Trump exec admits committing tax fraud because he feared getting fired

NEW YORK — A former top Trump Organization executive Friday testified that he repeatedly committed tax fraud at the direction of then-chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg in a major blow to the defense at former President Donald Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial.

The developments came as a federal judge in the case involving classified documents at Trump’s Florida estate honored a request to temporarily pause any litigation.

Ex-controller Jeffrey McConney first claimed he didn’t know it was illegal for him to dramatically overestimate the value of Trump-owned assets like golf courses, Trump Tower apartments and luxe real-estate developments.

But under sharp questioning, McConney admitted he previously testified under oath that he knew he was breaking the law. He claimed he feared being fired if he resisted Weisselberg’s demands.

Weisselberg, who served several months in prison after he was convicted in another Trump-related tax fraud scheme, is set to take the stand Tuesday after the case pauses for the Columbus Day holiday weekend.

McConney’s testimony appears to be a major boost for New York Attorney General Letitia James because he corroborated prosecution claims that Trump and his acolytes routinely and improperly inflated the value of properties to gain better terms from lenders and insurers.

Trump counters that his properties are mostly worth far more than their valuation, in part because of their association with his brand.

The courtroom drama came after Trump abruptly dropped his lawsuit against the judge overseeing the case but also asked an appeals court to toss Judge Arthur Engoron’s blockbuster pretrial ruling against him.

The four times-indicted ex-president dropped the appeal of a mid-level state court’s rejection of his effort to block Engoron from presiding over his case.

Trump’s lawyers filed that lawsuit under a New York state legal provision known as Article 78, which allows challenges to some judicial decisions.

Engoron ruled before the trial even started that Trump committed massive fraud for years by overvaluing his properties to gain better deals with lenders and insurers.

The former president wanted the trial postponed until that matter was resolved but a state appeals court rejected that, leading to the trial starting on schedule this week. Trump had vowed to appeal the ruling but apparently had second thoughts.

In a separate legal push, Trump Friday won a victory when an appellate judge agreed to put on hold Engoron’s order suspending his company’s business certificates pending an appeal.

The judge refused to order a pause of the trial as Trump also demanded.

Trump lawyer Chris Kise said the defense team was “very pleased” with the ruling.

But in a statement, James characterized it as a win for the office.

“Once again, Donald Trump’s attempts to delay this trial have been rejected. Yet another court denied his efforts to evade justice for his years of fraud,” James wrote in a statement. “But Donald Trump lives in a fantasy world where money grows on trees and facts don’t matter. Unsurprisingly, he is twisting this ruling and falsely claiming victory for a resolution we proposed. The truth is simple: a judge ruled that he committed repeated and persistent fraud, and we will continue to demonstrate that in court.”

The trial, which is expected to last several weeks, is being held to determine whether Trump and others are liable for other fraud counts and how much in damages they must pay.

Trump — who is facing a total of 91 felony charges in the four separate cases — also dropped a $500 million lawsuit against his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.

Trump had accused the one-time loyal fixer of lying about him and violating attorney-client privilege, among other things.

A Trump spokesman said he might refile the suit after he deals with his myriad other legal issues.

Cohen mocked that claim, saying he would continue to seek to hold Trump accountable.

“Trump’s cowardly dismissal spells the end of this latest attempt to deter me from providing truthful testimony against him,” Cohen said in a statement.

In the case involving classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Judge Aileen Cannon paused several deadlines as she considers Trump’s request to delay the trial.

(Staff writer Molly Crane-Newman contributed to this report.)

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