'Strategic move by Manhattan DA': Legal experts break down ex-Trump CFO’s 5-month perjury sentence

10 April 2024

One of former President Donald Trump's closest business associates, former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, has been given another jail sentence — this time, five months after pleading guilty to two felony counts of perjury.

The sentence was handed down in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday morning, April 10 and came only five days before jury selection is scheduled to begin in Trump's hush money trial. Weisselberg, according to reports, was promptly led away in handcuffs.

According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s office, Weisselberg committed perjury in 2020 during a deposition for New York State Attorney General Letitia James — who was building a major civil fraud lawsuit against Trump.

This will be Weisselberg's second time in jail. In 2022, the former Trump Organization CFO was given a five-month sentence after pleading guilty to tax evasion, but he served only 100 days of the sentence at Riker's Island in New York City.

MSNBC was quick to respond to Weisselberg's latest jail sentence.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin noted that when Weisselberg arrived at the courthouse in casual attire rather than a suit and tie, it was an indication that he expected to be taken into custody that day.

Similarly, MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos told MSNBC's Ana Cabrera, "If someone shows up in sweats, (it's) a pretty good indicator they're going in right away."

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner doubts that Weisselberg, following his latest sentence, will be helpful to Trump's defense during his hush money trial.

Kirschner told Ana Cabrera, "This was actually, I think, a strategic move by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to neutralize Allen Weisselberg…. Well, the prosecutors have neutralized Allen Weisselberg because he's not going to testify for the prosecution because he is now a convicted perjurer. If the defense tries to put him on the stand — if Donald Trump tries to call him as a witness — how credible will his testimony be?"

Kirschner added that now, Weisselberg "is a twice-convicted felon."

X, formerly Twitter, has been full of reactions to Weisselberg's latest jail sentence.

Rubin tweeted, "One would think Weisselberg knows his way around Rikers after his initial stint there last year — but accompanying his lawyers Seth Rosenberg and Thomas Rotko was Craig Rothfeld, a well-known consultant for those about to be jailed."

Rubin also observed, "Rothfeld's business advertises itself online as 'prison consulting and advocacy services for pre/post sentencing & incarceration.' In court this morning, he was focused on keeping Weisselberg calm and comfortable, so much so that I assumed he was family before we identified him."

Civil rights attorney Andrew C. Laufer expressed no sympathy for Weisselberg, tweeting, "Enjoy Rikers, Mr. Weisselberg."

New York Daily News reporter Molly Crane-Newman observed, " This — maybe? — caps a disastrous few years for the CFO, who became entangled in Trump's legal troubles in spring 2021 after almost half a century working for the Trumps. He returns to Rikers today, almost a year to the day since serving 99 days for tax fraud."

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) said of Weisselberg's second jail sentence, "In America, no one is above the law."

Journalist Frank G. Runyeon noted that Seth Rosenberg had "no comment" after Weisselberg was "immediately taken into custody."

Runyeon observed, "Weisselberg will be wearing jail scrubs when Donald Trump's hush money trial begins in 5 days. AW's not charged in that case, but DA makes clear he was in on planning & execution of the scheme w/ Trump and Michael Cohen."

Journalist/radio host Buzz Burbank tweeted, "Former Trump financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to an additional five months in prison for perjury. It's the second jail sentence for the family-&-company accountant, made possible by his loyalty to Trump."

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