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Allen Weisselberg's possible testimony against Donald Trump could have a major impact on upcoming trials because he knows so much about the former president's finances, a law professor said.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, told Newsweek that Weisselberg, a former chief financial officer of Trump's parent company, the Trump Organization, may know more about its finances than even Trump.
"Weisselberg knows more than anyone, possibly including Trump, about the Trump Organization. He certainly knows some things Trump does not know," Gillers said.
The New York Times reported on February 1 that Weisselberg is negotiating a plea deal with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in which he would admit he lied in Trump's recent New York fraud trial. In exchange, he would receive a reduced sentence and possibly testify against Trump.
The Times article said that cooperation would "culminate a lengthy pressure campaign by the District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, whose prosecutors had sought Mr. Weisselberg's cooperation as they investigated whether Mr. Trump committed electoral and financial crimes."
In March 2023, there was speculation that Weisselberg had turned on Trump as he was no longer represented by Trump Organization lawyers.
Weisselberg, who served five months in Rikers Island in New York after pleading guilty in 2022 to 15 felony counts relating to a tax-evasion scheme carried out by the Trump Organization, parted ways with his lawyers, WNBC reported at the time.
Gillers said that Weisselberg "has one overriding goal, not to return to jail."
"A perjury conviction, while he would prefer to avoid it, will not change his life," Gillers said.
Gillers said Bragg has two goals.
"The first is to get as much cooperation as possible from Weisselberg. Testimony if possible, but also information," he said. "This information may be more important to Bragg than testimony because Bragg has other sources for the testimony and because Weisselberg may not be a good witness."
"Bragg's second goal is to warn the witnesses he will call against Trump that he is prepared to charge perjury if they lie just as he has charged Weisselberg. In other words, he will make an example of Weisselberg as a way to keep others truthful."
Tristan Snell, a former New York assistant attorney general, wrote that Trump could be facing a fifth criminal trial if Weisselberg is cooperating with authorities.
"Allen Weisselberg gets pinned for PERJURY and is about to plea GUILTY -- opening possibility that he may finally flip and cooperate against Trump," Snell wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. "Former Trump Org CFO Weisselberg may have lied on the witness stand in NY AG fraud case. Manhattan DA has gone after him.
"Weisselberg may have committed Perjury in the First Degree -- which is punishable in NY by up to 7 years in prison," Snell wrote in a separate post on X.
Newsweek sought email comment from attorneys for Trump and Weisselberg on Sunday.
As assistant attorney general, Snell settled three fraud cases taken against Trump for $25 million for the failure of Trump University business school. Snell has written a new book, Taking Down Trump, about his experience.
While Weisselberg was giving evidence at the fraud trial in October 2023, Judge Arthur Engoron criticized him for defending the former president's net worth.
New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against Trump, accusing him of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills between 2011 and 2021, is civil, not criminal, meaning that he will not face jail time.
Engoron ruled in September that Trump, his two adult sons, their businesses and executives committed fraud and will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy claims during the trial.
Trump, who remains the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has maintained his innocence, arguing that prosecutors are targeting him for political purposes. He has called for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the judge is biased against him.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more