The ongoing tax fraud trial in New York brought against the Trump Organization is nearing a conclusion, and it now appears that three words may wind up being what the jury uses to the failed ex-president’s company guilty.
According to the New York Times, the “three little words” are “in behalf of.”
The Trump Organization is accused of having given extravagant perks (apartments, private school tuition) to top executives who never paid taxes on them even though they’re considered income. But did those executives commit the crimes “in behalf of” Trump Org.?
Prosecutors who are arguing the case before Judge Juan Merchan maintain they have presented “ample evidence” that former Trump Org. Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was acting on behalf of the company, which is owned by the Trump family.
The fact that not claiming those fringe benefits lowered the overall tax rate for the Trump Organization (in addition to the employees who took them) is proof, according to prosecutors, that the actions were indeed done in behalf of the corporation, which makes it equally guilty under the law.
Attorneys for the former president’s company, however, disagree, suggesting that the New York law is overly vague.
But Adam S. Kaufmann, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for nearly 20 years, says the defense is grasping at straws, noting, “It’s not an issue I recall seeing before.”
If Trump and his company are found guilty, they could face millions of dollars in penalties and fines, and the Trump Organization could also be banned from operating the the state of New York, a move that has been called the “corporate death penalty.”
