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On Tuesday afternoon, Donald Trump’s company was found guilty of tax fraud in a case presented by the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, as expected, the former president reacted to the accusation and said he was the victim of a “witch hunt”.
“WITCH HUNT IN MANHATTAN!” Trump wrote. “Disappointed with the verdict in Manhattan, but I will appeal. After looking at millions of pages of documents, over many years, on record murders and other forms of violent crime occurring in New York City, the government was able to get an employee to plead guilty to a greatly reduced sentence.”
Trump’s words come after a jury found two separate companies from the Trump Organization guilty on tax fraud charges for falsifying business records. Prosecutors argued that the company’s former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, received additional benefits dating back to 80 years and that they were designed to evade paying taxes, despite the fact that Trump’s defense claimed that Weisselberg acted alone and the weight of the law should rest solely on his shoulders.
In his statement,
Trump blamed the tax fraud scheme on Weisselberg and denied that he or anyone in his family knew about the scheme. He added that his organization did not benefit financially from Weisselberg’s actions.
“ Why would corporations, knowing nothing about Weisselberg’s personal tax returns, be prosecuted for that person’s conduct? We were depending on us at a highly respected and expensive accounting firm and law firm to do this job.” said Trump.
The The candidate for the White House concluded that the case was “unprecedented” and that “it is a continuation of the Greatest Political Witch Hunt in the History of our Country. New York City is a tough place to be ‘Trump’ as businesses and individuals they are fleeing what was once a great city!” The conviction could have implications for the former president.