Last summer, prosecutors nabbed one of Donald Trump’s closest and most loyal confidants: Allen Weisselberg. The former CFO of the Trump Organization, he was indicted by a grand jury over a 15-year tax fraud scheme. He’s never ratted his former boss out, and he has no plans to do so, even as his legal problems balloon yet again. What he will do is cut a plea deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, in which he may testify against Trump’s businesses, which could be bad for the big guy, too.
In new reports by Rolling Stone and The New York Times, Weisselberg is looking to avoid what could be a lengthy prison sentence, which could be as long as 15 years. He could get that down to five months, with only 100 days in the slammer, if he acknowledges that he conspired with other Trump-owned companies. He’s also agreed to testify in an October trial against the Trump Organization and the Trump Payroll Corporation, but only if he’s asked to do so.
Weisselberg’s cooperation, alas, stops with the aforementioned testimony. He has refused to “flip” on either Trump or his children in broader investigations into their potential crimes.
Still, Rolling Stone argues, “his potential testimony could pose a severe threat to Trump’s companies”:
“This possible testimony, which allegedly implicates Trump’s businesses, could be key to prosecutors’ securing a guilty verdict against these companies. When a company is found to have engaged in criminal conduct, significant fines can pile up quickly — potentially leading to its demise.”
In other words, the fiercely Trump-loyal Weisselberg won’t help in the effort to potentially imprison his longtime compadre, but he could help leave him with nothing but his pensions.
(Via Rolling Stone and NYT)