NEW YORK – Lawyers representing former US President Donald Trump’s business network have until Monday to “convince” prosecutors not to file charges against that conglomerate.
As reported by The Washington Post on Monday, New York prosecutors have granted lawyers that period to present their final arguments and try to avoid the criminal charges that can be imputed over the activity of Trump’s companies.
The newspaper, which cites sources familiar with the investigation, assures that this initiative represents a “clear signal” to get the case on track by the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and the New York attorney general, the Democrat Letitia James, who are now working together on this investigation.
The two have previously spent more than two years investigating Trump’s businesses separately and are the ones planning to press criminal charges against their companies.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Trump’s companies used false valuations of their properties to mislead lenders and tax authorities, and whether taxes were paid on the fringe benefits of company executives, according to court documents and people familiar with the cited investigations. by the rotary.
The two people familiar with the deadline for Trump’s lawyers cited by the Post spoke on condition of anonymity.
Under New York law, prosecutors can file charges against corporations as well as individuals.
Last Thursday, attorneys who worked for Trump personally and for his business network virtually met with prosecutors to argue that the charges weren’t justified.
Meetings like these are common in financial investigations, allowing defense attorneys the opportunity to show evidence before prosecutors make a decision on the filing of charges.
Spokesmen for Vance and James declined to comment Sunday, as did a Trump attorney, Ronald Fischetti, and a Trump Organization attorney, Alan Futerfas, on these efforts.
People familiar with the investigation confirmed to The Washington Post that prosecutors were considering filing charges against the Trump Organization as a whole, as well as its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, following his refusal to assist in the investigation.
Trump, who on Saturday night began a series of activities aimed at relaunching his new electoral project, still owns his businesses through a trust administered by his older sons and Weisselberg.
The ex-president resigned from the day-to-day management of the company while he was in the White House, but it is not clear what role he now plays in the network.
Last month, Trump called the investigations a “witch hunt” led by Democrats seeking to damage his future political prospects.
Trump’s businesses use a network of hundreds of individual limited liability companies, most of which are ultimately controlled by a trust whose beneficiary is the former president himself, the newspaper said.
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