Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, is appearing in court in lower Manhattan to face expected tax-related charges against him and the company, the first stemming from the Manhattan district attorney’s years-long probe into former President Donald Trump’s namesake business.
A grand jury handed down an indictment against the company itself Wednesday evening, sources told CBS News. Weisselberg has come under increasing scrutiny by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York Attorney General’s Office in recent months, given his intimate knowledge of the Trump Organization’s business dealings.
Weisselberg surrendered to authorities in Manhattan early Thursday morning and was led into the courtroom later in the afternoon in handcuffs. Mary Mulligan, Weisselberg’s attorney, said her client “intends to plead not guilty and he will fight these charges in court.”
The charges, which remain under seal, were expected to relate to alleged failure to pay taxes on corporate perks for Trump Organization employees, like company cars and apartments. Mr. Trump himself was not expected to be charged, his attorney told CBS News earlier in the week.
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said Thursday morning that Weisselberg was “being used by the Manhattan District Attorney as a pawn in a scorched earth attempt to harm the former president.”
The charges do not preclude additional indictments stemming from the probe.
