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A defense lawyer for Donald J. Trump portrayed the lawyer who negotiated payoffs for two women who claimed to have had sex with Mr. Trump as a shady serial extortionist who has made a living trafficking in celebrity gossip and hush-money deals. During the cross-examination, the defense lawyer Emil Bove quickly sought to discredit Mr. Davidson. He accused him of toeing the line between seeking monetary settlements for his clients and extortion. And he warned Mr. Davidson that he was “not here to play lawyer games,” adding that he was seeking truthful answers. Mr. Davidson responded: “You are getting truthful answers, sir” — sarcastically stressing the last word.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Keith Davidson, Emil Bove, Mr, Davidson, ” —

☆ Trump Trial to Resume With Stormy Daniels’s Lawyer on the Stand
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That testimony ended on a cliffhanger: Would the presidential candidate’s lawyer pay up? Prosecutors have charged Mr. Trump with falsifying business records to cover up repayments to Mr. Cohen, disguising the checks as “legal expenses” by the Trump Organization. If convicted, Mr. Trump faces up to four years in prison. Mr. Davidson’s testimony on Tuesday ended with how he had started to doubt that Mr. Cohen would come through with the $130,000. Mr. Davidson portrayed Mr. Cohen as erratic and excitable — likening him to the dog in the animated movie “Up,” constantly distracted by a squirrel offscreen.

Persons: Keith Davidson, Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Davidson, Stormy Daniels, Michael D, Cohen, Daniels, Mr, —, ” Organizations: Mr, Prosecutors, Trump Organization

☆ On Stand, Pecker Fires Back After Trump Lawyer Implies He Was Untruthful
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The lawyer for Donald J. Trump who on Friday led the cross-examination of David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer and first witness in the trial, used confrontational questioning to try to catch Mr. Pecker in contradictions. But that strategy, which led to a tense exchange in the Lower Manhattan courtroom, did not seem to pay off. Mr. Pecker repeatedly rejected characterizations and questions posed by the lawyer, Emil Bove, and resisted the suggestion that he had not been forthright in earlier testimony. For most of Friday, Mr. Bove had struck a polite tone with Mr. Pecker, spending most of the second day of cross-examination focusing on arcane questions about deals to suppress stories, including one with Karen McDougal, the former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. But as Mr. Bove wrapped up his cross-examination, he asked Mr. Pecker about his obligations in cooperating with the prosecution in the hush-money trial.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, David Pecker, Pecker, Emil Bove, Bove, Karen McDougal Organizations: National Enquirer, Playboy Locations: Lower Manhattan

☆ Who is Rhona Graff, Trump’s Former Assistant Who Is Testifying Against Him?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Now, Ms. Graff, his former personal assistant at the Trump Organization, has become the second person to testify against Mr. Trump in his criminal trial in Lower Manhattan. At Trump Tower, Ms. Graff served as Mr. Trump’s gatekeeper. The Queens native had an office right outside his door, placing her within earshot of Mr. Trump’s requests to get someone on the phone. And when someone wanted to reach Mr. Trump, they first had to go through Ms. Graff, often requiring a secret code to be put through. She acted as Mr. Trump’s media liaison, scheduler, sometimes spokeswoman, fund-raising planner, co-star on his realty show “The Apprentice” and as a Miss Teen USA judge.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Rhona Graff, Graff, ”, “, Ms, Lucius Joseph Riccio, David N, Dinkins Organizations: Trump Organization, Mr, Trump Tower, Queens, The New York Times, Miss Teen USA Locations: Lower Manhattan, The

☆ Ex-Enquirer Publisher Says He and Others Around Trump Feared His Anger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A recurring theme in the testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer, has been how people around Donald J. Trump lived in fear of his wrath. Notably, Mr. Pecker kept his eyes locked on exhibits and prosecutors while discussing Mr. Trump’s temper, not once glancing over at the former president in the courtroom. Mr. Trump appeared subdued during Mr. Pecker’s testimony, as he has for most of the trial, but at one point, he motioned to the lawyers next to him and crossed his arms over his chest. Mr. Pecker and Mr. Cohen were in frequent contact during the 2016 presidential campaign, strategizing over how to bury threatening news about Mr. Trump before the November election. In urging Mr. Pecker to kill harmful stories, Mr. Cohen often invoked Mr. Trump’s potential anger as a reason for Mr. Pecker to do what he asked.

Persons: David Pecker, Donald J, Trump, Pecker, Michael D, Cohen, ” —, Pecker’s, motioned, Mr Organizations: National Enquirer, Mr

☆ Prosecutors Say Trump Keeps Breaking Gag Order, With Four New Violations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Prosecutors on Thursday accused former President Donald J. Trump of violating a gag order four additional times, saying that he continues to defy the judge’s directions not to attack witnesses, prosecutors and jurors in his hush-money trial. “He’s doing what the order tells him not to do,” said Christopher Conroy, a prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney. As Mr. Conroy laid out what he said were violations, Mr. Trump whispered to his lawyer Todd Blanche and frowned. After they spoke, Mr. Blanche rubbed his face several times. With the latest allegations, prosecutors now say that Mr. Trump has violated the gag order 15 times in less than two weeks.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, ”, Christopher Conroy, Conroy, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Juan M Locations: Manhattan

