Where's Weisselberg?

In prison, yes, but in terms of Trump's hush money trial...

Sorry - the above post that indicates "show more" :

TGIF, eh Donald?

Thing is, the judge would give instructions to the jury anyway that Trump can have any number of reasons for paying hush money. Campaign fraud doesn't have to be the ONLY reason.  I think this worry about Melania is a red herring any way you slice it.  If the defense is hoping to claim THAT's the only reason he paid off Daniels, that ship has sailed with the witnesses and exhibits already in evidence.

That didn't hold up well.

I should hope so.  Did Necheles know she was going to say that?  I have been reading what a sharp attorney she is.  Doesn't seem so sharp from court transcripts.

There were a couple of witnesses called to enter phone logs into the record.  And a couple paralegals to talk about Trump's social media use and phone records.

There seems to be some haggle over calling Weisselberg to witness.*

Which is telling Michael Cohen to STFU.  Trump's attorney wanted the judge to place a gag order on Cohen, but Merchan chose to tell the prosecution to relay the message.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 05/11/2024:

Sometimes I think it's all PR.  I don't know about Necheles' reputation, but Rudy Giuliani and Bill Barr both were reported to be such sterling characters, and everybody is scratching their heads about what on earth happened to them.  I think their reputations were unwarranted.  They were always the people we are seeing them to be.

*UPDATE 05/12/2024:

An explanation.

A worried mind

Looks like he's worried Weisselberg is going to flip on him.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Unethical lawyers? What next?

[T]he lawyers who defended Donald Trump at his bank fraud trial have found themselves in a precarious position: open to accusations that they violated professional ethics for remaining silent while their witness lied in court.

  Daily Beast

Are we supposed to believe this is a first?

Attorneys put their bar licenses at risk if they sit idly by while they know that their witnesses present false testimony under oath.

[...]

“The lawyers could face bar discipline if they knew that this testimony was false and did nothing,” said Rebecca Roiphe, who teaches at New York Law School.

Has that actually ever happened?

New York’s rules of professional conduct command that “a lawyer shall not… knowingly use perjured testimony or false evidence.” But it also goes further, ordering that a lawyer who knows their client has “engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceeding shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal.”

[...]

As such, Weisselberg’s recent confession presents a unique and personal threat to Trump’s hired legal guns, who have already gained an unseemly reputation over their willingness to defend their client’s hate-fueled attacks on public officials, attack judges on his behalf, and play delay games by pitting court calendars against each other.

[...]

On Monday, Weisselberg admitted to lying twice in depositions with the New York Attorney General’s investigators and a third time in Engoron’s courtroom during the trial on Oct. 10—committing a crime when he tried to disavow his role in helping Trump triple the size of his three-floor apartment at Trump Tower on financial papers.

[...]

The question, then, is whether Trump’s lawyers knew Weisselberg was lying when he did it.

[...]

[Inculpatory] electronic communications were cited as evidence in Engoron’s 92-page order against Trump and Weisselberg—meaning they were part of discovery in the bank fraud case. Those documents would have been reviewed by Trump’s legal team during the case.

[...]

“They should have known,” said Daniel L. Feldman, who teaches ethics at the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“There are two alternatives: Either they did not engage in due diligence—itself a violation of lawyers’ ethics—or they knew. What are the alternatives? They didn’t read the documents? I mean, come on."

[...]

Legal scholars told The Daily Beast that Engoron, his law clerk, the DA, the AG, the still-unnamed judge who will oversee Weisselberg’s sentencing in April, or any member of the public could file a complaint against Trump’s lawyers to the professional disciplinarians.

But can they prove it?

“In a lawyer disciplinary case in New York, the standard of proof is lower than most jurisdictions. It’s just the preponderance of the evidence,” said Hal R. Lieberman, who once led the First Department’s disciplinary committee as its chief counsel and co-wrote a book about the topic.

That means the lawyers in charge of investigating this don’t have to prove any professional misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt. [...] If they’re 51 percent sure something is wrong, they’ve got a case.

