Indicted 'Trump's Accountant' Refuses Cooperation... Trump Calls It a "Witch Hunt"

Trump pressured to induce accountant's guilty plea but was refused

Allen Weisselberg, Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, is appearing in court on the 1st.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, investigating former U.S. President Donald Trump's tax evasion allegations, has indicted his accountant. The Manhattan DA's office attempted to induce cooperation from the accountant through a separate investigation but failed, and Trump's side strongly opposed it.

On the 1st (local time), according to U.S. media including The New York Times (NYT), Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Group's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) known as 'Trump's accountant,' was indicted and appeared in court.

The indictment hearing and the indictment document presented on that day detailed Weisselberg's tax evasion and fraud charges spanning 15 years. The Trump Group was also indicted alongside him.

The prosecution stated in the indictment that Weisselberg received a significant portion of income from the company "through indirect disguised means" without recording it in the books since 2005.

The prosecution claimed that Weisselberg evaded taxes exceeding $900,000 (approximately 1.02 billion KRW) on fringe benefits worth $1.76 million (approximately 1.99 billion KRW) received from the company, including apartments, cars, his grandson's tuition, and parking fees.

The prosecution also pointed out that the Trump Group's "former CEO directly signed multiple illegal compensation payments to executives." The former CEO is presumed to be former President Trump. However, the prosecution did not include former President Trump in the list of those indicted that day.

Through this indictment, the prosecution appears to be pressuring Weisselberg, who has a clear view of former President Trump's bank accounts. U.S. media also suggested that the prosecution might have attempted to negotiate an information exchange deal with Weisselberg through a guilty plea before launching a full-scale investigation into former President Trump.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In response, Weisselberg's lawyer denied the guilty plea and stated, "We will fight in court."

It is very rare for prosecutors to indict executives solely on charges of failing to report taxes on fringe benefits received from the company.

After the Manhattan DA indicted a close aide three years after starting the investigation, former President Trump strongly opposed it.

Former President Trump countered, "This is a political witch hunt by radical left-wing Democrats. It is dividing our country."

In an interview with ABC News, he called the indictment a disgrace, praised Weisselberg as a great person, and criticized the prosecution for attempting to pressure him by trying to coax Weisselberg into lying about him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.