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Eric Trump testifies he wasn’t aware of dad’s financial statements, but emails show some involvement
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Jennifer Peltz And Michael R. Sisak
Published Nov 02, 2023 • 4 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, swore Thursday that he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business.
But when a lawyer for New York state lawyer pulled up decade-old emails in which a fellow Trump Organization executive asked him for information needed to complete one of his dad’s financial statements, the irritated son strove to clarify.
“We’re a major organization, a massive real estate organization _ yes, I’m fairly sure I understand that we have financial statements. Absolutely,” Eric Trump testified. But, he insisted: “I had no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition.”
Eric Trump followed brother Donald Trump Jr. to the witness stand Thursday at the family’s New York civil fraud trial, a prelude to their father’s scheduled testimony on Monday. Both sons are Trump Organization executive vice presidents.
Answering questions for a second day, Trump Jr. also revealed that gaming giant Bally’s recently paid their company $60 million to buy the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The terms of the lease transfer for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx hadn’t previously been disclosed.
The sale came after the city strove to end Donald Trump’s association with the course after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The company managed the 18-hole course, now called Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point, until this year.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Donald Trump, his company and top executives including Eric and Donald Jr., accusing them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on annual financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to secure loans and make deals.
The former president and other defendants deny wrongdoing.
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, reiterated on his Truth Social platform Thursday that he sees the trial as “RIGGED,” a “Miscarriage of Justice,” and “Election Interference.” James and the judge who will decide the case, Arthur Engoron, are Democrats.
“The Trump Organization is Financially Strong, Powerful, Very Liquid, AND HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG,” Trump wrote.
Eric Trump, as he started his testimony, said he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition,” didn’t believe he’d ever seen one and “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition.”
“It’s not what I did for the company,” said the son, who has insisted his interests lie mainly in “pouring concrete” _ constructing and operating properties. He said that while he knew the company had financial documents, he “was not personally aware of the statement of financial condition.”
State lawyer Andrew Amer then showed him 2013 emails from then-Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney who explained to Eric Trump that he was “working on your father’s statement of financial condition” and needed information on one of the company’s properties.
“So you did know about your father’s annual financial statement as of August 2013?” Amer asked.
“It appears that way,” testified Eric Trump, who was a lower-level executive at the time.
In another email that year, McConney said he was “working on the notes to Mr. Trump’s annual financial statement” and asked Eric and others for an update on any major construction work that had recently been started.
“Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father,” Eric Trump said, shifting back in his chair and adjusting his suit jacket. Asked a question along the same line, he sprang into his answer about the company being a “massive real estate organization,” his voice rising as he spoke.
Donald Trump Jr. testified earlier Thursday that, despite James’ allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” His father has said that, if anything, the numbers listed on the documents low-balled his wealth and the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties.
Echoing his testimony of Wednesday, Trump Jr. insisted he dealt with the financial statements only in passing — signing off on them as a trustee for his father’s trust and providing them to lenders to comply with loan requirements. He reiterated that he did so while relying on assurances from company finance executives and an outside accounting firm that the information was accurate.
“If they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine, I would’ve been fine with that and signed off accordingly,” he testified.
Outside the courthouse, Trump Jr. told reporters he thought his testimony went “really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”
“Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” he said. “I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it: accounting.”
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Jennifer Peltz And Michael R. Sisak
Published Nov 02, 2023 • 4 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, swore Thursday that he was never involved with or aware of financial statements that state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business.
But when a lawyer for New York state lawyer pulled up decade-old emails in which a fellow Trump Organization executive asked him for information needed to complete one of his dad’s financial statements, the irritated son strove to clarify.
“We’re a major organization, a massive real estate organization _ yes, I’m fairly sure I understand that we have financial statements. Absolutely,” Eric Trump testified. But, he insisted: “I had no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition.”
Eric Trump followed brother Donald Trump Jr. to the witness stand Thursday at the family’s New York civil fraud trial, a prelude to their father’s scheduled testimony on Monday. Both sons are Trump Organization executive vice presidents.
Answering questions for a second day, Trump Jr. also revealed that gaming giant Bally’s recently paid their company $60 million to buy the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The terms of the lease transfer for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx hadn’t previously been disclosed.
The sale came after the city strove to end Donald Trump’s association with the course after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The company managed the 18-hole course, now called Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point, until this year.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Donald Trump, his company and top executives including Eric and Donald Jr., accusing them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on annual financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to secure loans and make deals.
The former president and other defendants deny wrongdoing.
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, reiterated on his Truth Social platform Thursday that he sees the trial as “RIGGED,” a “Miscarriage of Justice,” and “Election Interference.” James and the judge who will decide the case, Arthur Engoron, are Democrats.
“The Trump Organization is Financially Strong, Powerful, Very Liquid, AND HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG,” Trump wrote.
Eric Trump, as he started his testimony, said he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition,” didn’t believe he’d ever seen one and “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition.”
“It’s not what I did for the company,” said the son, who has insisted his interests lie mainly in “pouring concrete” _ constructing and operating properties. He said that while he knew the company had financial documents, he “was not personally aware of the statement of financial condition.”
State lawyer Andrew Amer then showed him 2013 emails from then-Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney who explained to Eric Trump that he was “working on your father’s statement of financial condition” and needed information on one of the company’s properties.
“So you did know about your father’s annual financial statement as of August 2013?” Amer asked.
“It appears that way,” testified Eric Trump, who was a lower-level executive at the time.
In another email that year, McConney said he was “working on the notes to Mr. Trump’s annual financial statement” and asked Eric and others for an update on any major construction work that had recently been started.
“Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father,” Eric Trump said, shifting back in his chair and adjusting his suit jacket. Asked a question along the same line, he sprang into his answer about the company being a “massive real estate organization,” his voice rising as he spoke.
Donald Trump Jr. testified earlier Thursday that, despite James’ allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” His father has said that, if anything, the numbers listed on the documents low-balled his wealth and the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties.
Echoing his testimony of Wednesday, Trump Jr. insisted he dealt with the financial statements only in passing — signing off on them as a trustee for his father’s trust and providing them to lenders to comply with loan requirements. He reiterated that he did so while relying on assurances from company finance executives and an outside accounting firm that the information was accurate.
“If they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine, I would’ve been fine with that and signed off accordingly,” he testified.
Outside the courthouse, Trump Jr. told reporters he thought his testimony went “really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”
“Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” he said. “I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it: accounting.”
Eric Trump testifies he wasn’t aware of dad’s financial statements, but emails show some involvement
But emails show some involvement.
Trump asks appeals court to lift gag order imposed on him in 2020 election interference case
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 02, 2023 • 1 minute read
Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump says those involved in the case must not disclose possible jurors' names as she set rules around conducting research into potential members of the jury.(Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, File)
Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump says those involved in the case must not disclose possible jurors' names as she set rules around conducting research into potential members of the jury.(Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court on Thursday to lift a gag order restricting his speech about potential witnesses, prosecutors and court staff in the case that accuses him of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s attorneys urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to block the gag order ruling from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan while the former president pursues his appeals.
“The Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and over 100 million Americans who listen to him,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in court papers.
Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, reimposed the gag order on Sunday after denying Trump’s request to let him speak freely while he challenges the restrictions in higher courts.
The order bars Trump from making public statements targeting special counsel Jack Smith and his team, court employees and possible witnesses.
It does not prohibit Trump from airing general complaints, even incendiary ones, about the case against him. The judge has explicitly said Trump is still allowed to assert his claims of innocence and his claims that the case is politically motivated.
Trump has made verbal attacks on those involved in the criminal cases against him a central part of his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, and cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system working to deny him another term.
In pushing to reinstate the gag order, prosecutors pointed to Trump’s recent social media comments about his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, which they said represented an attempt to influence and intimidate a likely witness in the case.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 02, 2023 • 1 minute read
Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump says those involved in the case must not disclose possible jurors' names as she set rules around conducting research into potential members of the jury.(Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, File)
Chutkan, the federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case against former President Donald Trump says those involved in the case must not disclose possible jurors' names as she set rules around conducting research into potential members of the jury.(Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts via AP, File) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump asked a federal appeals court on Thursday to lift a gag order restricting his speech about potential witnesses, prosecutors and court staff in the case that accuses him of scheming to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s attorneys urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to block the gag order ruling from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan while the former president pursues his appeals.
“The Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and over 100 million Americans who listen to him,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in court papers.
Chutkan, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, reimposed the gag order on Sunday after denying Trump’s request to let him speak freely while he challenges the restrictions in higher courts.
The order bars Trump from making public statements targeting special counsel Jack Smith and his team, court employees and possible witnesses.
It does not prohibit Trump from airing general complaints, even incendiary ones, about the case against him. The judge has explicitly said Trump is still allowed to assert his claims of innocence and his claims that the case is politically motivated.
Trump has made verbal attacks on those involved in the criminal cases against him a central part of his bid to reclaim the White House in 2024. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, and cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system working to deny him another term.
