Allen Weisselberg is not a household name, unless you share a home with Donald Trump, in which case his name couldn’t be more familiar. It’s why the fact that Weisselberg, who’s served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at the Trump Organization, was recently subpoenaed is so important. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday:
Allen Weisselberg, a longtime financial gatekeeper for President Donald Trump, has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in the criminal probe of Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, according to people familiar with the investigation.
Mr. Weisselberg is considered a witness in the investigation, the people said. It isn’t known whether he has already appeared before the grand jury or what questions prosecutors of New York’s Southern District have had for him. The date of the subpoena couldn’t be determined.
The WSJ article added that Weisselberg was once described by a person close to the company as “the most senior person in the organization that’s not a Trump.”
NBC News’ Katy Tur spoke to a former Trump Organization employee who said Weisselberg “knows where all financial bodies are buried within the Trump Organization.”
As Rachel noted on the show last night, Weisselberg has been directly involved in everything from possible payments to the president’s former alleged mistresses to the scandal-plagued Trump Foundation to helping prepare Donald Trump’s tax returns. All of which makes the fact that he’s been subpoenaed a very big deal, whether anyone outside Trump World is familiar with his name or not. Bloomberg Opinion’s Timothy O’Brien explained today, “Now we know that Weisselberg is going to a grand jury. And it is one of the more momentous turns thus far in the various investigations of the president — because it potentially brings the probe right into Trump’s wallet.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
