NEW YORK — The Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer claims criminal tax charges filed against him in New York are barred by his federal immunity deal in a separate case involving former President Donald Trump’s payments to a porn star.
Allen Weisselberg said in a motion to dismiss filed Jan. 23 and unsealed Tuesday that the New York charges were largely fueled by former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who was convicted on federal charges related to hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels. Weisselberg claims his cooperation with federal prosecutors helped convict Cohen, who in turn went to New York state authorities.
“That immunized testimony was given during the federal investigation that resulted in the criminal conviction of Michael Cohen, and it sparked a vendetta that Mr. Cohen has pursued against Mr. Weisselberg in every forum available,” Weisselberg said.
Weisselberg, who stepped down as CFO after he was charged by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, argues the case against him should be allowed to move forward only if the state can prove that all of its evidence against him was derived from “legitimate sources” besides Cohen and not “tainted” by Weisselberg’s immunized testimony.
Trump ‘gifts’
The Trump Organization, whose motion to dismiss was also unsealed Tuesday, and Weisselberg both pleaded not guilty in July to charges that they avoided income taxes by paying employees with unreported perks, including luxury apartments, cars and private-school tuitions. Manhattan prosecutors, who have said their investigation is ongoing, in November convened a second grand jury to continue probing the financial practices of the business.
Both defendants argued for dismissal on the grounds that state authorities had no authority to bring charges for federal tax violations. They also suggested that some of the perks could be characterized as “gifts” made by Trump himself rather than income paid by the company. In the same vein, they argued that prosecutors had improperly cited Trump’s personal financial records as company records.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is investigating the Trump Organization in cooperation with New York Attorney General Letitia James, who in 2019 began issuing a series of civil subpoenas to the company over the valuations of properties. A judge last week ordered Trump to sit for a deposition in that probe.
The Trump Organization has long argued the investigations are politically motivated. In May, Trump issued a statement accusing James and former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who issued the indictment of Weisselberg and the company last year, of being “possessed, at an unprecedented level, with destroying the political fortunes of President Donald J. Trump.”
In his motion to dismiss, Weisselberg describes himself as “collateral damage” in prosecutors’ pursuit of Trump.
