The Manhattan district attorney urged a judge on Monday to proceed with a criminal fraud and tax evasion case against the Trump Organization after its push to have the charges dismissed.
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, asked the judge to dismiss the charges in February, saying that the organization had been targeted “based on political animus,” CBS News reported.
“There never before has been a case like this, where individuals were prosecuted in state court for supposed failures to pay federal taxes. As set forth in our motion papers, the DOJ knew all of the facts here and did not think a case was warranted,” Susan Necheles, an attorney for former President Trump, said at the time. “The only reason the NY DA and NY AG brought this case was for political motives. Their unconstitutional behavior should not be tolerated and the criminal case must be dismissed.”
Prosecutors cited an article posted by Bloomberg as the basis of their case.
The Bloomberg article, published in November 2020, outlined alleged “perks” given to Weisselberg by the company, including an apartment and a car, with a total value of up to $1.7 million.
“The article outlined many of the key facts relevant to the crimes charged,” Manhattan prosecutor Solomon Shinerock wrote in a filing on Monday.
Both Weisselberg and the company have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Trump has not been charged in the case.