Allen Weisselberg (2nd from right) is the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization (Timothy A. CLARY )

Washington (AFP) – As President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen delivered hours of riveting testimony to a US House committee on Wednesday one name came up again and again: Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg, 71, is the publicity-shy chief financial officer of the Trump Organization and one of the real estate tycoon’s oldest and closest advisors.

Weisselberg has spent decades in the Trump family’s inner circle and — should he also turn on the president — could prove to be far more dangerous to Trump than Cohen, who described his former boss as a racist, conman and cheat.

Weisselberg, more than anyone else, has intimate knowledge of Trump’s financial dealings, which are under the scrutiny of New York prosecutors and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing whether members of Trump’s election campaign colluded with Russia.

In a measure of the faith placed in him, when Trump assumed the presidency he named Weisselberg and his two sons — Don Jr and Eric — as trustees of the Trump Organization.

Eric was reportedly later removed leaving only Weisselberg and Don Jr holding the reins of the sprawling real estate empire.

The Brooklyn native has worked for the Trump family for more than 40 years, first as an accountant for Donald Trump’s father, Fred, and since 2000 as the CEO of Trump Organization.

Unlike Trump, who revels in the spotlight, the balding, bespectacled Weisselberg prefers to remain in the shadows, working out of an office in the Trump Tower on 5th Avenue.

But his name came up repeatedly on Wednesday as Cohen testified about Trump’s alleged misdeeds during the decade he served as the billionaire’s personal attorney and fixer.

Weisselberg was there when hush money payments to Stormy Daniels were discussed with Trump ahead of the election, Cohen said.

– ‘Criminal conspiracy’ –

Weisselberg and Don Jr signed some of the checks which were used to reimburse Cohen for the payments he made to the porn star to silence her about her sexual liaison with Trump, Cohen said.

Weisselberg would be the man to talk to about Trump’s alleged practice of inflating and deflating real estate assets for tax or insurance purposes, Cohen said.

Asked about a New York Times report on dubious tax schemes involving the Trump family in the 1990s, Cohen said he wasn’t there at the time and was unable to shed any light.

“Who would know the answer to those questions?” a Democratic lawmaker asked.

“Allen Weisselberg,” Cohen said.

Weisselberg is not currently known to be under investigation or formally accused of any wrongdoing.

The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Weisselberg was granted immunity in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) probe which resulted in Cohen’s conviction for bank fraud, tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions and lying to Congress.

The 52-year-old Cohen, who has been cooperating with the authorities since his arrest last year, is to report to prison on May 6 to begin serving a three-year sentence.

Democratic lawmakers made it clear on Wednesday they believe Weisselberg’s alleged involvement in the hush money payments make him a party to a crime.

“I just want the American public to understand the explosive nature of your testimony,” Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, told Cohen.

“Are you telling us, Mr. Cohen, that the president directed transactions in conspiracy with Allen Weisselberg and his son, Donald Trump Jr, as part of a criminal conspiracy of financial fraud?” Khanna asked.

“Yes,” Cohen replied.

– ‘Fingerprints’ –

Khanna pressed Cohen on whether this “criminal financial scam” was being investigated by prosecutors in New York.

“I’d rather not discuss that question because it could be part of an investigation that is ongoing,” Cohen said.

A former federal prosecutor said Weisselberg “very likely will be one of the most important witnesses if the SDNY moves forward with the campaign finance charges against anybody beyond Michael Cohen.”

“I think that for anything that turns on the movement of money within the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg is potentially the most important witness,” said the former prosecutor, who asked to remain anonymous.

“His fingerprints are going to be all over the movements of money, bank applications, insurance applications,” the former prosecutor said.

Representative Elijah Cummings, the Democrat who heads the House committee which heard Cohen’s testimony on Wednesday, said Weisselberg and Don Jr may also be subpoenaed.

But Cummings stressed that the congressional panel does not want to interfere with the investigations being conducted by New York prosecutors and Special Counsel Mueller.   

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