Trump Organization finance chief subpoenaed in Cohen probe

Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, has been called to testify in front of a federal grand jury as part of the criminal investigation into Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Weisselberg is considered a witness, the Journal says, and it's unknown if he's already appeared before the grand jury. Weisselberg, who once worked for Trump's father, has been described as being very loyal to Trump, and former Trump executives said he also oversaw many of Trump's household expenses and for several years prepared his tax returns.

On Tuesday, Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, released a tape of a conversation Cohen had in 2016 with Trump, which he secretly recorded. Cohen and Trump discussed buying the rights to a former Playboy model's story about an affair she said she had with Trump, and Cohen is heard saying he would set up a company to make the payment. "I've spoken with Allen Weisselberg about how to set the whole thing up," Cohen says, but it's not clear if he did ever actually talk to Weisselberg about it; the payment was never made. People with knowledge of the matter told the Journal Cohen is being investigated for bank fraud and campaign-finance violations.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.