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By Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News (via TNS).
A former top Trump Organization executive Friday testified that he repeatedly committed tax fraud at the direction of then-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg in a major blow to the defense at former President Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial.
Ex-controller Jeffrey McConney first claimed he didn’t know it was illegal for him to dramatically overestimate the value of Trump-owned assets like golf courses, Trump Tower apartments and luxe real-estate developments.
But under sharp questioning, McConney admitted he previously testified under oath that he knew he was breaking the law. He claimed he feared being fired if he resisted Weisselberg’s demands.
Weisselberg, who served several months in prison after he was convicted in another Trump-related tax fraud scheme, is set to take the stand Tuesday after the blockbuster case pauses for the Columbus Day holiday weekend.
McConney’s testimony appears to be a major boost for New York Attorney General Letitia James because he corroborated prosecution claims that Trump and his acolytes routinely and improperly inflated the value of properties to gain better terms from lenders and insurers.
Trump counters that his properties are mostly worth far more than their valuation, in part due to their association with his brand.
The courtroom drama came after Trump abruptly dropped his lawsuit against the judge overseeing the case but also asked an appeals court to toss Judge Arthur Engoron’s blockbuster pretrial ruling against him.
The four times-indicted ex-president dropped the appeal of a mid-level state court’s rejection of his effort to block Engoron from presiding over his case.
Trump’s lawyers filed that lawsuit under a New York state legal provision known as Article 78, which allows challenges to some judicial decisions.
Trump hit the roof when Engoron ruled before the trial even started that Trump committed massive fraud for years by overvaluing his properties to gain better deals with lenders and insurers.
The former president wanted the trial postponed until that matter was resolved but a state appeals court rejected that, leading to the trial starting on schedule this week. Trump had vowed to appeal the ruling but apparently had second thoughts.
In a separate legal push, Trump Friday demanded that an appeals court overturn or at least put on hold Engoron’s far-reaching order that Trump cannot do business in New York state due to the fraud finding.
James pushed back by claiming prosecutors are willing to pause the sanctions but not delay the trial while it’s already underway.
The trial, which is expected to last several weeks, is being held to determine whether Trump and others are liable for other fraud counts and how much in damages they must pay.
Trump — who is facing a total of 91 felony charges in the four separate cases — also dropped a $500 million lawsuit against his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.
Trump had accused the onetime loyal fixer of lying about him and violating attorney-client privilege, among other things.
A Trump spokesman said he might refile the suit after he deals with his myriad other legal issues.
Cohen mocked that claim, saying he would continue to seek to hold Trump accountable.
“Trump’s cowardly dismissal spells the end of this latest attempt to deter me from providing truthful testimony against him,” Cohen said in a statement.
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©2023 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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