Indictment against Weisselberg and Trump Organization – Allen Weiselberg pleads not guilty – Former US president’s company speaks of ‘political’ prosecution
The financial director of the Trump Organization, Allen Weiselberg , pleaded not guilty today to all 15 charges of tax evasion against him, while the company of the former US president speaks of “political” persecution.
Weisselberg, 73, one of Donald Trump ‘s most loyal associates who has worked for the former president for 48 years, arrived in Manhattan court at around 2.15pm local time, handcuffed to his back.
The indictment is directed against Weisselberg and the company. The 73-year-old is said to have deliberately withheld from the tax authorities $ 1.7 million he received as a benefit in kind between 2005-2021 . So he avoided paying about $ 1 million in federal and state taxes. He also falsely stated that he does not live in New York City, also to avoid paying taxes.
The Trump Organization is accused of helping to conceal these benefits in kind.
The company had earlier claimed that Democratic Party Attorney Cyrus Vance, who has been investigating possible financial irregularities for more than two years, was politically motivated. Allen Weiselberg “is being used as a pawn by the Manhattan prosecutor (…) to hit the former president. “This is not justice, this is politics,” he said in a statement.
Among the benefits that the financial director of the company allegedly hid is his apartment in Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Neither Trump nor other members of his family are blamed for anything. But ” the investigation will continue and we will see where the facts will lead usNew York State Attorney General Leticia James warned after the hearing was over.
New York justice is “dividing the country like never before,” Donald Trump responded to his own statement by once again referring to a “witch hunt” unleashed by “radical left-wing Democrats” against him.
