Ex-Trump Organization exec thinks CFO Allen Weisselberg has already flipped on the president

Allen Weisselberg, the longtime CFO of the Trump Organization and a key lieutenant of Donald Trump’s, has already turned on the former president in a bid to protect his family, an ex-top executive has predicted.

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Former Trump Organization executive Barbara Res said on Wednesday night that, in her opinion, Weisselberg has flipped and was cooperating with New York prosecutors with two criminal investigations hanging over him.

‘I think Weisselberg is very concerned about his kids,’ she told MSNBC’s Ari Melber. ‘I think that what they’re doing is the kind of thing they did with [retired Lt. Gen. Michael] Flynn. Remember his kid? I don’t think Weisselberg will let his son go to jail. So that’s what he’s doing.’

Weisselberg’s son Barry also works for the Trump Organization, managing the Wollman and Lasker skating rinks in Central Park and a vintage carousel. In April, prosecutors served a subpoena to Barry’s ex-wife Jennifer Weisselberg, asking for banking and tax records linked to Barry.  

The two were embroiled in a bitter divorce and battle and prosecutors seem interested to know if the the couple’s finances might show a pattern of how Trump, or even Allen, handled accounting issues, the New York Daily News reported. 

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is reportedly under a criminal tax probe by the New York’s Attorney-General’s office. Weisselberg is seen center with Trump and Don Jr. in 2017 

Jack, Allen and Barry Weisselberg. Weisselberg’s grandchildren (Barry’s children) attend the $50,000 a term school and prosecutors are thought to be looking into the tuition fee payments to determine if the Trump Organization broke tax laws

Additionally, Allen Weisselberg also paid for his grandchildren’s tuition at the elite Columbia Grammar and Prep school, which runs about $49,000 per child annually. He also paid the bills for annual sleepaway camp – $25,000 – and Hebrew school tuition of $2,200.

Barry said there was never an expectation to pay his father back, describing it as financial assistance,’ the legal paperwork from the divorce notes.

Last week, it was revealed prosecutors in New York were trying to get Weisselberg to flip by investigating whether they had evaded tax by paying his grandkids’ private school fees’.

Vance Jr.’s office subpoenaed Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School over more than $500,000 in tuition fees, it was reported. Prosecutors are thought to be looking into the tuition fee payments, made between 2012 and 2019, to determine if tax laws were broken.

Former Trump Organization executive Barbara Res said it was her opinion that top Trump lieutenant Allen Weisselberg could flip on the former president

Meanwhile, Res made it clear she had no insider info but was speaking from her experience working with Allen Weisselberg. She worked for the Trump Organization for 18 years and served as vice president in charge of construction. 

‘This is my opinion. I don’t know the facts, but I do know Donald, and I have seen him operate, and I have seen the organization operate,’ she explained. ‘Weisselberg has evolved into a different person. I don’t know exactly where he’s at now, but I knew who he was. He bowed to Donald Trump.’ 

‘He adores Donald Trump, and Trump knows and has relied on him as trusted and he’s probably the only trusted party left other than family,’ Res said. ‘But Weisselberg will not — he will not go to jail, and he will not let his children be thrown under the bus, so to speak. Because there is no pardon coming down the road. The only thing that Trump has to offer right now is money, and I don’t know that money would pay off jail time.’

Her comments come as the New York State Attorney-General’s office has opened a criminal investigation Weisselberg as part of the tax criminal probe by the state attorney-general’s office, sources told CNN.

It comes less than 24 hours after the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office announced that it was joining the Manhattan district attorney’s office in a criminal investigation of the Organization.   

James’ office had been investigating whether Trump’s company falsely reported property values to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits. 

She joined an ongoing probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.

The former president railed against the probe, saying on Wednesday it was another example of a Democrat witch hunt against him. His comments came as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen said he expects Trump to flip on his own family.

Donald Trump, wife Melania, with the Barry and Jennifer Weisselberg, the son and daughter n law of Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg. Jennifer has been assisting the criminal probe into the Trump Org for months

New York prosecutors issued a subpoena against an elite private school attended by his CFO’s grandkids in a bid to get the longtime confidante to turn on the former president, according to a report. Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School above

The family issue may be key for Weisselberg. 

Jennifer Weisselberg, who was married to Barry from 2004 to 2018 and is mom of the two children at the school, has already turned witness. 

Prosecutors could use any allegations of wrongdoing against Allen Weisselberg to try and get him to turn on Trump, in exchange for leniency

Weisselberg has worked at the Trump family firm for decades. He is thought to be one of Trump’s closest confidantes and was entrusted to run the company with Don Jr. and Eric while he was president. He also oversees the Trump family’s personal finances

The DA’s office has reportedly spent months trying to ‘flip’ Weisselberg into turning on his boss amid the probe into Trump and the organization’s finance

Trump denies any wrongdoing but the escalated investigation increases chances he and possibly members of his family could face criminal charges.

