Trump Organization adds veteran criminal defense attorney

The Trump Organization has brought on veteran criminal defense attorney Ronald Fischetti to represent the real estate company in the Manhattan district attorney’s ongoing investigation into former President Trump’s businesses and finances. 

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the Trump Organization this week retained Ronald Fischetti as part of its team. 

Fischetti is a former law partner of Mark Pomerantz, the former federal prosecutor currently working on the investigation for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. (D), according to the Journal. 

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the newspaper that he was “pleased” to welcome Fischetti, who brings decades of experience as a defense attorney in both state and federal courts. 

“He brings extraordinary experience, a depth of knowledge and wisdom that is invaluable and that we so appreciate,” Futerfas added. 

Fischetti confirmed to the Journal that he had joined the Trump Organization’s legal team, saying, “I’m delighted that I’m going to be on the defense of this.” 

The 84-year-old lawyer’s top former clients include former South Carolina state Sen. Albert Carmichael Jr. (D), who was convicted of buying votes during a 1980 Democratic primary, as well as former U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D) and his wife, who had their 1989 public corruption convictions overturned.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump Organization for additional information. 

Vance’s probe, which began in 2018 to investigate alleged hush money payments from Trump to women who claimed to have had affairs with him before the 2016 election, has since expanded to include the the former president’s family’s business dealings and finances. 

The Trump Organization has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and Trump and his allies have called the investigation a politically motivated “witch hunt.” 

Vance’s office in February officially hired Pomerantz as a special district attorney. Pomerantz “has counseled CEOs in proceedings brought by the Justice Department and the SEC,” according to his biography on the website of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he is taking a leave of absence.

That same month, the district attorney’s office obtained Trump’s tax returns from his accounting firm, Mazars USA, following a prolonged legal dispute that resulted in the Supreme Court rejecting an effort by Trump’s attorneys to shield the documents. 

In addition to reviews of documents tied to the business dealings of the former president and his family, the district attorney’s office has also held interviews with a number of individuals, including Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen. 

Cohen, who has in recent years become one of Trump’s most vocal critics, has met with Vance’s office for interviews at least eight times.