ARE IN THERE AND YOU CAN GET CLUES FROM FIRSTHAND WITNESSES. WE LEARNED FROM REPORTING ON THE MULLER GRAND JURY. HERE ON THE BEAT WE’VE BEEN LEARNING FROM PEOPLE COOPERATING WITH THE NEW D.A. GRAND JURY PROBE AND OTHER WITNESSES WHICH BRINGS US TO TONIGHT’S SPECIAL REPORT RIGHT NOW ON WISELEBERG AS THE MAN WHO MAY TIP TRUMP’S LEGAL FATE. HIS BUSINESS LIFE, POLITICAL CAREER MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE WE KNOW OF. WHAT ARE WE LEARNING? NUMBER ONE, THIS IS NO TYPICAL EMPLOYEE OR WORKER. THE EX-PRESIDENT’S FAVORITE RAPPER FAMOUSLY SAID I LOVE YOU LIKE KANYE LOVES KANYE AND FROM ONE MAGA NARCISSIST TO ANOTHER MAGA NARCISSIST, THEY SAY WISELEBERG LOVES TRUMP LIKE TRUMP LOVES TRUMP. >> ALLEN WEISSELBERG IS DEFINED BY WHAT DONALD THINKS ABOUT HIM. >> WISELEBERG IS -- >> ALAN WOULD NOT TAKE AN HOUR OR DAY OFF IF DONALD WAS IN THE OFFICE. >> THAT DOESN’T BREATHE WITHOUT TRUMP’S PERMISSION OR KNOWLEDGE. >> HIS OFFICE IS RIGHT NEXT DOOR. HE DISCUSSES EVERYTHING WITH HIM HIM. >> WISELEBERG WORKS DIRECTLY WITH ALL THE FAMILY. THERE HE IS, RIGHT BEHIND DONALD AND THE KIDS WHO CREDIT HIM PUBLICLY AS FIERCELY LOYAL AND FROM GROWING UP IN BROOKLYN TO STUDYING ACCOUNTING, DRIVING A CAB, WISELEBERG’S BIG BREAK FIRST CAME IN 1973 WITH THE TRUMP FAMILY. WHEN DONALD TRUMP’S FATHER FRED, A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER, HIRED HIM AFTER HE APPLIED FOR A JOB LISTED IN A NEW HAMPSHIRE AD. DONALD TRUMP WOULD PUT THE FORMER CAB DRIVER IN CHARGE OF THE BIG MONEY DECISIONS FOLLOWING A PATTERN WHERE TRUMP HAS PROMOTED PEOPLE FAR BEYOND THE KIND OF JOB THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE GET IN THE OPEN FAIR MARKET WHICH MAKES THEM EXTRA EAGER TO KEEP THAT POST, EVEN PUSH BOUNDARIES. TRUMP HIMSELF WROTE ABOUT WISELEBERG IN HIS BOOK "THINK LIKE A BILLIONAIRE" DUBBING HIM ONE OF THE TOUGHEST PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS WHEN IT COMES TO MONEY. HERE’S THE KEY PART, HE DID WHATEVER WAS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE BOTTOM LINE, TRUMP SAID. HE WAS SENT TO HANDLE ALL KINDS OF PRIORITIES FROM ATLANTIC CITY TO MISS UNIVERSE. A SUPPORTING CHARACTER ON "THE APPRENTICE." >> REPLACING GEORGE THIS WEEK IS MY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ALLEN WEISSELBERG. YOU THINK GEORGE IS TOUGH, WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE ALAN. >> ALAN? >> I FELT THAT ANDY LOSING HIS LINES OF COMMUNICATION WAS A SERIOUS MATTER. IF THIS WAS A MILITARY MATTER AND HE LOST HIS LINES OF COMMUNICATION, HE COULD LOSE HIS ENTIRE BATTALION. >> THAT WAS A SIMPLER TIME. FROM FAKING IT TILL ALLEGEDLY MAKING IT TO