Trump Company And Trump Payroll Corporation. Attorney Michael Van Der Veen
The jury selection procedure and opening statements have started in the criminal tax fraud trial against Trump Company and Trump Payroll Corporation. Attorney Michael van der Veen is a member of Trump Payroll Corp.’s defense team.
November 4, 2022,
The criminal tax fraud trial against Trump Company and Trump Payroll Corporation started on Monday, October 31, 2022, with jury selection and opening statements. One of the defense attorneys representing Trump Payroll Corporation during those opening statements was attorney Michael van der Veen of van der Veen, Hartshorn, and Levin. However, a crucial witness’s positive COVID-19 test caused an unanticipated delay lasting roughly a week.
The defense’s arguments are concentrated on one crucial point: keeping Allen Weisselberg, the CFO of the Trump Organization, accountable for any criminal activity. Weisselberg entered a plea of guilty to 15 felony tax fraud counts in August. To convince the jury, the court, and the nation that Weisselberg acted selfishly, Attorney van der Veen and other defense lawyers for both corporations are putting out evidence.
Advocate van der Veen made fervent arguments in his opening remarks,
“The abuse of trust required to satisfy personal, private greed is the subject of this case. Allen Weisselberg is somebody who has succumbed to greed. His tax fraud, concealment of his actions from his employer, and betrayal of a trust established over 50 years were all caused by his avarice. In his admission of tax fraud, Allen Weisselberg his taxes To help himself and his family, he took this action. He didn’t do anything to help the Trump Payroll Corporation, though that may have been his goal.”
Weisselberg was only able to engage in such a serious case of criminal tax fraud, according to attorney van der Veen, because he had spent years earning the trust of the Trump Organization and the Trump family. “To defend this business, he had their faith. The accounting department may be adequately managed by him. To do his job, he was allowed a great deal of independence.” He took advantage of the trust he had worked so hard to build and set himself up to profit alone from his wrongdoings.
The prosecution has made an effort to claim that Weisselberg’s ongoing employment with the Trump Organization demonstrates that the business and its owners are complicit in tax fraud. Weisselberg’s continued receiving salary from Trump Company and Trump Payroll Corporation was seen as a gesture of goodwill and forgiveness, attorney van der Veen quickly countered. “It’s a story as old as time. We all know the Bible story of the prodigal son, a man who put his own goals and desires before those of his family, and when it all falls apart, he is taken back in by that same family and allowed to move forward. Forgiveness, however, comes with some restrictions. In this case, he has been fired from his position as CFO. Moreover, he has a leave of absence and is not present at the Trump Corporate Headquarters.
Maintaining the innocence of the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation is crucial, and this is what Attorney van der Veen and the defense are concentrating on. It has not been contested that Weisselberg is guilty, and the defense’s arguments have even heavily emphasized this point. In his opening remarks, Attorney van der Veen noted, “Right now, we can all agree that Allen Weisselberg filed false tax returns in this instance. We can all agree that he changed his salary so that he would receive income and benefits before paying taxes. We disagree that Allen Weisselberg intended for this to be in the Payroll Corporation’s best interests, and the People will never be able to establish this beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Three distinct arguments,
which will serve as the primary grounds of contention when evidence is used during the trial, were made by attorney van der Veen in his presentation of the “Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg” defense.
” First he misled the Payroll Corporation’s shareholders about his tax fraud on his income. […]
The second-way Weisselberg cheated on his taxes was by using a complex calculation to determine his advantages, which is how we know he did it for Weisselberg. […] In addition, he carried out his plot on such a modest scale as to primarily benefit himself, his family, and his friend Calamari.
This third set of data, the third set of facts that show us Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg, is what convinces us that he did it for himself.
Due to the very contentious nature of some of the parties involved, possible jury members were questioned during the jury selection process, which got underway on Tuesday. According to attorney Michael van der Veen, he concentrated on seeing even the tiniest potential prejudices in the jury so that the trial would proceed fairly.
The trial may now last up to six weeks after the jury has been chosen, according to current estimates. Throughout that time, Attorney van der Veen and the other defense attorneys will continue to insist that Allen Weisselberg’s acts cannot be taken to fairly represent the Trump enterprises and that a not-guilty judgment must be rendered as a result.
conclusion
Michael van der Veen, 58, bounded onto the national stage in 2021 without a discernible agenda beyond representing clients in significant cases, comparing himself to “Goodyear selling tires” or “Ticonderoga selling pencils” after representing former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment only months after suing the Trump administration over the suppression of mail-in ballots.
0