Longtime Trump executive Weisselberg pleads guilty, will become prosecution witness

A longtime senior executive at former US President Donald Trump's family business has pleaded guilty to helping it plot a 15-year tax fraud, according to a report.

Allen Weisselberg, a longtime friend of Trump, who has served as the CFO of the Trump Organization for about 40 years, entered his plea on Thursday to all 15 charges he faced, in an agreement that will require him to testify about the company's business practices, Reuters reported.

Weisselberg, 75, was charged in a New York state court in Manhattan before Justice Juan Merchan.  Many believe that he could be a key source of information for investigators.

Weisselberg’s plea will likely strengthen the case of Manhattan prosecutors against Trump, though he is not expected to cooperate with them in their larger probe into Trump himself.

The trial is scheduled for October.

"This plea agreement directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the upcoming trial," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. "We look forward to proving our case in court."

Trump wasn’t charged or accused of wrongdoing in the indictment that was delivered last year against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg, but that doesn’t mean the case doesn’t include some potentially dangerous legal implications for the real estate mogul.

Prosecutors accused the company of funneling off-the-books income in which Weisselberg and other executives were involved, suggesting that other Trump Organization leaders were involved.

Prosecutors have been said to be investigating the case in a way that they may try to secure Weisselberg's cooperation in order to turn their sights on Trump himself.

Trump has condemned the fraud and conspiracy charges filed against the Trump Organization and Weisselberg.

The charges against Weisselberg are part of an ongoing investigation into Trump's real estate empire, which has been hanging over the former president’s head since he left office in January 2021.

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During Thursday's hearing, Weisselberg heard the judge describing the charges in each count of the indictment, and agreed that the accusations against him were true.

Nicholas Gravante, a lawyer for Weisselberg, said in a statement: "In one of the most difficult decisions of his life, Mr. Weisselberg decided to enter a plea of guilty today to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal  nightmares it has caused for him and his family."

Trump has called the investigations a "witch hunt" by politically-motivated prosecutors.

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