Trump Organization exec Allen Weisselberg is a 'ghost man' accused of extorting his own lawyer: report

A new name entered the news cycle in the wake of the release of a tape made by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, in which the future president discusses hush-money pay-outs to his former lovers.

Allen Weisselberg is a longtime Trump Organization executive who has kept a low profile until now.

On the tape, Cohen discusses needing advice from Weisselberg on how to make the hush-money pay-out, which has reportedly now landed him on the list of people to be called to answer questions before a grand jury.

The Wall Street Journal has now profiled Weisselberg, a man "so hidden from public view that one former colleague described him as a 'ghost man.'”

"The bespectacled Mr. Weisselberg has been little known outside of Mr. Trump’s core inner circle at the Trump Organization, the Journal reports. "But within that circle, he has long been a central figure in Mr. Trump’s business and foundation work. That role expanded after the election, when Mr. Trump handed him, alongside Mr. Trump’s adult sons, control of his financial interests."

Weisselberg reportedly plays hardball. One time, he allegedly tried to shake down his own lawyer after the office accidentally sent the wrong billing statement to the Trump Organization.

"He threatened to inform the other client of the error unless the law firm agreed to a 50% discount on legal bills, according to a letter filed in a New York state court written by attorney David Piedra at the law firm, Morrison Cohen, who said the move “smacks of extortion.”