Politics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has appointed Dave Noble, currently chief of staff for the Peace Corps, to oversee management and administration of the White House, a White House official said on Friday.

Noble, who will hold the title of director of White House Management and Administration and Office of Administration and assistant to the president, replaces Anne Filipic.

During the Obama administration, Noble served as deputy director of the White House personnel office.

Filipic joined the White House in January 2021 after a job with the Obama Foundation.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – A court considered on Thursday whether to unseal records containing evidence presented by the U.S. Justice Department to justify its search of Donald Trump’s Florida home last week, in a case pitting news organizations against judicial officials.

News outlets are trying to persuade a federal judge that the public deserves to see the evidence it used to secure court approval for the search at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

But the Justice Department has opposed the release of the affidavit containing the evidence, which gave investigators probable cause to believe crimes were committed at Trump’s Palm Beach home.

Jay Bratt, the head of the department’s counterintelligence and export control section, told the judge on Thursday that releasing the affidavit is not in the public interest because it could harm the ongoing probe.

“There is another public interest at stake and that is the public interest that criminal investigations are able to go forward unimpeded,” he said.

The search was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

The Justice Department is investigating violations of three laws, including a provision in the Espionage Act that prohibits the possession of national defense information and another statute that makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, conceal or falsify records with the intent to obstruct an investigation.

Attorneys for several media outlets including The New York Times, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, ABC News and NBC News are asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday to unseal the affidavit and other related materials filed with the court, saying the public’s right to know and the historic significance of the search outweigh any arguments to keep the records sealed.

“The public could not have a more compelling interest in ensuring maximum transparency over this event,” said Charles Tobin, one of the attorneys arguing for the media companies.

Trump in statements on social media has called on the court to unseal the unredacted version of the affidavit “in the interest of transparency.”

But none of his attorneys have filed any motions asking the West Palm Beach federal court to do so. His attorney Christina Bobb, however, was present in the courtroom on Thursday to observe the proceedings.

Trump says the search was politically motivated. He has also said, without providing evidence, that he had a standing order to declassify the documents in question.

However, none of the three laws cited by the Justice Department in the search warrant require a showing that the documents were in fact classified.

Threats directed at FBI agents have increased since the raid.

In Ohio last week, police shot an armed man dead after he tried to breach an FBI building. A second man in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has since been charged with making threats against FBI agents.

Bratt said on Thursday that the two agents whose names appeared on a leaked copy of the unredacted warrant have also since received threats.

In addition, he said, the department “is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in the case.”

Trump’s rhetoric against the FBI have caught on with Republican voters, 54% of whom say federal law enforcement officials behaved irresponsibly in the case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this week.

The Mar-a-Lago search marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations Trump is facing from his time in office and in private business. The Republican former president has suggested he might run for the White House again in 2024, but has not made any commitment.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland took the highly unusual step of publicly moving to unseal the search warrant, two attachments and a redacted version of the receipt showing the items the FBI seized during its search on Aug. 8.

The records showed that the FBI seized boxes containing 11 sets of classified materials, some of which were labeled “top secret” – the highest level of classification reserved for the most closely held U.S. national security information.

Such documents usually are typically kept in special government facilities because disclosure could cause grave damage to national security.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department said it is open to releasing some additional redacted materials from the warrant, such as cover sheets, the government’s motion to seal and the court’s sealing order.

The media outlets in the case have also asked for those records to be unsealed as well.

At the start of Thursday’s proceedings, Reinhart said he would unseal those other portions of the documents with some redactions.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by Christopher Gallagher; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)

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By Brian Ellsworth and Sarah N. Lynch

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) -Sealed records containing evidence the U.S. Justice Department presented to secure court approval to search Donald Trump’s Florida home will be at the heart of a hearing on Thursday, when news organizations will try to persuade a federal judge that the public deserves to see the details.

The Justice Department has opposed the release of the affidavit containing the evidence, which gave investigators probable cause to believe crimes were committed at Trump’s Palm Beach home.

