Why this Trump loyalist is willing to serve months in Rikers prison

The fifteenth of November was a important time for Donald Trump. That evening, successful an opulent, chandeliered ballroom successful his Mar-a-Lago resort, helium announced to the satellite that helium was moving for President of the United States again successful 2024. The timing could person been risky; earlier that day successful the contrasting mounting of a drab, authorities courtroom his erstwhile Chief Financial Officer began giving grounds successful the Trump Organization's transgression taxation fraud proceedings successful New York.

But the erstwhile president had small crushed to fearfulness that Allen Weisselberg's grounds would harm him oregon overshadow his announcement. Indeed, arsenic expected, his longtime worker - who started with his begetter Fred Trump and who was 1 of the archetypal to articulation his institution successful 1986 - remained loyal adjacent portion nether immense unit arsenic the prosecution's prima witness.

"In a mean organisation, a corrupt CFO would beryllium terminated and thrown retired the door," says Professor Maurice Schweitzer from the Wharton School of Business. "And you would privation to abstracted and sphere the integrity of the institution. In this case, it's the nonstop opposite."

While Mr Trump sounded disconnected connected societal media, pinning the full strategy connected Weisselberg, helium continued to connection him his enactment successful arguably much meaningful ways. Jurors heard however the Trump Organization was inactive paying Weisselberg his aforesaid wage nether the rubric elder adviser, covering his ineligible fees, and precocious celebrated his day successful the office.

The proceedings provided a fascinating penetration into the narration betwixt the loyal lieutenant and his brag - arsenic good arsenic prosecutors' efforts to effort to crook 1 against the different by threatening Weisselberg with a lengthy condemnation astatine New York's notorious Rikers Island prison.

Weisselberg is believed to person been offered a reduced condemnation successful instrumentality for his grounds successful this proceedings arsenic prosecutors focused connected Trump. He pleaded blameworthy successful August to 15 felonies including taxation evasion nether a woody which volition spot him service a five-month situation word and wage astir $2m successful fines, arsenic agelong arsenic his grounds astir his crimes astatine the Trump Organization is truthful.

But helium refused to co-operate with the wider probe into Mr Trump and his concern practices.

The question of what Mr Trump perchance knew astir executives deceiving the taxation authorities and not decently reporting benefits became a persistent and tricky 1 passim the proceedings fixed helium was not personally charged with wrongdoing.

Weisselberg prepared for his grounds with some the prosecution and the defence, an antithetic arrangement. The Trump Organization's lawyers repeatedly argued during the proceedings that helium was motivated by greed, and that "Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg." The defence strategy, successful a nutshell, was that the erstwhile CFO was not shown the doorway due to the fact that helium was regarded arsenic a household member, "a prodigal son".

Prosecutors passim the proceedings cautiously tried to extract concessions from Weisselberg to bolster their case, portion besides poking holes successful his communicative that Mr Trump and the concern knew thing of his 15-year taxation dodging scheme. They walked the assemblage done however Weisselberg joined Mr Trump from time 1 and roseate from accountant to controller to CFO. He had heavy cognition of each of the fiscal workings of the concern arsenic it grew. His grounds was cardinal to exposing corruption and fraud astatine the Trump Organization and gave penetration into however the household operated.

On the stand, the 75-year-old teared up arsenic helium was asked: "Did you betray the spot that was placed successful you?"

Defence lawyer Alan Futerfas continued: "Are you embarrassed by what you did?"

"More than you tin imagine," helium replied.

The antheral who Mr Trump erstwhile described arsenic pugnacious to contestants connected an occurrence of The Apprentice, his aged world show, appeared timid and nervous.

A root adjacent to the lawsuit insists Weisselberg's grounds nether oath was truthful and that helium chose not to marque up stories astir Mr Trump. "That's conscionable communal motivation decency. And it's besides accordant with the regularisation of law, you should not marque up lies astir idiosyncratic and past connection to springiness that testimony, which is perjury, conscionable to amended your ain ineligible concern aft you person messed up successful bid to effort to get a reduced sentence," the root told the BBC.

His determination to instrumentality blame, however, did not person the jury, which unanimously decided to convict the Trump Organization. Nor did it person erstwhile national authoritative Mitchell Epner, who got the content that the 75-year-old was precise scared. "He was hoping to beryllium capable to placate Donald Trump by his testimony. And I took those tears to beryllium self-pity for fearfulness that helium is going to beryllium frozen retired of Trump World," said Mr Epner.

Prof Schweitzer says the dynamics astatine play successful this proceedings were successful enactment with Mr Trump's absorption style, what academics notation to arsenic a "dominant" leader.

"There's broadly 2 kinds of leaders, determination are leaders who summation presumption due to the fact that of their expertise and contented and capabilities, and determination are leaders who support their positions of powerfulness due to the fact that of dominance," says Prof Schweitzer.

"Basically, they propulsion levers of rewards and punishments to coerce oregon compel radical to bash what they want."

Mr Trump has been palmy passim his concern and governmental vocation figuring retired "loyalty levers to reward friends and hammer foes", says Prof Schweitzer.

The erstwhile president has a past of rewarding those who basal by him and attacking those who don't. Before helium near office, helium pardoned respective of his erstwhile aides of their convictions, including his National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, his ex-adviser Roger Stone and his erstwhile run president Paul Manafort.

On societal media, President Trump praised Manafort for not "breaking" similar his erstwhile lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen and Manafort's lawman Rick Gates were convicted successful the Mueller probe into Russian interference successful the 2016 election, but some co-operated with prosecutors. They, to the astonishment of no-one, did not get pardons from Mr Trump.

The erstwhile president's attraction of Mike Pence is different illustration of however helium places loyalty supra different values. Mr Trump reportedly told the erstwhile vice-president not to "wimp out" and to not certify the results of the 2020 election, according to an excerpt from Mr Pence's book. He recounts Mr Trump asking him: "If it gives you the power, wherefore would you reason it?"

Prof Schweitzer says some Mr Trump and Weisselberg were shaped by the epoch of '80s New York and the mindset that greed is good. "Greed was celebrated and endorsed successful a mode that it is not today, we had antithetic mindsets astir this chaotic westbound of capitalism," helium says. "Things that we are saying are amerciable were communal practice. These men truly enjoyed the privileges that came with being a precise powerful, affluent idiosyncratic successful the 1980s who were not constrained by the rules that bound the remainder of us."

Mr Epner agrees. "The New York existent property concern has been a soiled concern for not decades, but centuries. And helium [Mr Trump] was portion and parcel of the soiled portion of the NY existent property concern and past helium shone the biggest spotlight successful the satellite connected himself [with the presidency]."

On the last time of the trial, Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said during closing statements that the grounds had shown that Mr Trump knew precisely what was going on. He reminded the assemblage of that evidence, including a memo the erstwhile president initialled authorising a wage chopped for different enforcement for the nonstop magnitude of his perk, rent paid by the company.

"Mr. Trump explicitly sanctioning taxation fraud! That's what this papers shows," Mr Steinglass said.

To many, it begged the question wherefore the erstwhile president, who built his full estimation and bravado disconnected the backmost of his namesake company, wasn't charged, too. The Manhattan District Attorney's bureau says investigations into Mr Trump are ongoing.