Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is reportedly in talks to plead guilty to perjury. Unsurprisingly, that reporting has piqued the interest of New York state Judge Arthur Engoron, who’s presiding over the exact civil fraud case in which Weisselberg may have perjured himself. The judge wrote to the lawyers in the case seeking more information about the matter by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The writing comes as we await Engoron’s post-trial ruling on the fate of Donald Trump’s business empire. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million in the civil suit, plus bans on working in the state’s real estate industry for Trump and others. Apparently, the Weisselberg issue may figure in Engoron’s forthcoming ruling.
Just how bad could it be? Engoron wrote that he could invoke “falsus in uno,” which is short for a Latin phrase meaning “false in one thing, false in everything.” That is, if the judge believes that Weisselberg, who’s a defendant in the civil case alongside Trump and others, lied about anything, it could taint his entire testimony. It’s unclear exactly how Engoron would address that in his ruling. He asked the parties for “anything you know about this that would not violate any of your professional ethics or obligations. I would also appreciate knowing how you think I should address this matter, if at all, including the timing of the final decision.”
“As the presiding magistrate, the trier of fact, and the judge of credibility, I of course want to know whether Mr. Weisselberg is now changing his tune, and whether he is admitting he lied under oath in my courtroom at this trial,” Engoron wrote to the lawyers.
We’ll see what the parties say and how that factors into the final result. If no criminal conviction for Weisselberg is imminent, it could be more difficult for Engoron to account for it if he wants to issue his ruling any time soon. Of course, being the judge in the matter, he is free to assess the witnesses’ credibility regardless of whether any perjury convictions stem from their testimony. But he is clearly looking for guidance here. Ultimately, it may not be good news for the former president and his business if his co-defendant is found to have lied in the case that centers on the allegedly fraudulent nature of that business.
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