It was at another Trump rally that the former president has owned up to the complicity that forms the basis of the core charges against him. The case against the CFO of the Trump Organization and the organization itself came up in Donald Trump’s speech though at the Trump rally he dismissed the charges, alleging that there were political issues at play.
At a Trump rally on Saturday in Florida, the disgraced former President defended certain acts of the Trump Organization, claiming that fringe benefits were a part of every company. But on the same platform, he also attacked the prosecutors for going ahead with the charges. He said that the charges against him were similar to attacks against political opponents under a communist regime.
Donald Trump’s comments were the most extensive and significant in recent times, even as the charges against him were made public. This is the first criminal charge against any of his companies.
Former President Dismisses Charges at Trump Rally
At the Trump rally, the disgraced former President alleged that it was the first time that prosecutors in New York City or anywhere else had criminally charged a person or a company for fringe benefits. He said that criminal charges were for murder and trafficking, nor for gaining from fringe benefits.
The district attorney’s office in Manhattan on Thursday unsealed an indictment. Trump Payroll Corporation and Allen Weisselberg, his chief financial officer, were charged with a felony. While Weisselberg was charged with 15 counts of felony, Trump Payroll Corporation was charged with 10 counts of felony.
The charges included a scheme to illegally compensate the CFO and several other executives of the Trump Organization in illegal ways that were off the books. Charges included criminal tax fraud, conspiracy, fraud, and falsifying records of the business.
Weisselberg was also charged with larceny and offering for filing false instruments. He has denied all charges and pleaded not guilty. But the disgraced former President did not dismiss allegations of compensation being made off-the-book.
In a rambling speech typical of him, the former President droned on about hard-working and good people who were not required to pay taxes for apartments, cars, or their children’s education. He said that people were not indicted on those counts.
Donald Trump linked the allegation to other charges earlier against him including colluding with Russia to rig the 2016 elections. He alleged that he has been targeted ever since he had announced his candidature in 2016.
