BREAKING: Manhattan DA calls Trump Organization senior vice president Jeff McConney as the first executive to testify to the grand jury in the case against the ex-president
- Jeff McConney, senior vice president and controller of the Trump Organisation, is first employee called to testify before grand jury, according to reports
- Manhattan prosecutors are believed to be diving into company finances
- Their focus has been on Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer
- A grand jury has been convened to examine whether criminal charges should be brought against former president
- Trump has dismissed the investigation as a ‘witch hunt’
One of the most senior officials in the Trump Organization has been subpoenaed to appear before a special grand jury deciding whether former President Donald Trump should face charges, according to reports.
Jeff McConney is senior vice president and controller of the Trump family business, where he is a 35-year veteran.
The development indicates how investigators are entering a new phase as they focus in on the company’s financial affairs.
ABC News reported that he was the first employee of the former president’s company to testify.
‘Complex accounting issues are crucial to this investigation, as is the knowledge and intent of the people at the Trump Organization involved in these transactions,’ Daniel R. Alonso, former chief assistant district attorney in Manhattan, told the outlet.
The Manhattan grand jury is reportedly focused on the financial affairs of the Trump Organization and on Friday it emerged that it was calling Jeff McConney its senior vice president to testify. President Trump has shrugged off the investigation as a ‘witch hunt.’ Aides say he is more annoyed about the expense and inconvenience than any real risk of legal jeopardy
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. is stepping down at the end of the year, putting time pressure on the probe. Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is under scrutiny following reports that the company paid expensive private school tuition for his grandchildren
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is leading one of a number of investigations into the former president’s business practises.
It was triggered by the testimony of Michael Cohen, who worked as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer.
One focus is reported to be whether Trump inflated the value of properties to obtain bank loans and deflated them when calculating tax liabilities. Another area under scrutiny is compensation provided to top employees.
Vance is stepping down at the end of the year, which means he has limited time to bring charges.
Last month it emerged that he had convened a grand jury and was pressing ahead notifying potential witnesses.
Prosecutors have also homed in on one of McConney’s colleagues, Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer.
Former President Donald Trump raged against Manhattan prosecutors for conducting a ‘purely political’ investigation in a statement made to his website
His daughter-in-law told CNN he may ‘flip’ on the former president.
In February, Vance’s office said it had obtained Trump’s tax returns after a long legal battle.
Trump had refused to reveal his tax records throughout his presidency, breaking with convention.
Since then, the former president has dismissed the investigation as more of the same he endured in power.
‘This is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history,’ Trump said recently.
‘This is purely political, and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential election, and it’s being driven by highly partisan Democrat prosecutors.’