Jennifer and Barry Weisselberg’s divorce was a contentious battle, but few realized during the 2017 and 2018 proceedings that it would end up at the center of one of the most controversial criminal investigations in history: the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into Donald Trump.
Barry is an employee of the Trump Organization and his father, Allen, is the company’s chief financial officer. Jennifer says divorce proceedings left her with “boxes and boxes” of files that prosecutors are interested in.
To help sort the financial documents, dating back decades, Jennifer said she hired a lawyer who previously prosecuted white collar and organized crime cases for the Manhattan DA and a former homicide detective for the IRS.
Judah Engelmayer
On April 7, a New York Grand Jury subpoenaed material related to her ex-husband and his family, almost all of whom had been dealt with by Jennifer as a result of their divorce. Jennifer’s attorney, Duncan Levin, said she had provided some documents to investigators even before the subpoena.
“Jennifer is extremely committed to working with researchers and giving everything that is relevant,” said Levin. “We will continue to review documents in our possession to see if they would be useful to prosecutors and investigators, and will remain in close contact with their offices as we continue to search the materials we have”, said Levin.
In a series of conversations with CBS News, Jennifer described her interviews with detectives and also shared previous claims of domestic violence against Barry as part of a 2020 temporary restraining order petition – allegations he has previously denied.
While detectives initially asked her about gifts and apparent benefits to the job she and her husband reportedly received while married – including free housing rent in a valuable apartment owned by the Trump organization – she said investigators are increasingly interested in her ex-husband’s father.
“The first meeting was about everything I got (from the Trump organization), every role I had, Barry, Barry, Barry, and when Mark Pomerantz was brought in, it went straight to Allen. The whole thing is about Allen, ” she said.
Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor with experience in financial matters, was hired by the DA in February to work on the Trump investigation.
Barry and two Trump Organization attorneys did not respond to inquiries from CBS News.
Allen Weisselberg, an accountant, has worked for what would become the Trump Organization since 1973. The company was then run by Mr. Trump, Fred.
“Allen would never say this in front of Donald, never, but he bragged about his role and how, you know, he (Trump) learned everything he knows,” Jennifer said.
Jennifer described the interviews with the Manhattan prosecutors: “They usually have four or five focuses. They start asking me questions about spending, and about who (different people) are and how they spend. The other attorneys will ask those questions. but then when it’s Pomerantz, he and I see the big picture, “Jennifer said.” And then it goes beyond compensation to what each person’s role was … how they work, how they do things, you know, their movement, why they have visited different places or why there is a bank account in Hicksville, Long Island, and a PO Box on Long Island. “
No member of the Weisselberg family has been charged with criminal behavior.
She said investigators have asked a lot of questions about the Trump Organization’s Wollman Rink in Central Park, which Barry operated in conjunction with a nearby carousel. The two almost entirely cash tourist attractions bring in millions of dollars annually for the Trump organization: $ 12 million in the year before Mr. Trump became president, according to his personal financial disclosure reports, although revenues fell to $ 4.5 last year million as a result of the pandemic.
Jennifer said she recalled her ex-husband saying that once a week, “every Thursday at 1 am,” he brought personal money from the surgery “to his father.”
The April 7 grand jury summons to divorce documents from Jennifer specifically asked for documents related to the rink and carousel, among other financial data.
CBS News
Prosecutors have also asked about Allen’s other son Jack, a director at Ladder Capital Corp., a commercial real estate lender who has lent nearly $ 280 million to the Trump organization. Sources of knowledge of the investigation told CBS News that prosecutors are reviewing financial documents related to four Trump Organization buildings funded by Ladder.
“They are clearly in the information gathering stage, but you feel this is a clear priority. Every meeting and every call is very staffed,” said Levin.
Jennifer said The Manhattan DA first approached her about the Trump investigation in December 2020, two months after she spoke with investigators from the New York State Attorney General’s office, which is conducting a civil investigation into the Trump organization.
Ahead of those meetings, in August 2020, Jennifer said she met with the office’s top domestic violence prosecutors.
A court filing in support of the temporary restraining order describes several claims of abuse dating back to the year 2000. Allegations include harassment, assault, sexual abuse, violent touching, strangulation, identity theft, stalking and major theft. She claims to have sustained serious injuries, including one case that she says partially blinded her in one eye after surgery, and another that she said the incident left her with permanent ear and jaw damage.
Barry has previously denied allegations of abuse. According to the online publication Air Mail, Barry wrote in an affidavit on June 16, 2018, “I never hit her … I repeat, I never raised a hand to Jennifer.”
Barry has not been charged with any crimes.
Barry did not respond to questions from CBS News about Jennifer’s abuse allegations.
Barry, who filed for protection against Jennifer in 2017 and then withdrawn, citing “ bodily harm, ” eventually gained full custody of their two children.
Jennifer said joining a domestic violence support group helped her realize she wanted to come forward.
“I have so many women who look up to me who have been abused themselves. This has been so crazy, but I’m willing to stand up as a woman,” said Jennifer.
But she said the alleged abuse did not affect her decision to cooperate with the Trump Organization investigations.
“Even if it was just the financial crime (investigation) I would still do the same thing as I did. I don’t need extra motivation to do the right thing. I’m not that way. You know, I’m never afraid of it. and I’m not afraid of them either, ”Jennifer said.