Reports: Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg under criminal tax investigation
20 May 2021
The New York attorney general's office has begun a criminal tax investigation into Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, CNN first reported Wednesday.
Why it matters: Weisselberg has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but investigators are pushing for him to cooperate with them in their investigation into former President Trump's organization, per CNN and the New York Times.
- The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced on Tuesday a criminal investigation into the Trump Organization, working with the Manhattan district attorney's office while also keeping its civil inquiry into the company's financial records.
- The investigation is looking into potential bank, tax and insurance fraud.
The big picture: Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office last month reportedly seized financial records from Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg.
- Investigators for James are looking at "whether taxes were paid on fringe benefits" from Trump gave him, "including cars and tens of thousands of dollars in private school tuition for at least one of Mr. Weisselberg's grandchildren," the Times reports.
- Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's office is examining the CFO's Trump Organization role, personal finances and benefits allegedly given to his son Barry Weisselberg, who is also a Trump Organization employee, according to CNN.
What they're saying: James' office declined to comment and representatives for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. Trump said earlier Wednesday that the investigation "is in desperate search of a crime."
"These investigations have also been going on for years with members and associates of the Trump Organization being viciously attacked, harassed, and threatened, in order to say anything bad about the 45th President of the United States."
Trump
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.