A Manhattan judge indicated Monday he will not permit attorneys for the Trump Organization to accuse Manhattan prosecutors of focusing on the corporate out of animus for former President Donald Trump.
New York County Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan mentioned at an at-times testy listening to, six weeks earlier than the corporate’s Oct. 24 fraud and tax evasion trial is scheduled to start, that he expects arguments and proof to concentrate on the fees.
“I will not allow you in any way to bring up a selective prosecution claim, or claim this is some sort of novel prosecution,” Merchan mentioned, later including that he “will have very little patience at trial any questions that are not in a good faith basis.”
An lawyer for the Trump Organization mentioned earlier throughout the listening to that she thinks that is why prosecutors investigated the corporate’s former chief monetary officer, Allen Weisselberg. The govt who spent many years by Trump’s aspect on the firm entered a responsible plea in the case on Aug. 18,  acknowledging that he was a part of a scheme to obtain greater than $1.7 million in off-the-books perks and compensation.
“I believe that Mr. Weisselberg believes he was targeted because of his association with Mr. Trump,” mentioned the lawyer, Susan Necheles.
The firm and Weisselberg have been charged in July 2021 with greater than a dozen counts of fraud and tax evasion. Weisselberg’s responsible plea set off a sequence of fraught exchanges between protection attorneys and prosecutors about deadlines associated to declaring which specialists and proof will be usable at trial.
Those points spilled into the courtroom Monday in a sequence of heated exchanges between Trump Organization attorneys, prosecutors and Merchan.
Necheles mentioned Weisselberg’s act of contrition modified the calculus for for the corporate’s protection, main her to withdraw a earlier discover despatched to prosecutors in regards to the specialists the protection intends to name.
“We are now restructuring our defense and we are determining what experts we will be calling, and we may have to call a new expert,” Necheles mentioned.
An assistant district lawyer accused the corporate of attempting to delay the trial, which is scheduled to start Oct. 24, “into November.”
Merchan, who appeared miffed about Trump Organization attorneys asking for further time to file sure motions, doubled down on the Oct. 24 begin date.
“One of the accusations is that the defense is trying to stall, you know, it’s starting to feel that way a little bit,” Merchan mentioned.
Merchan gave either side one week to file new motions and responses. The subsequent listening to in the case is scheduled for Sept. 28.
Outside the courtroom, Necheles informed reporters that whereas Weisselberg has admitted guilt, he solely named one different govt as having allegedly participated in the scheme.
“If no one else at the company knew about his individual wrongdoing, what kind of case is this?” Necheles requested.
story by The Texas Tribune Source link