[ti:Trump Organization, Finance Chief Charged with Tax Fraud] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]New York's government lawyers charged the Trump Organization [00:04.56]and its long-time finance chief Thursday with carrying out [00:09.52]a 15-year operation to "defraud" the government. [00:15.40]The charging document reads that from 2005 through this year, [00:21.40]the Trump Organization and its finance chief Allen Weisselberg [00:26.80]cheated the state and city of taxes. [00:31.52]It accuses them of hiding payments to top-level employees, [00:36.76]including almost $1.7 million to Weisselberg himself. [00:44.32]The company and chief financial officer [00:47.84]were also charged with falsifying business records and other crimes. [00:54.20]The charges follow a two-year investigation [00:57.64]into former President Donald Trump's businesses. [01:01.64]In a New York courtroom, the state's prosecutors described [01:06.52]what they found as "a sweeping and audacious illegal payments" operation. [01:13.80]Both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty. [01:19.72]Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. [01:24.88]and New York Attorney General Letitia James, led the investigation. [01:30.80]They are both members of the Democratic Party. [01:34.96]But, they said politics was not a consideration [01:39.68]in the decision to bring charges. [01:43.12]Trump, a Republican, was not charged. [01:46.80]He released a statement calling the case "the political Witch Hunt [01:51.96]by the Radical Left Democrats." [01:55.44]Weisselberg was ordered to surrender his passport to the court [02:00.12]and the was released. [02:03.20]He left the courthouse without commenting to reporters. [02:07.60]Weisselberg first started working for Trump's father, Fred, in 1973. [02:14.52]He has worked for the Trump Organization for 48 years. [02:20.32]As the chief finance officer, he has deep knowledge [02:24.48]of the former president's business dealings. [02:28.12]The charges increase the pressure on Weisselberg [02:31.32]to cooperate with investigators examining Trump's businesses. [02:37.52]Trump's daughter, Ivanka, has called Weisselberg "fiercely loyal" [02:42.92]and said that he "stood alongside my father and our family" for years. [02:51.08]In a statement Thursday, the Trump Organization said [02:55.48]the government was charging Weisselberg [02:58.20]in an "attempt to harm the former president." [03:02.16]It said, "This is not justice; this is politics." [03:08.48]Cyrus Vance is leaving office at the end of the year. [03:12.68]His office, however, continues [03:15.52]with its wide investigation into Trump and his businesses. [03:21.16]Vance fought a long battle in court to get Trump's tax records. [03:26.68]He has also obtained financial documents [03:30.56]and met with company officials and others. [03:35.24]The Trump Organization is the business [03:38.08]that the former president uses to operate all his investments, [03:43.36]including properties like city buildings, hotels and golf courses. [03:50.36]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM