Manhattan DA prosecutors are gearing up for a lawsuit against the Trump Organization, a lawyer connected to the case says. Jennifer Weisselberg is scheduled to prepare as a witness, according to her attorney. Prosecutors brought criminal charges against the company and CFO Allen Weisselberg a year ago.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is preparing for a lawsuit against the Trump Organization, a lawyer for one of the witnesses told Insider. Duncan Levin, a lawyer for Jennifer Weiselberg, said the DA’s office has asked to schedule a meeting with Jennifer Weiselberg, the former daughter-in-law of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weiselberg, who is also a defendant in the case. Jennifer Weisselberg was instrumental in the district attorney’s office bringing her case. In a May filing, prosecutors revealed that an interview with her media about tax-free “fringe benefits” at the company, published in November 2020, prompted investigators to file charges. In July 2021, prosecutors filed a 15-count indictment against her ex-father-in-law and former President Donald Trump’s company for evading millions of dollars in taxes. “We’ve been told she’s a key witness for the trial,” Levin told Insider. “That she’s going to play a pretty critical role in giving life to the documents that they have. And so they’re going to start the process of reviewing the documents with her and then she’s ready to testify.” Jennifer Weisselberg previously told Insider that documents she provided to prosecutors, obtained through her divorce proceedings and from work she did personally for the Trump Organization, described how Allen Weisselberg used company funds to pay for apartments and tuition fees. According to the indictment, Trump personally signed checks for the tuition — which prosecutors said corresponded to tax-free income. “She was present during many discussions about the payment,” Levin said. “Many of the fringe benefits were immediate to her life.” The story continues Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weiselberg, center, waits for a car after leaving a court appearance in New York, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021.AP Photo/Craig Ruttle Levin declined to say whether his client has spoken to the Manhattan grand jury that the DA’s office has been briefed on in the case, citing juror confidentiality rules. A spokesman for the Manhattan DA’s office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. Attorneys for the Trump Organization and Allen Weiselberg have denied wrongdoing and described the indictment as politically motivated. A trial date has not yet been set. Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case in a New York court, set a hearing date for July 12, where he is expected to finalize a trial date. The Manhattan DA’s indictment of the Trump Organization and its CFO is part of a larger ongoing investigation into whether the former president’s company violated tax, banking and insurance laws by misrepresenting property values. It runs alongside a civil investigation into the same issues by New York State Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which also used documents obtained from Jennifer Weisselberg. That investigation appears to be moving at a faster pace, with James securing deposition subpoenas from members of the Trump family. Read the original article on Business Insider
