The ex-wife of a Trump Organization executive told NBC News that she has spoken “multiple times” with investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as a criminal probe into former President Donald Trump and his company looks into longtime Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Barry Weisselberg’s ex-wife, Jennifer, is the latest to come forward to discuss efforts by investigators to dig into the personal dealings of her ex-husband and his father, Allen Weisselberg, who has served as the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer for decades. Longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen also recently met with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vane’s office for an eighth time, and told the Washington Post that the investigation amounts to a “proctological exam of the highest order.”
Allen Weisselberg’s deep knowledge of the Trump Organization’s financial dealings could be particularly valuable to investigators in a far-reaching probe that has explored Trump and his company for possible bank and tax fraud.
The New York Times and the Washington Post have reported in recent weeks that the Manhattan DA’s effort was likely part of a broader plan to examine whether or not investigators would be able to flip Allen Weisselberg as a witness against Trump.
The district attorney’s office has not accused Allen Weisselberg or his sons of any wrongdoing, but questioning led by recently recruited prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, an expert in white-collar crime, could create pressure to win cooperation from the Weisselbergs if prosecutors find any evidence of wrongdoing that is traced back to them.
Jennifer Weisselberg told NBC News in an interview that she has turned over documents to the Manhattan DA’s office.
“He discusses everything with him,” she said of her ex-husband’s relationship with his father, Allen Weisselberg. “And Donald trusts him to continue the legacy the way his father set things up.”
Jennifer Weisselberg was married to Barry Weisselberg for 14 years before a difficult divorce in 2018, when she lost custody of their two children. Her ongoing battle with her ex-husband in court could raise questions about her credibility as a source about her former spouse, who has been a longtime manager of the Trump-run ice rink in Central Park.
Vance’s office reached out to Jennifer Weisselberg after a Bloomberg News report revealed, with the help of her documentation, that the Central Park apartment where the couple lived for several years had been provided by the Trump Organization rent-free. That arrangement may not have been properly accounted for in taxes.
Jennifer Weisselberg told NBC News that the now-sold apartment had been provided rent-free as a wedding gift around the time the couple got married in 2004, adding that she and her then-husband only paid for utilities. In divorce proceedings, her former husband described the apartment as a corporate property.
She told the New Yorker in a report last week that when someone works for the Trump Organization, “only a small part of your salary is reported.”
“They pay you with apartments and other stuff, as a control tactic, so you can’t leave,” she said at the time. “They own you! You have to do whatever corrupt crap they ask.”
She reiterated her assessment of the effort to assure loyalty to NBC News saying, “it’s not easy to walk away when they provide your home.”
Allen Weisselberg, she added, defined his worth by what Trump “thinks about him, about saving him money regardless.”
