One of Donald J. Trump’s longtime lieutenants, Allen H. Weisselberg, was recently released from the notorious Rikers Island jail complex after pleading guilty to a tax fraud scheme. Yet Mr. Weisselberg’s legal troubles are far from over.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office is now considering a new round of criminal charges against Mr. Weisselberg, 75, and this time he could be charged with perjury, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The threat of new charges represents the latest effort in a two-year campaign to persuade Mr. Weisselberg to testify against Mr. Trump. And it comes at a crucial time, just weeks after the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, unveiled an indictment of the former president.
Mr. Weisselberg has so far refused to turn against his former boss, but the prosecutors recently ramped up the pressure, warning his lawyers that they might bring the perjury charges if their client declined to testify against Mr. Trump, two of the people said.
The potential perjury charges stem from statements Mr. Weisselberg made under oath during a 2020 interview with the office of the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who was conducting her own separate civil investigation into Mr. Trump and his family business. It is not clear which part of his testimony raised red flags for prosecutors and Ms. James, or how Mr. Bragg might prove that Mr. Weisselberg intentionally made a false statement.
As a trusted financial gatekeeper to Mr. Trump’s family for nearly a half-century, Mr. Weisselberg was privy to behind-the-scenes machinations that could make him a valuable witness on several fronts.
He could help Mr. Bragg in the case unveiled against Mr. Trump last month — which stems from a $130,000 hush-money payment to a porn star during the 2016 presidential campaign — as well as with a separate investigation into whether Mr. Trump fraudulently inflated his own annual financial statements. Ms. James’s office is participating in that ongoing investigation.
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If Mr. Weisselberg refuses to cooperate, he could face a range of new charges. In addition to pursuing the perjury case, the prosecutors have indicated to his lawyers that they are considering unrelated insurance fraud charges against him.
They also appear to be weighing whether to charge Mr. Weisselberg with inflating the numbers on Mr. Trump’s financial statements. The prosecutors recently sought to interview one of Mr. Weisselberg’s former Trump Organization colleagues, who might be able to shed light on his involvement in crafting the annual statements, the people said.
There is no sign that Mr. Weisselberg, who recently retired from the Trump Organization with a hefty payout, is close to breaking, or that charges are imminent. But the latest prosecutorial pressure campaign may raise questions about the fairness of threatening a man of advanced age who just got out of jail.
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Trump Ally Could Face Perjury Charge if He Doesn’t Cooperate With D.A.
After bringing charges against former President Donald J. Trump, the Manhattan district attorney’s office is once again investigating Allen H. Weisselberg, 75.