In pushing to reinstate the gag order, prosecutors pointed to Trump’s recent social media comments about his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, which they said represented an attempt to influence and intimidate a likely witness in the case.
Trump asks appeals court to lift gag order imposed on him in 2020 election interference case
"The Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and over 100 million Americans who listen to him."
Judge, citing Trump’s ’repeated public statements,’ orders anonymous jury in defamation suit trial
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Larry Neumeister
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 3 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge cited former President Donald Trump’s “repeated public statements” Friday among reasons why a jury will be anonymous when it considers damages stemming from a defamation lawsuit by a writer who says Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order establishing that the jury to be chosen for the January trial in Manhattan will be transported by the U.S. Marshals Service.
“In view of Mr. Trump’s repeated public statements with respect to the plaintiff and court in this case as well as in other cases against him, and the extensive media coverage that this case already has received and that is likely to increase once the trial is imminent or underway, the Court finds that there is strong reason to believe the jury requires the protections” anonymity provides, Kaplan wrote in an order.
Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Another jury that was also anonymous in May awarded $5 million in damages to columnist E. Jean Carroll, 79, after finding that Trump sexually abused her in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury department store and defamed her with comments he made in the fall of 2022 that disparaged her claims. The jury rejected Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her. Kaplan presided over that trial as well.
The Jan. 15 trial stems from a lawsuit first filed in 2019 in response to comments Trump made after she wrote in a memoir that Trump attacked her after their chance late-day encounter in a midtown Manhattan store near Trump Tower, where Trump resided. The progression of the lawsuit was slowed by appeals. A federal appeals court has yet to rule on Trump’s claim that absolute presidential immunity protects him from the lawsuit.
After the May verdict, Kaplan ruled that Carroll’s lawyers will not have to re-establish to a new jury that Trump sexually attacked Carroll. Instead, they’ll be left to decide what damages, if any, he should face for his remarks.
That lawsuit has been updated by Carroll’s lawyers to include remarks Trump made on a televised town hall a day after the verdict. Carroll seeks at least $10 million in compensatory damages and substantially more in punitive damages.
A week ago, Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was fined $10,000 by a New York state judge for violating a gag order prohibiting him from attacking court personnel in a civil fraud case.
The state judge, Arthur Engoron, required Trump to sit in a witness box and answer questions. Trump denied he was referring to a senior law clerk when he told reporters outside court that someone “sitting alongside” Engoron was “perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
After Trump, 77, testified, the judge said: “I find that the witness is not credible.”
Engoron, who had earlier fined Trump $5,000 for violating the same gag order after the judge found that he had targeted his principal law clerk on social media, even suggested the possibility of holding Trump “in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him” for further violations.
Trump also faces four criminal indictments. He has pleaded not guilty in two cases accusing him of seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, along with a classified documents case and charges that he helped arrange a payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels to silence her before the 2016 presidential election.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Larry Neumeister
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 3 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge cited former President Donald Trump’s “repeated public statements” Friday among reasons why a jury will be anonymous when it considers damages stemming from a defamation lawsuit by a writer who says Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order establishing that the jury to be chosen for the January trial in Manhattan will be transported by the U.S. Marshals Service.
“In view of Mr. Trump’s repeated public statements with respect to the plaintiff and court in this case as well as in other cases against him, and the extensive media coverage that this case already has received and that is likely to increase once the trial is imminent or underway, the Court finds that there is strong reason to believe the jury requires the protections” anonymity provides, Kaplan wrote in an order.
Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Another jury that was also anonymous in May awarded $5 million in damages to columnist E. Jean Carroll, 79, after finding that Trump sexually abused her in 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury department store and defamed her with comments he made in the fall of 2022 that disparaged her claims. The jury rejected Carroll’s claim that Trump raped her. Kaplan presided over that trial as well.
The Jan. 15 trial stems from a lawsuit first filed in 2019 in response to comments Trump made after she wrote in a memoir that Trump attacked her after their chance late-day encounter in a midtown Manhattan store near Trump Tower, where Trump resided. The progression of the lawsuit was slowed by appeals. A federal appeals court has yet to rule on Trump’s claim that absolute presidential immunity protects him from the lawsuit.
After the May verdict, Kaplan ruled that Carroll’s lawyers will not have to re-establish to a new jury that Trump sexually attacked Carroll. Instead, they’ll be left to decide what damages, if any, he should face for his remarks.
That lawsuit has been updated by Carroll’s lawyers to include remarks Trump made on a televised town hall a day after the verdict. Carroll seeks at least $10 million in compensatory damages and substantially more in punitive damages.
A week ago, Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was fined $10,000 by a New York state judge for violating a gag order prohibiting him from attacking court personnel in a civil fraud case.
The state judge, Arthur Engoron, required Trump to sit in a witness box and answer questions. Trump denied he was referring to a senior law clerk when he told reporters outside court that someone “sitting alongside” Engoron was “perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
After Trump, 77, testified, the judge said: “I find that the witness is not credible.”
Engoron, who had earlier fined Trump $5,000 for violating the same gag order after the judge found that he had targeted his principal law clerk on social media, even suggested the possibility of holding Trump “in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him” for further violations.
Trump also faces four criminal indictments. He has pleaded not guilty in two cases accusing him of seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, along with a classified documents case and charges that he helped arrange a payoff to porn actor Stormy Daniels to silence her before the 2016 presidential election.
Judge, citing Trump’s ’repeated public statements,’ orders anonymous jury in defamation suit trial
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order establishing that the jury to be chosen for the January trial in Manhattan.
Appeals courts temporarily lifts Trump’s gag order as he fights the restrictions on his speech
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 1 minute read
A federal appeals court temporarily lifted a gag order on Donald Trump in his federal election interference case in Washington on Friday — the latest twist in the legal fight over the restrictions on the former president’s speech.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision puts a hold on the gag order to give the judges time to consider Trump’s request for a longer pause on the restrictions while his appeals play out. The order says the temporary pause “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of Trump’s bid.
The court set oral arguments for Nov. 20.
The gag order, which was reimposed on Sunday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, bars Trump from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses in the case accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election he lost to President Joe Biden.
It’s the most serious restriction a court has put on the speech of the GOP presidential primary frontrunner and criminal defendant in four separate cases. Gag orders are not unheard of in high-profile cases, but courts have never had to wrestle before with whether they can curtail the speech of a presidential candidate.
Prosecutors said Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about those involved in the case threatens to undermine public confidence in the judicial system and influence potential witnesses who could be called to testify.
Trump’s lawyers say they will go to the Supreme Court, if necessary, to fight what they say are unconstitutional restrictions on his political speech. The defense has said prosecutors have provided no evidence that potential witnesses or anyone else felt intimidated by the former president’s social media posts.
The D.C. appeals court could ultimately uphold the gag order or find that the restrictions imposed by Chutkan went too far. Either way, the issue is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court, although there’s no guarantee the justices would take up the matter.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 03, 2023 • 1 minute read
A federal appeals court temporarily lifted a gag order on Donald Trump in his federal election interference case in Washington on Friday — the latest twist in the legal fight over the restrictions on the former president’s speech.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision puts a hold on the gag order to give the judges time to consider Trump’s request for a longer pause on the restrictions while his appeals play out. The order says the temporary pause “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits” of Trump’s bid.
The court set oral arguments for Nov. 20.
The gag order, which was reimposed on Sunday by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, bars Trump from making public statements targeting prosecutors, court staff and potential witnesses in the case accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election he lost to President Joe Biden.
It’s the most serious restriction a court has put on the speech of the GOP presidential primary frontrunner and criminal defendant in four separate cases. Gag orders are not unheard of in high-profile cases, but courts have never had to wrestle before with whether they can curtail the speech of a presidential candidate.
Prosecutors said Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about those involved in the case threatens to undermine public confidence in the judicial system and influence potential witnesses who could be called to testify.
Trump’s lawyers say they will go to the Supreme Court, if necessary, to fight what they say are unconstitutional restrictions on his political speech. The defense has said prosecutors have provided no evidence that potential witnesses or anyone else felt intimidated by the former president’s social media posts.
The D.C. appeals court could ultimately uphold the gag order or find that the restrictions imposed by Chutkan went too far. Either way, the issue is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court, although there’s no guarantee the justices would take up the matter.
Appeals courts temporarily lifts Trump’s gag order as he fights the restrictions on his speech
This comes as he fights the restrictions on his speech.
Judge chides Trump as ex-president testifies in civil fraud trial: ’This is not a political rally'
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Colvin, Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz and Eric Tucker
Published Nov 06, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump repeatedly admonished him to keep his answers concise Monday, reminding him that “this is not a political rally” as the former president and leading Republican presidential candidate testified in a lawsuit accusing him of dramatically inflating his net worth.
“We don’t have time to waste. We have one day to do this,” an exasperated Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engeron said. At another point, turning to Trump’s attorney, the judge said, “I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can’t, I will.”
