Trump organization financial officer faces charges

Donald Trump along with his son Donald, Jr. and Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg on January 11, 2017. (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg Surrenders Ahead of Indictment

"An indictment of Weisselberg would intensify the pressure for him to cooperate with prosecutors in their wide-ranging investigation of Trump."

The Trump Organization's longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg surrendered to the Manhattan district attorney's office Thursday morning, just hours before prosecutors are expected to unveil charges against the executive for tax crimes committed while the former president was leading the company.

While the precise charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are not yet known, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has been probing whether the financial officer unlawfully failed to pay taxes on benefits he received from the company.

"The prosecutors, who are also working with lawyers from the office of the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, have also investigated whether the Trump Organization failed to pay payroll taxes on what should have been taxable income," the New York Timesreported.

A Manhattan grand jury filed criminal indictments against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg on Wednesday, and the charges are reportedly set to be unsealed Thursday afternoon at around 2 pm ET.

Trump, widely believed to be laying the groundwork for another presidential bid, is not expected to be charged on Thursday.

The charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are the result of a yearslong investigation by Vance, who obtained troves of the former president's personal and business tax records after a lengthy legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

As CNNnoted Thursday, "An indictment of Weisselberg would intensify the pressure for him to cooperate with prosecutors in their wide-ranging investigation of Trump, the company, and its executives, an outcome prosecutors have been seeking for months but which his lawyers have told authorities he has rejected."

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