To convict the Trump Organization, prosecutors had to convince jurors that Weisselberg or his subordinate, senior vice president and controller Jeffrey McConney, were “senior management” agents acting on behalf of the company and that the company also benefited from his scheme.
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Trump Organization lawyers repeated the mantra “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg” all month long = long trial. They claimed 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, Weisselberg also tried to take responsibility on the witness stand, saying no one in the Trump family knew what he was doing.
“It was my own personal greed that led to this,” an emotional Weisselberg declared.
Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to evading taxes on $1.7 million in fringe benefits, testified that he and McConney conspired to hide that extra compensation from their earnings by deducting the cost of it from their pretax salary and issuing falsified annual payment forms.
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During his closing argument, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass tried to refute the claim that Trump knew nothing about the scheme. He showed jurors a lease Trump signed for the apartment paid for by Weisselberg’s company and a note Trump signed authorizing a pay cut for another executive who got benefits.
“Mr. Trump is explicitly sanctioning 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 has said a Trump-related investigation that began under his predecessor, District Attorney Cyrus Vance jnr, is “active and ongoing.”
In this wide-ranging investigation, investigators have examined whether Trump misled banks and others about the value of his real estate, golf courses and other assets, allegations at the heart of the pending lawsuit by the New York attorney general. , Letitia James, v. Former President and Former President. your company
The district attorney’s office has also investigated whether any state law was broken when Trump allies made payments to two women who said they had sex with the Republican years ago.
Toward the end of his term last year, Vance ordered lawmakers to present evidence to a grand jury for a possible indictment of Trump. After taking office, however, Bragg let the grand jury disband so it could take a fresh look at the case.
On Monday, he confirmed that a new lead prosecutor had been hired to handle that investigation, again noting that it was still active.