The exchanges underscored Trump’s unwillingness to adapt his famously freewheeling rhetorical style to a formal courtroom setting, where clipped and cautious answers from witnesses are the norm. But while his presence on the stand was a vivid reminder of the legal woes he faces as he vies to reclaim the White House in 2024, it also functioned as a campaign platform to raise anew his claims of political persecution at the hands of government lawyers and judges.
“I think this is a political witch hunt and she should be ashamed of herself,” Trump said, referring to New York state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought the case. “This is the opposite of fraud. The fraud is her.”
James, who was in the courtroom, stared straight ahead at Trump as he spoke. Outside court, she said, “At the end of the day the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don’t lie.”
The civil trial is one of numerous legal proceedings Trump is confronting, including federal and state charges accusing him of crimes including illegally hoarding classified documents and scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Yet even though the fraud case doesn’t carry the prospect of prison like the criminal prosecutions do, its allegations of financial improprieties cut to the heart of the brand he spent decades crafting in the real estate industry. Trump took the suggestion that he is worth worth less than he’s claimed as a personal insult.
“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements,” he said at one point, telling a state lawyer, “You go around and try and demean me and try and hurt me, probably for political reasons.”
The courtroom at 60 Centre St. has become a familiar destination for Trump. He has spent hours over the past month voluntarily seated at the defence table, observing the proceedings. Trump once took the stand — unexpectedly and briefly — after he was accused of violating a partial gag order. He denied violating the rules, but Judge Engoron disagreed and fined him anyway.
Before Monday, Trump’s speaking has occurred outside the courtroom, where he has taken full advantage of the bank of assembled media to voice his outrage and spin the days’ proceedings in the most favourable way.
Tensions between Engeron and Trump, already on display last month when the judge fined him $10,000 for incendiary outside-of-court comments, were evident Monday when the ex-president was repeatedly scolded about the length and content of his answers.
“Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom,” Engeron told Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, who himself has clashed with the judge. Kise responded that Trump was entitled to latitude as a former president and current candidate taking time away from the campaign to be on the witness stand.
“The court needs to hear what he has to say about these statements, why they’re viable and why there was no intent” to deceive anyone, Kise said.
Engeron, who determined in a ruling earlier that Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame, cautioned at one point that he was prepared to draw “negative inferences” against the former president if he failed to rein in his answers.
“I do not want to hear everything this witness has to say. He has a lot to say that has nothing to do with the case or the questions.”
The questions in the early stages of Monday’s testimony centred on the core of the allegations by the state attorney general: that Trump and his company intentionally inflated property values and deceived banks and insurers in the pursuit of business deals and loans.
Echoing the stance taken by two of his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, in their own testimony, Trump sought to downplay his direct involvement in preparing and assessing the financial statements that the attorney general claims were grossly inflated and fraudulent.
“All I did was authorize and tell people to give whatever is necessary for the accountants to do the statements,” he said. As for the results, “I would look at them, I would see them, and maybe on some occasions, I would have some suggestions.”
He also downplayed the significance of the statements, which went to banks and others to secure financing and deals. As he had in the lead-up to testifying, Trump pointed to a disclaimer that he says amounted to telling recipients to do their own calculating.
“Banks didn’t find them very relevant, and they had a disclaimer clause — you would call it a worthless statement clause,” he said, insisting that after decades in real estate, “I probably know banks as well as anybody … I know what they look at. They look at the deal, they look at the location.”
He complained that his 2014 financial statements shouldn’t be a subject of the lawsuit at all.
“First of all it’s so long ago, it’s well beyond the statute of limitations,” Trump said before turning on the judge, saying he allowed state lawyers to pursue claims involving such years-old documents “because he always rules against me.”
Engoron said: “You can attack me in whichever way you want but please answer the questions.”
When the ex-president discussed why his financial statements listed his Trump Tower penthouse as three times its actual size, he said it was possible “we made a mistake,” hypothesizing that someone working for him multiplied the square-footage of each Trump Tower floor — about 10,000 square feet — by three, without subtracting the size of elevator shafts and other non-apartment space.
Trump said the inflated size also may have resulted from adding in Trump Tower’s roof, testifying: “I have the roof, you know, we have access to the roof, which is very big.” Regardless, he said: “We have a disclaimer clause which is, you don’t have to get sued by the attorney general of the state of New York.”
— Tucker reported from Washington.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Colvin, Michael R. Sisak, Jennifer Peltz and Eric Tucker
Published Nov 06, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump repeatedly admonished him to keep his answers concise Monday, reminding him that “this is not a political rally” as the former president and leading Republican presidential candidate testified in a lawsuit accusing him of dramatically inflating his net worth.
“We don’t have time to waste. We have one day to do this,” an exasperated Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engeron said. At another point, turning to Trump’s attorney, the judge said, “I beseech you to control him if you can. If you can’t, I will.”
The exchanges underscored Trump’s unwillingness to adapt his famously freewheeling rhetorical style to a formal courtroom setting, where clipped and cautious answers from witnesses are the norm. But while his presence on the stand was a vivid reminder of the legal woes he faces as he vies to reclaim the White House in 2024, it also functioned as a campaign platform to raise anew his claims of political persecution at the hands of government lawyers and judges.
“I think this is a political witch hunt and she should be ashamed of herself,” Trump said, referring to New York state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office brought the case. “This is the opposite of fraud. The fraud is her.”
James, who was in the courtroom, stared straight ahead at Trump as he spoke. Outside court, she said, “At the end of the day the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don’t lie.”
The civil trial is one of numerous legal proceedings Trump is confronting, including federal and state charges accusing him of crimes including illegally hoarding classified documents and scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Yet even though the fraud case doesn’t carry the prospect of prison like the criminal prosecutions do, its allegations of financial improprieties cut to the heart of the brand he spent decades crafting in the real estate industry. Trump took the suggestion that he is worth worth less than he’s claimed as a personal insult.
“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements,” he said at one point, telling a state lawyer, “You go around and try and demean me and try and hurt me, probably for political reasons.”
The courtroom at 60 Centre St. has become a familiar destination for Trump. He has spent hours over the past month voluntarily seated at the defence table, observing the proceedings. Trump once took the stand — unexpectedly and briefly — after he was accused of violating a partial gag order. He denied violating the rules, but Judge Engoron disagreed and fined him anyway.
Before Monday, Trump’s speaking has occurred outside the courtroom, where he has taken full advantage of the bank of assembled media to voice his outrage and spin the days’ proceedings in the most favourable way.
Tensions between Engeron and Trump, already on display last month when the judge fined him $10,000 for incendiary outside-of-court comments, were evident Monday when the ex-president was repeatedly scolded about the length and content of his answers.
“Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom,” Engeron told Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, who himself has clashed with the judge. Kise responded that Trump was entitled to latitude as a former president and current candidate taking time away from the campaign to be on the witness stand.
“The court needs to hear what he has to say about these statements, why they’re viable and why there was no intent” to deceive anyone, Kise said.
Engeron, who determined in a ruling earlier that Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame, cautioned at one point that he was prepared to draw “negative inferences” against the former president if he failed to rein in his answers.
“I do not want to hear everything this witness has to say. He has a lot to say that has nothing to do with the case or the questions.”
The questions in the early stages of Monday’s testimony centred on the core of the allegations by the state attorney general: that Trump and his company intentionally inflated property values and deceived banks and insurers in the pursuit of business deals and loans.
Echoing the stance taken by two of his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, in their own testimony, Trump sought to downplay his direct involvement in preparing and assessing the financial statements that the attorney general claims were grossly inflated and fraudulent.
“All I did was authorize and tell people to give whatever is necessary for the accountants to do the statements,” he said. As for the results, “I would look at them, I would see them, and maybe on some occasions, I would have some suggestions.”
He also downplayed the significance of the statements, which went to banks and others to secure financing and deals. As he had in the lead-up to testifying, Trump pointed to a disclaimer that he says amounted to telling recipients to do their own calculating.
“Banks didn’t find them very relevant, and they had a disclaimer clause — you would call it a worthless statement clause,” he said, insisting that after decades in real estate, “I probably know banks as well as anybody … I know what they look at. They look at the deal, they look at the location.”
He complained that his 2014 financial statements shouldn’t be a subject of the lawsuit at all.
“First of all it’s so long ago, it’s well beyond the statute of limitations,” Trump said before turning on the judge, saying he allowed state lawyers to pursue claims involving such years-old documents “because he always rules against me.”
Engoron said: “You can attack me in whichever way you want but please answer the questions.”
When the ex-president discussed why his financial statements listed his Trump Tower penthouse as three times its actual size, he said it was possible “we made a mistake,” hypothesizing that someone working for him multiplied the square-footage of each Trump Tower floor — about 10,000 square feet — by three, without subtracting the size of elevator shafts and other non-apartment space.
Trump said the inflated size also may have resulted from adding in Trump Tower’s roof, testifying: “I have the roof, you know, we have access to the roof, which is very big.” Regardless, he said: “We have a disclaimer clause which is, you don’t have to get sued by the attorney general of the state of New York.”
— Tucker reported from Washington.
Judge chides Trump as ex-president testifies in civil fraud trial: ’This is not a political rally'
The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump admonished him to keep his answers concise.
