Looks like someone gave up Allen Weisselberg
Will Allen Weisselberg end up wearing down and flipping on Donald Trump? Legal experts have widely differing opinions on this, but those opinions are generally lined up with how much or little prison time each legal expert expects Weisselberg to get. In other words, those who think Weisselberg is looking at any real time in prison, think he’ll probably flip.
Of course opinions on the length of Weisselberg’s prison sentence are widely varying as well. Some pessimists think he’ll get off with a slap on the wrist, but this makes no sense, given that New York prosecutors are obviously targeting him in aggressive fashion, and will therefore recommend a harsh sentence. But even the reality-based predictions have Weisselberg getting anywhere from a year to five years. Can he realistically do a year in prison at his age? Maybe. Can he do five years, or even two years? That’s pushing it.
So it’s notable that respected legal expert Glenn Kirschner has spotted a largely overlooked detail in the text of the Allen Weisselberg indictment: Weisselberg lied to his own tax preparer, and the preparer appears to be cooperating with prosecutors.
Why does this matter? If Allen Weisselberg is planning to argue in court that he was too stupid to know his tax fraud was tax fraud, prosecutors will be able to easily shoot down that argument by pointing out that if this were the case, Weisselberg wouldn’t have lied to his tax preparer. This could go a long way to convincing the judge to give Weisselberg a lengthy sentence once he’s convicted.
Allen Weisselberg’s decision on whether to flip will ultimately come down to whether prosecutors can get him to realize that taking this to trial will turn out very badly for him. If Weisselberg can be made to realize that he’s going to end up in prison for years, that’ll result in the best odds of him flipping soon instead of going to trial.
