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A special grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict former President Donald Trump‘s namesake firm, The Trump Organization, and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.
The charges contained in the indictment are expected to be unsealed Thursday afternoon, the sources said, when Weisselberg and a representative of the Trump Organization are due to appear in court.
The long-awaited case is being brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in a possible first-round of charges related to alleged failure to pay taxes on fringe benefits.
The investigations will remain open following, and future criminal and civil actions are possible.
Earlier this week, lawyers for the Trump Organization met with prosecutors in a last-ditch effort to forestall any potential indictment stemming from a long-running investigation into the former president’s company.
Trump Organization lawyer Ron Fischetti told The Associated Press the meeting came as a grand jury nears a vote on an indictment following a more than two-year investigation.
He said prosecutors have told him Trump himself would not be charged at this time – “at least not with what’s coming down this week” – but added the investigation is continuing.
“There is no indictment coming down this week against the former president,” Fischetti said Monday. “I can’t say he’s out of the woods yet completely.”
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has been investigating Trump’s business affairs for more than two years. In recent months, investigators have focused on fringe benefits the company gave to top executives, such as the use of apartments, cars, and school tuition.
Investigators have scrutinized Trump’s tax records, subpoenaed documents, and interviewed witnesses, including Trump insiders and company executives.
It isn’t illegal for a company to offer employees tuition help, lease them cars or let them use company-owned apartments, but such arrangements can be subject to income tax.
Fischetti has called the possibility of charges “absolutely outrageous” and politically motivated. He said it would be extremely unusual for prosecutors to seek criminal charges over unpaid tax on fringe benefits.
Some of the scrutinies have focused on the 73-year-old Weisselberg, and Vance’s investigation stemmed in part from questions about his son’s use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost, cars leased for the family, and tuition payments made to a school attended by Weisselberg’s grandchildren.
Weisselberg’s attorney, Mary Mulligan, has declined to comment.
In addition to fringe benefits, prosecutors have looked into whether the Trump Organization lied about the value of real estate holdings to lower taxes or to obtain bank loans or insurance policies on favorable terms. They have also looked into the company’s role in paying hush money to two women who say Trump had affairs with them, accusations Trump has denied.