FAKING IT AGAIN BECAUSE THINK ABOUT IT, THAT’S WHAT THEY WERE DOING. WISELEBERG WAS NOW FAKING AND PLAY ACTING IN BUSINESS, EVEN SEEMING TO HELP TRUMP BRAINSTORM SOME OF HIS LINES. >> YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CEO OR LEADER AND CONVINCE HIM OR HER THAT A CHANGE IS NECESSARY. >> I AGREE WITH YOU AND I -- >> STAY IN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION DOESN’T WORK. >> THE FACT THAT YOU LOST THE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND AS ALAN SAID, IF THIS WERE A MILITARY OPERATION, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN WIPED OUT. THAT WAS REALLY TERRIBLE. >> AS ALAN SAID, SO THAT WAS POINT ONE. ALLEN WEISSELBERG LIKES THAT WHEN THAT HAPPENS. HE LIKES IT WHEN TRUMP QUOTES HIM. HE NEEDS THAT JOB AND, BOY, HAS HE TRIED TO EARN IT BUT EARN IT ON TRUMP’S TERMS. POINT NUMBER TWO IS ABOUT THE WORK. WISELEBERG IS THE EYES AND EARS OF TRUMP ORG. HE KNOWS EVERYTHING. HE’S LITERALLY THE, QUOTE, ONLY NONFAMILY MEMBER TASKED TO HELP DON JR. AND ERIC RUN THE COMPANY DURING TRUMP’S ONE-TERM PRESIDENCY. >> ALLEN WEISSELBERG MANAGED THE TRUST AND THE TWO BOYS, DON JR. AND ERIC, WERE THE ONES THAT WERE ALLEGEDLY MANAGING THE COMPANY, BUT ALAN WAS THE GATEKEEPER. NOW MIND YOU, EACH AND EVERY DAY THEY WOULD SEND INFORMATION BACK TO DONALD IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHO, OF COURSE, WAS SIGNING STILL CHECKS ON BEHALF OF THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION. >> THOSE CHECKS RANGED FROM THE MUNDANE TO THE SALACIOUS INCLUDING MONEY FOR A NOW CONVICTED CRIME, THE HUSH MONEY IN THE 2016 CAMPAIGN WHICH INCLUDED SHAM INVOICES WHICH COHEN AND TRUMP AGREED WOULD BE SET UP BY ALAN, THE ALAN IN QUESTION, ALLEN WEISSELBERG, THE NAME ON THE NOW INFAMOUS RECORDED 2016 CALL. >> AND I’VE SPOKEN TO ALLEN WISELEBERG ABOUT HOW TO SET THE WHOLE THING UP SO I’M -- I’M ALL OVER THAT AND I SPOKE TO ALLEN ABOUT IT. WHEN IT COMES TIME TO THE FINANCING WHICH WILL BE -- >> SO THE THREE OF THEM IN ON THAT. HOW DID WISELEBERG GET OUT OF HIS ROLE IN THAT JAM? THIS BRINGS US TO ANOTHER POINT. WISELEBERG CAN BE LEGALLY PRESSED OR FLIPPED, IT’S JUST THAT IT’S NEVER HAPPENED AGAINST DONALD TRUMP BUT WHEN THE FEDS WANTED ALL THE GOODS ON THAT DEAL, STUFF FROM THAT CALL I JUST PLAYED YOU, WISELEBERG WAS WILLING TO COOPERATE AS LONG AS HE GOT IMMUNITY FOR HIMSELF AND HE PROVIDED INFORMATION AGAINST COHEN WHO WENT TO PRISON. IN A DLIEBLG THAT LEGALLY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TELL PROSECUTORS EVERYTHING, I MEAN EVERY LAST THING BUT DID WISELE MAN FIND A WAY TO FOCUS ON THE THINGS THAT SEEMED TO IMPLICATE COHEN MORE