Former Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty to perjury charges
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty on Monday to perjury charges, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said.
Why it matters: His guilty plea caps several weeks of talks with Manhattan prosecutors after Weisselberg gave false testimony during former President Trump's civil fraud trial last fall.
- Weisselberg will receive five months in jail at a sentencing hearing slated to take place April 10, the DA's office said in a press release.
- This is Weisselberg's second guilty plea in a criminal case involving his work with the Trump Organization. He pleaded guilty in a tax fraud case in 2022 and was sentenced to serve five months.
Driving the news: Weisselberg was charged with five counts of perjury and ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts on Monday.
- The two felony counts of perjury were related to Weisselberg's 2020 interview with the New York attorney general's office in the lead up to the civil fraud case.
- As part of Monday's plea, Weisselberg admitted that he "committed the conduct underlying the three additional counts of perjury," per the release.
- Prosecutors had accused Weisselberg of lying on the witness stand when he testified at Trump's civil fraud trial in October and of lying under oath at a deposition last year.
- "It is a crime to lie in depositions and at trial – plain and simple," a spokesperson for the Manhattan DA said in a statement. "Allen Weisselberg took an oath to be truthful, and then committed perjury."
Seth Rosenberg, Weisselberg's lawyer, said in a statement Monday that his client "looks forward to putting this situation behind him."
The big picture: New York Judge Arthur Engoron last month ordered Trump, his companies and fellow defendants to pay about $364 million for committing years of financial fraud.
- Engoron ruled that Weisselberg, one of the defendants, owed $1 million.
- Trump appealed the decision and offered to post a partial bond in an effort to halt collection of the penalties until his appeal is complete.
- A New York appellate judge rejected his request last week and ordered Trump to post bond for the full amount in order to stay enforcement of the judgment.
Editor's note: This story was updated with a press release from the Manhattan DA's office, a statement from Rosenberg and additional details.