[...]

“In the old days, there used to be this idea that the attorney's only obligation is to represent the client. Over the years, that has changed. As the attorney is an officer of the court, the attorney also has an obligation to the public,” Feldman said.

In that lens, Engoron’s warning last month that Trump’s lawyers provide answers “as officers of the court” takes on new meaning. So does their initial response to Engoron’s email, in which they refused to provide answers.

[...]

Even if Trump’s lawyers could successfully defend themselves from professional repercussions, just having to put up a defense could be a big problem for Trump and his attorneys.

The former president’s legal calendar is already full of court dates and deadlines, and Trump’s lawyers—many of whom are working on multiple cases for him—wouldn’t have much time to deal with these complaints without it affecting their own schedules and ability to defend themselves.

Hey! More reason to delay Trump's trials.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Willing to go to jail (again) for Trump?

It seemed as though Weisselberg was willing to go to jail for Trump in return for continuing financial benefit.  But maybe that stint in Rikers was enough for him.  And maybe that was boosted by the fact Trump's finances are about to be cut down to size, not to mention that Rudy is having to sue him for payment of legal fees, so the prospect of actually seeing any financial reward for loyalty doesn't look so hot any more.

[Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s former chief financial officer,] is said to be negotiating with Manhattan prosecutors over a potential guilty plea for lying on the witness stand in Donald Trump’s fraud trial.

[...]

In exchange for pleading guilty to perjury – a crime punishable with prison time – Weisselberg may not be called to the witness stand during the hush-money trial [...] scheduled to start in March.

[...]

The potential deal would intermingle Trump’s separate New York trials: a fraud trial over inflated financial statements, and a second case over a hush-money payment. Although Bragg’s office did not oversee the fraud trial, which is being prosecuted by the office of the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, Bragg’s office has been investigating a criminal case against Trump over an alleged hush-money payment made during his 2016 campaign.

[...]

If Weisselberg pleads guilty to perjury, it would be the second guilty plea deal the former Trump Organization executive has made with prosecutors. Weisselberg spent 100 days at Rikers jail in New York City after pleading guilty to tax fraud for dishing out off-the-table benefits to himself and other Trump executives.

Along with the former president, Weisselberg is a defendant in Trump’s civil fraud trial. Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and former Trump Organization executive Jeff McConney are also defendants.

  Guardian

UPDATE 12:29 pm:

Meanwhile in the NY Trump fraud trial

Grilled by an attorney for New York Attorney General Letitia James, the company's assistant vice president Patrick Birney agreed that former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg told him that Trump wanted to puff up his net worth on his statements of financial condition.

[...]

The exchange marks a fulfillment of a vow that the attorney general's office made at the start of trial weeks ago, in arguing that Trump, his family members and business associates fraudulently inflated his assets in financial statements to banks and insurers.

[...]

The state argues that Trump wanted his net worth to be assigned as high as possible on those forms to spike his rank on Forbes' billionaires list and to attain benefits with banks and insurers. The testimony elicited by the attorney general intends to show that Trump wanted his net worth to go up on the financial statements, regardless of whether or not his wealth moved in that direction.

Previous testimony by Deutsche Bank's former risk manager showed that the German lender required Trump to maintain a “minimum net worth of $2.5 billion," in order to a receive an up to $125 million loan, during a time that the AG claims the former president was worth less.

[...]

[E]vidence showed that the Trump Organization ultimately added a 15 percent brand premium on his golf courses, a practice that the judge already determined to have been fraudulent.

  The Messenger

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 06:15 pm:

Why Allen Weisselberg remains loyal to Trump

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10:01 pm:

Weisselberg insisted on Tuesday from the witness stand that he “never focused” on calculating the square footage of the former president’s Trump Tower triplex, a three-floor penthouse in his namesake skyscraper.

Two days later, on Thursday, Forbes reported that emails not currently in the attorney general’s possession show otherwise.

[...]

