Trump Biographer Predicted Trump Organization Will Go Out Of Business

Tim O'Brien, the biographer who chronicled Donald Trump's rise to fame in a 2005 book, predicted that the former President's company will go out of business.

In a Friday interview, the author of "Trump Nation" said that there are various signs of an impending collapse, reported Business Insider.

Yahoo! reported that the prediction came after Trump's longtime chief financial officer (CFO) Allen Weisselberg took a plea deal and admitted that the Trump Organization dodged payroll taxes for 15 years. Now, Weisselberg will have to testify against the company.

O'Brien said that if Weisselberg is found to have "lied during that testimony, could face as much as 15 years in prison instead of a five-month sentence he will get otherwise." He noted that so, the top executive is going to be "mightily incented to answer every question that the prosecutors asked him about a wide range of financial issues in the Trump Organization." The result could be that Trump's company could "wind up" going "out of business," O'Brien said.

According to him, the company is already in a "very vulnerable position." He noted that Trump is in the worst business one can "imagine during the COVID era." He gave examples of "urban real estate, and essentially tourism and hotel businesses." The author said that Trump has got a lot of debt against those "businesses and he is personally going to need a substantial amount." He feels that the former President’s is also "flailing possibly financially. I think a lot of this is going to come to a head in the fall."

Meanwhile, Weisselberg took the deal Thursday. He pleaded guilty to 15 counts, including larceny and tax fraud. Now the 75-year-old is potentially going to be the star witness against the Trump Organization in a trial. It is over what prosecutors say was a “sweeping and audacious” scheme by the company to help top executives, including Weisselberg, avoid taxes on perks like rent-free apartments and luxury cars. Weisselberg is still employed by the Trump Organization, but after the July 2021 indictment, his title was changed from CFO to senior adviser.

It isn’t clear what’s next for the Trump Organization and Trump after Weisselberg plea. Trump isn’t charged in the case, and prosecutors haven’t alleged any personal misconduct by the former President’s. According to the Associated Press, if the Republican's company is convicted of a crime, it could complicate future business deals or lead to steep fines.

The trial is starting in October, right before the midterm elections. It could also produce new revelations about the company’s business practices even though Trump’s supporters might not care. The entire case is being cooked up by Democrats to damage him politically, said the former President.