The Washington Post has a team of reporters working on the possible pending indictment of Donald Trump for financial crimes in New York State. They’re staking out Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg’s home as well as his office in Trump Tower, which is why they can tell you things like this:
As the investigation proceeds, Trump has returned to New York on several Sunday evenings from his golf club in New Jersey, where he typically spends the summer. On Trump’s birthday, hours after the former president had arrived at the building where he has a home and office, Weisselberg left his apartment and arrived at Trump Tower about 40 minutes later.
Early Tuesday, Weisselberg, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, again came out of his apartment building, but pivoted back inside when he saw a reporter outside.
Prosecutors are trying to flip Weisselberg because he’d be almost an essential witness against the former president. Trump doesn’t use email or create much of a paper trail, so it’s a challenge to demonstrate that he’s been responsible for decisions or directly involved in demonstrable crimes. Weisselberg’s testimony could solve that problem.
There’s a grand jury sifting through all this right now, and everything fishy probably has Weisselberg’s signature attached. If he tries to meet Trump in person to collude about their legal defense, you can sure the investigators will know about it. If not, they can read about it in the Post.
Of course, collusion is another thing that’s hard to prove. It’s not a crime for a company’s CFO to work out of the office, nor can Trump be barred from the Fifth Avenue tower that bears his name. On the other hand, Weisselberg doesn’t want to make anything easy which is probably why he abounded his plan to travel to work last Tuesday when he saw that a reporter was wise to him.
There’s a real consciousness of guilt and legal liability in that episode, and it really does seem likely only a matter of time before the hammer comes down.
Time is something Weisselberg doesn’t have if he wants to avoid prison. He’s the one whose going to be easy to convict for any financial crimes uncovered at the Trump Organization, and at some point the prosecutors will lose their patience waiting for him to cooperate. They’ve got his son in their crosshairs, too, apparently for tax crimes related to his compensation at the company.
Trump wants to keep Weisselberg as close as possible, which is likely the reason they’re trying to arrange these surreptitious meetings. But someday soon this is all going to come to a head, and that’s when things will get very interesting.
For the next episode of this TV show, I would remind that Trumporg is not just your usual gangland scam operation. Weisselberg (I am thinking of the statements made by his former daughter-in-law) would be the kind who is in the service of Trump bc T has him virtually under some kind of spell. Rationality need not lead the way, and there is no telling what W might do, or not do, in order to carry out his perceived duties to King Donald.
If he was going to turn on the King, he’s already had decades to have done it, or at least to have thought it over. Who knows what strange kind of “honor among thieves” is at work here?
For example, I have always wondered about Mr Enron, Ken Lay, and what secrets he took to the grave with him.
Weisselberg is probably a guy who knows what the boss would like without being told.
He may be unable to flip because he has nothing to offer.
Yes and W may be the sort who believes his life would be destroyed if Trump turns on *him*. Quite likely T recruited W bc he knew that they were both of one mind about scamming through everything. Seems W really looks up to T and does everything to please him
Trump knows how to find people like that, and then works them like rented mules.
Somebody with Trump’s psych issues is the very last guy you want in charge of a government.
Thanks for your comment. Just curious: why do you think Weisselberg may have “nothing to offer”? If the Trump Organization is, as lots of evidence suggests, a criminal enterprise then wouldn’t the CFO be the person best situated to have evidence of the CEO’s criminal behavior?
Let’s say W got an expensive NY apartment and never claimed it on his tax return as compensation.. He may believe he was entitled to it to perform his duties. In that case the company also gets a tax deduction for the expense and so there is “nothing to offer” .I am not a tax expert so this could be all wet but it came to mind. But that is what we are dealing with here. I would bet W and his boss are always skirting around the boundaries of argumentation. “ Oh my goodness you say that was wrong of me. I will make a note for the future but if you insist we will pay some more tax.”
My bet is compensation is a tough issue to beat them on. Who decides what is right and fair? And what value it has to the company. They almost need to go for fraud of some kind like jiggering the valuations around to obtain loans, but even that one will be a tough road. The banks who loan money should have a handle on that and if he did something with taxes, maybe, but not unless overt. You might be better off getting the company controller to help you than the CFO. He might not get all the respect he feels entitled to. This whole thing could turn out to be a slap on the wrist and a fine, maybe even a substantial one but thus far I haven’t heard anything about jail time.