A former FBI counsel and prosecutor on Robert Mueller's team, Andrew Weissmann, warned Tuesday that Donald Trump's CFO could face some difficulty despite being given a sweet deal by the Manhattan district attorney.
Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is set to plead guilty and get just five months in Rikers Island prison after admitting he failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in income. But Weissmann explained that Weisselberg must be careful when testifying because the stakes are extremely high.
"Not only does he have to worry about state judge finding he lied on the stand — which could lead to greatly enhanced sentence after the Trump Corp trial. Also, he has to worry about saying something contrary to his prior statements to the feds when he spoke with them (likely in the grand jury) in connection with their investigation. Precarious tight rope to walk."
Weisselberg will testify before the court at some point throughout the trial and has been told that if he doesn't tell the truth, he'll be given 15 years in prison.
IN OTHER NEWS: Legal expert sketches out ‘grim scenario’ where Republicans impose minority rule for the ‘foreseeable future’
Former prosecutor Glenn Kirschner has complained that Weisselberg is taking the fall for all of it instead of holding the heads of the company responsible.
Meanwhile, former Trump biographer Tim O'Brien noted that if Weisselberg does sell out Trump, that the Trump family is prepared to throw him under the bus and attack him as a liar.
O'Brien also recalled in Bloomberg News that shortly before 2005, Trump told him that he was worth $5 billion to $6 billion and even told Weisselberg to count up all of his assets to prove it. Weisselberg allegedly added it up wrong, inflating it by $1 billion.
