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Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner warned that New York prosecutors left a "loose end" in the fraud case into the Trump Organization.
Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, on Wednesday questioned why Trump, who appears poised to receive the Republican presidential nomination, has not been personally charged in the criminal case surrounding the Trump Organization.
In December 2022, the Trump Organization was convicted of a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by evading taxes by compensating employees through perks, including luxury cars and apartments. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg led the prosecution, which later indicted the former president for allegedly falsifying business documents.
Kirschner said in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter that Trump not facing charges in the case has "bothered" him ever since the Trump Organization's conviction.
"Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty in connection with that investigation and prosecution of the Trump Organization to the same 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud.
"The business that bears his name, the Trump Organization and the chief financial officer that served him, Donald Trump, for decades have both been criminally convicted. But Donald Trump thus far has been untouched," he said. "Do we think he was not part and parcel complicit in the same 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud?"
He continued: "That to me, friends, feels like—let's call it a loose end."
Trump's spokespersons have rejected Kirschner's legal analysis, previously saying in a statement to Newsweek that Kirschner is "a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis" who "has been shunned by the legal community at large."
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
In a post to X, Kirschner wrote that he believes it is "time for a 5th criminal indictment for Trump RUNNING his corrupt business: Trump Org."
Trump, however, was not the main target of Bragg's criminal case against his business, though prosecutors alleged he "knew exactly what was going on with his top executives."
The case was largely based on testimony from Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization chief financial officer who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the company to avoid paying taxes on corporate benefits. He was sentenced to five months in jail but was ultimately released after serving about 100 days with time off for good behavior.
Weisselberg on Monday pleaded guilty to lying under oath during his testimony of Trump's civil business fraud trial. Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, that case focused on the business allegedly conspiring to increase his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans.
It was civil, not criminal, meaning the former president was not facing any charges. Trump maintained that he did not engage in any wrongdoing, accusing James of targeting him for political purposes.
The guilty plea comes just weeks before Trump will take the stand in his first criminal case. Bragg's office accused Trump of falsifying documents surrounding hush money payments allegedly made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. The case is set to begin on March 25.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more