The Trump Organization’s director of security has agreed to testify before a Manhattan grand jury investigating the former president and his company, according to a person familiar with the case.
Matthew Calamari Jr., 28, received a subpoena to testify on Tuesday from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., and will appear before the grand jury Thursday afternoon, according to the person.
Calamari Jr. is the son of Matthew Calamari Sr., who now serves as the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer and has worked for former president Donald Trump as a bodyguard, security man and executive for more than 30 years.
The elder Calamari has not been subpoenaed, according to the person familiar with the case. Vance’s office declined to comment.
Under New York law, Calamari Jr. would automatically receive immunity from prosecution in this case in exchange for his testimony — though he could be charged with perjury if he lies.
It’s unclear what subjects prosecutors want to ask him about. In Calamari Jr.’s LinkedIn profile, he says he has worked for the company since 2011, his freshman year of college, and was promoted to corporate director of security in 2017.
The planned grand jury testimony of Calamari Jr. was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which also reported that another Trump executive, controller Jeffrey McConney, will also testify before the grand jury Thursday. (The Washington Post could not independently verify the reporting on McConney.) This will be a repeat appearance by McConney, the Journal reported, after he testified before the grand jury earlier this year.
Nicholas Gravante Jr., an attorney who represents both the elder and younger Calamari, said in a written statement that “if either of my clients are subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, they have no choice but to do so, and will appear and testify truthfully.”
“They have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide,” Gravante said.
Alan Futerfas, an attorney for the Trump Organization, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening. Neither did an attorney for McConney.
Both Vance and New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, have spent several years investigating the financial practices of Trump’s company, spurred by allegations of fraud made by former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Vance waged a long legal battle to obtain Trump’s tax returns, which he won after two trips to the Supreme Court.
Earlier this summer, Vance’s office indicted Trump’s longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, as well as two Trump corporate entities. Weisselberg was charged with 15 felony counts, all related to an alleged scheme to evade taxes by hiding part of Trump executives’ annual salaries from the IRS.
Weisselberg and the Trump entities have pleaded not guilty in that case. In Weisselberg’s indictment, prosecutors said that unnamed “others” at the Trump Organization were also involved in the tax-evasion scheme.
But nobody else at the company has been formally accused of any wrongdoing. The grand jury in this case could continue hearing testimony into the fall. Vance, who did not run for reelection, will leave his office at year’s end, but his successor could continue the investigation.