(Reuters) -The Manhattan district attorney is expected to charge former President Donald Trump’s company and its chief financial officer on Thursday with tax-related crimes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Lawyers for the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump himself was not expected to be charged, according to people involved in the case. In a statement on Monday, he called prosecutors biased and said his company’s actions were “in no way a crime.”
An indictment could imperil the Trump Organization by causing banks and business partners to stop doing business with it. The company would likely be fined and incur other penalties if found guilty.
Charges also could increase pressure on Weisselberg to cooperate with prosecutors, which he has resisted. Weisselberg is a close Trump confident, making his cooperation potentially crucial to any future case against Trump himself.
Vance’s investigation has examined an array of potential wrongdoing, including whether Trump’s eponymous company manipulated the value of its real estate to reduce its taxes and secure favorable loan terms.
Prior to entering the White House in January 2017, Trump had put his company into a trust overseen by his adult sons and Weisselberg, who has maintained tight control over its finances. It is unclear what role Trump now has at the company.
Vance’s investigation is among at least 18 open probes and lawsuits that Trump faces. These include a criminal probe into whether tried to improperly influence the 2020 election results in Georgia, and defamation lawsuits by two women who said Trump lied when he denied having sexually assaulted them.
Since last fall, prosecutors in Vance’s office have focused their investigation on the Trump Organization’s use of perks and benefits to compensate its officials.
Jennifer Weisselberg, the former wife of Allen Weisselberg’s son Barry, met with prosecutors half a dozen times, and according to her lawyer has provided boxes of tax and bank records as well as financial statements.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Tim Ahmann in Washington and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
