On Friday in Judge Juan Merchan’s Manhattan court, prosecutors disclosed another “hush money” scheme brought to the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg.
Prosecutors revealed for the first time a severance agreement that the Trump Organization used to promise $750,000 to its outgoing chief financial officer—as long as he kept his mouth shut.
The 76-year-old Weisselberg is currently serving a five-month jail sentence on Rikers Island for perjury, having lied to save Trump’s ass in the case that ended up fining him nearly $500 million for bank fraud.
“What we are trying to do is to explain from our perspective why he’s not here,” prosecutor Christopher Conroy said, suggesting that the money is discouraging Weisselberg from testifying.
Prosecutors revealed that the Trump Organization has promised to pay Weisselberg three installments of $250,000 due later this year in June, September, and December—if he doesn’t “cooperate” with law enforcement.
Part of Weisselberg’s “hush money” contract, read out loud in court, says Weisselberg promises “not to verbally or in writing disparage, criticize, denigrate” the company or any of its executives. Another section says “he will not communicate with” and “otherwise will not cooperate with” any entity seeking “adverse claims” against the company.
What followed the reveal was a lot of hand-wringing of both the prosecution and the defense teams.
Neither side had subpoenaed Weisselberg. But the defense team seemed more worried at the prospect, although the prosecution admitted that his team saw it as a “strategically bad decision to put a witness on the stand who has an agreement like that.”
The judge discussed bringing Weisselberg into court outside the presence of the jury, to discern whether the jailbird would exercise his Fifth Amendment right, and exactly what he might say if he were subpoenaed to testify as a witness.