The search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

The Justice Department is investigating violations of three laws, including a provision in the Espionage Act that prohibits the possession of national defense information and another statute that makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, conceal or falsify records with the intent to obstruct an investigation.

Attorneys for several media outlets including The New York Times, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, ABC News and NBC News will ask U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday to unseal the affidavit and other related materials filed with the court, saying the public’s right to know and the historic significance of the search outweigh any arguments to keep the records sealed.

“The affidavit of probable cause should be released to the public, with only those redactions that are necessary to protect a compelling interest articulated by the government,” attorneys for the media companies wrote in a filing with the court.

Trump in statements on social media has called on the court to unseal the unredacted version of the affidavit “in the interest of transparency.” But none of his attorneys have filed any motions asking the West Palm Beach federal court to do so.

Trump says the search was politically motivated. He has also said, without providing evidence, that he had a standing order to declassify the documents in question.

However, none of the three laws cited by the Justice Department in the search warrant require a showing that the documents were in fact classified.

Threats directed at FBI agents have increased since the raid.

In Ohio last week, police shot an armed man dead after he tried to breach an FBI building. A second man in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has since been charged with making threats against FBI agents.

Trump’s rhetoric against the FBI have caught on with Republican voters, 54% of whom say federal law enforcement officials behaved irresponsibly in the case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this week.

The Mar-a-Lago search marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations Trump is facing from his time in office and in private business. The Republican former president has suggested he might run for the White House again in 2024, but has not made any commitment.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland took the highly unusual step of publicly moving to unseal the search warrant, two attachments and a redacted version of the receipt showing the items the FBI seized during its search on Aug. 8.

The records showed that the FBI seized boxes containing 11 sets of classified materials, some of which were labeled “top secret” – the highest level of classification reserved for the most closely held U.S. national security information.

Such documents usually are typically kept in special government facilities because disclosure could cause grave damage to national security.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department said it is open to releasing some additional redacted materials from the warrant, such as cover sheets, the government’s motion to seal and the court’s sealing order.

The media outlets in the case have also asked for those records to be unsealed as well.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – A longtime senior executive at Donald Trump’s family business pleaded guilty on Thursday to helping the company engineer a 15-year tax fraud, in an agreement that will require him to testify about its business practices at an upcoming trial.

Allen Weisselberg, 75, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization, entered his plea to all 15 charges he faced in a New York state court in Manhattan.

Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for about a half-century, is not expected to cooperate with Manhattan prosecutors in a larger probe they are conducting into Trump.

But his plea will likely strengthen their case against the former president’s company, which manages golf clubs, hotels and other real estate around the world.

“This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “We look forward to proving our case in court.”

In a statement, a Trump Organization spokeswoman called Weisselberg a “fine and honorable man” who has been “harassed, persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the Manhattan district attorney, in their never ending, politically motivated quest to get President Trump.”

She also said the company will not admit guilt because it did nothing wrong, and looked forward to its day in court.

Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 24, 15 days before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, where Trump’s Republican Party hopes to recapture both houses of Congress from Democrats.

Trump, who is embroiled in a series of other legal fights, has yet to say whether he plans another White House run in 2024.

The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty, and faces possible fines and other penalties if convicted. Donald Trump has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in the case.

FIVE MONTHS AT RIKERS

Prosecutors charged The Trump Organization and Weisselberg in July 2021 with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying business records for awarding “off-the-books” perks to senior executives.

Weisselberg was accused of concealing and avoiding taxes on $1.76 million of income.

This included rent for a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and tuition for relatives, with Trump signing the tuition checks.

Weisselberg’s plea agreement calls for him to serve five months at the Rikers Island jail, though he could be freed after 100 days. It also include five years of probation, and the payment of $1.99 million in taxes, penalties and interest.

The jail sentence would begin after the Trump Organization’s trial concludes. Weisselberg could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted at trial, including on a grand larceny charge.

During Thursday’s hearing, Weisselberg removed his mask as Justice Juan Merchan described each count of the indictment. Weisselberg agreed that the accusations against him were true.

