Top Trump executive surrenders to court on tax charges

TRUMP ORGANISATION chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has reportedly surrendered to authorities ahead of expected charges against him and former president Donald Trump’s company.

Weisselberg was seen walking into a courthouse in lower Manhattan at around 6.20am local time with his lawyer.

New York prosecutors were expected to announce the first criminal indictment in a two-year investigation into Mr Trump’s business practices, accusing his namesake company and Weisselberg of tax crimes related to fringe benefits for employees.

The charges remained sealed were to be unveiled ahead of an afternoon arraignment at a state court in Manhattan, according to two people familiar with the matter. There was no indication Mr Trump himself would be charged at this stage of the investigation, jointly pursued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.

Mr Trump did not respond to reporters’ shouted questions about the New York case as he visited Texas on Wednesday, but earlier in the week, the Republican had blasted the New York prosecutors as “rude, nasty, and totally biased” and said his company’s actions were “standard practice throughout the US business community, and in no way a crime”. The planned charges were said to be linked to benefits the company gave to top executives, like the use of apartments, cars and school tuition.

Mr Vance has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into a variety of matters involving Mr Trump and the Trump Organisation.