The judge considering the verdict in the $370 million fraud case against Donald Trump wants to know whether the former Trump Organization committed any wrongdoing. CFO Allen Weisselberg reclined on the stage during the trial.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who expects to rule on the case against the former president by mid-February, has given prosecutors and lawyers for Mr. Trump, 77, until Wednesday on news of Mr. Weisselberg’s involvement. I told them to contact me. The plea agreement requires him to admit that he lied during his testimony.
“As chief judge, trier of fact, and judge of credibility, I, of course,
Mr. Weisselberg has now changed his tune and whether he will admit to lying under oath in my court in this case, Mr. Engoron said in his letter. Posted in Case on Tuesday.
Mr. Engoron’s concerns emerged after a Feb. 1 article by the New York Times. Weisselberg reported that negotiations were underway. The Times reported, citing sources, that Engoron has entered into a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in a criminal case that involves lying while testifying in another civil case he oversaw. It is said that it became
“We don’t want to ignore anything in an incident of this magnitude,” Engoron said Tuesday. “Please submit a letter to me detailing what you know about this matter.”
Mr. Engoron asked lawyers what the judge should do with that information and whether the timing of the final judgment should be changed.
Weisselberg, 76, was sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused President Trump of lying in annual financial statements for a decade and exaggerating his net worth by billions of dollars a year to get better loans. He is a defendant in a civil suit alongside his longtime boss, a former real estate mogul. Insurance conditions.
One key example the AG’s Office repeatedly cited in court was that Trump allegedly tripled the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, increasing its value by $200 million.
During his testimony, Weisselberg tried to downplay the alleged false assessment and dismiss it as a minor mistake.
“I never thought about the apartment,” Weisselberg testified in October. “When you look at a $6 billion, $5 billion net worth, it wasn’t that important to me.”
Mr. Weisselberg also said he did not remember whether Mr. Trump reviewed the annual financial statements at the heart of Mr. James’s case before filing them, and that the review the former CFO did was “at 30,000 feet.” “It was a common thing from.” level. “
The non-jury trial, which concluded in January after three months of testimony, leaves it up to Engoron to decide what financial penalties, if any, to impose on Trump.
President Trump has denied the allegations and said he is being targeted as part of a political witch hunt against him.
Mr. Weisselberg was a key witness in a separate Manhattan criminal trial against the family’s real estate company that ended in January 2023 with a conviction and a $1.6 million fine.
Mr. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in an earlier case to tax evasion and served a short stint in prison for that charge in April.
Weisselberg could be indicted if plea negotiations with prosecutors fail.
The trial is scheduled to begin March 25 in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s “hush money” lawsuit against Trump.
The AG’s office declined to comment, and Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The AG’s office declined to comment.
