Another Trump associate may have flipped, to use the president’s own terminology.
Allen Weisselberg, longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been granted immunity by federal prosecutors working on the investigation of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Weisselberg had been called to testify before a federal grand jury earlier this year and was thrust into the spotlight last month when his name was mentioned in an audio recording of a conversation between Cohen and Trump about payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
News of Weisselberg’s immunity closely follows news of another Trump ally receiving immunity: David Pecker, the chairman of American Media Inc, publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker reportedly provided details of the payments Cohen arranged as well as Trump’s knowledge of such deals in return for immunity, according to the Journal.
It is not immediately clear what information Weisselberg provided to the prosecutors in exchange for his immunity. Weisselberg has long been a central figure in the Trump family’s dealings, taking control of the Trump Organization’s financial assets and business interests alongside Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump after the president’s election in 2016. This recent development follows Cohen’s decision to plead guilty to eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud and campaign finance violations earlier this week.