Jeff McConney, a senior accountant for the Trump Organization, has reportedly testified before the special grand jury in New York that has brought criminal charges against the company. But while prosecutors are examining additional charges, unprecedented testimony from McConney during an earlier civil case four years ago shows that while this Trump insider is quick to admit when the company breaks the law, he does his best to protect the boss .
In response to a public inquiry, The Daily Beast received a transcript of a confidential 2017 interview between the New York Attorney General and McConney, who has been a controller at the Trump Organization for more than three decades.
During that interview, McConney addressed a number of scandals surrounding the now-defunct Trump Foundation. And while he was quick to defend Donald Trump, McConney showed a willingness to admit mistakes that could help prosecutors build their case now.
“I probably didn’t know at the time that we probably shouldn’t use foundation funds for such things … we made a mistake.”
– Jeff McConney
Take, for example, the controversy that Mar-a-Lago was fined $ 120,000 and Trump used his donor-funded charity to settle a lawsuit with the city of Palm Beach, Florida.
“I probably didn’t know at the time that we probably shouldn’t be using foundation funds on such things … we made a mistake,” McConney told a New York AG investigator.
Or the controversy over Trump’s $ 25,000 gift to the re-election of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi just months before she decided not to investigate his fraudulent Trump University.
“We found that we were contributing to … a political organization as opposed to a charity,” said McConney. “… everything that could go wrong went wrong with that one request.”
Or when Trump skipped a GOP debate in January 2016 to host his own television spectacle in Iowa – a lazy fundraiser for veterans caught withholding donations. McConney told investigators he went on board with Trump’s children, their spouses, campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski, and bodyguards.
“At the time we thought there was a way to distribute checks to veterans. I had a checkbook and a pen, a piece of paper to write down the contributions, if that was Mr. Trump’s wish, ”McConney testified under oath.
All of these memories come from McConney’s full-day testimony on Aug. 10, 2017. He was interviewed by Steven Shiffman and Peggy Farber, government attorneys for the Attorney General’s Charity Office. And that investigation would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Trump Foundation, what then Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood described as “a shocking pattern of illegality.”
In the 229-page interview transcript, McConney explained how his small team of accountants oversaw the papers for bank loans, managed the tax files, prepared Trump’s personal accounts, and tracked the checks. But more importantly, he knew exactly how Trump wielded authority over his money: he doesn’t sign all checks – only the important ones, like charitable donations.
It is this type of inside knowledge – and a willingness to acknowledge past mistakes – that Manhattan DA and New York AG could use in their joint criminal investigation against the Trump Organization.
An indictment filed on June 30th accused the company and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg of criminal tax fraud, forging business records and attempting to defraud the government. Prosecutors allege the organization ran a program to provide business perks such as luxury housing and private schools in lieu of salary increases, which would allow the company to bypass wage taxes and employees to avoid income taxes.
Trump himself has not been charged, but the indictment names an “unindicted No. 1 co-conspirator” and the investigation is ongoing. Trump has already begun laying the groundwork for his legal defense by publicly claiming not to know the tax laws despite previously boasting of being “king of the tax laws”.
“The former president thinks Jeff admires the ground he walks on.”
– Source who spoke to Trump about McConney for the past few weeks
With investigators now looking for irregularities, McConney’s descriptions of how the business worked at the time could be critically important.
In his previous testimony in the Trump Foundation case, McConney described how he would personally finalize the financial deals that Weisselberg would negotiate.
“So he’s more of the initiator, I think, and then I’ll just let everything go,” McConney told investigators in 2017.
McConney’s previous statement also describes how he would cut checks and send them direct to Trump for signature. It also makes it clear that McConney kept the books and records for several real estate development projects, including Seven Springs, the Batman-like property north of Gotham that is currently under investigation. The Manhattan attorney and the New York attorney general are investigating whether the Trump Organization inflated the value of this property for a charitable tax write-off.
McConney did not respond to an interview request for this story. The prosecutor’s office declined to comment.
As much credibility and trust as McConney has built in Trump’s business empire – those who have worked with him often use expressions such as “no chatter” and “no ambush” to describe his demeanor and behavior – the Trump Org Geldmann is not known to indulge in the same kind of glamor and camaraderie that others are close to Trump.
People who have worked with both McConney and Trump told The Daily Beast that they cannot recall specific instances where the then-future president tried to socialize with McConney. “I would never hear of Jeff getting any of the perks,” said one person in the know. “I [rarely, if ever] Heard Jeff going to play golf with Trump for a day or ride on the plane. “
“We all paid his bills.”
– Jeff McConney
Still, McConney has often been described not only as a quiet, dedicated longtime contributor, but also as a political admirer of former President Trump – and as someone who despises the progressive policies of Democratic leaders like Barack Obama.
This devotion to Trump, both as a boss and as a political idol, is one of the reasons the twice-indicted former president isn’t very concerned about McConney handing prosecutors a smoking gun.
According to two sources familiar with Trump’s private ruminations about McConney, the ex-president said last month that McConney couldn’t tell prosecutors anything that could bring Trump down because, as Trump told these sources, “Me didn’t do anything [wrong]. “
Yet Trump has also hinted that McConney wouldn’t reveal it even if McConney could say something that could seriously hurt the former president.
“The former president thinks Jeff worships the ground he walks on,” said one person who has spoken to the ex-president about McConney for the past few weeks. “Trump said that after everything he’s done for Jeff and his family, there is no reason to [McConney] to turn it on, as some other people have done. “
Of course, Trump’s faith in corporate loyalty like McConney could soon be confirmed. However, the 45th President’s apparent confidence in his loyalists and subordinates has already been shaken in recent years, even with investigators and prosecutors knocking on the knock.
In April 2018, then-President Trump was busy tweeting angrily that Michael Cohen, his former fixer and personal attorney, would not “flip” Trump after Cohen’s home and office were raided by the Feds. Behind closed doors, however, Trump admitted that it was possible that federal agencies could break Cohen by ominously telling his confidants, “We shall see.”
In the end, Cohen was a prominent Trump enemy.
But prosecutors trying to use McConney as a witness directly against Trump may find this task difficult. The company controller told investigators in 2017 that he was only one step away from the former president.
“I don’t usually speak to Mr. Trump,” McConney said.
Still, McConney’s previous testimony and knowledge of the Trump organization could come back to bite the former president – even if he tries to protect him. In 2017, McConney admitted he was responsible for cutting Trump’s personal checks.
“We all paid his bills,” he said.