Weisselberg gave up the CFO job after being indicted, but remains on Trump’s payroll as a senior adviser.

Nicholas Gravante, a lawyer for Weisselberg, said in a statement: “In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg decided to enter a plea of guilty today to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family.”

Last Friday, Merchan denied defense motions to dismiss the indictment, rejecting arguments that the defendants had been “selectively prosecuted” and that Weisselberg was targeted because he would not turn on his longtime boss.

PROBE ‘ONGOING’

The indictment arose from an investigation by former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, but lost steam after Bragg became district attorney in January.

Two prosecutors who had been leading the investigation resigned in February, with one saying felony charges should be brought against Trump, but that Bragg indicated he had doubts.

In his statement on Thursday, Bragg said the investigation remained ongoing.

Trump has a series of pending legal battles.

Last week, FBI agents searched his home for classified and other documents from his time in office.

Two days later, Trump was deposed in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil probe into whether he misled banks and tax authorities about his business’s assets.

He repeatedly refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment U.S. Constitutional right against self-incrimination.

James is assisting Bragg in his criminal probe.

“Let this guilty plea send a loud and clear message: we will crack down on anyone who steals from the public for personal gain,” James said in a statement.

(Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Jonathan Stempel in New YorkEditing by Alistair Bell and Daniel Wallis)

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ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors investigating whether Donald Trump committed crimes as he sought to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia are running into increasing resistance as they seek to call witnesses to testify before a special grand jury.

The latest illustration of that came Wednesday, when lawyers for Republican Gov. Brian Kemp filed a motion to quash a subpoena for his testimony, accusing the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, of pursuing his testimony for “improper political purposes.” Willis rejected that characterization, describing it as dishonest.

Kemp is just one of several witnesses who have pushed back against Willis’ attempt to compel their testimony in a case investigating potential criminal interference in an election. Late Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham formally appealed a judge’s order requiring him to testify before the special grand jury on Aug. 23. And John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who aided Trump’s efforts to undo the 2020 election results, has also pushed back against his subpoena, with a judge in New Mexico on Wednesday rejecting his request and ordering him to travel to Atlanta to testify before the special grand jury.

The witnesses’ reluctance to testify in the case reflects the high stakes of the investigation, which is just one of a long list of serious legal threats that Trump is facing that have intensified in recent weeks. It also demonstrates the power that Trump continues to wield over the Republican Party as he prepares for an expected 2024 presidential campaign.

Willis opened the investigation early last year, prompted by a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that conversation, Trump suggested the state’s top elections official could “find” the exact number of votes that would be needed to flip the election results in Georgia. Denying wrongdoing, Trump has described the call as “perfect.”

About a month earlier, Trump had called Kemp, asking him to order a special legislative session to overturn Biden’s victory in the state.

Kemp was scheduled to be questioned under oath by Willis’ team on July 25 in a session that was to be recorded and later played for the special grand jury. Asked by The Associated Press later that day to confirm that the governor had appeared for that meeting, Kemp spokesperson Katie Byrd declined to comment, citing “respect for the grand jury process.”

As it turns out, Kemp never met with Willis’ team.

His lawyers wrote in their motion Wednesday that Willis’ team canceled that meeting and issued a subpoena after Kemp’s attorneys asked about the scope of the interview.

Correspondence attached to the motion indicates that communications between Brian McEvoy, a lawyer for the governor, and the district attorney’s office turned sour in mid-June and then fell apart in late July.

In an email calling the investigation “politically motivated,” McEvoy said Kemp would only sit for the interview if Willis’ office agreed not to issue a subpoena for his testimony. He also demanded disclosure of questions and topics beforehand and said neither party could record the interview.

Willis issued a scathing response, accusing McEvoy of being rude to her team and calling his email “offensive and beneath an officer of the court.” She said she had offered the taped interview as a courtesy, but that that offer was now “off the table” and the governor would be subpoenaed.

“There’s an old adage that people take kindness for weakness. You have taken my kindness as weakness and you have continually treated this investigation with disdain,” Willis wrote. “Despite your disdain this investigation continues and will not be derailed by anyone’s antics.”

