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Federal investigators in Manhattan asked to interview Allen Weisselberg, the Trump organization's chief financial officer, as part of their investigation into former Trump's lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, according to two people aware of the case. It is not known whether Mr. Weisselberg received a summons or was asked to answer questions voluntarily. Anyway, the development suggests that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are reviewing at least some financial transactions of the Trump family business, a line that the president has publicly warned the special advocate in the 39, Russian Inquiry, Robert S. Mueller III
New York prosecutors, who operate on a separate route from Mr. Mueller's team, are investigating Mr. Cohen on a number of fronts, including payments that he arranged before the presidential election to women who had claimed that they had business with Mr. Trump. The interest of prosecutors for Mr. Weisselberg was first reported by the Wall Street Journal
. The development triggered alarm bells within the Trump organization, an umbrella company for Trump's holdings. He has managed his finances for decades, has been involved with the Trump Foundation, has managed the President's private trust, and has sometimes examined the books of the Trump presidential campaign.
Weisselberg surfaced this week when Mr. Cohen, through his attorney, published a recording of a September 2016 conversation that he had with Mr. Trump. on the purchase of rights on the story of a former Playboy model. The old model, Karen McDougal, alleges a deal with Mr. Trump and sold the rights of his story for $ 150,000 this summer to The National Enquirer.
The newspaper, whose CEO is a friend of Mr. Trump, sitting on the story, a practice known in the tabloid industry as "catch and kill". The president denied a case.
Cohen told Mr. Trump that he needed to form a company to buy these rights from the magazine. Mr Cohen has made several references to Mr Weisselberg.
"I talked to Allen Weisselberg about how to put everything in place," Mr. Cohen told Mr. Trump. Later, he added, "I spoke to Allen about this, when the time comes for funding."
The release of audio may have sped up the activity of New York prosecutors, who are investigating whether Mr. Cohen may have committed bank fraud and violated campaign finance laws in New York. arranging payments to silence women whose accounts could have hurt Mr. Trump's chances of becoming president. The New York Times revealed the existence and content of the recording last week; CNN broadcast the recording on Tuesday.
The president, who has long refused to disclose his tax returns, is particularly sensitive to any initiative by federal prosecutors to meddle in his affairs. After his election, Mr. Trump resigned from his position but retained his property and entrusted the management to his two eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr.
Asked by The Times a year ago whether Mr. Mueller's red line "he's started to investigate family-owned businesses," Mr. Trump replied, "I would say yes. I would say yes. "
Yet, in some ways, it is harder for the president to criticize New York prosecutors than to attack Mr. Mueller, his most ardent allies portray Mr. Mueller as a fugitive prosecutor whose supervisor Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, should be removed from office Mr. Trump regularly claims that Mr. Mueller is conducting "a witch hunt."
But the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan He has no special status and his investigation of Mr. Cohen's activities seems to be proceeding like any other criminal investigation
. To date, the President, who tends to address legal issues more like PR issues wrote on Twitter that his secret registration was "possibly illegal." He added: "Inconceivable that a lawyer taps on a customer – which is totally new "
. Cohen, who had been loyal to Mr. Trump for years, has now publicly broken with him. His lawyer, Lanny J. Davis, said Mr. Cohen would no longer be Mr. Trump's "punching bag".
Weisselberg's loyalty to Mr. Trump was unmarked in a recent statement he filed for a lawsuit against the Trump Foundation. Filed last month by Barbara Underwood, the Attorney General of the State of New York, the trial accuses Mr. Trump and his adult children of inappropriate political coordination with the presidential campaign and other illegal behavior .
Weisselberg remembers that he was abruptly asked to fly to Iowa with the foundation's check book for a campaign event that also served as a fundraiser for veterans. He ran through an appointment at the dentist to make the plane the same evening.
He began to explain why the checkbook was necessary, saying, "In case there would be money, I thought … broke up, saying simply," No matter what I thought. My leader, I went. "
William K. Rashbaum contributed to the report.
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