On Thursday morning, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on an indictment that also includes ex-President Donald Trump’s corporation. Weisselberg, who has been a devoted executive for Trump for decades, is set to be charged in state court later this week on the criminal matter, which NBC News reports is related to Trump Organization fringe benefits. Around the same time, the indictment will be unsealed. At the court hearing, the Trump Organization will be represented by a lawyer. Weisselberg’s attorney, Mary Mulligan, declined to comment after her client arrived at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office at 6:17 a.m. to be processed on the matter. The indictment was acquired on Wednesday from a grand jury at the request of the District Attorney’s office and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. Getty Images | Timothy A. Clary | AFP Despite the fact that the Trump Organization is being charged as a business, Trump is not being indicted personally. If the corporation is found guilty, it might face fines and other penalties. Shortly after Weisselberg surrendered, the Trump Organization attacked Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “Allen Weisselberg is a caring and loyal husband, father, and grandpa who has worked for the Trump Organization for 48 years,” a business spokeswoman said in a statement. “The Manhattan District Attorney is now using him as a pawn in a scorched-earth effort to destroy the former President,” the statement stated. “The District Attorney is pursuing a criminal investigation into employee benefits that neither the IRS nor any other District Attorney would consider. This isn’t a case of justice; it’s a case of politics.” For several years, Vance’s office has been conducting criminal investigations against the Trump Organization. They include questions about how the Trump Organization accounted for a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels by Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, allegations by Cohen that the firm misrepresented the value of real estate assets to fraudulently obtain financial benefits, and whether the Trump Organization paid taxes on benefits like apartments and cars used by employees. Trump, a Republican, has labeled Vance’s investigation a politically motivated witch hunt for years. Both Vance and James are members of the Democratic Party. The accusations brought against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are unlikely to bring the investigation into the corporation and the former president to a close. Both Cohen and Jennifer Weisselberg, Weisselberg’s ex-daughter-in-law, have cooperated with the criminal inquiry./n
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