"Given the fact that these discussions continued for years, and that Weisselberg took a very detailed approach in reviewing Trump’s assets with Forbes, it defies all logic to think he truly believes what he is now saying in court," [Forbes senior editor Dan Alexander wrote].

  The Messenger

Weisselberg under more pressure

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.

[...]

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.

[...]

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.

[...]

The threat of new charges represents the latest effort in a two-year campaign to persuade Mr. Weisselberg to testify against Mr. Trump.

[...]

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.

[...]

In the coming months, prosecutors and defense lawyers will exchange documents and evidence and file motions. The next hearing in the case is set for Dec. 4. Prosecutors said they would like a trial to begin in early January 2024, but Mr. Trump’s lawyers have said that is too soon and that they are looking toward a date later in the spring — in the thick of the Republican primary. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, has not yet set a date.

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.

[...]

The district attorney’s first pressure campaign against Mr. Weisselberg peaked in the summer of 2021, when Mr. Vance, unable to secure Mr. Weisselberg’s assistance, brought criminal charges against him and the Trump Organization in the tax fraud case. Despite refusing to implicate Mr. Trump personally, Mr. Weisselberg ultimately pleaded guilty and testified against the Trump Organization at its trial last year.

The company, which continues to pay for his lawyers, was convicted. And Mr. Weisselberg, as part of a plea deal, served 100 days in the Rikers Island jail.

[...]

While the hush [money] case [against Trump] is moving ahead with [former Trump attorney Michael] Cohen as the prosecution’s star witness, Mr. Bragg has been reluctant to charge Mr. Trump for his financial statements without Mr. Weisselberg on board.

[...]

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.

  NYT

So, old and did a few months already means you don't have to pay for other crimes you committed?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

A twist in the Weisselberg story

It  all just gets more and more convoluted.  Somebody wants us to believe it wasn't Weisselberg who fired the Trump Organization attorneys.

The Trump Organization has suddenly switched the attorney representing its jailed former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, after some folks in Trumpworld expressed concerns he was too willing to play ball with the Manhattan District Attorney.

[...]

[A]ccording to two people familiar with the situation who spoke with The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, [New York City lawyer Nicholas] Gravante wasn’t “Trumpy” enough to keep onboard.

Gravante, one of the city’s top criminal defense lawyers, aggressively advocated for Weisselberg last year and played a key role in securing a plea deal that helped the Trump Organization executive avoid a long sentence in state prison—by testifying at the tax fraud trial of the Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation.

[...]

According to a source familiar with the dispute, Trump associates were bitter about Gravante’s decision to have Weisselberg meet with Manhattan prosecutors to prepare his testimony for that trial, a move they saw as being too friendly with law enforcement. This source added that Trump Organization lawyers were bothered by that arrangement and convinced Eric Trump—the Trump son who is now the executive vice president of the Trump Organization—to cut Weisselberg’s lawyer loose.

[...]

Susan Necheles, a defense attorney who represented the Trump Organization at that trial, countered that version of events as “completely wrong.”

“Nick made sure that Weisselberg cooperated with both the defense and the prosecution and Weisselberg’s testimony at trial was extremely helpful to the defense and hurt the prosecution,” Necheles said. “Mr. Weisselberg’s decision to change lawyers was entirely his own, a decision which I understand Mr. Weisselberg made in consultation with his family after the conclusion of the trial.”

Five people who spoke to The Daily Beast did confirm that Weisselberg is now being represented by defense lawyer Seth L. Rosenberg, who previously spent time running the rackets bureau at the very same DA’s office that is now investigating the case.

[...]

Weisselberg got immunity from the feds for discussing his role, so local prosecutors can’t threaten him with criminal charges for the Stormy Daniels affair.

But Bragg’s prosecutors are trying to get him to talk anyway.

According to two people familiar with the situation and one law enforcement source, prosecutors in recent weeks have discussed applying additional pressure to Weisselberg, who is currently behind bars in the dreaded New York City jail at Rikers Island until at least April.

Investigators are looking into the possibility of pursuing a second criminal case against Weisselberg, this time accusing him of insurance fraud.