The former president tore into the criminal probe on Wednesday and attacked New York Attorney Letitia James for her ‘witch hunt’ that he claims has been going on for years, claiming it was another example of a Democrat witch hunt against him and said the way he is being treated wouldn’t be tolerated in a third world country.

Who’s who in New York criminal probe into Trump 

New York state has opened a criminal investigation into former US president Donald Trump (pictured November 2020)

A Democratic prosecutor nearing the end of his term, a loyal lieutenant of the Trump family and a lawyer determined to sink his former boss: AFP details some of the players in New York’s criminal probe into Donald Trump.

Cyrus Vance

The 66-year-old Democrat has been Manhattan District Attorney since 2010. He was the first to launch a criminal investigation into the Republican ex-president.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance (pictured May 2020) has doggedly pursued Donald Trump, winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation

Vance, whose father was US Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter, has sometimes been accused of a reluctance to prosecute the rich and powerful.

He delayed filing charges against disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein before securing a landmark conviction last year.

Vance has doggedly pursued Trump, though, first by winning a years-long battle to obtain his tax records and secondly by deploying significant human and financial resources to the politically sensitive investigation.

He has announced that he will not run for a fourth term when his current one expires in December, and many observers expect him to go out with a bang by filing what would be the first indictment against a former US president.

Letitia James

The Democrat became the first Black woman to become New York state attorney general in 2018.

Since then, the 62-year-old has forged a reputation as a combative and independent prosecutor, filing countless civil actions against large companies, particularly tech giants, and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

In addition to Donald Trump, Letitia James (pictured August 2020) is also investigating New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic

When Trump was in the White House, James launched dozens of civil actions against his government.

She is also investigating New York’s powerful Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, over sexual harassment allegations and his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

James has been cited as a possible successor to Cuomo, particularly if her investigation forces him to resign.

Allen Weisselberg

The 73-year-old is the Trump Organization’s long-serving chief financial officer and one of the family’s most loyal servants.

He began as an accountant for Trump’s father’s company before joining the Trump Organization as financial controller in the 1980s when Donald established himself as a Manhattan real estate mogul.

Allen Weisselberg, pictured standing behind former president Donald Trump and his son Donald Jr. in January 2017, has served as the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization since the 1980s

Weisselberg has been around for all of Trump’s entrepreneurial adventures, including when his Atlantic City casinos went bust.

According to Barbara Res, a former executive vice president at the Trump Organization, Weisselberg ‘thought Trump was a god,’ she told the Daily News.

Investigators believe Weisselberg knows all of the Trump family secrets and have been putting pressure on him for months to cooperate with their investigation.

Observers are closely watching whether Weisselberg will turn against his former boss.

Michael Cohen

Trump’s ex-personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for tax evasion and violating campaign finance laws relating to Trump’s 2016 vote win.

Cohen was one of Trump’s closest henchmen for a decade, once proudly boasting that he was prepared to ‘take a bullet’ for the real estate mogul-turned-president.

Michael Cohen, pictured March 2021, openly rejoices in former boss Donald Trump’s legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast

He turned against his former boss, though, deciding to collaborate with federal investigators in Manhattan.

During a Congressional hearing in February 2019, Cohen alleged — among other things — that Trump regularly undervalued or overvalued his assets, both with banks and insurance companies.

Cohen openly rejoices in Trump’s legal troubles on Twitter and through his podcast ‘Mea Culpa.’

Source: AFP

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In a lengthy statement released after James’ office said they were working alongside the Manhattan district attorney in an ongoing criminal fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, the former president told prosecutors to instead focus on ‘real crimes’ and pointed out soaring rates of violence in New York City.

James’ office has been investigating whether Trump’s company falsely reported property values to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits. 

Trump denies any wrongdoing but the escalated investigation increases chances he and possibly members of his family could face criminal charges. 

Crime rates in New York have continued to climb this year, with more murders on the subway in the first three months of 2021 than at any point in 2019, with a 27 percent rise in murders throughout the city since 2020.

In the first week of May, there were nine murders compared to just two in the same week in 2020 – a rise of 350 percent. Felonies have also been increasing steadily with assaults up by 31 percent since 2019. 

The former president said the probe was another example of a Democrat witch hunt against him and said the way he is being treated wouldn’t be tolerated in a third world country.

‘There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime. But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here,’ he wrote.  

‘The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me.

