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Eric Trump accused prosecutors of a 'political vendetta' in going after the Trump Organization
CFO Allen Weisselberg appeared in court Thursday afternoon and pleaded not guilty charges related to company perks and evading taxes
Trump said: 'After five years, hundreds of subpoenas, three and a half million pages of documents... this is what they have?'
He said prosecutors should be focused on violent crime in New York not pursuing his father
Insiders say Weisselberg is like family to the Trumps and will not flip on the former president

By Rob Crilly, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 13:21 EDT, 1 July 2021 | Updated: 18:46 EDT, 1 July 2021

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Eric Trump blasted prosecutors on Thursday for running a 'political vendetta' against his father, saying it had taken five years, millions of documents and hundreds of subpoenas to uncover problems with a corporate car and an apartment used by an employee.

He spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com before the Trump Organization's chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded not guilty to failing to pay taxes for years on a company car, apartment and school fees for his grandchildren.

The investigation has cost millions of dollars but could yield just tens of thousands of dollars in back tax.

Weisselberg is accused of failing to pay tax on $1.76 million of perks since 2005, according to the 25-page indictment.

'It is an absolute abuse of power and a political vendetta,' said Trump, 37, who is executive vice president of the family business.

'They are petrified my father will run again in 2024.

'After five years, hundreds of subpoenas, three and a half million pages of documents, and dozens of witnesses, this is what they have?'

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said New York prosecutors were engaged in a 'political vendetta' against his father. The first charges in their case are expected to be unsealed on Thursday

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was brought into New York Supreme Court wearing handcuffs

A loose pair of handcuffs, which would be used to secure him to an escort, can be seen behind Weisselberg's back as he is brought into court to hear 15 charges against him

He said the company had nothing to hide and had handed over reams of information since questions were first asked about his father's taxes five years ago.

The charges relate to Weisselberg's use of a company car up until 2018 when accounting practices changed and a one-bedroom apartment in New York.

Investigators have also been probing whether private school fees for his grandchildren, paid by the company, should also have been taxed.

Legal experts say it is rare for charges to be brought in such cases and that prosecutors are trying to 'flip' Weisselberg to give evidence against his employer.

Eric Trump said the motives were clear.

'Any taxpayer should be infuriated by this political witch hunt especially as young girls are getting shot in the middle of Times Square and as people are fleeing New York state in record numbers,' he said, referring to a four-year-old girl who was shot in the leg in May.

'These people are cruel and these actions will expose them for who they truly are.'

Weisselberg is viewed as part of the family after beginning work for Fred Trump in 1973, earning a reputation for loyalty and hard work.

So trusted did he become, that when Trump stepped aside to become president he tasked Weisselberg with running the company alongside his two sons.

Insiders are confident that he is not about to turn on the former president over perks that could amount to a few thousand dollars in unpaid taxes.

Weisselberg (c), the longtime CFO of the Trump Organization, is pictured with Donald Trump Jr. (r) and and the former president. He will be charged related to the firm not paying taxes on employee benefits such as cars, apartments and cash bonuses

Weisselberg was seen arriving at a Lower Manhattan building that house the criminal courts and the Manhattan district attorney's office at about 6:20 am.

An indictment remained under seal before his arraignment expected on Thursday afternoon.

His lawyers, Mary Mulligan and Bryan Skarlatos, said the executive will plead not guilty and 'fight these charges in court.'

Earlier the Trump Organization issued a statement describing him as a family man who was being used as a 'pawn in a scorched-earth attempt to harm the former president.'

'The district attorney is bringing a criminal prosecution involving employee benefits that neither the I.R.S. or any other district attorney would ever think of bringing,' it said. 'This is not justice; this is politics.'

Prosecutors in the office of the district attorney Cyrus Vance have been investigating whether Weisselberg failed to pay taxes on company perks.

They are also working with lawyers from the office of the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, who promised to target Trump during her campaign for the role in 2018.

'We're going to be a real pain in the ass,' she told a supporter who asked if she planned to sue Trump in an exchange captured on video.

'He's going to know my name personally.'

Who's who in New York criminal probes into Trump: His longtime CFO, the 'quiet money man' and two Democrat AGs

New York state has opened a criminal investigation into former US president Donald Trump (pictured November 2020)

A Democratic prosecutor nearing the end of his term, a loyal lieutenant of the Trump family and a lawyer determined to sink his former boss: AFP details some of the players in New York's criminal probe into Donald Trump.