Ivanka Trump distances herself from financial documents in dad's fraud trial
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak
Published Nov 08, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — Ivanka Trump didn’t want to testify. But on the the stand Wednesday in her father’s civil fraud trial, she took the opportunity to contend the family business has “overdelivered,” even as she kept her distance from financial documents that New York state says were fraudulent.
Former president Donald Trump’s eldest daughter capped a major stretch in the lawsuit that could reshape his real estate empire. She followed her father and her brothers Eric and Donald Trump Jr. to the witness stand, and the New York attorney general’s office rested its case after her testimony. The defence gets its turn now.
Ivanka has been in her father’s inner circle in both business and politics, as an executive vice-president at the family’s Trump Organization and then as a senior White House adviser. But she testified that she had no role in his personal financial statements, which New York Attorney General Letitia James claims were fraudulently inflated and deceived banks and lenders.
“Those were not things that I was privy to,” beyond having seen “a few documents and correspondence” that referred to them, Ivanka said.
The ex-president and Republican 2024 front-runner denies any wrongdoing. He insisted in court Monday that his financial statements actually greatly underestimated his net worth, that any discrepancies were minor, that a disclaimer absolved him of liability anyway and that “this case is a disgrace.”
In even-tempered testimony that provided a counterpoint to her father’s caustic turn on the stand, Ivanka touched on some of the same notes that the ex-president has hammered inside court and out — portraying the Trump Organization as a successful developer of big-dollar projects that satisfied its lenders.
The Doral golf resort in Florida? A “Herculean” renovation undertaken to refurbish a faded treasure that Donald Trump had visited in childhood, his daughter testified.
The company’s historic Old Post Office building-turned-hotel in Washington? “A labour of love” to turn a dilapidated building into a super-luxury hotel, while navigating approvals from a raft of different government agencies.
“They were complicated projects, and I believe we overdelivered on every metric,” she said.
But when questions about the post office project turned to questions that its government owners raised about some aspects of her father’s financial statements, she said she didn’t recall that.
The agency overseeing the bidding flagged those concerns in a December 2011 letter to her, and Trump Organization executives looped her in as they prepared a response ahead of a presentation to officials in Washington. An agency document showed the company addressed the issues in its presentation, which she attended.
But Ivanka said she didn’t recall “that they discussed financial statements specifically.” Rather, she remembered talk of “our vision for the project” and the company’s experience, with her father mentioning his renovation of New York’s famous Plaza Hotel.
She retained a stake in the Washington hotel lease until its 2022 sale, which netted her $4 million.
Unlike her father and his adult sons, Ivanka is no longer a defendant in the case, and her lawyers had tried to prevent her from having to testify.
Ordered to do so, she said she largely didn’t recall the documents and details she was asked about. During about four hours of polite answers punctuated by broad smiles, she once thanked a lawyer in the attorney general’s office for bringing up the Old Post Office proposal because it “brought back a lot of memories.”
“Ivanka Trump was cordial, she was disciplined, she was controlled, and she was very courteous,” James, a Democrat, said outside court. But, she added, “This case is about fraudulent statements of financial condition that she benefited from. She was enriched. And clearly, you cannot distance yourself from that fact.”
James’ legal team and Trump defence lawyers repeatedly tangled Wednesday over the scope of Ivanka’s questioning, including whether she could be asked about 2013 emails that included her husband, Jared Kushner, in discussions about potential Trump company loans.
Kushner — a real estate executive himself — didn’t work for the Trump Organization. But he had introduced his wife to a Deutsche Bank banker as the Trumps were seeking financing to buy and overhaul Doral, Ivanka testified. Because he also worked in real estate, they would sometimes exchange ideas and advice, she said.
She became the point person in establishing a lending relationship with Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management arm. It eventually extended the Trump Organization hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, with terms that required Trump to submit his financial statements each year.
Amid such assets as Trump Tower, the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and Doral, the financial statements included a Trump-owned building on New York’s Park Ave. Ivanka leased and had options to buy two apartments there, and the state’s lawyers contend that her father offered her a steep discount while claiming on his financial statements that the apartments were worth far more.
She testified that she invested over $7.5 million in one of the apartments, a penthouse, but never made it her permanent home because she and her family moved to Washington.
She stepped away from her Trump Organization job as her father’s 2017 inauguration neared, and she became an unpaid senior adviser. After the Trump administration ended, she and her family moved to Florida.
The non-jury trial will decide allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records — but Judge Arthur Engoron already has resolved the lawsuit’s top claim by ruling that Trump engaged in fraud. That decision came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of oversight of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him continued control of his holdings for now.
James, a Democrat, is seeking over $300 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
With the case now turning to the defence, the Trumps’ attorneys plan to argue Thursday that the judge should find in their favour immediately.
“The attorney general rested their case, and it is very clear that they have failed to prove the essential elements of the case,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said outside court.
Eric and Donald Jr., who are still Trump Organization executives, also have professed minimal knowledge of their father’s annual financial statements. Donald Jr. testified that he dealt with the documents only in passing; Eric said he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to ensure the documents’ accuracy.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jennifer Peltz and Michael R. Sisak
Published Nov 08, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — Ivanka Trump didn’t want to testify. But on the the stand Wednesday in her father’s civil fraud trial, she took the opportunity to contend the family business has “overdelivered,” even as she kept her distance from financial documents that New York state says were fraudulent.
Former president Donald Trump’s eldest daughter capped a major stretch in the lawsuit that could reshape his real estate empire. She followed her father and her brothers Eric and Donald Trump Jr. to the witness stand, and the New York attorney general’s office rested its case after her testimony. The defence gets its turn now.
Ivanka has been in her father’s inner circle in both business and politics, as an executive vice-president at the family’s Trump Organization and then as a senior White House adviser. But she testified that she had no role in his personal financial statements, which New York Attorney General Letitia James claims were fraudulently inflated and deceived banks and lenders.
“Those were not things that I was privy to,” beyond having seen “a few documents and correspondence” that referred to them, Ivanka said.
The ex-president and Republican 2024 front-runner denies any wrongdoing. He insisted in court Monday that his financial statements actually greatly underestimated his net worth, that any discrepancies were minor, that a disclaimer absolved him of liability anyway and that “this case is a disgrace.”
In even-tempered testimony that provided a counterpoint to her father’s caustic turn on the stand, Ivanka touched on some of the same notes that the ex-president has hammered inside court and out — portraying the Trump Organization as a successful developer of big-dollar projects that satisfied its lenders.
The Doral golf resort in Florida? A “Herculean” renovation undertaken to refurbish a faded treasure that Donald Trump had visited in childhood, his daughter testified.
The company’s historic Old Post Office building-turned-hotel in Washington? “A labour of love” to turn a dilapidated building into a super-luxury hotel, while navigating approvals from a raft of different government agencies.
“They were complicated projects, and I believe we overdelivered on every metric,” she said.
But when questions about the post office project turned to questions that its government owners raised about some aspects of her father’s financial statements, she said she didn’t recall that.
The agency overseeing the bidding flagged those concerns in a December 2011 letter to her, and Trump Organization executives looped her in as they prepared a response ahead of a presentation to officials in Washington. An agency document showed the company addressed the issues in its presentation, which she attended.
But Ivanka said she didn’t recall “that they discussed financial statements specifically.” Rather, she remembered talk of “our vision for the project” and the company’s experience, with her father mentioning his renovation of New York’s famous Plaza Hotel.
She retained a stake in the Washington hotel lease until its 2022 sale, which netted her $4 million.
Unlike her father and his adult sons, Ivanka is no longer a defendant in the case, and her lawyers had tried to prevent her from having to testify.
Ordered to do so, she said she largely didn’t recall the documents and details she was asked about. During about four hours of polite answers punctuated by broad smiles, she once thanked a lawyer in the attorney general’s office for bringing up the Old Post Office proposal because it “brought back a lot of memories.”
“Ivanka Trump was cordial, she was disciplined, she was controlled, and she was very courteous,” James, a Democrat, said outside court. But, she added, “This case is about fraudulent statements of financial condition that she benefited from. She was enriched. And clearly, you cannot distance yourself from that fact.”
James’ legal team and Trump defence lawyers repeatedly tangled Wednesday over the scope of Ivanka’s questioning, including whether she could be asked about 2013 emails that included her husband, Jared Kushner, in discussions about potential Trump company loans.
Kushner — a real estate executive himself — didn’t work for the Trump Organization. But he had introduced his wife to a Deutsche Bank banker as the Trumps were seeking financing to buy and overhaul Doral, Ivanka testified. Because he also worked in real estate, they would sometimes exchange ideas and advice, she said.
She became the point person in establishing a lending relationship with Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management arm. It eventually extended the Trump Organization hundreds of millions of dollars in loans, with terms that required Trump to submit his financial statements each year.
Amid such assets as Trump Tower, the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and Doral, the financial statements included a Trump-owned building on New York’s Park Ave. Ivanka leased and had options to buy two apartments there, and the state’s lawyers contend that her father offered her a steep discount while claiming on his financial statements that the apartments were worth far more.
