NY AG Letitia James investigating Trump CFO for months: report
The news is confirmation that state investigations into the former president Donald Trump's business operations have elevated from a civil to a criminal matter.
The New York attorney general’s office has revealed that it has been investigating Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg‘s taxes for months, CNN reports. Weisselberg worked for the Trump Organization for over 40 years and has served as its chief financial officer.
The news is further confirmation that state investigations into the former president’s business operations have elevated from a civil to a criminal matter.
Read More: NY AG Letitia James adds ‘criminal capacity’ to probe of Trump organization
The attorney general and the Manhattan district attorney offices are coordinating their investigations into the Trump Organization. As the attorney general office led by New York AG Letitia James probes into Weisselberg’s personal taxes, the district attorney office led by New York DA Cyrus Vance Jr. is looking into his history at the Trump Organization, personal finances, and the employment of his son, Barry Weisselberg, according to CNN.
“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature,” Fabien Levy, a spokesman for attorney general Letitia James, said in a statement. “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan D.A. We have no additional comment at this time.”
Weisselberg has not been accused of any crimes to date, but knowledgeable sources told CNN that prosecutors hope to persuade him into cooperating with the information uncovered by the investigation.
Part of the investigation concerns Weisselberg’s financial assistance to his son, Barry Weisselberg’s family. Barry Weisselberg was employed by the Trump Organization (CNN has not confirmed whether he is still employed there) and confirmed during a 2018 divorce deposition that he received financial support from his father. Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg, has shared financial records with prosecutors and that shows that Allen Weisselberg paid for cars, rent, private school tuition, and medical bills, according to CNN.
Tax law experts told CNN that direct payments from Allen Weisselberg would not be an issue in and of itself, but payments from an employer could be. Investigators are probing the Trump Organization’s involvement in the school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren. Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, also attended the school in question, Columbia Grammar & Preparatory school.
Read More: Trump responds to criminal probe: ‘Desperate search of a crime’
Former President Donald Trump has said the joint investigation by New York’s AG and DA offices are nothing more than a political attack.
“I have built a great company, employed thousands of people, and all I do is get unfairly attacked and abused by a corrupt political system,” Trump said in a statement released on Wednesday.
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