[...]

“Weisselberg’s representations to Zurich’s underwriter… were false,” the lawsuit states. “The Trump Organization did not retain any professional appraisal firm to prepare any of the valuations used for the statements; instead, the valuations were prepared by Trump Organization personnel, contrary to what Zurich’s underwriter was expressly told and believed.”

[...]

Manhattan DA investigators are now dangling that over Weisselberg’s head, adding additional stress to his final weeks at Rikers, according to two sources.

  Yahoo

They got to Weisselberg

He's obviously not wanting more time at Rikers.

Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.

  Raw Story

That's what Cassidy Hutchinson did before flipping to the January 6 Committee to tell the truth. (She originally had a Trump-funded lawyer.)

Last month, the New York Times reported that the Manhattan prosecutor's office was pondering whether to file new charges against Weisselberg for fraud.

[...]

Weisselberg is serving a five-month sentence in a Rikers Island jail, known for being one of the most violent in America.

[...]

"It's a big deal. That could potentially explain the delay."

[...]

Grand juries are secret, so it's also possible that they have voted to indict and it simply hasn't made its way to Trump yet. It's assumed the information will be leaked by Trump when it happens, because the district attorney can't legally reveal any information from the grand jury.

Well, well, well.

Cue a Trump tirade.  Weisselberg was no more than a coffee boy.

UPDATE 11:20 am:  A twist in the story.

Oh, FFS

The Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money paid on Donald Trump’s behalf is scheduled to consider other matters next week before taking a previously scheduled two-week hiatus, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. That means a vote on whether or not to indict the former president likely wouldn't come until late April at the earliest.

The break, which was scheduled in advance when the panel was convened in January, coincides with Passover, Easter and spring break for the New York City public school system.

  MSN

So all that whining about Bragg's case not being big enough to be the first to go ahead against Trump was wasted if Fani Willis - or even Jack Smith - steps in while the Manhattan Grand Jury is taking a break.

I think he may be reading a little too much into the break.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 03/30/2023:

Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.

  Raw Story

That's what Cassidy Hutchinson did before flipping to the January 6 Committee to tell the truth. (She originally had a Trump-funded lawyer.)

Can't wait to see the next Trump tirade.

UPDATE 03/30/2023:  Last minute indictment before the break.  

Ex-Bragg attorney to publish "People v. Donald Trump"

Trump is never going to pay for his crimes.  Never.

Donald J. Trump grew his business, fortune and fame “through a pattern of criminal activity,” according to a new book by a veteran prosecutor, who reveals that the Manhattan district attorney’s office once considered charging the former president with racketeering, a law often used against the Mafia.

The prosecutor, Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned in protest early last year after the newly elected district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, decided not to seek an indictment of Mr. Trump at that time.

[...]

Pomerantz had mapped out a wide-ranging possible case against the former president under the state racketeering law, according to the soon-to-be published book, “People vs. Donald Trump.”

[...]

“He demanded absolute loyalty and would go after anyone who crossed him. He seemed always to stay one step ahead of the law,” Mr. Pomerantz, a prominent litigator who has prosecuted and defended organized crime cases, writes of Mr. Trump. “In my career as a lawyer, I had encountered only one other person who touched all of these bases: John Gotti, the head of the Gambino organized crime family.”

A lawyer for Mr. Trump recently sent Mr. Pomerantz a letter threatening that, “If you publish such a book and continue making defamatory statements against my clients, my office will aggressively pursue all legal remedies.”

[...]

The book, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, is a chronicle of the complicated and circuitous investigation, which produced charges against Mr. Trump’s longtime chief financial officer and his family business, but has yet to yield formal accusations against the former president himself.

  NYT

This strikes me as a very bad idea if Pomerantz really wanted Trump to be held to account.  I would expect it to be grounds for Trump's lawyers to claim he can't get a fair trial if Bragg brings charges for anything, not just the Trump Organization crimes.