She testified that she invested over $7.5 million in one of the apartments, a penthouse, but never made it her permanent home because she and her family moved to Washington.
She stepped away from her Trump Organization job as her father’s 2017 inauguration neared, and she became an unpaid senior adviser. After the Trump administration ended, she and her family moved to Florida.
The non-jury trial will decide allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records — but Judge Arthur Engoron already has resolved the lawsuit’s top claim by ruling that Trump engaged in fraud. That decision came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of oversight of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him continued control of his holdings for now.
James, a Democrat, is seeking over $300 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
With the case now turning to the defence, the Trumps’ attorneys plan to argue Thursday that the judge should find in their favour immediately.
“The attorney general rested their case, and it is very clear that they have failed to prove the essential elements of the case,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said outside court.
Eric and Donald Jr., who are still Trump Organization executives, also have professed minimal knowledge of their father’s annual financial statements. Donald Jr. testified that he dealt with the documents only in passing; Eric said he relied completely on accountants and lawyers to ensure the documents’ accuracy.
Ivanka Trump distances herself from financial documents in dad's fraud trial
Former president Donald Trump's eldest daughter capped a major stretch in the lawsuit that could reshape his real estate empire.
Trump ‘agitated’ that Ivanka was forced to testify in fraud case: Report
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Published Nov 08, 2023 • 1 minute read
Donald Trump is reportedly "p---ed" his daughter was forced to testify in his fraud case, according to Page Six.
Donald Trump is said to be “p—ed” his daughter was forced to testify in his fraud case.
The scandal-hit former U.S. president, 77, is facing charges of inflating his wealth on financial statements given to banks to secure loans and his 42-year-old daughter Ivanka took the stand in the proceedings on Wednesday in New York as the state’s final witness – after legal attempts by the mother of three and her father to keep her out of the courtroom failed.
A source close to the Trumps told Page Six about his outrage at Ivanka having to give testimony: “What you aren’t hearing in court is how upset and agitated (Trump) is that his children have been dragged into court. He feels it’s another move to upset him. He’s p—ed.
“This is causing problems with Ivanka who has worked hard to stay under the radar for last twoish years and is bracing herself for the press and paparazzi who will pounce on her at court.”
Wednesday’s hearing was told Ivanka boasted to colleagues it “doesn’t get better than this” when she managed to negotiate down terms of a deal needed to secure a $125-million loan from Deutsche Bank for a Miami golf course.
Ivanka insisted she didn’t “recall’ asking bank executives to lower the $3-billion net worth required for her dad to get the money as she was hit with questions about her role in securing loans for the Trump Organization during her appearance on the stand.
State lawyer Louis Solomon appeared to lose his temper with Ivanka for giving “three-minute” descriptions about hotels and not answering questions.
Ivanka left the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a White House adviser to her dad and is not a defendant in the case, but was subpoenaed to testify.
Trump denies all wrongdoing.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Published Nov 08, 2023 • 1 minute read
Donald Trump is reportedly "p---ed" his daughter was forced to testify in his fraud case, according to Page Six.
Donald Trump is said to be “p—ed” his daughter was forced to testify in his fraud case.
The scandal-hit former U.S. president, 77, is facing charges of inflating his wealth on financial statements given to banks to secure loans and his 42-year-old daughter Ivanka took the stand in the proceedings on Wednesday in New York as the state’s final witness – after legal attempts by the mother of three and her father to keep her out of the courtroom failed.
A source close to the Trumps told Page Six about his outrage at Ivanka having to give testimony: “What you aren’t hearing in court is how upset and agitated (Trump) is that his children have been dragged into court. He feels it’s another move to upset him. He’s p—ed.
“This is causing problems with Ivanka who has worked hard to stay under the radar for last twoish years and is bracing herself for the press and paparazzi who will pounce on her at court.”
Wednesday’s hearing was told Ivanka boasted to colleagues it “doesn’t get better than this” when she managed to negotiate down terms of a deal needed to secure a $125-million loan from Deutsche Bank for a Miami golf course.
Ivanka insisted she didn’t “recall’ asking bank executives to lower the $3-billion net worth required for her dad to get the money as she was hit with questions about her role in securing loans for the Trump Organization during her appearance on the stand.
State lawyer Louis Solomon appeared to lose his temper with Ivanka for giving “three-minute” descriptions about hotels and not answering questions.
Ivanka left the Trump Organization in 2017 to become a White House adviser to her dad and is not a defendant in the case, but was subpoenaed to testify.
Trump denies all wrongdoing.
Trump ‘agitated’ that Ivanka was forced to testify in fraud case: Report
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is said to be "p---ed" his daughter was forced to testify in his fraud case.
A Republican presidential candidate wants a border wall — with Canada — Global News
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for the U.S. to build a border wall with Canada during the GOP debate on Wednesday.
PS….at almost 9000kms long…does the above dude affiliate with Jagmeet and his $100,000,000,000.00 in “free” heat pumps for Canada?
Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial will go on after lawyers seek early verdict ending case
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz
Published Nov 09, 2023 • Last updated 23 hours ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire.
Judge Arthur Engoron didn’t rule on the request, but indicated the trial will go on as scheduled Monday with Donald Trump Jr. returning to the stand as the first defence witness.
Trump’s lawyers had asked Engoron to cut the trial short and issue a verdict clearing Trump, his company and top executives including Trump Jr. of wrongdoing.
They made the request halfway through the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, arguing the state had failed to prove its case. James alleges Trump and other defendants duped banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements.
Engoron said the defence’s arguments seeking what’s known as a directed verdict were “taken under advisement.” He did not address them further when he returned to court Thursday afternoon to rule on another matter.
In that ruling, Engoron gave Trump’s lawyers a victory, allowing them to call several expert witnesses in an attempt to refute testimony that Trump’s financial statements afforded him better loan terms, insurance premiums and were a factor in dealmaking.
The judge, who’s had a history of ruling against Trump, has signaled interest in seeing the trial through to its conclusion, asking defence lawyers for witness schedules and pegging closing arguments close to Christmas.
In seeking to short-circuit the case, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued state lawyers had failed to meet “any legal standard” to prove allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
“There’s no victim. There’s no complainant. There’s no injury. All of that is established now by the evidence,” Kise argued.
State lawyer Kevin Wallace responded that there was no reason to end the trial, saying the evidence is “more than sufficient to continue to final verdict.”
Trump, on the stand Monday between barbs for his adversaries, denied wrongdoing and said lenders were “extremely happy” doing business with him. If anything, he testified, his financial statements lowballed his wealth and the value of assets such as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Kise implored Engoron to give special weight to Trump’s testimony, citing the ex-president’s decades of experience as a real estate developer. When talking real estate, “if my choices were Donald Trump or Attorney General James, respectfully, I would go with Donald Trump,” Kise said.
He argued that the Democratic attorney general, in pursuit of a political opponent, was trying to “substitute her judgment for that of the banks and, frankly, for that of someone who has been involved in the real estate industry for 50 years.”
Defence lawyer Clifford Robert pressed the judge to dismiss claims against Trump’s elder sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The attorney argued that state lawyers had failed to prove that the sons, whom Trump appointed to run his company when he went to the White House in 2017, worked on the ex-president’s financial statements.
The sons, who signed off on some documents attesting to their father’s wherewithal, testified that they trusted accountants and lawyers for assurance the papers were accurate. Robert said they “acted appropriately” in doing so.
“My clients have been dragged into what is essentially a fight between the attorney general and their father, but here we are,” Robert said. “The time has come that we need to put an end to it.”
Wallace countered that Trump and his sons each signed documents saying that they were responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, which Engoron has already ruled were false and misleading.
Thursday’s arguments came a day after Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump testified as the state’s last witness. She had unsuccessfully fought a subpoena.
Directed verdict requests are common in civil trials, though they’re somewhat infrequently granted. In Trump’s trial, Engoron is deciding the outcome, rather than a jury.
Before the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump, his company and other defendants committed fraud by exaggerating his net worth and the value of assets on his financial statements, which were used to obtain loans and make deals.
Engoron’s pretrial fraud ruling came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him to remain in control of his holdings for now.
Also Thursday, Trump’s lawyers renewed their call to halt the trial at least until the appeals court makes a final decision on Engoron’s fraud finding. In court papers, they wrote that the judge had shown a “gross and open disregard for the integrity of the process” and was causing “mounting irreparable harm” for the defendants.
The state rested its case Wednesday after six weeks of testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. James is seeking what she says is more than $300 million in ill-gotten gains and a ban on the defendants from doing business in New York.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified last week. When Trump Jr. returns to the stand on Monday, he’ll be questioned by defence lawyers including his own. Trump company executives, outside accountants who worked on Trump’s financial statements and bank executives who worked on his loans also have testified as state witnesses.
