The Trump Organization and its Chief Financial Officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty Thursday to tax crimes charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Trump’s longtime finance chief surrendered early Thursday to New York authorities for arraignment in the first criminal indictment arising from a two-year investigation into the former president’s company.
Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was photographed walking into a building that houses both the criminal courts and the Manhattan district attorney’s office around 6:20 a.m.
Weisselberg, 73, was due to be arraigned in the afternoon on a grand jury indictment charging him and Trump’s namesake company with tax crimes related to fringe benefits given to employees, like the use of apartments, cars and school tuition, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
“Allen Weisselberg is a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather who has worked at the Trump Organization for 48 years,” a Trump Organization press representative said of the charges in a statement.
“He is now being used by the Manhattan District Attorney as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former President,” the spokesperson added. “The District Attorney is bringing a criminal prosecution involving employee benefits that neither the IRS nor any other District Attorney would ever think of bringing. This is not justice; this is politics.”
In separate remarks, Trump called the charges “shameful,” adding that Weisselberg is a “tremendous person.”
I just talked to former President Trump. He tells me today’s proceedings are “shameful”. I broke the news to Trump that his CFO entered court wearing handcuffs – “disgrace, disgrace, disgrace” Trump said adding Weisselberg is “a tremendous person”.
— John Santucci (@Santucci) July 1, 2021
Weisselberg has been released without bail and must surrender his passport, a New York City court said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments are closed.