Feb 28, 2019

House Intel Committee plans to bring in Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg

Alayna Treene

Allen Weiselberg behind Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

The House Intelligence Committee plans to bring in the Trump Organization's longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to testify, the Daily Beast first reported and a Democratic aide confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen testified yesterday that Weisselberg was directly involved in Trump's sketchy legal practices. Cohen alleged that Weisselberg and Trump discussed reimbursements for hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels, and that Weisselberg was aware Trump committed potential insurance fraud by inflating his assets.

  • House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings said Thursday that the panel is also pursuing an interview with Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives.

Worth noting: Weisselberg was granted immunity in August by federal prosecutors in New York for cooperating with their investigation. However, it appears Trump still has Weisselberg's loyalty. NBC reported yesterday that Weisselberg still works with The Trump Organization and has never been a cooperating witness against Trump.

Go deeper: The Trump Organization's coming "proctology exam"

Go deeper

Axios

Coronavirus spreads to more countries, and U.S. ups its case count

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus continues to spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting those are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the U.S. Meanwhile, Italy reported its first virus-related death on Friday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,359 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel, Lebanon and Iran.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 4 hours ago - Health
Axios

Axios Dashboard

Keep up with breaking news throughout the day — sign up for our alerts.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy
Orion Rummler

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $3 billion to settle consumer abuse charges

Clients use an ATM at a Wells Fargo Bank in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo: Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Wells Fargo agreed to a pay a combined $3 billion to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for opening millions of fake customer accounts between 2002 and 2016, the SEC said in a press release.

The big picture: The fine "is among the largest corporate penalties reached during the Trump administration," the Washington Post reports.

Go deeperArrow6 hours ago - Economy & Business