Kise emphasized that lender Deutsche Bank made its own adjustments to the asset values listed on Trump’s financial statements, giving “haircuts” to the estimates for Trump Tower and other properties, and decided to lend him hundreds of millions of dollars anyway. Adjustments amounted to $2 billion in some years, documents showed.
Kise also attacked Trump lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen’s credibility. He said Cohen’s “pathetic performance” undermined the state’s case when he backtracked from his initial testimony that Trump had directed him to boost the value of assets to “whatever number Trump told us to.”
Pressed on cross-examination during his Oct. 25 testimony, Cohen conceded that Trump never told him to inflate the numbers on his personal statement — though Cohen later said Trump signaled it indirectly, and “we understood what he wanted.” Robert asked at that point for an immediate directed verdict, which Engoron denied.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz
Published Nov 09, 2023 • Last updated 23 hours ago • 5 minute read
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire.
Judge Arthur Engoron didn’t rule on the request, but indicated the trial will go on as scheduled Monday with Donald Trump Jr. returning to the stand as the first defence witness.
Trump’s lawyers had asked Engoron to cut the trial short and issue a verdict clearing Trump, his company and top executives including Trump Jr. of wrongdoing.
They made the request halfway through the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, arguing the state had failed to prove its case. James alleges Trump and other defendants duped banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements.
Engoron said the defence’s arguments seeking what’s known as a directed verdict were “taken under advisement.” He did not address them further when he returned to court Thursday afternoon to rule on another matter.
In that ruling, Engoron gave Trump’s lawyers a victory, allowing them to call several expert witnesses in an attempt to refute testimony that Trump’s financial statements afforded him better loan terms, insurance premiums and were a factor in dealmaking.
The judge, who’s had a history of ruling against Trump, has signaled interest in seeing the trial through to its conclusion, asking defence lawyers for witness schedules and pegging closing arguments close to Christmas.
In seeking to short-circuit the case, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued state lawyers had failed to meet “any legal standard” to prove allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records.
“There’s no victim. There’s no complainant. There’s no injury. All of that is established now by the evidence,” Kise argued.
State lawyer Kevin Wallace responded that there was no reason to end the trial, saying the evidence is “more than sufficient to continue to final verdict.”
Trump, on the stand Monday between barbs for his adversaries, denied wrongdoing and said lenders were “extremely happy” doing business with him. If anything, he testified, his financial statements lowballed his wealth and the value of assets such as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Kise implored Engoron to give special weight to Trump’s testimony, citing the ex-president’s decades of experience as a real estate developer. When talking real estate, “if my choices were Donald Trump or Attorney General James, respectfully, I would go with Donald Trump,” Kise said.
He argued that the Democratic attorney general, in pursuit of a political opponent, was trying to “substitute her judgment for that of the banks and, frankly, for that of someone who has been involved in the real estate industry for 50 years.”
Defence lawyer Clifford Robert pressed the judge to dismiss claims against Trump’s elder sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The attorney argued that state lawyers had failed to prove that the sons, whom Trump appointed to run his company when he went to the White House in 2017, worked on the ex-president’s financial statements.
The sons, who signed off on some documents attesting to their father’s wherewithal, testified that they trusted accountants and lawyers for assurance the papers were accurate. Robert said they “acted appropriately” in doing so.
“My clients have been dragged into what is essentially a fight between the attorney general and their father, but here we are,” Robert said. “The time has come that we need to put an end to it.”
Wallace countered that Trump and his sons each signed documents saying that they were responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, which Engoron has already ruled were false and misleading.
Thursday’s arguments came a day after Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump testified as the state’s last witness. She had unsuccessfully fought a subpoena.
Directed verdict requests are common in civil trials, though they’re somewhat infrequently granted. In Trump’s trial, Engoron is deciding the outcome, rather than a jury.
Before the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump, his company and other defendants committed fraud by exaggerating his net worth and the value of assets on his financial statements, which were used to obtain loans and make deals.
Engoron’s pretrial fraud ruling came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him to remain in control of his holdings for now.
Also Thursday, Trump’s lawyers renewed their call to halt the trial at least until the appeals court makes a final decision on Engoron’s fraud finding. In court papers, they wrote that the judge had shown a “gross and open disregard for the integrity of the process” and was causing “mounting irreparable harm” for the defendants.
The state rested its case Wednesday after six weeks of testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. James is seeking what she says is more than $300 million in ill-gotten gains and a ban on the defendants from doing business in New York.
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified last week. When Trump Jr. returns to the stand on Monday, he’ll be questioned by defence lawyers including his own. Trump company executives, outside accountants who worked on Trump’s financial statements and bank executives who worked on his loans also have testified as state witnesses.
Kise emphasized that lender Deutsche Bank made its own adjustments to the asset values listed on Trump’s financial statements, giving “haircuts” to the estimates for Trump Tower and other properties, and decided to lend him hundreds of millions of dollars anyway. Adjustments amounted to $2 billion in some years, documents showed.
Kise also attacked Trump lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen’s credibility. He said Cohen’s “pathetic performance” undermined the state’s case when he backtracked from his initial testimony that Trump had directed him to boost the value of assets to “whatever number Trump told us to.”
Pressed on cross-examination during his Oct. 25 testimony, Cohen conceded that Trump never told him to inflate the numbers on his personal statement — though Cohen later said Trump signaled it indirectly, and “we understood what he wanted.” Robert asked at that point for an immediate directed verdict, which Engoron denied.
Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial will go on after lawyers seek early verdict ending case
Donald Trump’s lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to put an immediate end to the New York civil fraud trial.
Clinton compares Trump to Hitler, says he would 'end our country as we know it'
Author of the article
ostmedia News
Published Nov 09, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Hillary Clinton made a comparison to Hitler while discussing the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency on The View.
In addition to mentioning the notorious Nazi leader alongside Trump, who is the Republican front-runner in the race to be president in next year’s U.S. election, the former Democratic candidate also said the return of her rival to the White House would be the “end of our country as we know it.
“The wreckage is almost unimaginable,” Clinton said on the Wednesday edition of the talk show. “You know, when I was secretary of state, I used to talk about ‘won and done.’ What I meant by that was people would get legitimately elected and then they would try to do away with elections and do away with opposition and do away with a free press.
“And you could see in countries where — well, Hitler was duly elected, right? — all of a sudden someone with those tendencies, those dictatorial, authoritarian tendencies, would be like, ‘Okay we’re going to shut this down, we’re going to throw these people in jail.’
“And they didn’t usually telegraph that. Trump is telling us what he intends to do. Take him at his word. The man means to throw people in jail who disagree with him, shut down legitimate press outlets, do what he can to literally undermine the rule of law and our country’s values.”
Hitler finished second in the 1932 German presidential election before eventually taking power in 1933, when he seized full control of the government as chancellor.
Clinton, who lost the presidency to Trump in the 2016 election, added that she doesn’t make those claims about her rival “lightly” and believes the real estate tycoon will surround himself with people who have “no principles, no conscience, who are totally tied to his fortunes, literally, and therefore would do whatever he said.
“I think that he’d be even worse now because he was somewhat restrained, believe it or not, in the first term by people who he hired because he thought they would go along with him — and they stood up to him,” she said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article
ostmedia NewsPublished Nov 09, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read
Hillary Clinton made a comparison to Hitler while discussing the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency on The View.
In addition to mentioning the notorious Nazi leader alongside Trump, who is the Republican front-runner in the race to be president in next year’s U.S. election, the former Democratic candidate also said the return of her rival to the White House would be the “end of our country as we know it.
“The wreckage is almost unimaginable,” Clinton said on the Wednesday edition of the talk show. “You know, when I was secretary of state, I used to talk about ‘won and done.’ What I meant by that was people would get legitimately elected and then they would try to do away with elections and do away with opposition and do away with a free press.
“And you could see in countries where — well, Hitler was duly elected, right? — all of a sudden someone with those tendencies, those dictatorial, authoritarian tendencies, would be like, ‘Okay we’re going to shut this down, we’re going to throw these people in jail.’
“And they didn’t usually telegraph that. Trump is telling us what he intends to do. Take him at his word. The man means to throw people in jail who disagree with him, shut down legitimate press outlets, do what he can to literally undermine the rule of law and our country’s values.”
Hitler finished second in the 1932 German presidential election before eventually taking power in 1933, when he seized full control of the government as chancellor.
Clinton, who lost the presidency to Trump in the 2016 election, added that she doesn’t make those claims about her rival “lightly” and believes the real estate tycoon will surround himself with people who have “no principles, no conscience, who are totally tied to his fortunes, literally, and therefore would do whatever he said.
“I think that he’d be even worse now because he was somewhat restrained, believe it or not, in the first term by people who he hired because he thought they would go along with him — and they stood up to him,” she said.
Clinton compares Trump to Hitler, says he would 'end our country as we know it'
Hillary Clinton made a comparison to Hitler while discussing the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency on The View.
Trump joins media in pushing for his election interference case to be televised
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 11, 2023 • 1 minute read
Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.
The Justice Department is opposing the effort to broadcast the trial, scheduled to begin in March, and notes that federal court rules prohibit televised proceedings.
