It looks like somebody should have been a little bit more careful:
New York prosecutors have subpoenaed a Manhattan private school as they seek the cooperation of the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer in their investigation of former President Donald Trump and his company, according to people familiar with the matter.
The subpoena seeks information from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, where grandchildren of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg are students, the people said. From 2012 to 2019, more than $500,000 of the children’s tuition was paid for with checks signed by either Mr. Weisselberg or Mr. Trump, the two children’s mother, Jennifer Weisselberg, told The Wall Street Journal. She is the former wife of Mr. Weisselberg’s son Barry.
Ms. Weisselberg said she told Manhattan prosecutors that she and Barry understood the tuition payments to be part of her ex-husband’s compensation package at the Trump Organization, where he worked. Former prosecutors not involved in the probe said the Manhattan district attorney’s office could be examining whether the Weisselbergs evaded taxes with the tuition-payment arrangement.
The subpoena marks a separate front in the investigation of Mr. Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office, which has for months been seeking Allen Weisselberg’s cooperation, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Weisselberg has worked for the Trump Organization for decades and is regarded as Mr. Trump’s confidante and his company’s financial gatekeeper. Mr. Weisselberg hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing.
Prosecutors often seek the cooperation of someone possibly involved in a crime to obtain confidential information and provide a potential road map to records or documents. Typically, prosecutors offer a potential defendant leniency in exchange for their help. Putting pressure on a possible defendant’s family is one way to encourage cooperation.
People who know Mr. Weisselberg say he is faithful to the Trump Organization, and questioned whether he would ever breach that loyalty. In 2017, Mr. Weisselberg became a co-trustee charged with managing the president’s business assets.
The district attorney’s office has said it is conducting a complex financial investigation into possible loan, bank or insurance fraud by the Trump Organization and its officers. Prosecutors have subpoenaed lenders, an insurance broker and other entities for financial information about Trump properties in New York City, Westchester County, N.Y., and elsewhere.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Trump has called the investigation a witch hunt and said it was politically motivated.
Frank Perrone Jr., a lawyer for Columbia Prep, said it is the school’s practice to comply with all lawful requests made by authorities.
I have no doubt that Trump is a criminal. But I won’t be surprised if they are unable to prove it because the laws he’s broken are so commonly broken by richie rich heirs to big fortunes like him.
Trump is a very lucky man and has never been held accountable for anything he ever did. And if anyone tried he screamed like a little baby until everyone gave up just to get him to stay quiet. He got off scott free despite selling out the country’s interests for his financial and political interests more than once . He was impeached twice and yet is still the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024.
So, I’m not holding my breath on this either. But there seems to be some very serious belief among prosecutors that there has been some wrongdoing by the Trump Organization for which they need Alan Weisselberg’s cooperation to effectively make the case. I don’t think they’d go this far if they didn’t have quite a bit of evidence already. So, with that caveat not to get your hopes up — stay tuned.