Prosecutor: Donald Trump knew about exec's tax fraud scheme
Last edited Thu Dec 1, 2022, 08:29 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: AP
NEW YORK (AP) Donald Trump knew exactly what was going on with top Trump Organization executives who schemed for years to dodge taxes on company-paid perks, a prosecutor said Thursday, challenging defense claims that the former president was unaware of the plot at the heart of the companys tax fraud case. Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass lobbed the bombshell allegation during closing arguments.
He promised to share more details when he resumes on Friday, buoyed by the judges decision to grant prosecutors permission to veer into territory that had been considered off limits because Trump is not on trial. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan, overruling a defense objection after the jury had left court, said the companys lawyers opened the door by asserting in their closing arguments that Trump was ignoring of the scheme, hatched by his longtime finance chief just steps from his Trump Tower office.
It was the defense who invoked the name Donald Trump numerous times, Merchan said, setting up a potentially explosive final day of arguments before jurors deliberate next week. Prosecutors had given mixed signals about Trumps importance to the case, telling a judge early on, this case is not about Donald Trump, but then repeatedly asking witnesses about him; showing a witness copies of Trumps tax returns and, ultimately, seeking to connect the dots to him in closing arguments.
Trump has denied any knowledge of the scheme, writing Tuesday on his Truth Social platform: There was no gain for Trump, and we had no knowledge of it. Steinglass said the Trump Organization cultivated a culture of fraud and deception by lavishing luxe perks on executives and falsifying records to hide the compensation.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-government-and-politics-2a7f10ef0f31e5c19c08c4f16d91b02a
Article/headline updated.
Original article/headline -
NEW YORK (AP) Closing arguments at the Trump Organizations criminal tax fraud trial got off to a rocky start Thursday as a lawyer for the company was caught showing jurors portions of witness testimony that had previously been stricken from the official court record. Prosecutors objected to the display about an hour into lawyer Susan Necheles presentation. The judge, Juan Manuel Merchan, admonished Necheles and halted arguments so she could remove any other precluded testimony from a slideshow she was showing to jurors.
Necheles said she didnt intend to show any testimony that had been stricken as a result of a sustained objection. Merchan noted that the objections themselves had been removed from the excerpts Necheles showed, but not the objectionable testimony. Necheles resumed her closing argument after a half-hour break. Merchan briefly discussed the transcript issue with jurors and Necheles proceeded to show them the correct version, prefacing her remarks with a mea culpa: Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for that error.
The transcript kerfuffle was just the latest dust-up involving Trump Organization lawyers. Earlier this week, Merchan scolded the defense for submitting hundreds of pages of court papers just before midnight Sunday. The Trump Organization, the entity through which former President Donald Trump manages his real estate holdings and other ventures, is accused of helping some top executives avoid paying income taxes on company-paid perks, such as apartments and luxury cars.
The tax fraud case is the only trial to arise from the Manhattan district attorneys three-year investigation of Trump and his business practices. The Trump Organizations longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, has admitted that he came up with the long-running scheme on his own, that he did so to save money on his own personal income taxes, and that neither Trump nor Trumps family knew what he was doing.
CrispyQ
(36,413 posts)I have to remind myself that life is easier when you accept the fact that Trump & his cohorts in congress are all going to walk.
BigmanPigman
(51,560 posts)tRump's signature is on the checks and he was aware and he was involved with every detail of his businesses, etc. Michael can't believe Allen Weisselberg would lie for the fucking moron. Basically tRump paid employees cars and college tuition in place of cash for 2 reasons...to keep employee salaries lower than they actually were so no one would ask for a raise and to avoid payroll taxes.
NBachers
(17,080 posts)The media soft-peddling of this egregious shit is deplorable.
republianmushroom
(13,449 posts)Cha
(296,752 posts)thing Dt knows is CHEATING!
TY BRDS!
LudwigPastorius
(9,091 posts)Well, there's yer problem right there.