A senior executive at former United States President Donald Trump's family business, Allen H. Weisselberg, is set to plead guilty to a yearslong tax scheme but refuses to cooperate on a broader investigation into the Republican businessman.
If the plea deal becomes final for the defendant, it would bring prosecutors no closer to indicting the former president. However, it would nonetheless brand one of his most trusted lieutenants a felon.
Allen Weisselberg's Potential Guilty Plea
Weisselberg's lawyers and prosecutors on Monday met with the judge overseeing the case, based on a court database. The judge scheduled a hearing for Thursday, a possible indication that a deal has already been reached and that a plea could be entered at that time.
While the 75-year-old senior Trump executive is facing financial penalties as well as up to 15 years in prison if convicted by a jury, a plea deal would avoid a high-profile trial and spare him a lengthy sentence. Two people familiar with the matter noted that Weisselberg was expected to receive a five-month jail term, with time credited for good behavior; he is estimated to serve roughly 100 days, as per the New York Times.
The other terms of the defendant's deal were not made clear, including whether or not he made additional concessions to prosecutors to receive it. Weisselberg's lawyer, Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., confirmed that he was in negotiations but declined to discuss the details of the talks.
Another lawyer for the defendant, Mary E. Mulligan, declined to comment on the issue, as did a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg. The district attorney's office has been examining whether Trump and his company fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate to obtain loans and benefits.
According to The Hill, criminal indictments were filed against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization related to charges. These were claims that the company avoided paying taxes on fringe benefits such as cars, apartments, and other bonuses they received through the company.
Donald Trump's Criminal Cases
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is responsible for managing the investigation and has already filed 15 criminal charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization. These include fraud, conspiracy, and falsifying business records.
The case is separate from a deposition that Trump gave last week related to an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James over allegations that the Trump Organization misstated the value of assets and misled lenders and tax authorities.
The former president said he invoked the Fifth Amendment right during the deposition and his lawyer said afterward that the only question he answered was about his name. Furthermore, Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate was raided by the FBI last week in an unprecedented operation where agents seized documents that were taken from the White House.
The search resulted in Trump warning that "terrible things are going to happen" in the United States. He also claimed that the FBI conducted a "sneak attack" on his Florida estate, arguing that the country was now in a "very dangerous position," claiming that investigations into him are "scams," the New York Post reported.
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