Just days after Donald Trump became a convicted felon — the first former U.S. president to do so — the Trump Organization is now being accused of paying off nine witnesses who testified in his various criminal trials.
According to ProPublica, around the time that these nine witnesses were subpoenaed, they received significant financial perks from the Trump campaign, such as huge pay raises, sudden promotions, generous severance packages, and lots of good ol' fashioned cash.
For instance, one Trump campaign aide who was subpoenaed "had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500," reports ProPublica. "Another employee got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement."
"And one of the campaign's top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee," the report continues.
But, although these sudden job opportunities and financial windfalls that witnesses received seem highly suspicious, busting the Trump Organization for witness tampering could be difficult to do. Especially when its head honcho, Donald Trump, will undoubtedly play his tried-and-true innocent dummy card, as he always does.
From ProPublica:
To prove witness tampering, prosecutors would need to show that perks or punishments were intended to influence testimony. …
"It feels very shady, especially as you detect a pattern. … I would worry about it having a corrupt influence," Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said after hearing from ProPublica about benefits provided to potential Trump witnesses.
But McQuade said these cases are difficult to prove, even if the intent were actually to influence testimony, because savvy defendants don't explicitly attach strings to the benefits and would more likely be "all wink and a nod, 'You're a great, loyal employee, here's a raise.'"
In response to questions from ProPublica, a Trump campaign official said that any raises or other benefits provided to witnesses were the result of their taking on more work due to the campaign or his legal cases heating up, or because they took on new duties. …
Attempts to exert undue influence on witnesses have been a repeated theme of Trump-related investigations and criminal cases over the years.
And more details from Yahoo! News:
According to records reviewed by ProPublica, monthly payments from Trump's campaign to Trump lawyer Boris Epshteyn's company—which appears to be just a one-man show—more than doubled after Trump was indicted—jumping from $26,000 a month to $53,500 a month. …
Susie Wiles, senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign who allegedly witnessed Trump showing off classified documents, also saw a big bump in pay after being called to a grand jury and before Trump's indictment in that case. Her pay jumped from $25,000 a month to $30,000 a month and her consulting firm received a hefty $75,000, according to ProPublica. …
Her daughter Caroline was hired by the Trump campaign a few months later, receiving a salary of $222,000 and becoming the fourth-highest-paid campaign staffer. …
Dan Scavino, a political adviser and Trump's former chief of staff, was given a seat on Truth Social's board, Trump's social media company. His appointment landed between him being subpoenaed and giving testimony to Congress about Trump's role in the January 6 Capitol riot. Scavino also received a $600,000 retention bonus and "a $4 million 'executive promissory note' paid in shares" at some point, according to ProPublica. …
Allen Weisselberg, a retired Trump Organization chief financial officer who was recently convicted of lying for Trump, received a $2 million severance agreement four months after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump for real estate fraud.
