Elie Honig Blown Away by ‘Stunning’ Clause in Trump Exec’s Deal Barring Him from Cooperating with Law Enforcement: ‘I’ve Never Heard of Such a Thing!’
The former Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization is reportedly in talks to plead guilty to perjury, the New York Times reported Thursday.
In October, Forbes reported that Weisselberg lied under oath when he testified about figures he gave about the size of the Trump Tower penthouse.
Sources familiar with the matter told the Times that Allen Weisselberg would have to admit he lied while testifying in former President Donald Trump’s ongoing civil fraud case in New York. A clause in the $2 million severance package Weisselberg received from the Trump Organization seeks to prohibit him from cooperating with law enforcement unless he is legally required to do so. But as CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig said, that provision is likely unenforceable.
Honig said it would not be surprising if Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the case, withholds a ruling in the matter given that Weisselberg may have lied on the stand. Engoron already issued a summary judgment in September finding the Trump Organization and its officers liable for fraud. He is currently mulling whether to fine the company the $370 million that New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking.
“If I’m in Judge Engoron’s position here… I’m not gonna rule until I know the specifics of this,” Honig said on Thursday’s edition of The Source. “Now, I think it’s likely the judge discredited Adam Weisselberg’s testimony anyway because it was contradicted by so many of the facts… But you have to know this as a judge. If you’re gonna issue a ruling and if it turns out Weisselberg lied, that’s going to harm the Trump Organization when it comes time for the verdict.”
“How could it bode for Donald Trump himself?” host Kaitlan Collins asked.
“It’s a problem for Donald Trump because he’s going to be on the receiving end of this verdict,” he replied. “There’s an important detail in the recording that Weisselberg’s deal that he’s working on or towards with prosecutors does not necessarily involve Allen Weisselberg cooperating against Donald Trump. That doesn’t surprise me.”
Honig went on to explain that if Weisselberg – who was convicted of tax fraud last year – pleads guilty to perjury, he would make for a much less credible witness.
“I think one thing we forget about which the New York Times noted tonight is he got a $2 million severance package that required him not to cooperate with any law enforcement unless he was legally required.”
Honig expressed utter shock at the clause.
“That was stunning to me,” the former federal prosecutor said. “I’ve never heard of such a thing! I don’t think that’s enforceable to say you won’t cooperate with law enforcement. I mean, it certainly undermines what prosecutors are trying to do.”
He added, “That’s a shocking detail to put into a severance agreement, in addition to the amount.”
Watch above via CNN.