News organizations, including the Associated Press, have argued there has never been a federal case that warrants making an exception to that rule more than a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters in an election.
Lawyers for Trump, who has characterized the case against him as politically motivated, said in court papers late Friday that “every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand.”
“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump’s lawyers wrote
Trump was indicted on felony charges in August for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Trump is the Republican front-runner for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024.
The request for a televised trial comes as the federal election case in Washington has emerged as the most potent and direct legal threat to Trump’s political fortunes.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has appeared determined to keep the Washington trial date as scheduled.
On Friday, the federal judge in the separate classified documents prosecution of Trump pushed back multiple deadlines in a way that makes it highly unlikely that that case can proceed to trial next May as had been planned. Trump is facing dozens of felony counts under the Espionage Act.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Alanna Durkin Richer
Published Nov 11, 2023 • 1 minute read
Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold.
The Justice Department is opposing the effort to broadcast the trial, scheduled to begin in March, and notes that federal court rules prohibit televised proceedings.
News organizations, including the Associated Press, have argued there has never been a federal case that warrants making an exception to that rule more than a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters in an election.
Lawyers for Trump, who has characterized the case against him as politically motivated, said in court papers late Friday that “every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand.”
“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump’s lawyers wrote
Trump was indicted on felony charges in August for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Trump is the Republican front-runner for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024.
The request for a televised trial comes as the federal election case in Washington has emerged as the most potent and direct legal threat to Trump’s political fortunes.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has appeared determined to keep the Washington trial date as scheduled.
On Friday, the federal judge in the separate classified documents prosecution of Trump pushed back multiple deadlines in a way that makes it highly unlikely that that case can proceed to trial next May as had been planned. Trump is facing dozens of felony counts under the Espionage Act.
Trump joins media in pushing for his election interference case to be televised
Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised
well for one thing, dogmeat is a pull-start and vivacious is a kick-start
so... as much as one can affiliate with the other, I suppose.
lol
Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Colvin
Published Nov 12, 2023 • 6 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.
Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term.
His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals. If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term. His presidency, especially the early days, was marked by chaos, infighting and a wave of hastily written executive orders that were quickly overturned by the courts.
Some of his current ideas would probably end up in court or impeded by Congress. But Trump’s campaign and allied groups are assembling policy books with detailed plans.
A look at his agenda:
DISMANTLING THE ‘DEEP STATE’
Trump would try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.”
He would try to accomplish that by reissuing a 2020 executive order known as “Schedule F.” That would allow him to reclassify masses of employees, with a particular focus, he has said, on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.” Given his anger at the FBI and federal prosecutors pursuing criminal cases against him, Trump probably would target people linked to those prosecutions for retribution.
Beyond the firings, he wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.
THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
Trump has pledged to “immediately stop the invasion of our southern border” and end illegal immigration.
As part of that plan, he says he would immediately direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.
In a bid to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. He also wants to build more of the border wall.
Trump wants to reimpose his travel ban that originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and expand it to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country.” In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, he has pledged to put in place “ideological screening” for immigrants. His aim: bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs,” as well as those who “empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists.”
To deter migrants, he has said he would end birthright citizenship, using an an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order would prevent federal agencies from granting automatic citizenship to the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. It would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to be eligible for passports, Social Security numbers and other benefits.
TRADE
Trump says he will institute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods. Penalties would increase if trade partners manipulate their currencies or engage in other unfair trading practices.
He will urge that Congress pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” giving the president authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes one on the U.S.
Much of the agenda focuses on China. Trump has proposed a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods, including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. He wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardize America’s national security.”
FOREIGN POLICY
Trump claims that even before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.
It is unclear whether he would insist that Russia withdraw from territory in Ukraine it seized in the war that it launched in February 2022.
Trump has said he will stand with Israel in its war with Hamas and support Israel’s efforts to “destroy” the militant group. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
Trump says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.
As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare dollars.
He would push Congress to prohibit hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states.
Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy before medical intervention. At that point, hormone treatments such as puberty blockers are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations, including the American Medical Association.
ENERGY
Trump’s goal, he says, is for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, including China.
Under the mantra “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” he says he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He would roll back Biden administration efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.
And again, he says, he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden admiration targeting incandescent lightbulbs, gas stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.
EDUCATION
Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges.
He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay to reward good teachers and allow the direct election of school principals by parents.
He has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools.
Trump also wants a say in school curricula, vowing to fight for “patriotic education.” He says that under his administration, schools will “teach students to love their country, not to hate their country like they’re taught right now” and will promote “the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.”
To protect students, he says he will support school districts that allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. He would provide federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.
HOMELESSNESS
Trump wants to force the homeless off city streets by building tent cities on large open parcels of inexpensive land. At the same time, he says he will work with states to ban urban camping, giving violators the choice between being arrested or receiving treatment.
He also wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
Trump would again push to send the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violence. He would use the federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.
He says he will require local law enforcement agencies that receive Justice Department grants to use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk. As a deterrent, he says local police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he said in one recent speech.
Trump has called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. He has also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jill Colvin
Published Nov 12, 2023 • 6 minute read
NEW YORK (AP) — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.
Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term.
His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals. If implemented, Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term. His presidency, especially the early days, was marked by chaos, infighting and a wave of hastily written executive orders that were quickly overturned by the courts.
Some of his current ideas would probably end up in court or impeded by Congress. But Trump’s campaign and allied groups are assembling policy books with detailed plans.
A look at his agenda:
DISMANTLING THE ‘DEEP STATE’
Trump would try to strip tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections. That way, they could be fired as he seeks to “totally obliterate the deep state.”
He would try to accomplish that by reissuing a 2020 executive order known as “Schedule F.” That would allow him to reclassify masses of employees, with a particular focus, he has said, on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.” Given his anger at the FBI and federal prosecutors pursuing criminal cases against him, Trump probably would target people linked to those prosecutions for retribution.
Beyond the firings, he wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.
THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER
Trump has pledged to “immediately stop the invasion of our southern border” and end illegal immigration.
As part of that plan, he says he would immediately direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to undertake the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. He would target people who are legally living in the United States but harbor “jihadist sympathies” and revoke the student visas of those who espouse anti-American and antisemitic views.
In a bid to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump says he will move thousands of troops currently stationed overseas and shift federal agents, including those at the Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI, to immigration enforcement. He also wants to build more of the border wall.
Trump wants to reimpose his travel ban that originally targeted seven Muslim-majority countries and expand it to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country.” In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, he has pledged to put in place “ideological screening” for immigrants. His aim: bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs,” as well as those who “empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists.”
To deter migrants, he has said he would end birthright citizenship, using an an executive order that would introduce a legally untested interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order would prevent federal agencies from granting automatic citizenship to the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. It would require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to be eligible for passports, Social Security numbers and other benefits.
TRADE
Trump says he will institute a system of tariffs of perhaps 10% on most foreign goods. Penalties would increase if trade partners manipulate their currencies or engage in other unfair trading practices.
He will urge that Congress pass a “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act,” giving the president authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes one on the U.S.
Much of the agenda focuses on China. Trump has proposed a four-year plan to phase out Chinese imports of essential goods, including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals. He wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and agriculture, and says he will force Chinese owners to sell any holdings “that jeopardize America’s national security.”
FOREIGN POLICY
Trump claims that even before he is inaugurated, he will have settled the war between Russia and Ukraine. That includes, he says, ending the “endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine” and asking European allies to reimburse the U.S. for the cost of rebuilding stockpiles.
It is unclear whether he would insist that Russia withdraw from territory in Ukraine it seized in the war that it launched in February 2022.
Trump has said he will stand with Israel in its war with Hamas and support Israel’s efforts to “destroy” the militant group. He says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” NATO’s purpose and mission.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
Trump says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States.
As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he will declare that hospitals and health care providers that offer transitional hormones or surgery no longer meet federal health and safety standards and will be blocked from receiving federal funds, including Medicaid and Medicare dollars.
He would push Congress to prohibit hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states.
Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy before medical intervention. At that point, hormone treatments such as puberty blockers are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations, including the American Medical Association.
ENERGY
Trump’s goal, he says, is for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of any nation in the world, including China.
Under the mantra “DRILL, BABY, DRILL,” he says he would ramp up oil drilling on public lands and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He would roll back Biden administration efforts to encourage the adoption of electric cars and reverse proposed new pollution limits that would require at least 54% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.
And again, he says, he will exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden admiration targeting incandescent lightbulbs, gas stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.
EDUCATION
Trump has pledged to terminate the Department of Education, but he also wants to exert enormous influence over local school districts and colleges.
He would push the federal government to give funding preference to states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure, adopt merit pay to reward good teachers and allow the direct election of school principals by parents.
He has said he would cut funding for any school that has a vaccine or mask mandate and will promote prayer in public schools.
Trump also wants a say in school curricula, vowing to fight for “patriotic education.” He says that under his administration, schools will “teach students to love their country, not to hate their country like they’re taught right now” and will promote “the nuclear family” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.”