Kemp’s subpoena called for him to appear before the special grand jury Thursday. Byrd said in an email that he had been excused from appearing pending a ruling on his motion to quash. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the special grand jury, has set an Aug. 25 hearing on the motion.

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that Eastman was a material witness and had not proved that traveling to Atlanta would cause an undue hardship for him. Rejecting arguments from Eastman’s lawyer, she said any concerns about attorney-client privilege and his right to assert the Fifth Amendment should be addressed by the judge in Atlanta.

Eastman had told lawmakers during a Dec. 3, 2020, legislative committee hearing at the Georgia Capitol that they had “both the lawful authority and a ‘duty’ to replace” the certified Democratic presidential electors, citing unfounded claims of widespread election fraud in the state, Willis wrote in a court filing.

He also drafted at least two memos to the Trump campaign and others detailing a plan by which then-Vice President Mike Pence, as president of the U.S. Senate, could refuse to count some of the electoral votes won by Biden, Willis wrote.

And in South Carolina on Wednesday, Graham appealed a judge’s Monday order requiring him to testify before the special grand jury. Prosecutors have indicated they’re interested in phone calls he made to Raffensperger and his staff in the weeks following the election.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider Graham’s request. Graham’s legal team also asked a federal judge to put his special grand jury appearance on hold during the appeal process.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C. Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M., contributed to this report.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP.

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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced criminal charges against 20 people for illegally voting in 2020, the first major public move from the Republican’s controversial new election police unit.

The charges mark the opening salvo from the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which from its conception drew widespread criticism from Democrats and voting rights groups who feared the unit would serve as a political tool for the governor.

DeSantis said the people charged were convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense and therefore exempt from a constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to some felons. He said most of those charged were from Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties, all Democratic strongholds. He released few details.

The 20 people were among more than 11 million Florida voters who cast ballots in the 2020 election.

“They did not go through any process, they did not get their rights restored, and yet they went ahead and voted anyways,” DeSantis said at a campaign-style event in Fort Lauderdale before cheering supporters. “That is against the law and now they’re gonna pay the price for it.”

DeSantis, an ascendant Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, pushed the state legislature to create the election police unit to address voter fraud concerns that have proliferated in the GOP following former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his reelection was stolen.

Voter fraud is rare, typically occurs in isolated instances and is generally detected. An Associated Press investigation of the 2020 presidential election found fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of 25.5 million ballots cast in the six states where Trump and his allies disputed his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. DeSantis has previously praised Florida for carrying out a smooth election in 2020.

The Office of Election Crimes and Security was created as part of a voting law package approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature earlier this year. The unit reviews fraud allegations and conducts preliminary investigations, with the law requiring the governor to appoint a group of special officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to pursue alleged violations.

Preexisting state law had allowed the governor to appoint officers to investigate violations of election law but did not require him to do so.

Peter Antonacci, a former Broward County Supervisor of Elections tapped by DeSantis to lead the election police unit, said more voter fraud charges were coming. Antonacci said he is “certain” there were illegal votes cast in a recent Broward County congressional election decided by five votes. He provided no additional details.

“You’ll see more of these actions, and you’ll see more of these actions until the people who are behind it quit promoting it and the people that want to take risks know that there is a downside risk to voting when you’re not eligible to vote,” he said.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat running for governor, said DeSantis’ announcement was meant “to intimidate voters and suppress turnout in the most Democratic counties in Florida.”

“Everybody wants elections to be secure, but Ron DeSantis — who has never refuted Donald Trump’s Big Lie— is the last person we can trust with ‘election police,’” she said.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday said he is leaning toward releasing some of the evidence presented by the U.S. Justice Department to justify its search of Donald Trump’s Florida home last week, in a case pitting news organizations against federal prosecutors.

