Washington Post: “The New York attorney general has gathered personal financial records of the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer and his family, according to a witness who provided some documents – another sign of legal pressure on one of former president Donald Trump’s closest aides. Allen Weisselberg has handled Trump’s finances for decades, rising to become the company’s most powerful person not named ‘Trump.’ Now, as the Trump Organization faces two separate investigations – led by state Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. (D) – it appears that both sets of investigators have begun scrutinizing Weisselberg’s personal finances as well.”
“In complex investigations, prosecutors often seek evidence of wrongdoing by subordinates as a way to pressure them to ‘flip’ and reveal damaging information about their bosses. The pressure by both offices being brought to bear on Weisselberg appears designed to pursue that strategy against Trump, although neither James nor Vance has alleged wrongdoing by Trump, Weisselberg or anyone else. James’s interest in Weisselberg’s personal finances was described by Jennifer Weisselberg, the CFO’s former daughter-in-law. Jennifer Weisselberg, who was married to Weisselberg’s son Barry from 2004 to 2018, told The Washington Post on Thursday that James’s investigators had taken seven boxes of financial data from her in November, including records of accounts held jointly by Barry and his father. Jennifer Weisselberg said James’s office also wanted records about two Trump Organization-controlled apartments where she said she and her husband had lived rent-free. Barry Weisselberg was also a Trump employee: He helped manage one of the company’s ice rinks. In situations like this, tax experts say that a free apartment might be considered income for tax purposes. ‘The attorney general is really focused on compensation,’ Jennifer Weisselberg said. She said the investigators’ goal seemed to be determining whether proper taxes had been paid on free benefits.”