Pomerantz’s book arrives as the investigation is ramping up once again, with prosecutors impaneling a new grand jury to hear evidence about Mr. Trump’s role in paying hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 presidential campaign.

[...]

Mr. Bragg’s administration, which has raised ethical and legal concerns about Mr. Pomerantz’s revealing details of the inquiry, is also applying additional pressure on the former chief financial officer, Allen H. Weisselberg, seeking to secure his cooperation against the former president.

Well, he can kiss that idea goodbye.

Mr. Pomerantz’s book offers new details about the evidence he and other prosecutors had assembled, including information provided by a bank employee who had approved financing for Mr. Trump’s company.

[...]

Mr. Pomerantz blames Mr. Bragg for being too slow to get up to speed on the case after he was elected in November 2021.

So, he's just made it exponentially harder for Bragg to do anything at all. Perhaps Bragg started things up again knowing the book was coming, out and he could avoid actually charging Trump by saying Pomerantz ruined it for him.

The book’s description of conversations between Mr. Pomerantz and Mr. Bragg’s team could arguably complicate the investigation. In particular, Mr. Pomerantz detailed Mr. Bragg’s opposition to using Michael D. Cohen, a longtime fixer for Mr. Trump who turned on the former president, as a witness, an awkward disclosure now that Mr. Cohen may become one of Mr. Bragg’s star witnesses.

[...]

At a meeting, Mr. Pomerantz writes, one of Mr. Bragg’s senior prosecutors played a recording of a recent media appearance Mr. Cohen made in which he crowed about his importance as a witness in the case. The disclosures could provide ammunition to Mr. Trump’s lawyers as they attack Mr. Cohen’s credibility.

[...]

Mr. Bragg’s office recently sent a letter to Mr. Pomerantz and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, saying that the author had been obligated to obtain permission from the office before publicizing certain information about the investigation, and that he had not done so.

[...]

“This office believes there is a meaningful risk that the publication will materially prejudice ongoing criminal investigations,” the letter said, adding that were Mr. Pomerantz to reveal grand jury material, he could be charged with a felony because such information is by law secret, and that profiting from his work as a public servant in New York City might also be illegal.

In response, Simon & Schuster said that it stood behind the book, and Mr. Pomerantz writes in the book that he did not “prejudice any investigation or prosecution of Donald Trump” or reveal grand jury information.

And I'm sick of hearing Merrick Garland and Democratic politicians saying no one is above the law. We have eyes, fuckers.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 02/04/2023:

What can they threaten him with that they haven't already?  More jail time?  I don't think he's going to flip, no matter what.*  His family stands to lose whatever Trump is still providing them with.  His reputation is already ruined.  He won't flip.  And Pomerantz' book has made any threats seem less likely since it makes the case against Trump, et al., harder.

*UPDATE  02/07/2023:  I've just recently learned that Weisselberg is doing time in Rikers.  If he feels threatened with more jail time, I'm sure he AND his family will have reason to desire a deal.  Rikers is a notorious hell hole, generally considered one of, if not THE, worst prisons in the country.

Harry Litman and Andrew Weissmann, two former prosecutors, discuss the Pomerantz/Bragg situation here on YouTube:

Didn't squeeze enough blood from Weisselberg?

New charges?  

People are just going to start feeling sorry for Weisselberg.  And how much more can they threaten him with to get him to turn on  Trump.  I don't think it's going to happen. But I don't know what they've still got for threats.

Not nearly enough

The Trump Organization was ordered to pay $1.6 million in fines on Friday, following its conviction last month for criminal tax fraud, according to The New York Times.

It was the maximum penalty former President Trump’s sprawling business organization could face for what prosecutors have described as a long-running scheme to evade taxes by providing perks to company executives.

Trump himself was not charged in the tax fraud case, although the Manhattan district attorney’s office argued throughout the trial that the former president and his family were “explicitly sanctioning tax fraud.”

[...]

Judge Juan Merchan sided with the prosecutors, who argued for the full fine despite acknowledging that it “may have limited impact on a multibillion corporation,” according to the Times.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Friday’s sentencing represents a “significant chapter” in his ongoing investigation into Trump and his businesses.