Despite objections by the Justice Department, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said he believes “there are portions of the affidavit that could be unsealed,” referring to the sworn statement laying out the evidence for why there was probable cause to search Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

He ordered the Justice Department to file a redacted version of the affidavit under seal by noon next Thursday, but said prosecutors will be given the opportunity to appeal if they don’t agree with his proposed version.

Reinhart’s order seemed to mark a victory for news outlets, who appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach on Thursday to persuade the judge that the public interest in the affidavit outweighs the benefits of keeping it sealed.

The search marked a significant escalation in one of the many federal and state investigations Trump is facing from his time in office and in private business. The Republican former president has suggested he might run for the White House again in 2024, but has not made any commitment.

The Justice Department opposes the release of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit, even in redacted form.

Jay Bratt, the head of the department’s counterintelligence and export control section, told the judge on Thursday that releasing the affidavit is not in the public interest because it could harm the ongoing probe, which he described as still being in the “early” stages and involving highly sensitive grand jury material.

“There is another public interest at stake and that is the public interest that criminal investigations are able to go forward unimpeded,” he said.

The search, which was approved by Reinhart on Aug. 5, is part of a federal investigation into whether Trump illegally removed documents when he left office in January 2021 after losing the presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.

The Justice Department is investigating violations of three laws, including a provision in the Espionage Act that prohibits the possession of national defense information and another statute that makes it a crime to knowingly destroy, conceal or falsify records with the intent to obstruct an investigation.

Attorneys for several media outlets including The New York Times, the publisher of the Wall Street Journal, ABC News and NBC News told Reinhart on Thursday that the public’s right to know and the historic significance of the search outweigh any arguments to keep the records sealed.

“The public could not have a more compelling interest in ensuring maximum transparency over this event,” said Charles Tobin, one of the attorneys arguing for the media companies.

Trump has vocally made statements on social media calling on

the court to unseal the unredacted version.

However, his attorneys have not filed any such requests with the court seeking to unseal the records, which are likely to contain damaging information about Trump.

Christina Bobb, the Trump attorney who signed the warrant materials on the day of the Aug. 8 search, appeared in the courtroom on Thursday to watch the proceedings.

She left without making any statements to reporters.

The former president has repeatedly claimed the search was politically motivated, and his son Eric Trump told Fox News that his father intends to release surveillance tape showing the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago “at the right time.”

Trump has also tried to defend his actions, saying without providing evidence that he had a standing order to declassify the documents in question.

However, none of the three laws cited by the Justice Department in the search warrant require a showing that the documents were in fact classified.

Threats directed at FBI agents have increased since the raid.

In Ohio last week, police shot an armed man dead after he tried to breach an FBI building. A second man in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, has since been charged with making threats against FBI agents.

Bratt said on Thursday that the two agents whose names appeared on a leaked copy of the unredacted warrant have also since received threats.

In addition, he said, the department “is very concerned about the safety of the witnesses in the case.”

Reinhart has also faced a barrage of criticism from Trump’s supporters, who have publicly assailed his decision to approve the search warrant.

Trump’s rhetoric against the FBI has caught on with Republican voters, 54% of whom say federal law enforcement officials behaved irresponsibly in the case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found this week.

The FBI seized boxes containing 11 sets of classified materials at Mar-a-Lago, some of which were labeled “top secret” – the highest level of classification reserved for the most closely held U.S. national security information.

Such documents usually are typically kept in special government facilities because disclosure could cause grave damage to national security.

Reinhart on Thursday also granted a request to unseal procedural records tied to the warrant, including the cover sheet and the government’s motion to seal the warrant. The cover sheet said the Justice Department is investigating the “willful” retention of national defense information, as well as the concealment or removal of government records and the obstruction of a federal investigation.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by Christopher Gallagher; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday he would consider testifying before the House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol if he were to receive an invitation.

Aides to Pence told the panel in June that former President Donald Trump pressured the then-vice president to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

Pence has said he believes Trump was wrong to believe the vice president had the power to reverse the outcome of the election, whose results were being certified by Pence and lawmakers when the Capitol came under attack.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

One of Pence’s senior aides has testified to the committee, and his top staffer at the time, Marc Short, testified before a federal grand jury investigating the attack. The committee, however, has not publicly extended an invitation to Pence.

