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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg "neutralized" Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's former chief financial officer, who could have acted as a defense witness for Donald Trump in the hush money case against him, a former federal prosecutor says.
On Monday, Trump, the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, will see the start of his first criminal trial. Trump was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign, following an investigation by Bragg's office. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges and says the case is politically motivated.
On Wednesday's episode of Justice Matters, his YouTube show, Glenn Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, said that Bragg "neutralized" Weisselberg by prosecuting him for perjury.
The DA prosecuted Weisselberg "first and foremost because he committed more crimes...but frankly, equally important, he's being prosecuted so he will be neutralized as a defense witness in Donald Trump's upcoming criminal trial," Kirschner said.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesman via email for comment.
In a deal with prosecutors, the ex-CFO agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts relating to false statements he made regarding his knowledge of the size of Trump's triplex apartment in Manhattan during a 2020 deposition with New York Attorney General Letitia James. James brought a civil fraud lawsuit against the former president, accusing him of overstating the values of his assets in financial statements he used to secure loans and make deals.
Trump has not admitted to any wrongdoing, despite being found liable for financial fraud. In February, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to pay $355 million plus interest and banned him from doing business in New York for three years. Trump has appealed Engoron's judgment.
On Wednesday, Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in New York City's Rikers Island jail complex. This comes less than a year after he was released from jail after pleading guilty in a separate 2022 criminal tax fraud case against the Trump Organization.
On his show, Kirschner explained that Weisselberg could never be called as a prosecution witness in the hush money trial "because he has never agreed to testify truthfully about the crimes of Donald Trump."
"However, perhaps the defense might try to call Allen Weisselberg in Trump's defense. Saying, 'Huh? Donald Trump never committed any crimes, never did anything wrong, even though I, as his chief financial officer, was involved in a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud during my time at the Trump Organization.'"
The ex-prosecutor added: "You know, that might not be all that convincing, might not be all that credible, but the defense could certainly consider calling out Allen Weisselberg as a defense witness to try to help out his old boss."
Update 04/11/24 5:49 p.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that Trump is banned from doing business in New York for three years.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more