  The Hill

Bragg is the right name for that ass. He cut off Manhattan investigations when he took over.  And only now that the national public approval tide has begun to turn from Trump, he thinks he'll step in and take some credit for holding that crime family to account.

Trump and three of his adult children are currently facing a separate civil lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who accused the family of manipulating property values to secure investments, as well as tax and loan benefits. The case is set to head to trial in October.

Good luck and more power to her.

They said he wouldn't do it

But he did.

Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg testified in court Thursday, describing how Donald Trump and two of his children allegedly participated in a scheme to defraud tax authorities.

  CBSNews

Well, well, well.

Weisselberg said Donald Trump, or at times Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr., signed checks to pay up to $100,000 for private school tuition for Weisselberg's grandchildren. Weisselberg said he then instructed the company's controller to deduct the $100,000 from his salary, allowing him to report a smaller income. Copies of some of the checks signed by the Trumps have been shown in court.

[...]

He said for himself and several other executives, the salary reductions were then mitigated by hefty bonus checks paid to the executives as if they were independent contractors for Trump Organization entities.

[...]

Weisselberg said the funds delivered as independent contractor payments were used to set up Keogh retirement plans, tax-deferred pension accounts designed for people who are self-employed.

[...]

Two Trump Organization entities and Weisselberg are accused of more than a dozen counts of fraud and tax evasion. Weisselberg entered a guilty plea in August, admitting to charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office accusing him of receiving more than $1.7 million in untaxed compensation.

[...]

"Donald Trump always wanted to sign the bonus checks" before he became president in 2017, Weisselberg said.

That practice ceased during the next two years after an internal review led to changes at the company, he said.

"We were going through a company-wide cleanup process, making sure that since Mr. Trump was now president, everything was being done properly," Weisselberg said.

[...]

Defense attorneys for the Trump Organization have said the company did nothing wrong, and laid the scheme squarely at Weisselberg's feet, saying he hid the salary reductions and independent contractor payments from the Trumps.

Trump Organization attorney Alan Futerfas asked Weisselberg Thursday, "What human being did you scheme with?"

Weisselberg replied, "Jeff McConney," referring to the company's controller, who previously testified during the trial. McConney was granted immunity in exchange for grand jury testimony in the case, and blamed Weisselberg for the scheme.

Well, Weisselberg still protected Trump as much as he could.

"Did you conspire with any member of the Trump family?" Futerfas asked.

"No," Weisselberg replied.

"Did you scheme with Jeff McConney?" Futerfas asked.

"Yes," Weisselberg replied.

"Did you scheme with any member of the Trump family?" Futerfas asked.

"No," Weisselberg replied.

[...]

Futerfas asked, "Are you embarrassed about what you did?"

Choking up, Weisselberg replied, "More than you can imagine."

[...]

Earlier Thursday, Weisselberg said under questioning by a prosecutor that other executives at the company were active participants in, and beneficiaries of, similar salary and bonus arrangements.

It's not clear to me from this article whether Weisselberg is trying to claim Trump didn't know about the arrangements, and just signed checks. If so, I think we can safely assume that's a lie. I won't believe Donald Trump signed any check without knowing who it was going to and why, and neither should you.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Speaking of lawsuits

On Monday in New York State Court in Lower Manhattan, jury selection began in the trial of the Trump Organization, which is accused of evading taxes by compensating employees through off-the-books benefits like luxury cars, apartments and private school tuition.

The nine counts for which the company will be tried include conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The alleged scheme stretches back to 2005, the year Trump married his third wife, Melania, through his 2016 campaign, his presidency and the first half-year after his presidency ended.

[...]

The trial's start comes as Trump faces a mounting array of litigation and investigations. There is a U.S. Department of Justice probe into his handling of classified documents, a Georgia investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and a civil fraud case pending against Trump and his company for allegedly lying to financial institutions about the value of his assets.

