Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg cut a deal to do five months in jail while not cooperating with investigators. While the deal might be great for Weisselberg, former Justice Department prosecutor for Robert Mueller's investigation, Andrew Weissmann, said it isn't for the Trump Org.
Speaking to MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell on Monday evening, Weissmann said that in the next few days it could be that Weisselberg is actually pleading guilty as part of the deal.
"The reason that is important for Donald Trump is the Trump Organization is scheduled for trial in October," he explained. Once Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty, it is over for the Trump Organization. The crimes he committed, get imputed to the Trump Organization. So, the leverage in terms of the financial consequences to Donald Trump doesn't mean he's gonna go to jail, but the consequences for the Trump Organization are huge."
Weissmann described it as a "big deal" for the former president in part because what he did was all about making more money, but it was also about bribery.
"This is a big deal," he went on. "So, I think that would be number one, focus on the financial consequences of the Allen Weisselberg deal. And then, down the road, I mean, Lawrence, you laid out a litany of criminal and national security trouble, in Florida, in D.C., in Georgia. And this is a day where you saw a movement on all fronts. And to me, the thing that I thought was probably the most telling was the grand jury subpoena to Eric Herschmann. There is a guy who can completely corroborate what we heard from Cassidy Hutchinson. I am sure he has information."
He also noted that Herschmann isn't likely to corroborate the idea that Trump had some kind of magical order to declassify everything.
"So, that was a very bad fact, in terms of signaling that Merrick Garland is really I think, putting his foot on the gas," he closed.
See the full conversation, which includes legal expert Brad Moss below. You can also watch at this link.
