House Intelligence Committee will call Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to testify: report
28 February 2019
On Thursday, NBC News reported that the House Intelligence Committee plans to call Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, to testify.
The news comes just one day after President Donald Trump's longtime attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, appeared before the House Oversight Committee to detail accusations of his former boss' criminal behavior. During the course of questioning by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Cohen alleged that Weisselberg, along with fellow Trump Organization officials Ron Lieberman and Matthew Calamari, had direct knowledge of the president fraudulently overvaluing his assets to insurance companies.
If Weisselberg is called to testify, it could provide corroboration for Cohen's claims. Additional evidence could potentially be found in the president's tax returns and business statements, which House Democrats have the power to subpoena. Weisselberg, who is still employed at the Trump Organization, has been described as the accountant who knows all of Trump's financial secrets.
The president is infamously cagey about his finances. He has refused to release his tax returns, and his allies, like former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, have tried to warn investigators off pursuing them. Thus far, Republicans in Congress have declined to pursue the matter.
Last year, Weisselberg received an immunity deal from federal prosecutors as part of their investigation into Trump and Cohen's hush payments to women ahead of the 2016 presidential election. However, on Wednesday, NBC News reported that Weisselberg "is not cooperating, has never been a cooperating witness, and has provided limited details in the course of his testimony." So it is unclear whether Weisselberg has any willingness or incentive to corroborate Cohen's story even if he can.
Nonetheless, House Democrats are clearly prepared to follow the trail. And now that they have subpoena power, they may be in a position to get answers.