  NPR

And E Jean Carroll's defamation case.

A co-defendant in the case, former longtime Trump executive and chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty in August and is expected to testify as star witness in the trial. Weisselberg's guilty plea included an agreement to testify truthfully under oath, but he is not a cooperating witness in the way prosecutors had once hoped — sharing evidence with investigators that might implicate Trump himself.

Weisselberg's attorney, Nicholas Gravante, says that his client is being prepped both by the prosecution and the defense in what Gravante calls "a unique plea agreement," while Weisselberg is on paid leave of absence from the Trump Organization.

[...]

While Trump is not on trial in The People of the State of New York v. the Trump Corporation, the actions of the former president will likely come into focus for the jury.

Prosecutors say they can prove that Trump personally signed checks to pay for private school for Weisselberg's family members.

Moreover, while Weisselberg has admitted he benefited from the arrangement, Trump's bottom line allegedly did as well. Charging documents describe a spreadsheet, which recorded off-the-books compensation to Weisselberg. According to the indictment, "The Trump Organization reduced the amount of direct compensation that Weisselberg received in the form of checks or direct deposits to account for the indirect compensation that he received in the form of payments of rent, utility bills, and garage expenses." Those payments were not reported to tax authorities, and taxes were not withheld, they say.

[...]

The business, which was founded nearly 100 years ago by Trump's grandmother, Elizabeth Trump, has sustained five generations of Trumps.

And, like everything he has gotten control of, Trump has killed it if the lawsuit is successful. Tiffany should sue him for what might have been her inheritance.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Trump Organization CFO pleads guilty to tax evasion

Allen Weisselberg, who first met Donald Trump in the 1970s when he began working for Trump's father, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges in New York that accused him of running a yearslong scheme to avoid taxes while he was the Trump Organization's chief financial officer.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 counts -- including conspiracy, criminal tax fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records -- and conceded he skirted taxes on nearly $2 million in income, including fringe benefits like rent, luxury cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

  ABC

He didn't do it without Trump's knowledge and consent.

"Rather than risk the possibility of 15 years in prison, he has agreed to serve 100 days. We are glad to have this behind him."

[...]

As part of his plea deal, Weisselberg, 75, agreed to serve five months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He also agreed to testify against the Trump Organization when the company goes on trial in connection with the alleged compensation scheme beginning in October.

If he does not testify truthfully, the deal is off, exposing Weisselberg to additional prison time of between five and 15 years.

[...]

If he does not testify truthfully, the deal is off, exposing Weisselberg to additional prison time of between five and 15 years.

[...]

The plea agreement contains no requirement for Trump's longtime CFO to cooperate in the criminal case against Trump himself, which centers on whether the former president knowingly misled tax authorities, lenders and insurance brokers by providing inaccurate financial statements about the value of his real estate portfolio.

Weisselberg must also pay back taxes and penalties totaling $1.94 million.

[...]

Trump asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition last week as part of a parallel civil investigation by the New York Attorney General's office.

[...]

The criminal investigation, which began under former Manhattan DA Cy Vance, appeared to stall earlier this year when the two senior prosecutors leading it resigned amid frustration that Bragg was not immediately seeking an indictment against Trump, sources told ABC News.

Bragg's office has said the investigation remains ongoing.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Weisselberg reaches a plea deal

[Trump Organization CFO] Allen Weisselberg is expected to criminally implicate Trump’s family real estate business when he pleads guilty to criminal tax fraud charges.

[...]

As part of Weisselberg’s plea deal — for which he’s expected to serve five months on Rikers Island — Weisselberg will agree to testify against the companies when they [go] to trial in October if he is called as a witness, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

  NY Daily News

Five months at Riker's won't be a picnic.  But it beats 15 years, which is what he could have faced with a deal.

Former President Donald Trump has not been named as a defendant in the Manhattan district attorney’s case, which stems from a broader probe into his business practices, and Weisselberg’s plea agreement contains no provision relating to cooperating against Trump.

