The Trump Organization’s CFO switches attorneys during ongoing investigations

The Ex-CFO was not an Attorney: Investigating the Trump Organization and J. Doe Into the Business and Affairs of John Doe

Some people familiar with the relationship said the Trump Org. would no longer foot the bill for Weisselberg’s attorney, who clashed with company officials over the legal advice he provided to the ex-CFO concerning his level of cooperation with prosecutors investigating the former president. But a Trump attorney said it was a personal decision that Weisselberg made with his family and others, and that the company had no role in the change.

Under the terms of his plea deal, Weisselberg would serve five months in jail if he agreed to testify truthfully at the trial of the Trump entities. At trial, Weisselberg admitted his own guilt in an off-the-books compensation scheme, but he never implicated any Trump family members.

Earlier this month, Trump was notified that he could be indicted on criminal charges related to a hush money payment made to silence adult-film star Stormy Daniels from going public ahead of the 2016 election about an alleged affair a decade earlier. Trump denies the affair.

There is an ongoing investigation into the accuracy of the financial records of the Trump Organization, although it is unknown how active that inquiry is.

“But I do know that neither (Trump Org. executive) She said Alan Garten and she did not have any roles in Mr. Weisselberg’s decisions to hire or leave Nick Gravante.

Still, the person familiar with the matter said, top Trump Org. officials blamed Weisselberg for the conviction. Weisselberg had been on the company payroll through the trial. He was let go in January and paid a generous severance, CNN previously reported.

The company faces investigations into the accuracy of its financial statements, which have led to prosecutors threatening Weisselberg with fraud charges for his role in obtaining insurance for the company, according to people familiar with the investigation. The people said that prosecutors want Weisselberg to cooperate in their investigation.

For nearly five years, confidential records have identified a continuing grand jury inquiry in Manhattan as “Investigation Into the Business and Affairs of John Doe.”

Mr. Bragg wanted a new grand jury to hear the evidence about Mr. Trump. The prosecution called witnesses to testify about the money in order to get the jury to convict Mr. Bragg. The investigation had come full circle.

When the federal prosecutors decided to step aside in July of this year, Mr. Vance’s team swooped in. Within weeks, it issued a flurry of subpoenas.

The prosecutors were hit by another obstacle. After they subpoenaed Mr. Trump’s tax returns and other financial records, he sued to prevent his accountants from producing the records.

At the end of 2021, Mr. Vance would have been forced to give up on trying to get an indictment because his time was running out. He had not sought re-election, and his successor, Alvin L. Bragg, was set to take over on Jan. 1. The call on whether to indict Mr. Trump was his to make.

The new district attorney was concerned that he couldn’t prove that Mr. Trump had defrauded banks and insurance companies. Mr. Pomerantz and Mr. Dunne resigned their positions after he decided to not indict Mr. Trump.