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This Case Against Trump's Money Man Is a Slam Dunk
https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-case-against-allen-weisselberg-and-the-trump-organization-is-a-slam-dunk?ref=homeThis Case Against Trump’s Money Man Is a Slam Dunk
CASHING OUT
But it comes with a major question: Will it be enough to make Allen Weisselberg flip on his Don?
Peter Zeidenberg
Published Jul. 01, 2021 5:56PM ET
snip//
So the real question is not whether Weisselberg and, for that matter, the Trump Organization, is likely to get convicted of tax fraud. Of course that is the likely outcome. The real question is whether Weisselberg is liable to flip and become a cooperating witness against the head of the Trump Organization—a/k/a “the Former Guy,” a/k/a Donald J. Trump. So far Weisselberg has held firm and refused to cooperate, leading to his indictment this morning. But as they say in the world of finance, “past performance is not a guarantee of future results.” In other words, The Former Guy better not exhale just yet.
Cooperating witnesses, like people generally, differ widely. Some cooperators are terrified of being prosecuted and cooperate with the government at the first hint of trouble. But just as common are cooperators who strike a brave and defiant tone initially only to have a change of heart after being indicted and the reality of an expensive trial begins to loom.
Weisselberg will be able to remain free in the short term, out on bail as the case winds along. But assuming Weisselberg has competent counsel, he will be told that his chances at trial are very poor and that he faces the likelihood of conviction and incarceration for at least several years. This is not an inviting prospect for anyone, and particularly for a 73 year-old defendant like Weisselberg who has been enjoying life as a rent-free resident at Trump Tower for the past 15 years. Prudence and commonsense suggests that cooperating against Trump is clearly the most intelligent option. And because these are state and not federal charges, even if Trump were to once again be elected president, he could not pardon Weisselberg for any of this conduct.
But, of course, people frequently do not do the sensible or logical thing. And there are many other factors that are no doubt impacting Weisselberg’s calculations. Chief among those concerns would have to be fear of retaliation from Trump and the MAGA crowd. That is no small matter; anyone who points the finger at Trump is going to be subjected to almost unimaginable levels of abuse, threats and, very possibly, physical violence. The pressure on Weisselberg not to flip will also be immense, and much of it will no doubt be orchestrated by Trump himself.
The other wildcard is whether there are more shoes to drop. The DA’s investigation reportedly has focused on the Trump Organization’s undervaluation of properties in order to evade taxes. These abuses reportedly involved millions of dollars in underreporting. The best witness to this conduct is no doubt Weisselberg himself and it is likely the government is starting small with this straight-forward case against Weisselberg in the hopes that he will cooperate regarding these other strands of the investigation. If he refuses, the government may decide to indict anyway or stick with what they have: straight-forward tax fraud. Not a particularly sexy charge but enough to take down Al Capone and more than enough to deal a devastating blow to the Trump Organization.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-case-against-allen-weisselberg-and-the-trump-organization-is-a-slam-dunk?ref=home
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