To protect students, he says he will support school districts that allow trained teachers to carry concealed weapons. He would provide federal funding so schools can hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gun owners as armed school guards.
HOMELESSNESS
Trump wants to force the homeless off city streets by building tent cities on large open parcels of inexpensive land. At the same time, he says he will work with states to ban urban camping, giving violators the choice between being arrested or receiving treatment.
He also wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
Trump would again push to send the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violence. He would use the federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.
He says he will require local law enforcement agencies that receive Justice Department grants to use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk. As a deterrent, he says local police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he said in one recent speech.
Trump has called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. He has also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.
Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings
A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and "freedom cities" built on federal land.
The "patronage system" of giving government positions to cronies, lackeys, and yes-men is what the current Civil Service was set up to stop.
We have the money to deport about 400,000 illegals per year. There are about 12 million illegals in the country, half of whom are not border-jumpers, but visa overstays. So we'd need to increase the deportation budget at least 30X to get it done.
Violates Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Would require Congressional action and ratification by 3/4 of the states. Or a very complaint Extreme Court.
Trade wars have a poor history of success.
He claims a lot.
Well, I guess he's certainly qualified to decide.
And get left behind.
Money for nothing. No national oversight. Well, if that's what you want. . .
The practical problems, institutional problems, and Constitutional problems are too many to list.HOMELESSNESS
Trump wants to force the homeless off city streets by building tent cities on large open parcels of inexpensive land. At the same time, he says he will work with states to ban urban camping, giving violators the choice between being arrested or receiving treatment.
He also wants to bring back large mental institutions to reinstitutionalize those who are “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged.”
PUBLIC SAFETY
Trump would again push to send the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violence. He would use the federal government’s funding and prosecution authorities to strong-arm local governments.
He says he will require local law enforcement agencies that receive Justice Department grants to use controversial policing measures such as stop-and-frisk. As a deterrent, he says local police should be empowered to shoot suspected shoplifters in the act. “Very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he said in one recent speech.
Trump has called for the death penalty for drug smugglers and those who traffic women and children. He has also pledged a federal takeover of the nation’s capital, calling Washington a “dirty, crime-ridden death trap” unbefitting of the country.
Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings
A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and "freedom cities" built on federal land.
Maryanne Trump Barry, the former president’s older sister and a retired federal judge, dies at 86
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Maryclaire Dale And Karen Matthews
Published Nov 13, 2023 • 1 minute read
NEW YORK — Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge and former president Donald Trump ‘s oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York.
Until her retirement in 2019, Barry was a senior judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below the Supreme Court.
The NYPD confirmed that officers were sent to Barry’s Manhattan home just before 4:30 a.m. and discovered a deceased 86-year-old woman. The cause of death was not immediately clear. Her death was confirmed by a judicial official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Barry’s death hadn’t been announced publicly by either the court or Trump’s family.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before becoming a judge, Barry became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1974 and was nominated to the federal court in New Jersey by former President Ronald Reagan. She was later elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals by former President Bill Clinton. She retired in 2019 amid an investigation into her family’s tax practices.
Barry had stayed largely out of the spotlight during her brother’s presidency, but drew headlines after her niece, Mary Trump, revealed that she had secretly recorded her aunt while promoting a book that denounced the former president. In the recordings, Barry could be heard sharply criticizing her brother, at one point saying the former president “has no principles” and is “cruel.”
The former president’s younger brother, Robert Trump, died in 2020 at 71, and Trump held a service at the White House in his honor. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., died of a heart attack at 42.
Donald Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump, died in 2022 at the age of 73.
The news of Barry’s death was first reported by the Daily Voice in Nassau County.
— Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Maryclaire Dale And Karen Matthews
Published Nov 13, 2023 • 1 minute read
NEW YORK — Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge and former president Donald Trump ‘s oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York.
Until her retirement in 2019, Barry was a senior judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below the Supreme Court.
The NYPD confirmed that officers were sent to Barry’s Manhattan home just before 4:30 a.m. and discovered a deceased 86-year-old woman. The cause of death was not immediately clear. Her death was confirmed by a judicial official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Barry’s death hadn’t been announced publicly by either the court or Trump’s family.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before becoming a judge, Barry became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 1974 and was nominated to the federal court in New Jersey by former President Ronald Reagan. She was later elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals by former President Bill Clinton. She retired in 2019 amid an investigation into her family’s tax practices.
Barry had stayed largely out of the spotlight during her brother’s presidency, but drew headlines after her niece, Mary Trump, revealed that she had secretly recorded her aunt while promoting a book that denounced the former president. In the recordings, Barry could be heard sharply criticizing her brother, at one point saying the former president “has no principles” and is “cruel.”
The former president’s younger brother, Robert Trump, died in 2020 at 71, and Trump held a service at the White House in his honor. His older brother, Fred Trump Jr., died of a heart attack at 42.
Donald Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump, died in 2022 at the age of 73.
The news of Barry’s death was first reported by the Daily Voice in Nassau County.
— Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.
Maryanne Trump Barry, the former president’s older sister and a retired federal judge, dies at 86
Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge and Donald Trump 's oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York.
Ex-Fox News reporter says in lawsuit he was fired after challenging Capitol riot coverage
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Lindsay Whitehurst
Published Nov 13, 2023 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — A former Fox News reporter said in a lawsuit he was targeted and fired for pushing back against false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the suit moved to federal court Monday, producer Jason Donner said he was part of a “purge” of employees who refused to only report information that would “appease” former U.S. president Donald Trump and his supporters.
Donner was inside the Capitol when the mob of Trump supporters breached the building. When he heard Fox News reporting that rioters were “peaceful” and “severely disappointed,” he called the control room, using expletives as he said, “You’re gonna get us all killed,” the suit said.
A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately return an email message seeking a comment on the lawsuit.
Donner also debunked Tucker Carlson’s Patriot Purge, a program on the Fox Nation streaming service that argued Jan. 6 was used as a pretext for persecution of conservative Americans.
Fox managers, though, were focused on wooing viewers who supported Trump and as Donner pressed his complaints he was was eventually targeted by a manager who accused him of being irresponsible for calling in sick once while he was recovering from a COVID-19 vaccine, the lawsuit claimed. He was fired in 2022.
A longtime Republican who affiliated with Democrats more recently, Donner said he was illegally discriminated and retaliated against because of his political views. He is seeking unspecific damages.
The lawsuit was first filed in Washington’s Superior Court on Sept. 27 and subsequently moved to federal court.
Fox also faced a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems and paid nearly $800 million this year to settle the case, alleging that Fox knowingly promoted false conspiracy theories about the security of its voting machines. It is also facing a suit from a second voting machine company.
The network also paid $12 million to settle with Abby Grossberg, another former producer who claimed that she faced a discriminatory workplace and that the network coerced her into giving false or misleading testimony in the Dominion suit.
A former Trump supporter who became the centre of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6 has also sued the network, claiming the network made him a scapegoat for the riot.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Lindsay Whitehurst
Published Nov 13, 2023 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — A former Fox News reporter said in a lawsuit he was targeted and fired for pushing back against false claims about the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
In the suit moved to federal court Monday, producer Jason Donner said he was part of a “purge” of employees who refused to only report information that would “appease” former U.S. president Donald Trump and his supporters.
Donner was inside the Capitol when the mob of Trump supporters breached the building. When he heard Fox News reporting that rioters were “peaceful” and “severely disappointed,” he called the control room, using expletives as he said, “You’re gonna get us all killed,” the suit said.
A spokesperson for Fox News did not immediately return an email message seeking a comment on the lawsuit.
Donner also debunked Tucker Carlson’s Patriot Purge, a program on the Fox Nation streaming service that argued Jan. 6 was used as a pretext for persecution of conservative Americans.
Fox managers, though, were focused on wooing viewers who supported Trump and as Donner pressed his complaints he was was eventually targeted by a manager who accused him of being irresponsible for calling in sick once while he was recovering from a COVID-19 vaccine, the lawsuit claimed. He was fired in 2022.
A longtime Republican who affiliated with Democrats more recently, Donner said he was illegally discriminated and retaliated against because of his political views. He is seeking unspecific damages.
The lawsuit was first filed in Washington’s Superior Court on Sept. 27 and subsequently moved to federal court.
Fox also faced a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems and paid nearly $800 million this year to settle the case, alleging that Fox knowingly promoted false conspiracy theories about the security of its voting machines. It is also facing a suit from a second voting machine company.
The network also paid $12 million to settle with Abby Grossberg, another former producer who claimed that she faced a discriminatory workplace and that the network coerced her into giving false or misleading testimony in the Dominion suit.
A former Trump supporter who became the centre of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6 has also sued the network, claiming the network made him a scapegoat for the riot.
Ex-Fox News reporter says in lawsuit he was fired after challenging Capitol riot coverage
A former Fox News reporter said in a lawsuit he was targeted and fired for pushing back against false claims about the U.S. Capitol riot.