Former Trump tax attorney busted with federal extortion charges

The attorney hired by President Donald Trump to challenge his Chicago tax assessments was slapped with federal charges Thursday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Federal agents raided Ed Burke's government office and personal business office in the last two months.

It was unclear at the time if the federal investigation was regarding the president's finances or something outside of Burke's work for Trump. Burke did tax-related work for the Trump Organization for the past twelve years before the two parties severed the relationship earlier this year.

Burke “announced his breakup with Trump in letters filed last month with the Cook County courts and the Illinois State Property Tax Appeal Board in which he wrote that 'irreconcilable differences' have led his firm to stop representing Trump’s company and step aside in five current cases that seek refunds of millions of dollars in property taxes the president’s company has paid,” the Sun-Times reported in June 2018.

Instead, the charges stem from a fast-food company’s "remodeling project in 2017," the Sun-Times wrote. "The company sought support from Burke for the project, and he tried to land the company as a client for his firm."

As part of the investigation, Burke's cell phone conversations were secretly recorded.

“As you are aware, there have previously been several other investigations such as this. In every instance, we cooperated fully. And in every instance nothing has been found,” Burke was quoted as saying after the raid.

You can read the court filings below;

Burke Complaint Filed by on Scribd