The Trump Organization Desperately Tries to Distance Itself From Its Criminally Indicted CFO – Vanity Fair

Donald Trump has a long history of suddenly pretending not to know people once its clear they could get him in serious trouble, despite indisputable evidence that he knows them quite well. Campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who Trump openly praised to The Washington Post? After Papadopoulos was convicted of lying to the FBI about interactions with Russians, Trump told Fox News, I never even talked to the guy. I didnt know who he was.Matthew Whitaker, the guy the then president apparently wanted to do his bidding at the Justice Department (before Bill Barr came along)? Once it became clear that Trump seemingly wanted to use Whitaker to shut down Robert Mueller, Trump claimed, I dont know Matt Whitaker, even though theyd reportedly met more than a dozen times. Campaign manager Paul Manafort? After he was convicted and sentenced to prison, Trump said he didnt know Manafort well. Prince Andrew? I dont know him.Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman? Never even heard of [him]. Lev Parnas? I dont even know who this man is. Anyway, you get the idea.

So really, its not at all surprising that Trump appears to be putting some distance between himself and Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization CFO charged alongside the company this month, given the possibility of Weisselberg suddenly flipping and informing on Trump, or simply making the company look bad with a guilty conviction. Shortly after being terminated as director of Trumps Scottish golf club, Weisselberg has been removed from leadership roles at dozens of Trump Organization subsidiaries. Per The Washington Post:

The changes were made Thursday and Friday, a week after a grand jury in Manhattanindicted Weisselberg on 15felony counts, including grand larceny and tax fraud. Weisselberg was accused by New York prosecutors of helping run a 15-year scheme to evade income taxes by concealing executives salariesincluding more than $1.7million of his own incomefrom tax authorities. [The] subsidiaries included a holding company that owns many Trump businesses, a corporate entity that handles payroll for many Trump employees, and evena Trump project in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that went bust more than a decade ago.

Previously, Weisselberg had shared the leadership of these companies with one of former president Donald Trumps adult sons or, in the case of the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., with Trump himself. Now, records show, the Trump family members are left in charge. The removal of Weisselbergs name from these corporate filings could avoid questions from regulators, lenders, or vendors by leaving out the name of an indicted executive.

As former federal prosecutor Daniel Zelenko told The Wall Street Journal, its not generally realistic for a company to keep a CFO in place after a criminal indictment. How are insurers and lenders going to rely on what the CFO tells them? said Zelenko. It creates a lot of challenges for a company continuing to do business.

For now Weisselberg, who has been accused of evading $900,000 in taxes on more than $1.7 million of income, largely through fringe benefits that were never reported to the IRS, like cars, an apartment, and private school tuition, remains employed by the parent company, and a person familiar with the matter told The Washington Post, hes going to remain there. Weisselberg, who, like the Trump Organization, pleaded not guilty to all the charges, has also indicated that he will not cooperate with prosecutors against the ex-president.

On the other hand, hes facing more than a decade in prison if convicted. And as former federal prosecutorCynthia AlksnetoldMSNBC last week, The jury will hate [Weisselberg]. Hes not going to have a jury of people who go to MAGA rallies, hes going to have a cross section of people who live in Manhattan, who do pay Manhattan taxes, who dont get free Mercedes, who dont have somebody else paying for their childrens education and not have tax ramifications for that. So I think he will be a very hated defendant, Mr. Weisselberg, and Im sure his defense attorneys have told him so. Meanwhile, as former U.S. attorneyPreet Bhararaopined, I am optimistic hell be convicted. The law is fairly clear on what is income & what is taxable. Hes a sophisticated executive; mistake is implausible. The company booked much of it as income. And juries hate rich tax cheats. So its not out of the realm of possibility that Weisselberg is at least considering a scenario in which he cuts a deal, and that Trump will one day, in the not too distant future, claim of a man whos worked for his company for decades: Never heard of him.

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The Trump Organization Desperately Tries to Distance Itself From Its Criminally Indicted CFO - Vanity Fair