Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Weisselberg, the Journal reported, is considered a witness in the federal criminal investigation into longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen and his business dealings.
So, who is Weisselberg, and what could his possible testimony mean for Cohen and even Mr. Trump?
Weisselberg’s name emerged earlier this week when CNN obtained and published audio of a 2016 conversation between Donald Trump and Michael Cohen in which the two discuss a possible payment regarding a former Playboy model. At one point in the conversation, Cohen can be heard saying, “I’ve spoken with Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up.”
Weisselberg has worked for the Trump family for decades. Now, his position as the organization’s CFO means he has access to the most detailed financial data and inner workings of Mr. Trump’s business dealings. Despite his close role to the Trumps, Weisselberg has kept a relatively low profile through the years.
In Mr. Trump’s 2004 book “Think like a billionaire,” Mr. Trump writes, “Allen has been with me for thirty years and knows how to get things done.”
A New York native, Weisselberg helped Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, manage real estate after graduating from college. He eventually went on to work for Donald Trump.
Weisselberg has also worked as a treasurer for the Donald J. Trump Organization, which the New York attorney general sued last year, alleging violations of campaign finance law, self-dealing and illegal coordination. Weisselberg is mentioned in emails the New York AG obtained and published.
Weisselberg once served on the board of the Miss Universe Organization, which Mr. Trump used to own. Mr. Trump sold it in 2015 after owning it for nearly two decades.
Despite his relatively low profile, Weisselberg did appear on one episode in the second season of Mr. Trump’s “Apprentice.”
The conversations and financial transactions Weisselberg has been privy to through the years make him a likely source of useful information to federal investigators.
Cohen, as CBS News has reported, has been under intense pressure to cooperate with federal investigators.
Mr. Trump has become visibly frustrated with Cohen in recent days, calling it “inconceivable” that a lawyer would tape a client.
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