Guilty plea on perjury by former Trump firm CEO

Former Trump Organization CEO Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to perjury charges on Monday, the latest legal woe for former US president Donald Trump’s longtime loyal deputy.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two perjury counts through his lawyer Seth Rosenberg at a hearing before judge Laurie Peterson in a Manhattan criminal court hearing.

He was led into the court in handcuffs after surrendering to authorities earlier on Monday.

Peterson said Weisselberg would be sentenced to five months in jail. The perjury charges stem from his testimony in a civil fraud trial against Trump and an earlier deposition in that case, prosecutor Gary Fishman said.

Weisselberg, 76, said on the witness box in October he was not involved in an incorrect valuation of Trump’s Manhattan penthouse — one of a series of misleading financial statements that New York state attorneygeneral Letitia James said amounted to a fraudulent effort to dupe lenders.

Forbes later published a report accusing Weisselberg of lying on the stand. The magazine said a review of old emails and notes showed he sought to convince its reporters over several years that the apartment was worth more than it truly was.

Trump’s 2015 financial statement valued the unit at $327m based on an estimate that it was 30,000 square feet, nearly three times its actual size. James called the valuation “absurd”.

He was ordered last month to pay $1.1m including interest as the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was found liable for manipulating his net worth in a civil fraud case brought by New York state’s attorney-general.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the trial part of a political witch hunt aimed at derailing his White House run.

Weisselberg’s plea comes ahead of Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan from March 25 on charges of covering up hush money for a porn star.

Weisselberg is not expected to co-operate against Trump, the New York Times has said.