Who is Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's financial chief?
After former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's public testimony last week, Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee have another Trump associate on their radar — Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer (CFO) of the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg has worked for the Trump family for decades, and his position as the organization's CFO means he has access to the most detailed financial data and inner workings of Mr. Trump's business dealings. Cohen testified Weisselberg was in the room when, weeks before the 2016 election, Mr. Trump directed them to arrange payments totaling $130,000 to cover up allegations of affairs.
Asked if the committee will speak with Weisselberg, Chairman Elijah Cummings said it "probably will." Weisselberg was also among the dozens of people who received a request for documents this week from the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating alleged abuses of power by the president.
In August 2018, Weisselberg was granted immunity in connection to the investigation into Cohen and called to testify before a federal grand jury.
Weisselberg's name also emerged last year when CNN obtained and published audio of a 2016 conversation between Mr. Trump and Cohen in which the two discuss a payment to a former Playboy model. At one point in the conversation, Cohen can be heard saying, "I've spoken with Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up."
In Mr. Trump's 2004 book, "Think Like a Billionaire," Mr. Trump writes, "Allen has been with me for thirty years and knows how to get things done."
Weisselberg, a New York native, has also worked as a treasurer for Trump Foundation, which the New York attorney general sued last year, alleging violations of campaign finance law, self-dealing and illegal coordination. Weisselberg is mentioned in emails the New York AG obtained and published.
Weisselberg once served on the board of the Miss Universe Organization, which Mr. Trump used to own. Mr. Trump sold it in 2015 after owning it for nearly two decades.
Despite his relatively low profile, Weisselberg did appear on one episode in the second season of Mr. Trump's "Apprentice."
