It’s only been two days since Michael Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis released a covertly-recorded conversation between Cohen and Donald Trump, in which they discuss making a hush money payment to silence a former nude model about her affair with Trump, and already the tapes are turning up far more evidence and witnesses than anyone might have predicted.
In the most recent example, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have issued a subpoena for Allen Weisselberg, the Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization. The summons is related to the utterance of his name on the tapes in the context of a second illicit payment being made to Karen McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate who sat down back in March with Anderson Cooper to discuss her affair with Trump.
Cohen appears to be telling Trump that he’s arranged for a method of payment that will be undetectable with the help of Mr. Weisselberg:
I’ve spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up. So, I’m all over that. And, I spoke to Allen about it.”
The difference between having Cohen on the witness stand and a man like Allen Weisselberg cannot be understated: While Cohen has known Trump for many years — since 2006, at least — his loyalty and the duration of his service to the Trump family pales in comparison to the 71-year-old accountant’s, who began his association with the family name back when Fred was the patriarch more than 40 years ago.
What’s more, according to a Bloomberg piece from Wednesday by Timothy O’Brien, Weisselberg’s duties went way beyond heading up the now-defunct Trump Foundation:
Over the years, Weisselberg’s professional duties also came to include handling Trump’s personal finances as well as the Trump Organization’s corporate finances. He has paid household bills, made large purchases for Trump, and has communicated with Trump’s outside investment advisers. After Trump became president his lawyers created a trust that safeguards his interest in the Trump Organization while ostensibly managing the company without his input. The trust is run by Weisselberg and the president’s two eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric.”
To be succinct: If investigators get Weisselberg under oath with even a scrap of evidence that he was ever involved in anything shady and he flips on Trump, it’s safe to say that no person on the planet whose last name isn’t actually Trump knows where more of the skeletons are buried.
Featured image via screen capture