Speaking at an event in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Pence said he would give any invitation to testify “due consideration.”

“Any invitation that would be directed to me, I would have to reflect on the unique role I was serving in as vice president,” Pence told people gathered for a “Politics & Eggs” breakfast at New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College.

A Jan. 6 committee spokesperson did not immediately respond on Wednesday to a request for comment. Members of the committee said in June they were considering whether to compel Pence to testify.

Pence said on Wednesday it “would be unprecedented in history for a vice president to be summoned to testify on Capitol Hill.”

The U.S. Senate website shows that Schuyler Colfax voluntarily appeared before a House select committee in January 1873 while vice president to Ulysses S. Grant from 1869-1873.

At least six current and former presidents have also testified before congressional committees, the website shows.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Howard Goller)

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By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) – A longtime senior executive at former President Donald Trump’s family business is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to conspiring with the company in a 15-year tax fraud.

Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at the Trump Organization, is expected to enter his plea before Justice Juan Merchan in a New York state court in Manhattan.

He is not expected to cooperate with Manhattan prosecutors, including in a larger probe of Trump himself, though he could be required to testify against the Trump Organization at trial, a person familiar with the matter said.

A grand jury last year indicted Weisselberg, 75, for concealing $1.76 million of “off-the-books” income.

That included rent for a Manhattan apartment, lease payments for two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and tuition for family members, with Trump himself signing the checks for the tuition.

Weisselberg will likely be sentenced to five months in jail and could be freed after about 100 days, another person familiar with the matter said.

That’s far shorter than the many years in state prison he could face if, rather than pleading guilty, he were convicted at trial of the charges against him, which include grand larceny, scheming to defraud, conspiracy, tax fraud, and falsifying business records.

Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty to all the charges he faces, the second person said.

A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment. A lawyer for Weisselberg and a spokeswoman for the Trump Organization declined comment.

Last Friday, Merchan denied defense motions to dismiss the indictment, rejecting arguments that the defendants had been “selectively prosecuted” and that Weisselberg was targeted because he would not turn on his longtime boss.

Trump’s company manages golf clubs, hotels and other real estate around the world.

The company has pleaded not guilty, and could face fines and other penalties if convicted at trial.

Jury selection begins on Oct. 24, fifteen days before the Nov. 8 midterm election, where Trump’s Republican Party hopes to recapture both houses of Congress from Democrats.

Trump has not been charged, and has yet to say whether he plans another White House run in 2024.

Weisselberg has worked for Trump for about a half-century.

He gave up the CFO job after he and the Trump Organization were indicted in July 2021, but remains on Trump’s payroll as a senior adviser.

The indictment arose from an investigation by former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, but lost steam after Bragg became district attorney in January.

Two prosecutors who had been leading the investigation resigned in February, with one saying felony charges should be brought against Trump, but that Bragg indicated he had doubts.

Trump faces many other legal battles.

Last week, FBI agents searched the former U.S. president’s home for classified and other documents from his time in office.

Two days later, Trump was deposed in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil probe into his business but repeatedly refused to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment U.S. Constitutional right against self-incrimination.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell)

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(Reuters) – Federal prosecutors examining the role of former President Donald Trump and allies in events ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol have subpoenaed National Archives documents provided to a House of Representatives committee, the New York Times reported.

The subpoena was issued in May, sought “all materials, in whatever form” that were given to lawmakers and was signed by the prosecutor leading the Justice Department’s inquiry, according to the report.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an out-of-hours request for comment from Reuters.

The select committee investigating the Capitol assault asked for multiple records from the National Archives including photographs, videos, communications, calendars, schedules, movement logs and visitor records among other files.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The onslaught on the Capitol by Trump supporters led to several deaths, injured more than 140 police officers and delayed certification of Democratic President Joe Biden’s victory over Republican Trump in the November 2020 election.

Trump falsely claims his election defeat was the result of fraud.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; editing by Grant McCool)

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