Cohen says Weisselberg not ‘key’ to Trump case

Michael Cohen said in an interview on Sunday that Allen Weisselberg, the longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer who was indicted earlier this year on tax-related charges, is not the “key” to investigations into former President Trump in New York.

“Should we expect to see actual indictments before the new year?” host Chuck Todd asked Cohen on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I really try not to talk about it because it’s their investigation, nor do I want to tip off Trump or the Trump Organization’s people about what is actually happening,” Cohen, who served as Trump’s personal attorney, replied, referring to the Manhattan district attorney and New York state attorney general.

“So, you know, I would rather just not answer that specific question other than to say that you can bet your bottom dollar that Allen Weisselberg is not, and I truly, I mean this, Allen Weisselberg is not the, you know, the key to this,” Cohen said.

“They are going after Donald, they’re going after Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, a whole slew of individuals, family, you know, family as well,” he added, referring to the former president’s children.

Weisselberg in July pleaded not guilty to 15 charges against him. He was indicted on charges including tax fraud conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records. 

Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization had been paying for his rent in his Manhattan apartment, living expenses, a relative’s private school tuition and the lease on a Mercedes.

Both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have denied wrongdoing.

Cohen was officially released from his three-year prison sentence last week.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization told The Hill in a statement in response to Cohen’s remarks that “even after 3 years of confinement, it is pretty clear that Michael has learned nothing from his actions.”

“Despite having pled guilty to what the court described as a ‘veritable smorgasbord’ of fraudulent personal conduct, Michael continues to take no responsibility. He blames everyone but himself for his downfall,” the spokesperson added.

He told reporters outside the New York federal courthouse that he received three years of supervised release and plans to cooperate with law enforcement to help ensure others “are held responsible for their dirty deeds.”

“My release today in no way negates the actions I took at the direction of and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump,” Cohen said. “But it also does not negate the behavior of the Justice Department, Bill Barr, the Southern District of New York prosecutors, Judge William H. Pauley III, or Donald himself, in my initial incarceration and prosecution.”

Cohen pleaded guilty to nine federal crimes, including tax fraud, lying to Congress and paying off two women who threatened to go public with their past alleged affairs with Trump just before the 2016 presidential election.