CNN’s New Day: Former Trump Organization CFO’s Testimony Could Lead to Company’s ‘Dissolution’

CNN’s Brianna Keilar focused on the possibility that former President Donald Trump’s business empire could get “dissolved,” depending on the testimony from his former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.

Keilar and John Berman spoke to investigative journalist David Cay Johnston on Thursday about Weisselberg reportedly agreeing to give testimony on the Trump Organization as it remains under investigation for tax fraud. This will coincide with Weisselberg pleading guilty to 15 felony counts about his tax evasion scheme connected with the company.

Johnston started things off by saying this plea deal “could be very, very troubling” for Trump’s family, saying that “ultimately this case, at least in theory, could lead to the dissolution of the Trump Organization as a corporation.” He added that this would require Trump “to hold his properties in his own name, which exposes him to a lot more liability in other matters.”

“I think we should focus on that,” Keilar interjected, “because the headline was, ‘Oh, he is not going to cooperate when it comes to Donald Trump.’ It’s not without some peril, perhaps, for Donald Trump that you could see the Trump Organization dissolved here. There is a lot at stake for him.”

Johnston said that this is the outcome New York Attorney General Letitia James is “likely” to seek with her civil investigation into the Trump Organization. He further explained that if Weisselberg pleads guilty, he’ll be legally compelled to answer questions or risk being held in contempt of court.

“So the effort here by the prosecutors when they get to the Trump Organization, unless they negotiate a deal to settle it, will be to get testimony out of Weisselberg,” Johnston said. “Certainly testimony showing Donald Trump knew full well what was going on, and indeed they may have additional evidence we haven’t seen yet of tax evasion and other crimes by the Trump Organization that would come up at trial.”

Watch above, via CNN.