Marc Mukasey, an attorney for US President Donald Trump, is leaving Manhattan Federal Court after a judge ruled that Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp should submit financial records to investigators on May 22nd in New York City, United States May provide. 2019.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Rep. Matt Gaetz has hired two senior New York lawyers, one of whom is currently representing the Trump Organization in an ongoing criminal investigation, to represent him as the Florida Republican faces a federal investigation into sex trafficking.
The retention of Trump firm’s attorney Marc Mukasey is notable not only for Mukasey’s track record in handling serious criminal cases, but also because Gaetz is among the most ardent defenders of former President Donald Trump.
Mukasey, a former federal attorney who is the son of former US Attorney General Michael Mukasey, was also a protégé of Trump’s personal attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Together with Mukasey, Isabelle Kirshner represents Gaetz in the criminal investigation.
Gaetz, who has not been charged, has also hired a public relations firm, the Washington-based Logan Circle Group, to deal with the devastating media outages after news of the federal investigation first appeared in the New York Times last week.
The steps came after an attorney for Gaetz’s friend Joel Greenberg pointed out Thursday that Greenberg was planning to plead guilty in a federal trial in which he was charged with sex trafficking in underage girls, wire fraud, stalking and bribery of a federal official.
This case against Greenberg, a former Florida tax collector, led to an ongoing investigation into 38-year-old Gaetz on suspicion of an illegal sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
Investigators are also looking into whether Gaetz paid women to travel to the Bahamas for sex, according to NBC News, and whether he and Greenberg used the internet to look for women to be paid for sex.
The disclosure that Greenberg expects to reach an agreement on his own case sparked immediate speculation that he would work with federal agencies if they continued investigating Gaetz, who has denied any wrongdoing.
“I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very well today,” said Greenberg’s lawyer Fritz Scheller on Thursday after appearing in court in the case. “You’ve seen the number of stories out there and the focus is on their relationship. Isn’t it obvious to assume he’d be concerned?”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) listens during a committee hearing on the impeachment proceedings of U.S. President Donald Trump in the Longworth House office building on Capitol Hill on December 11, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Erin Elmore of the Logan Circle Group said in a statement Friday about Gaetz: “Matt has always been a fighter.”
“A fighter for its constituents, a fighter for the country and a fighter for the constitution,” said Elmore.
“He will fight the baseless allegations against him. His legal team, led by Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner, will fight those who try to smear his name with untruths.”
Elmore is a lawyer who appeared in season 3 as a candidate on Trump’s former television show “The Apprentice”.
The Logan Circle Group is led by Harlan Hill, another Trump attorney who was banned from appearing on the conservative Fox News network last fall after tweeting that Vice President “Kamala Harris comes out as such an unbearable lie.” , it’s just true. “
Mukasey declined to comment on his work for Gaetz on CNBC, referring to Elmore’s testimony.
A spokesman for Kirshner declined to comment on her, except to confirm that she and Mukasey had been kept by Gaetz.
Trump hasn’t said much in Gaetz’s defense over the past week, except to deny the story that Gaetz requested a blanket criminal pardon from Trump prior to the end of his term in January, and to indicate that Gaetz “was against the allegations completely denied him. “
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Mukasey is one of several attorneys representing Trump’s company in a criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Cyrus Vance Jr., who is investigating not only the company, but also the former president himself and others affiliated with the firm.
Vance’s office is believed to be investigating possible tax and banking fraud by the Trump organization and whether the company has properly accounted for the hush money payments made in 2016 to two women who had sex with Trump.
The ex-president denies the women’s claims and has said Vance’s probe is a witch hunt.
On Thursday, investigators from Vance’s office collected financial records from Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter-in-law of the Trump organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
Jennifer Weisselberg said she’s working with Vance’s probe. The Washington Post reported that a subpoena, issued at Vance’s request, sought documents in their possession relating to the Trump Organization and an ice rink that the company operated in Central Park and managed Weisselberg’s ex-husband, Barry Weisselberg.
Michael Cohen, who served as Trump’s personal attorney for years, also worked with Vance’s investigation.
At the same time, New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a civil investigation to determine whether the Trump Organization has mispriced various real estate assets in the form of lower tax liabilities, insurance rates, and loan terms for financial benefit.
Mukasey represents the Trump organization in James’ investigation.
Isabelle Kirshner attends the Artwalk NY 2015 at the Metropolitan Pavilion on November 17, 2015 in New York City.
Chance yeh | Getty Images
