Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Conway says Trump’s accounting firm ditching him is worse than getting impeached

Husband of his former top aide says Monday’s development ‘calamitous’ for ex-president

John Bowden
Tuesday 15 February 2022 23:38 GMT
Comments
Eric Trump almost breaks down during Fox News interview

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

George Conway, the conservative attorney and husband of former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, gloated on Monday that the end of the relationship between Donald Trump’s company and its former accountant was “calamitous” to the business.

In a series of tweets, Mr Conway reacted to the news that accounting firm Mazars had written to New York Attorney General Letitia James as well as the Trump Organization advising the two that roughly a decade of financial statements from Mr Trump’s company could not be relied upon.

The firm added in its announcement that the discrepancies were the result of facts uncovered by both Ms James’s office and its own internal investigations, and stated that the firm would be unable to do business with the Trump Organization going forward.

Mr Conway characterised the news as just about the worst possible thing that could happen to a private company.

“For any business (including a privately-held one) that has outside financing or investors, having your financial statements (let alone 10 years' worth!) pulled by your accountants is just about the most calamitous thing that could happen to it, other than perhaps being indicted,” said Mr Conway.

He added that it would be “next to impossible” for the Trump Organization to find a new accounting firm going forward.

“This is worse for him than getting impeached twice,” wrote Mr Conway.

The husband to the former president’s longtime pollster and White House aide was a constant thorn in Mr Trump’s side throughout his presidency. Ms Conway herself has remained a somewhat loyal supporter of her former boss after leaving the White House in the summer of 2020; she said on Real Time with Bill Maher in January that the attack on Congress was “inexcusable” but not representative of most of Mr Trump’s fans.

The comments leave open the possibility that Ms Conway could re-enter Mr Trump’s orbit in 2024 should he decide to run for office again, even given her husband’s very public criticism.

Donald Trump’s family including his son Eric Trump, who oversees much of the Trump Organization as an executive vice president, have lambasted the ongoing efforts by New York officials to investigate and prosecute his company’s alleged financial misdeeds, which include improperly deflating its assets for tax purposes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in