Another Trump loyalist granted immunity as prosecutors close in on Trump business

Federal prosecutors have granted immunity to the Trump Organisation's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, in a probe involving President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, several US media outlets reported on Friday.

Weisselberg was called to testify before a federal grand jury earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal said.

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Cohen, who admitted this week that he arranged hush money payments before the 2016 US presidential election to at least two women who said they had sex with the married Trump, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to campaign finance violations and other charges.

He said Trump directed him to arrange the payments. Two executives at American Media Inc, which publishes the National Enquirer, a tabloid reportedly involved in making the payments, have also been granted immunity in the investigation. One of the executives is AMI's chief executive David Pecker, a longtime Trump friend.

Donald Trump (left) has been implicated in illegal hush money payments by his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen (right).

Donald Trump (left) has been implicated in illegal hush money payments by his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen (right).

Weisselberg, who took control of Trump's company along with two of Trump's sons around the time of Trump's inauguration, was mentioned by Cohen on a secret recording Cohen made in which he and Trump appeared to discuss reimbursing AMI for a hush-money payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who has said she had an affair with Trump.

Trump has denied the affair. Trump has also denied having sex with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.

David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc, has reportedly been granted immunity.

David Pecker, chief executive of American Media Inc, has reportedly been granted immunity.

Trump has previously warned special counsel Robert Mueller to steer clear of his personal business empire in his Russian meddling investigation, saying it would be a "red line" for him.

But reports that another Trump loyalist, Weisselberg, has been granted immunity suggest that federal, state and local prosecutors are circling closely around Trump's business dealings.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance jnr is weighing whether to pursue criminal charges against the company and two top officials, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Donald Trump pictured with Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allan Weisselberg.

Donald Trump pictured with Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allan Weisselberg.

The US attorney's office in Manhattan referred to – but didn't charge – the Trump Organisation this week in its case against Cohen, suggesting federal prosecutors have already stepped past the President's red line.

Revelations in the Cohen charging documents – that the Trump Organisation made sham payments to Cohen to reimburse him for buying the silence of McDougal and Stormy Daniels – suggest US prosecutors are laying the legal groundwork for further scrutiny.

Cohen's plea also gives state and local authorities a toehold to launch probes of the business's financial statements and tax records, said Paul S. Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at Common Cause, a Washington-based government oversight group.

That possibility raises the stakes significantly for Trump, threatening not just his political future but his wealth. And Trump's sensitivity to questions about his business extends to his personal income, which he has steadfastly refused to detail by breaking from tradition and shielding his tax returns from public view.

On top of that, the moves pose a different kind of peril for Trump than the investigation by Mueller for its ties to Russia. Unlike in federal cases, Trump has no power to pardon crimes charged by state prosecutors and no authority to shut down a state investigation into his business.

Bloomberg

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