Trump Org. can't shake Manhattan DA's criminal fraud case

NEW YORK — The Trump Organization and former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg couldn’t shake the Manhattan District Attorney's bombshell fraud case on Friday, as a New York judge nixed their bid to dismiss the case.

The decision caps off a stunning week for former President Donald Trump that included federal agents searching his Mar-a-Lago estate and a deposition with the New York Attorney General in which he pleaded the Fifth more than 400 times in a separate investigation. On top of it all, a civil suit by several people who say Trump Tower security roughed them up during a 2015 protest is slated for trial next month.

Weisselberg and the Trump Organization on Friday wanted New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to toss a 15-count indictment variously alleging fraud, tax evasion, grand larceny and falsification of business records. They argued prosecutors improperly "targeted Donald Trump’s associates and companies for investigation and prosecution based on their animus toward his speech and political views," and that the DA provided insufficient evidence.

Merchan dismissed just one fraud count against the Trump Organization. Now the case moves toward trial, with jury selection slated for Oct. 24.

A lawyer for Weisselberg declined to comment, and an attorney for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg also declined.

Former Manhattan DA Cy Vance unsealed the criminal charges last July against Weisselberg, Trump’s family real estate firm and the Trump Payroll Corporation, alleging a 15-year scheme to under-report their compensation in a bid at juking federal, state and city taxes.

The indictment alleges Weisselberg “unlawfully evaded hundreds of thousands of dollars” in taxes by concealing compensation totaling roughly $1.7 million. For instance, the Trump Organization allegedly paid rent for a Manhattan apartment and leases for two Mercedes-Benz on his behalf, though he did not report the benefits as income.

Vance never charged Trump, and Vance's successor, Bragg, has declined to do so. The Manhattan DA's office is, however, conducting a separate criminal investigation into the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements. The company's finances are also the subject of a parallel civil probe by New York Attorney General Tish James.

The AG is probing whether Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate holdings. The ex-president fought tooth and nail to avoid being deposed, but James prevailed on Wednesday — only for Trump to invoke his right against self-incrimination for hours on end and decline to answer any questions.

The twists come amid a flurry of other probes involving Trump, including a federal criminal investigation into the removal of records from the White House, a federal criminal investigation on the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and a Georgia criminal investigation on alleged interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

The FBI executed a search warrant at Trump’s Florida estate on Monday as part of the investigation into the alleged mishandling of presidential records, including classified information. The FBI is also probing Trump for a violation of the Espionage Act.