THAN TRUMP? WE DON’T HAVE THE RAW INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS. WE JUST HAVE THE FACT THAT IS KNOWN, THREE MEN ARRANGED A NOW CONVICTED CRIME FOR THE BENEFIT OF ONE OF THEM, DONALD TRUMP, AND ONE OF THOSE THREE MEN DID TIME FOR IT, MICHAEL COHEN. ONE OF THEM WHIG LD AWAY, ALLEN WISELEBERG. SO LET’S BE CLEAR, THIS FORMER BROOKLYN CABBY MAY NOT EVER BE A TOP CANDIDATE FOR A CFO SPOT AT ONE OF THE BIG WALL STREET BANKS BUT HE DOES KNOW THE STREETS AND WHERE HE WANTS TO GO, LIKE IN OTHER LEGAL SCRAPS HE FOUND WAYS TO DOCK OR DIVERT INSISTING IN TESTIMONY THERE’S NO POLICY, HE CLAIMED, ABOUT BASICALLY THE CHARITY WAS VIOLATING. PRESSED AS BEING LISTED AS A BOARD MEMBER IN THAT CASE FOR OVER A DECADE, HE CLAIMED HE DIDN’T KNOW THAT HE WAS. NOW IT STILL LED TO ANOTHER TRUMP LEGAL LOSS, A QUIT, ENDING THE CHARITY, FINE, TRUMP U WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. WISELEBERG WAS TELLING INVESTIGATORS THAT HE JUST DIDN’T, QUOTE, MICROMANAGE WHEN LEGAL MATTERS WERE INVOLVED AND THAT’S DESPITE EVIDENCE THAT HE DID CHOOSE TO EAVESDROP ON TRUMP LAWYERS DEBATING THE WISDOM OF PRETENDING THAT THE FOR PROFIT NONACCREDITED OPERATION SHOULD FALSELY CLAIM TO BE A UNIVERSITY AT ALL. THAT’S ANOTHER CASE WHERE TRUMP LOST AND PAID LITERALLY, BUT AS FOR TONIGHT’S SPECIAL REPORT, IT’S ANOTHER CASE WHERE WISELEBERG DROVE AWAY FROM THE SCENE OF THE PROBLEM LARGELY LEGALLY UNSCATHED. IS THIS TIME ANY DIFFERENT? WELL, MANY WHO WORKED WITH WISELEBERG SAY PROBABLY. SOME SAY OUTRIGHT YES. HIS FORMER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW SPOKE TO INVESTIGATORS SO SHE’S TELLING THEM STUFF AND SHEA’S SAYING IN PUBLIC WISELEBERG WAS IN ON CHANGING THE NUMBERS TO PUSH TRUMP’S FINANCIAL CRIMES. HE’S ALSO FACING PRESSURE FOR SPENDING ON REAL ESTATE AND SCHOOLING FOR HIS OWN FAMILY. THOSE REPORTS COULD MEAN LEGAL EXPOSURE FOR CRIMES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED TO BENEFIT HIMSELF, NOT THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION. ALL THESE WITNESSES SAYING THE HEAT IS HUGE. WITH JENNIFER WISELEBERG, AMONG OTHERS, SAYING HE WILL FOLD. >> THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENCES. WHEN DONALD SAYS NUMBERS OR CERTAIN THINGS, ALLEN SAYS NUMBERS OR CERTAIN THINGS, THEY’RE NOT ADDING UP. >> I DON’T THINK WISELEBERG WOULD LET HIM GO TO JAIL. >> ARI, THE REASON I BELIEVE HE’LL FLIP, YES. HIS BEHAVIOR SINCE 2017, WHAT I WITNESSED IS WHEN HE TOOK OVER AS TRUSTEE, HE WAS NOT OWNER VOWS BUT HE STARTED IMMEDIATELY HIDING MONEY IN ESCROW CONFIDENTIALLY. >> NOW THOSE CLIPS MAY LOOK LIKE TV INTERVIEWS, AND THEY ARE, BUT THEY COULD BE A