any taxpayer's return, including the president's.

Lower courts agreed that the committee has broad authority to obtain tax returns and rejected Trump’s claims that it was overstepping and only wanted the documents so they could be made public.

Chief Justice John Roberts imposed a temporary freeze on Nov. 1 to allow the court to weigh the legal issues raised by Trump's lawyers and the counter arguments of the administration and the House of Representatives.

Just over three weeks later, the court lifted Roberts' order without comment.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the committee chairman until the next Congress begins in January, said in a statement that his committee "will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The House contended an order preventing the IRS from providing the tax returns would leave lawmakers “little or no time to complete their legislative work during this Congress, which is quickly approaching its end.”

Had Trump persuaded the nation’s highest court to intervene, he could have run out the clock on the committee, with Republicans ready to take control of the House in January. They almost certainly would have dropped the records request if the issue had not been resolved by then.

The House Ways and Means panel first requested Trump’s tax returns in 2019 as part of an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s audit program and tax law compliance by the former president. A federal law says the Internal Revenue Service “shall furnish” the returns of any taxpayer to a handful of top lawmakers.

The Justice Department under the Trump administration had defended a decision by then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to withhold the tax returns from Congress. Mnuchin argued that he could withhold the documents because he concluded they were being sought by Democrats for partisan reasons. A lawsuit ensued.

After President Joe Biden took office, the committee renewed the request, seeking Trump’s tax returns and additional information from 2015-2020. The White House took the position that the request was a valid one and that the Treasury Department had no choice but to comply. Trump then attempted to halt the handover in court.

Then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. obtained copies of Trump’s personal and business tax records as part of a criminal investigation. That case, too, went to the Supreme Court, which rejected Trump’s argument that he had broad immunity as president.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-oks-handover-trump-193924752.html

 

Well what we've learned is that the state of New York in fact cites the allegation that Trump is guilty of Federal Income tax evasion.

And we already know that New York has no jurisdiction over federal tax matters.

Even though trumps returns have been audited by the feds and no fraud charges filed.

And when the feds audit your returns you're protected from future FEDERAL charges and audits for that year.

So, yes a form of double jeopardy and prosecutoral over reach.

That clear it up for you?