Allen H. Weisselberga longtime executive at the Donald J. Trump family business, who was indicted on tax charges last summer, is close to reaching a plea deal with prosecutors from the law office Manhattan District Attorney but will not cooperate with a broader investigation into Mr. Trump, according to the two people. people with knowledge of the matter.
His plea deal, if finalized, would make it impossible for prosecutors to single out the former president but still consider one of his most trusted lieutenants a felony.
On Monday, Mr. Weisselberg’s lawyers and prosecutors met with the judge overseeing the case, according to a court database. The judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday in Mr Weisselberg’s case, a possible sign that an agreement has been reached and a plea can be entered later.
While Mr Weisselberg, 75, is facing financial penalties as well as years in prison if convicted at trial, a plea agreement would annul a high-profile trial and greatly could spare him a lengthy sentence. A person with knowledge of the matter said Mr Weisselberg was expected to receive a five-month prison sentence, an unexpected outcome in his favor.
Other terms of Mr. Weisselberg’s settlement were unclear and his attorney, Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., confirmed that he was in discussions with prosecutors, but declined to discuss specifics. . Another attorney for Mr. Weisselberg, Mary E. Mulligan, declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg.
The district attorney’s lengthy criminal investigation continued after Weisselberg was accused of participating in a 15-year scheme to receive off-the-book privileges at Mr. Trump’s firm, the Trump Organization, which was also indicted in the lawsuit. case.
Prosecutors had long hoped that they could convince Weisselberg to testify against Mr. Trump, thanks to decades of working for the Trump family and his vast knowledge of the company and its operations. its business. But Mr Weisselberg refused to meet with them even as his lawyers negotiated a potential deal, people with knowledge of the matter said.
A settlement in Weisselberg’s defense could leave Mr Trump’s company facing trial alone in the tax case. A deal would also likely draw fresh attention to the status of the district attorney’s criminal investigation into Mr Trump and his firm’s businesses, which lost momentum earlier this year and largely has disappeared from public view.
Bragg, a Democrat, said the investigation was continuing. But its direction and future are unclear. Mr. Trump, who has called the investigation a partisan witch hunt, has not himself been accused of misconduct.
The plea negotiations with Mr Weisselberg came to light after New York State judge Juan Mercan, last week declined to bring a criminal case against the Trump Organization and Mr. Weisselberg.
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The judge’s decision marks the latest legal blow to Mr Trump, whose Florida home was recently raided by the FBI in connection with an unrelated investigation. In another embarrassing episode for a former president who mocked others for refusing to answer questions under oath, he invoked the Fifth Amendment’s right to resist self-incrimination in an interview. interviewed with the New York state attorney general last week.
The attorney general, Letitia James, a Democrat, is conducting a civil investigation into some of the same practices the district attorney is investigating.
To match and start over the past few years, the district attorney’s office has examined whether Mr. Trump and his firm fraudulently inflated the value of his real estate to obtain loans and benefits. are not. The investigation, led initially by Cyrus R. Vance Jr., then-district attorney and also a Democrat, has grown into one of the biggest legal threats Mr. Trump faces. face.
The investigation came early last year shortly after Mr Vance won the Supreme Court, ending a battle over Mr. Trump’s tax returns and other business records.
With those filings, prosecutors began focusing on the perks Mr. Weisselberg received from the company, including several rental Mercedes-Benzes, a free apartment to rent and private school tuition for him. his grandchildren. Weisselberg, prosecutors said when they charged him last July, failed to pay taxes on $1.7 million in privileges and other earnings.
Before he was charged, prosecutors put considerable pressure on Mr Weisselberg to cooperate with their investigation into Mr Trump because of his insight into the inner workings of the Trump Organization. .
But Mr Weisselberg, the chief financial officer at the time, failed to reach an agreement, leading to his indictment. Since then, the Trump Organization has stripped him of his title, although he has continued to work at the company.
The Trump Organization, where Mr Weisselberg spent his career climbing the ranks from junior accountant to chief financial officer, was also charged in the indictment, which outlined a scheme coordinated by senior executives at the Trump Organization to underreport their earnings by accepting benefits. not listed on tax documents.
Even without Weisselberg’s cooperation, prosecutors continued to build the case against Mr. Trump, focusing on whether he falsely inflated the value of hotels, golf clubs and hotels. your other assets or not.
Late last year, Mr Vance directed prosecutors to begin presenting evidence about Mr Trump to a grand jury, laying the groundwork for a potential indictment against the former president.
But Mr. Vance decided not to run for re-election, and after weeks of meetings about the case, Mr. Bragg raised concerns about the challenge to show that Mr. Trump intended to break the law, a requirement to prove the charge under the Law. consider.
Two senior prosecutors who had led the investigation, Carey R. Dunne and Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned shortly thereafter. In his resignation letter, taken by The New York TimesMr Pomerantz said Mr Trump had committed “many felony violations” and that it was “a grave failure of justice” not to bring charges and hold him accountable.