I have to think Trump will be implicated in any lawsuit against the Trump Organization. And his criminal kids, too.

Weisselberg is expected to rescind his not guilty plea to charges alleging he dodged taxes on $1.7 million in fringe benefits while top of the Trump family business’s finances.

The plea deal will allow Mr. Weisselberg, who was facing up to 15 years in prison, to spend as little as 100 days behind bars, according to people with knowledge of the matter. And it does not require Mr. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer, to cooperate with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in its broader investigation into Mr. Trump, who has not been accused of wrongdoing.

  NYT

Yet.

Mr. Weisselberg is not expected to implicate Mr. Trump or his family when he takes the stand in the October trial, the people said, and on cross-examination, the company’s lawyers could accuse him of pleading guilty only to spare himself a harsher sentence.

[...]

[H]is testimony — an acknowledgment from one of the Trump Organization’s top executives that he committed the crimes listed in the indictment — will undercut any effort by the company’s lawyers to contend that no crime was committed.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The DOJ investigating Trump

Finally, leaks are coming out.

Prosecutors who are questioning witnesses before a grand jury — including two top aides to Vice President Mike Pence — have asked in recent days about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won.

[...]

Pence’s former chief of staff, Marc Short, and lawyer, Greg Jacob, appeared before the grand jury in downtown Washington in recent days, according to the people familiar with the investigation.

[...]

The Washington Post and other news organizations have previously written that the Justice Department is examining the conduct of Eastman, Giuliani and others in Trump’s orbit. But the degree of prosecutors’ interest in Trump’s actions has not been previously reported, nor has the review of senior Trump aides’ phone records.

[...]

Some of the questions focused directly on the extent of Trump’s involvement in the fake-elector effort led by his outside lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani.

[...]

In trying to understand how and why Trump partisans and lawyers sought to change the outcome of the election, one person familiar with the probe said, investigators also want to understand, at a minimum, what Trump told his lawyers and senior officials to do. Any investigation surrounding the effort to undo the results of the election must navigate complex issues of First Amendment-protected political activity and when or whether a person’s speech could become part of an alleged conspiracy in support of a coup.

[...]

There are two principal tracks of the investigation that could ultimately lead to additional scrutiny of Trump.

[...]

The first centers on seditious conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct a government proceeding, the type of charges already filed against individuals who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 and on two leaders of far-right groups, Stewart Rhodes and Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, who did not breach the Capitol but were allegedly involved in planning the day’s events.

The second involves potential fraud associated with the false-electors scheme or with pressure Trump and his allies allegedly put on the Justice Department and others to falsely claim that the election was rigged and votes were fraudulently cast.

[...]

[Attorney General Merrick] Garland told NBC News in a Tuesday interview that the department pursues justice “without fear or favor. We intend to hold everyone, anyone, who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6th, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable — that’s what we do. We don’t pay any attention to other issues with respect to that.”

  WaPo

Also, on the recent Brian Lehrer podcast, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg revealed that, contrary to speculation, his office has not dropped the previous DA's investigation into Trump's financial crimes, and that the trial of Trump Organization's CFO, Allen Weisselberg, on a 15-count indictment, will be held this fall.  Don't expect him to flip on Trump if he didn't do it before being charged.  But, according to Bragg, they are still investigating Trump himself.

New Manhattan DA

Democrat Alvin Bragg was sworn in as the first Black Manhattan district attorney on Saturday and will now oversee a case previously presided over by former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. (D) regarding former President Trump's business practices.

[...]

Earlier this year, New York prosecutors charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with fraud and conspiracy, though both parties maintain they did not commit any wrongdoing. Weisselberg has already pleaded not guilty to those counts.

[...]

In an interview with CNN in December, Bragg signaled that he would be engaged in and personally focused on the Trump case, telling reporter Kara Scannell that “this is obviously a consequential case, one that merits the attention of the DA personally.”

Bragg also said at the time that he would be keeping on attorneys Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz to continue their work in the investigation into the former president’s business practices.

  The Hill

Cue the racist MAGAhats.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.