Trump CFO surrenders

 

• The Manhattan district attorney’s office indicted the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg for alleged tax crimes, marking the first criminal charges against the former president’s namesake company. [CNN / Erica Orden and Kara Scannell]
• The charges involve Trump Organization executives’ unpaid taxes on fringe benefits like apartments, cars, and school tuition. [The Washington Post / Shayna Jacobs, Josh Dawsey, David A. Fahrenthold, and Jonathan O’Connell]
• Weisselberg surrendered to the district attorney’s office Thursday morning, and entered a not guilty plea. Lawyers for the Trump Organization called the charges a “scorched-earth attempt to harm the former president.” [The New York Times / Ben Protess, William K. Rashbaum, and Jonah E. Bromwich]
• The indictments and pending legal battle over the Trump Organization’s conduct and alleged tax crimes will likely negatively affect the company’s business and financial dealings, as well as potentially harm a 2024 president run for Trump himself. [Reuters / Karen Freifeld, Jonathan Stempel, and Jan Wolfe]
• Trump, however, is reported to be “emboldened” by the indictments, calling them a “witch hunt” that could bolster his chances in 2024. [Politico / Tara Palmeri, Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, and Ryan Lizza]