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- Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, will be called to testify before Congress as part of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into President Donald Trump’s business dealings and ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign.
- Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, said in his testimony on Wednesday that Weisselberg could answer questions about hush-money payments to two women, including the adult-film star Stormy Daniels.
- Weisselberg started his career as an accountant for the president’s father, Fred Trump, in the 1970s.
- He is said to know more about the Trump Organization’s financial dealings than anyone else in Trump’s orbit. Corey Lewandowski, who formerly worked on Trump’s presidential campaign, wrote in a book he coauthored that Weisselberg "knows of every dime that leaves the building."
In his testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Michael Cohen named a key figure he said could shed light on the investigation into President Donald Trump’s finances and business dealings: Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg, an accountant who’s been involved with the Trump family since he did Fred Trump’s bookkeeping in the 1970s, is said to know more about the Trump Organization’s finances than anyone else.
He was granted immunity last year to testify before a grand jury in the Manhattan US attorney’s office’s investigation into several hush-money payments that Cohen facilitated during the election to women who said they have had affairs with Trump. Corey Lewandowski, who formerly worked with the Trump campaign, wrote in a book he coauthored that Weisselberg "knows of every dime that leaves the building."
Cohen also told Congress this week that Weisselberg was directly involved in a financially fraudulent scheme to reimburse Cohen for the hush-money payments using false invoices.
"If there’s a suspicion that Trump mishandled his taxes or misrepresented his income for tax or loan purposes — anything related to his finances — Weisselberg is the guy who will know," Patrick Cotter, a former longtime federal prosecutor, told INSIDER.
The 71-year-old will now be called to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, INSIDER reported, sparking speculation over what kind of information he could reveal.
Here’s a look at the yearslong relationship between Weisselberg and Trump.
Weisselberg, an accountant, is the chief financial officer at the Trump Organization. He avoids speaking to the media and is known to be extremely private.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Source: Business Insider, The New Yorker
Weisselberg has been involved with the Trump family since the 1970s.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Source: Business Insider
Weisselberg started his career doing the books for Trump’s father, Fred Trump, for his many real-estate deals.
AP/MediaPunch Standard
Source: The New York Times
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The House Intelligence Committee plans to call Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to testify
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s grilling of Michael Cohen showed how the freshman lawmaker can defy expectations
- Justice Department veterans say GOP attacks on Michael Cohen’s credibility are ‘amateurish’ and ‘laughable’
SEE ALSO: In closing remarks, Michael Cohen says his loyalty to Trump cost him ‘everything’
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Katie Warren)