LOT MORE THAN THAT. I CAN’T TELL YOU WHAT THOSE PEOPLE ARE TELLING THE INVESTIGATORS AND THE GRAND JURORS, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THEY HAVE TREMENDOUS LEGAL HEAT AND PRESSURE TO BE HONEST RATHER THAN COMMIT A NEW CRIME. WHAT THEY TOLD ME, WHAT THEY TOLD US ON "THE BEAT" IN THE WITNESS INTERVIEWS IS THE SAME THING THEY’RE TELLING THE INVESTIGATORS, THAT’S A BIG DEAL. THEY’RE KEY WITNESSES. THEY KNOW HIM. WISELEBERG DECLINED TO COMMENT. SO IF INVESTIGATORS DON’T ULTIMATELY HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE ON HIM, HE STILL MAY NOT FEEL PRESSURE TO COOPERATE OR HE MAY TRY TO BEAT ANY CASE AT TRIAL. OTHER TRUMP LOYALISTS HAVE TRIED THAT TACT BUT MOST WERE COUNTING ON THE BACK STOP OF A PARDON LIKE WHAT ROGER STONE GOT AND TRUMP CAN NO LONGER GIVE. IT’S NOT LIKEWISELEBERG DOESN’T KNOW TOP TRUMP ORG PEOPLE CAN’T GO TO JAIL FOR WHAT THEY’RE DOING. YOU’RE LOOKING AT OVERHEAD FOOTAGE OF MICHAEL COHEN REPORTING IN. IT WAS WISELEBERG WHO LITERALLY HELPED SEAL COHEN’S FATE. HE KNOWS WHERE THE TROUBLE CAN LEAD. THAT WAS BACK WHEN DONALD TRUMP WAS USING GANGSTER TALK DUBBING COHEN A, QUOTE, RAT. REMEMBER, IT WAS WISELEBERG WHO GOT IMMUNITY AND WAS TALKING TO THE FEDS. SO THINK ABOUT WHAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING WHEN EVERYTHING WE KNOW NOW THEN. REMEMBER THE TAPE. >> AND I’VE SPOKEN TO ALLEN WISELEBERG ABOUT HOW TO SET THE WHOLE THING UP. SO I’M ALL OVER THAT. AND I SPOKE TO ALLEN ABOUT IT. >> SPOKEN TO ALLEN ABOUT IT. THREE TRUMP ORG OFFICIALS ARRANGED THAT CRIME FOR TRUMP AND HE CALLS THE ONE DOING TIME A RAT WHILE THE ONE TALKING, WISELEBERG, GETS TO WATCH FROM A SAFE DISTANCE. CERTAINLY NOT CALLED OUT IN PUBLIC. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY FAMOUS GRAY AREA IN CRIMINAL STORIES FROM STORIES LIKE WHITEY BULGER AND FROM THE FILM "THE DEPARTED." IT’S A THEME THE ARTISTS PUSH AT TEA EXPLORERS IN A SONG ABOUT A COOPERATING CRIMINAL TALKING ABOUT HOW COVERING HIS OWN TRACKS HE DIDN’T CARE THAT WE HAD A LEGACY HE KILLED, I GOT TO WEAR THAT. BREAK YOUR HEART WHEN THE MAN YOU CALL YOUR BROTHER BE THE SAME ONE THAT SET IN MOTION ALL THEM UNDER COVERS. CONTINUES, QUOTE, FROM GREAT FRIENDS NOW IT’S NO AFFILIATION DIVIDED BY THE TIME HE WAS FACING. WE DO KNOW WISELEBERG PULLED OFF EXACTLY THAT KIND OF MOVE, WHETHER IT’S FROM SONGS ABOUT SNITCHING OR MOVIES LIKE "THE DEPARTED." HE PULLED THAT OFF ONCE IN A TRUMP ORG CASE. HE PULLED IT OFF. DOES HE HAVE ANOTHER PLOY LIKE THAT. OR FACING ENOUGH PRESSURE, WOULD A MAN WHO DID COOPERATE AGAINST A PEER IN THE TRUMP ORG FIND IT
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