Could be wrong, but I don't think Weisselberg will flip....

[getagrip_already]

Beyond the personal adoration crap, trump is if nothing else a manipulative crime boss wannabe. He undoubtedly has very incriminating video of Weisselberg himself or information on his family that would prove very embarrasing, if not criminal, to him or his family.

Face it, some men (woman also, but men just seem to have creepier dark sides) would rather go to jail than have their families know certain things, or to watch a child go to prison.

Trump uses kompromat and physical threats. We can be pretty certain of that.

The only thing in question is does he have any on Weisselberg. My guess is after all of those years, he does. Men have weaknesses, and trump exploits them.

Personally, I wouldn't bank on any level of public cooperation from Weisselberg. Hopefully the DA doesn't really need it, though it would tighten up the case.

[Fullduplexxx]

1. He (trump) might be a mob boss

[Wounded Bear]

2. He certainly acts like one...

[Arazi]

10. #Traitor isn't a mob boss. He's their money launderer

He doesn't have the intelligence to be a boss. He has real estate and Rudy.

Rudy who took out the NY Italian mob for the Russian mob owned by Oleg Deripaska.

Rudy's in just as deep as #Traitor. It's why they're still allies and why Rudy will go to every absurd degree to try to 'help" the Trump Crime Family

[Bev54]

20. I agree, I think the "kompromat" is usually he has engaged them

in illegal activities to the point that if he goes down so do they. That is what the DA's will work on, that is why immunity is often given.

[Maeve]

3. Fine, then he can go down as well

tRump can't protect him in jail

[getagrip_already]

6. Weisselberg isn't worried about protection in prison...

He is worried about what his family will think of him (just guessing) if videos come out.....

Besides, white collar crimes rarely end up in supermax type settings. He is old, but could get out on parole pretty quickly.

Trump wouldn't even bother to thank him. He will probably call the guy a sucker.

[dawg day]

4. W might not have any real choice.

There's no client privilege for accountants, and all the records can be sub-poenaed.

And he's got to think about what the IRS/SEC/SDNY and NYState have on him. They can put him in jail, and Trump can't.

I hope Michael Cohen weighs in on this in his podcast. He's been talking to Vance's office this last couple weeks, and he knows a lot.

[empedocles]

8. Let us all fervently hope so. Flip AW flip! Soon!

[getagrip_already]

9. just guessing....

But some things could put him in an even worse prison setting. Sex with an underage person for one. That is not a white collar crime, and would tag you as a pedo in a not nice prison.

In any case, my guess is the calculation Weisselberg is making is that going to jail is the better side of his bad options.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Just look at the case of Michael Cohen. n/t

[Arazi]

7. He won't flip because #Traitor is a Russian mob money launderer

And Weisselberg's is his accountant for the dirty deals.

Weisselberger's family will be slowly tortured and murdered in front of his eyes if he flips.

He's old. He's going to kill himself or get thrown out a window

[ProudMNDemocrat]

19. The books I have read about the Russian mob....

Are enough to make one have nightmares. Their brutality makes the Italian mob look like Altar boys.

[dawg day]

21. Michael Cohen did go to prison, had a few bad years (not to discount that!)--

But as Elijah Cummings told him, coming clean restored him to himself and his family, and he has a new life now.

Weisselberg should consider that example. I know Cohen probably still worries that he's in danger, but if Trump had that kind of power, Cohen would be in hiding now, and he's not-- got a podcast and a bestseller!

[Arazi]

22. If you listened to Cohen's public testimony, he carefully shielded #Traitor's mob business

And he never ratted them out. He pointed them to Weisselberg over and over.

He took the hit for the illegal Stormy Daniels payoff (Cohen was still so enamored of Trump when he made that plea deal he still called him Individual 1) and kept his mouth shut on the mob.

That's why Cohen's still alive. He kept the big secrets.

At this point Tish James and Cy Vance have the Trump Crime Family taxes. Cohen can now say criminal info was lifted from those (which is why he's NOW talking to the investigators again).

I give Cohen some real props - he's masterfully walked that fine line between being a rat, taking the jail time as a badge of honor (amongst thieves) before he soured on Trump, and now spilling more info with plausible deniability with the taxes in hand. He's no dummy. A thug mobster but not stupid

[Eyeball_Kid]

11. The process of "flipping"...

would entail the prosecution approaching Weisselberg with "kompromat" of their own-- in the form of indictments for conspiracy to commit mail, bank, wire, and tax fraud, and RICO charges that would wipe Weisselberg and his family completely out of any wealth. Prosecuting attorneys have a treasure trove of leverage. Weisselberg should be an easy sell.

On the other hand, Trump's power over Weisselberg is diminishing, and will collapse when Trump gets hit with multiple indictments from multiple sources. He'll have no life outside of meetings with lawyers, if he can retain any, and prosecutors. It's right around the corner.

[getagrip_already]

14. wonder if that was what trump was doing in nyc this week?

Taking care of family business........

I'm thinking of madoff. They had him nailed dead to nuts. He will spend the rest of his miserable life in jail. But he didn't flip or implicate anyone else which could have reduced his punishment.. That is unusual.......

[lagomorph777]

12. I'm not sure it matters. Vance has the documents.

Weisselberg can choose to go to jail with his boss. Fine by me.

[WarGamer]

24. Recent leaks said they're focusing on Weisselberg, the guy responsible for the docs in question.

[Johnny2X2X]

13. Trump's not that smart

He's more of a bully, he refuses to pay because he has good lawyers. He trashes people after the fact. But setting people up to have leverage over them? He's too dumb for that. Now politically, some of his allies do that type of stuff for him, there is zero doubt Putin has shared Kompromat with Trump of many Republican politicians.

He's not a mob boss, just an incompetent born rich brat who's always known how exploit the power differences in business deals.

[soothsayer]

15. This. Bratty bully

[soothsayer]

16. Not sure. He lives (or did) in a modest home

Might not be a creep.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215218898

[getagrip_already]

17. I'm jaded I guess...

I've worked a long time in high tech, reaching just below the cxo level many times. I've seen guys with (otherwise) solid family values do some pretty sleazy things.

Like I said, I'm jaded. But people can be weak.

[soothsayer]

18. I'm just hoping someone turns on Florida man

[WarGamer]

23. Correct

Trump has multiple layers of deniability between himself and financial crimes.

Laughable that people think Trump filled out his loan docs personally with a sharpie and paperclipped valuations on them.