On Monday, the Trump Organization announced that indicted chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was now just former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. The longtime CFO is also off the paperwork at most of the other Trump companies, including Trump’s hotels and golf clubs. Weisselberg’s name has also been given a coat of Wite-Out at the ridiculous assortment of Trump companies which are used to to shuffle around the money for other Trump companies, such as the Trump Payroll Corporation, which was the company used for passing along the perks that got Weisselberg indicted in the first place.  

According to The Washington Post, this means that “The removal of Weisselberg’s name from these corporate filings could avoid questions from regulators, lenders or vendors by leaving out the name of an indicted executive.” Which seems a bit like saying that the James Gang could skip all those bank-robbery investigations if Frank took his name off the letterhead.  

As CNN notes, the until-yesterday CFO was just indicted for allegedly running a 15-year tax fraud scheme at all those Trumpian companies. It seems unlikely that any of those regulators, lenders, or vendors are going to forget that any time in the next, say, five to 10 years. Especially since it seems highly unlikely that Weisselberg is going to be the last officer at the Trump Organization to face consequences for treating financial law as optional.

As NBC News reported back at the beginning of the month, the 15-count indictment against Weisselberg is indicative of two things: the now-former CFO seems not ready to flip at the moment, and this is highly unlikely to be the end of the investigation underway by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. But the fact that Weisselberg is currently pleading not guilty isn’t an absolute sign that he’s locked in position. It’s a sign that Weisselberg—and Weisselberg’s attorneys—know that he’s not the end game of this investigation. Since Vance (and a number of other investigations) are really aimed at the guy whose golden letters are over the door, there’s no point in trying to make a deal too early. 

Weisselberg’s team will sit back for the moment and see what Vance produces on his own. If it becomes clear that Vance absolutely needs the just-ousted CFO’s help to nail down charges against Trump, then Weisselberg will be in an excellent position to bargain away the indictments he is currently facing. If it starts to sound like Vance might pull up a net full of Trumps on his own, expect Weisselberg’s attorneys to be on the horn immediately, looking to spill while what he has to sell still holds value.

In any case, the change in Weisselberg’s role at the Trump Organization appears to be nothing but a transparent effort to put a pretense of distance between the company and the guy facing 15 counts of tax fraud. Weisselberg isn’t actually leaving the company, and it seems that his actual role isn’t really changing beyond where his name appears on the paperwork.

The only evidence that Weisselberg should be worried is a statement that came from that other guy on July 1: “I’m with him all the way.”

Which makes it worth setting the wayback machine to 2018, when Trump loudly defended Michael Cohen as someone “I have always liked and respected” and as someone who would not flip on him “despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media.” And that all turned out so well for Cohen.

As NBC News makes clear, the fact that the first set of indictments made by Vance didn’t include a laundry list of charges aimed at Trump may be disappointing, but it’s an indication of an investigation that’s proceeding in a way that is very carefully crossing the “t”s and dotting every “i.”  If the evidence is there of Trump’s direct involvement in the fraud and disdain for legal governance that seems to be the hallmark of the Trump Organization, it will likely come forth in time.

On the other hand, Trump didn’t employ Weisselberg for nothing. On paper at least, the 500+ entangled corporations, many of which have—or at least, had—Weisselberg occupying that same CFO role, may actually make it difficult to find Trump’s signature in a spot where he is clearly, knowingly, approving an illegal act. As Cohen made clear during his testimony to Congress, Trump was very good at making clear to underlings what he wanted them to do, while not saying it outright.

Allen Weisselberg may not be ready to flip at the moment, but somewhere he and his attorneys better be building a very thick dossier of what they have to offer when the time comes. Because there’s no one left at Pennsylvania Avenue who’s going to see that the ex-CFO gets a nice, fast pardon.