Cyrus Vance

The 66-year-old Democrat has been Manhattan District Attorney since 2010. He was the first to launch a criminal investigation into the Republican ex-president.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured May 2020) has doggedly pursued Donald Trump, winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation

Vance, whose father was US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, has sometimes been accused of a reluctance to prosecute the rich and powerful.

He delayed filing charges against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein before securing a landmark conviction last year.

Vance has doggedly pursued Trump, though, first by winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and secondly by deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation.

He has announced that he will not run for a fourth term when his current one expires in December, and many observers expect him to go out with a bang by filing what would be the first indictment against a former US president.

Letitia James

The Democrat became the first Black woman to become New York state attorney general in 2018.

Since then, the 62-year-old has forged a reputation as a combative and independent prosecutor, filing countless civil actions against large companies, particularly tech giants, and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

In addition to Donald Trump, Letitia James (pictured August 2020) is also investigating New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic

When Trump was in the White House, James launched dozens of civil actions against his government.

She is also investigating New York's powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

James has been cited as a possible successor to Cuomo, particularly if her investigation forces him to resign.

Allen Weisselberg: Trump Organization CFO

The 73-year-old is the Trump Organization's long-serving chief financial officer and one of the family's most loyal servants.

He began as an accountant for Trump's father's company before joining the Trump Organization as financial controller in the 1980s when Donald established himself as a Manhattan real estate mogul.

Allen Weisselberg, pictured standing behind former president Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. in January 2017, has served as the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization since the 1980s

Weisselberg has been around for all of Trump's entrepreneurial adventures, including when his Atlantic City casinos went bust.

According to Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg 'thought Trump was a god,' she told the Daily News.

Investigators believe Weisselberg knows all of the Trump family secrets and have been putting pressure on him for months to cooperate with their investigation.

Observers are closely watching whether Weisselberg will turn against his former boss.

Jennifer Weisselberg: Ex-daughter in law of Allen Weisselberg

Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment.

She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry from 2004 to 2018.

In an interview with DailyMail.com in June, she said the former president is a 'sweet' and 'generous' man who helped pay for her children's private schooling out of kindness and good-will, rather than to dodge taxes.

If there was any unlawful activity within the Trump Organization it would be thanks to her former in-laws who still work for the company, she told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

Up until 2018, the mother-of-two was married to Barry Weisselberg, who manages Trump's Central Park ice rinks, and her father-in-law was Allen Weisselberg, who became the chief financial officer when Trump became president.

'Allen orchestrated the finances, and Donald is just sort of naïve,' Jennifer said.

'It's provable that his trusted CFO is putting [Trump] and his children in a bad legal position.'

She is also set to testify to the grand jury.

Earlier this year, investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's office were seen carrying boxes of documents and laptops from Weisselberg's Manhattan apartment. She was married ton Allen Weisselberg's son Barry (right) from 2004 to 2018

Jeff McConney: Trump Organization Senior Vice President

McConney was known as the man in the Trump Organization who would hand over key documents to Trump and CFO Allen Weisselberg before meetings and would be responsible for cutting checks for big payments.

He was the first high-profile member of Trump's business empire known to have testified in front of the New York Grand Jury deciding whether to indict Trump.

Trump's fixer Michael Cohen told The Daily Beast: 'Think of The Trump Organization as a small, one-teller bank.

'Donald [Trump] would be the president. Allen [Weisselberg] would be the branch manager. Jeff [McConney] would be the teller. Every single transaction was booked through McConney.

Concerns for prosecutors is that McConney is seen as a Trump loyalist and, as The Daily Beast reported, someone who hates left-wing politics.

Michael Cohen

Trump's ex-personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws relating to Trump's 2016 vote win.

Cohen was one of Trump's closest henchmen for a decade, once proudly boasting that he was prepared to 'take a bullet' for the real estate mogul-turned-president.

Michael Cohen, pictured March 2021, openly rejoices in former boss Donald Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast

He turned against his former boss, though, deciding to collaborate with federal investigators in Manhattan.

During a Congressional hearing in February 2019, Cohen alleged -- among other things -- that Trump regularly undervalued or overvalued his assets, both with banks and insurance companies.

Cohen openly rejoices in Trump's legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast 'Mea Culpa.'

Source: AFP