‘She said that if elected, she would use her office to look into ‘every aspect’ of my real estate dealings. She swore that she would ‘definitely sue’ me. She boasted on video that she would be, and I quote, ‘a real pain in the ass.’  

Trump unleashed his fury at the prosecutor.  

‘She declared, ‘just wait until I’m in the Attorney General’s office,’ and, ‘I’ve got my eyes on Trump Tower.’ She also promised that, if elected, she would ‘join with law enforcement and other Attorney Generals across this nation in removing this President from office,’ and, ‘It’s important that everyone understand that the days of Donald Trump are coming to an end.’

‘The Attorney General made each of these statements, not after having had an opportunity to actually look at the facts, but BEFORE she was even elected, BEFORE she had seen even a shred of evidence. This is something that happens in failed third world countries, not the United States.’

He continued: ‘These Democrat offices are consumed with this political and partisan Witch Hunt at a time when crime is up big in New York City, shootings are up 97 percent, murders are up 45 percent, a rate not seen in 40 years, drugs and criminals are pouring into our Country in record numbers from our now unprotected Southern Border, and people are fleeing New York for other much safer locations to live.’ 

‘Don’t take me, take Melania!’: Trump will TURN on his own family claims disgraced Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen said on Wednesday he expects former President Donald Trump to flip on his own family, as the Trump Organization faces a criminal probe and its CFO Allen Weisselberg is being investigated for tax fraud. 

‘I think Donald Trump is going to flip on all of them,’ he told Joy Reid. ‘What do you think about that? Including his children.’

He explained: ‘I really believe that Donald Trump cares for only himself, and he realizes that his goose is cooked,’ so when he will be asked about the Trump Organization’s finances he will blame everyone else.

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In an interview with The ReidOut host Joy Reid on Wednesday former Trump Organization Vice President Michael Cohen, right, said that he believes former President Donald Trump would turn on his family in the criminal investigations into the organization, visibly surprising Reid

‘I think Donald Trump is going to flip on all of them,’ he told Joy Reid. ‘What do you think about that? Including his children’

The Trump Organization is run by Trump’s adult children, Eric (left), and Don Jr. (right)

‘It’s never Donald,’ Cohen, the former vice president of the Trump Organization, said. ‘See, this is the problem. It’s never, ever Donald Trump. It’s always somebody else.’

‘It wasn’t Donald Trump who had the affair,’ he continued. ‘It wasn’t Donald Trump who directed me to make the payments to Stormy Daniels. It wasn’t Donald Trump who got the benefit of the relationship and the actions. It was Michael Cohen. And I’m the bad guy into it. Why? Because I didn’t take the fall.’ 

So, he said, when ‘all of a sudden they turn around and start asking him about his tax returns or about the devaluation of the assets or the way that he took deductions,’ he will say, ‘I don’t do my taxes. It’s my accountant.’ 

‘He’s going to turn on his accountant and point the finger,’ Cohen said, visibly surprising The ReidOut host. ‘He’s going to say ‘Don Jr. handled that, Ivanka handled that. Melania. Don’t take me. Take Melania!’

‘He’s going to tell them to take everyone except for himself.’ 

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New York has seen a spike in gun violence as restrictions ease from the coronavirus pandemic. 

NYPD data shows that for the week of May 5 to May 9, there have been nine murders in New York City – compare to two in 2020, marking a 350% increase year-over-year. 

Meanwhile, the New York Attorney General’s office, led by James since she won the 2018 election, had been investigating the Trump Organization for civil tax offenses since early 2019. But the probe has now escalated.

‘We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the Organization is no longer purely civil in nature,’ said Fabien Levy, a spokesman for the office. 

‘We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.’

The district attorney’s office, led by Cyrus Vance, has been investigating possible criminal tax fraud since 2018. 

Trump is also being investigated in two other matters: by Justice Department officials for his role in the January 6th MAGA riot on Capitol Hill and in Georgia, where state prosecutors are looking into Trump’s efforts to manipulate the state’s 2020 election results.

Vance’s investigation initially focused on hush payments made to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump, but has expanded to allegations of tax evasion, and insurance and bank fraud.

Vance also  acquired eight years of Trump’s tax returns in February after a years-long legal battle that went to the Supreme Court.

The issue took on a renewed sense of urgency when Vance said last month that he will retire at the end of 2021 and there is speculation his office will issue any indictments before that.

Vance’s investigation into the Trump Organization also intensified last month, when prosecutors interviewed several employees of Trump’s lender, Deutsche Bank, and his insurance brokerage, Aon. 

New subpoenas were issued and some witnesses were interviewed before a grand jury. 

