Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty to perjury charges related to testimony he provided to New York Attorney General Letitia James during her investigation into the finances of Donald Trump’s real estate company.
The plea is not expected to implicate Trump in wrongdoing or lead to testimony in an upcoming criminal trial focused on hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels and others in 2016.
Weisselberg’s plea highlights the risks of lying to prosecutors as District Attorney Alvin Bragg prepares to present evidence to a jury in the hush money case later this month.
Allen Weisselberg (Credits: www.msnbc.com)
Weisselberg had previously spent 100 days in jail after pleading guilty to 15 counts of tax fraud in a trial of two Trump Organization entities, which resulted in a conviction and fine.
Additionally, he was found liable on fraud claims in a civil court and fined $1 million as part of a broader judgment against Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization, which the company has appealed.
It remains unclear which of Weisselberg’s statements led to the perjury charge. Prosecutors had scrutinized his testimony in the civil case against Trump, particularly regarding the size of Trump’s penthouse in Trump Tower.
Weisselberg had claimed he “never focused” on the size of the penthouse, which prosecutors alleged was listed at nearly three times its actual size in financial statements, significantly inflating its market value.
Forbes magazine reported that Weisselberg had previously tried to convince them that the apartment was as big as stated in the financial statements, suggesting he had considered the matter before.
