Reports swirl that the former Trump Organization finance chief is cutting a plea deal; the judge wants answers.
New York Justice Arthur Engoron pressed former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Tuesday for clarification amid a report that the former finance chief of the Trump Organization may be negotiating a plea deal for perjury in his civil fraud case.
Alan Weisselberg, a co-defendant in the civil case, is reportedly in talks with Manhattan prosecutors regarding a potential plea deal, according to an article published in The New York Times on Feb. 1. The deal, according to unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter, would purportedly require him to admit guilt to perjury charges related to his testimony in the trial before Justice Engoron.
The justice expressed concern over the potential implications of perjury in an email to counsels Kevin Wallace, Clifford Robert, Alina Habba, Chris Kise, Andrew Amer, Colleen Faherty, and Louis Solomon.
The article reports that Mr. Weisselberg “would have to admit that he lied on the witness stand” and during a pre-trial interview in the case Justice Engoron presides over.
“As the presiding magistrate, the trier of fact, and the judge of credibility, I, of course, want to know whether Mr. Weisselberg is now changing his tune and whether he is admitting he lied under oath in my courtroom at this trial,” Justice Engoron wrote. A copy of the email was sent to Allison Greenfield, the judge’s chief law clerk.
The reported perjury deal relates to allegations that Mr. Weisselberg lied about the size of President Trump’s Manhattan penthouse. However, if the reported perjury deal is true, Justice Engoron noted that he’d consider dismissing Mr. Weisselberg’s testimony on other matters.
“Although the Times article focuses on the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, his testimony on other topics could also be called into question. I may also use this as a basis to invoke falsus in uno,” the justice wrote. This means that if he lied about one thing, he could be lying about everything.