A person familiar with the investigation told CNN that several investigators with the James’s office, who are considered experts on the Trump Organization, have joined Vance’s team.  

The notice from James’s office was sent in late April to attorneys for the Trump Organization, The Washington Post said.

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is probing the former president’s business practices in his own investigation of Trump

It suggested that criminality could apply to actions by current and former company executives and employees if the investigation finds wrongdoing, a source told the paper.

It was not immediately clear why the two law enforcement agencies are now collaborating years into their previously separate investigations. 

Partnerships between the two New York law enforcement offices are rare. 

Trump has previously called the New York attorney general’s investigation politically motivated, and Eric Trump – who has spoken to James’s team – responded to The Washington Post’s request for comment with a video montage of James criticizing his father. 

Trump was in New York City on Monday and Tuesday, having left Florida for the summer. 

Much of the attention at the moment from Vance appears focused on the chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, and attempts to encourage him to ‘flip’ on his longtime boss. 

Sources told the Wall Street Journal last week that Vance’s office has issued a subpoena against Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School over $500,000 in fee payments made for Weisselberg’s grandchildren. 

Those payments were made between 2012 and 2019 using checks signed by both Trump and Weisselberg, it is claimed. 

They are said to have been made as a form of financial assistance to Weisselberg’s son Barry and his ex-wife Jessica so their two children could attend the school. 

Barry managed Trump’s ice rink in New York’s Central Park on a salary of $223,000, until the city officials axed their contract with the ex-president this year.

Pomerantz, a ‘mob-busting’ prosecutor, has been brought in by Vance to investigate Trump

He claims not to have been able to afford for his children to pay to attend Columbia Grammar & Prep, located on New York’s Upper West Side. 

His former spouse Jennifer has claimed they believed the school fees were part of Barry’s payment package. 

Vance’s investigation is said to center on whether the fee payments should have been flagged as gifts or loans, rather than as ‘financial assistance.’ 

If so, they should have incurred tax, meaning the Weisselbergs may have evaded their dues to the IRS with the payment arrangement.

The school has indicated it will comply with the prosecutor’s request. 

Weisselberg has not been accused of or charged with any crime, and Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. 

Another key figure in Vance’s investigation is Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has met with Vance and his team at least nine times.  

Cohen, 54, began working for the Trump Organization in 2006, and in 2018 was sentenced to three years for his role assisting tax evasion and campaign finance fraud. Cohen was released in April 2020. 

In a recent interview with Cohen, investigators asked questions about Trump’s Seven Springs estate as part of an inquiry into whether the value of the 213-acre Westchester County property was improperly inflated to reduce his taxes.

The Associated Press reported that investigators asked Cohen about individuals involved in the appraisal of the estate and benefits derived from its valuation, including a $21 million income tax deduction.

Cohen was released to home confinement last year amid coronavirus fears, and his recent meetings have been conducted via video conference.

In a recent interview with Cohen, investigators asked questions about Trump’s Seven Springs estate as part of an inquiry into whether the value of the 213-acre Westchester County property was improperly inflated to reduce his taxes.

Vance recently hired former mafia prosecutor Mark Pomerantz – who, as a federal prosecutor, oversaw the prosecution of Gambino crime boss John Gotti – as a special assistant district attorney to assist in the wide-ranging probe of Trump’s finances.

The inquiry, according to court filings, includes an examination of whether Trump or his businesses lied about the value of assets to gain favorable loan terms and tax benefits. 

The district attorney also is scrutinizing hush-money payments paid to women on Trump’s behalf.

After a lengthy legal battle, his office is now in possession of eight years of Trump’s tax records, including final and draft versions of tax returns, source documents containing raw financial data and other financial records held by his accounting firm.

The Supreme Court on February 22 ruled that Vance’s team should have access to the documents. 

Vance’s focus on Seven Springs involves an environmental conservation arrangement Trump made in return for a tax deduction at the end of 2015, following failed attempts to turn the property into a golf course and luxury homes.

Trump granted an easement to a conservation land trust to preserve 158 acres and received a $21 million income tax deduction, equal to the value of the conserved land, according to records. 

The amount was based on a professional appraisal that valued the full Seven Springs property at $56.5 million as of December 1, 2015.

That was a much higher amount than the evaluation by local government assessors, who said the entire estate was worth $20 million. 

Trump bought the property, including a palatial Georgian-style mansion that once belonged to the family of newspaper publisher Katharine Graham, for $7.5 million in 1995.

Vance announced in April that he would leave office at the end of the year and not seek reelection, but in a memo to staff, he stressed that the investigation would not stop.

‘The work continues,’ Vance wrote, echoing his short statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that he could have Trump’s tax records.