Donald J. Trump is a creature of social media. And the lawyers representing him in his criminal trial in Manhattan showed themselves to be savvy at using it during jury selection this week to try to get some prospective jurors dismissed. Mr. Trump’s defense lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, managed to dig up old social media posts by a number of prospective jurors that attacked the former president, creating fascinating exchanges with people who had to explain, under oath, comments that were often years-old. While Mr. Trump’s team succeeded in getting some prospective jurors removed, Day 3 of jury selection ended on Thursday with a full panel of 12 jurors in the case, which could move to opening arguments on Monday. In one lengthy exchange on Thursday, Ms. Necheles highlighted a series of posts by a woman that were highly critical of Mr. Trump and the Republican Party, leading the woman to apologize in court in front of the former president.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Todd Blanche, Susan Necheles, Trump’s, Necheles Organizations: Republican Party Locations: Manhattan

☆ Trump Violated Gag Order Seven More Times, Prosecutors Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Trump has continued to test its limits by sharing quotes and articles that are critical of his perceived enemies — a tactic that he has used for years to defend his statements while retaining plausible deniability. His lawyers on Thursday sought to preserve his ability to do so during the trial, while Mr. Conroy laid out new examples of posts that prosecutors say broke the order, and risked inspiring violence against or harassment of people involved in the trial and those close to them. For instance, the former president posted a link to a New York Post article that called Michael D. Cohen, his former longtime fixer and a key witness in the trial, a “serial perjurer,” and described the case as an “embarrassment for the New York legal system.”The link was posted Monday on Mr. Trump’s campaign website, and again on Tuesday on both that site and his Truth Social platform. Mr. Trump attacked Mr. Cohen again on Wednesday, prosecutors said, when he posted on Truth Social a link to a National Review article with the headline “No, Cohen’s Guilty Plea Does Not Prove Trump Committed Campaign-Finance Crimes.”

Persons: Trump, Conroy, Michael D, Cohen, ” Organizations: New York Post, longtime, New, Finance Locations: New York

☆ The N.Y.C. Neighborhood Where Families Are Filling Up Empty Offices
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For all the talk about converting New York City’s languishing office buildings into housing, just one neighborhood has done it on a large scale: the financial district. In the past few years, luxury apartments have been carved out of a 1907 office tower at 84 William Street and an Art Deco skyscraper at 1 Wall Street that was once the Bank of New York’s headquarters. Five other office buildings are being gutted and turned into residences, including a project that is the largest such conversion in the United States. But the high-rise conversions are just part of a wave of modifications in the area that started decades ago with the transformation of low-rise buildings and continues today with enormous glass and steel towers. The financial district name has become something of a misnomer as the neighborhood, once derided as a desert after the bankers commute home, becomes a vibrant residential enclave at Manhattan’s southernmost tip.

Persons: William Street Organizations: William, Art, Bank of New Locations: New York, United States

For years, landlords around the world clamored to get WeWork into their office buildings, a love affair that made the co-working company the largest corporate tenant in New York and London. Now, WeWork is perhaps days away from a bankruptcy filing — and its demise could not come at a worse time for office landlords. With fewer employees going into the office since the pandemic, companies have slashed the amount of space they lease, causing one of the worst crunches in decades in commercial real estate. Many landlords have accepted lower rents from WeWork in recent years to keep it afloat, but its bankruptcy would be an enormous blow. Some landlords might quickly accept lower rents from WeWork as part of a bankruptcy reorganization and keep doing business with any new entity that emerges, but others might have to fight in court to get anything.

Locations: New York, London, WeWork

☆ The Flatiron Building Will Be Converted Into Condos
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Matthew Haag | More About Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mayor Eric Adams has made the conversion of struggling office buildings into residences a major component of his attempt to address New York City’s housing shortage. Mr. Amro said that despite the Flatiron’s quirky interior, its numerous windows would make a conversion into residences far easier than most office buildings. But the construction would require some major internal changes: Stairs and elevators must be moved around and consolidated. The owners have considered various plans, some with multiple units on each floor, with about 40 total residences. The ground floor, however, will remain retail space; T-Mobile has a store there with a long-term lease.

Persons: Eric Adams, Jonathan J, Miller, Miller Samuel Real, ” Organizations: Department of City, Amro, Mobile Locations: York

As Columbia University puts the last touches on its brand-new campus in Harlem, it has reached a milestone: The university is now the largest private landowner in New York City. In a city where land is more valuable than almost anywhere in the nation, the school now owns more than 320 properties, with a combined value of nearly $4 billion. The growth has helped it stay competitive within the Ivy League and meet its broader ambitions to become a global institution. By many measures, those ambitions have also helped lift the city around it, attracting higher numbers of students, producing new jobs and boosting New York’s reputation as an international center of knowledge. But as Columbia has expanded its footprint, it has also become more of a drain on the city budget because of a state law more than 200 years old that allows universities, museums and other nonprofits to pay almost no property taxes.

Organizations: Columbia University, Ivy League Locations: Harlem, New York City, Columbia

New York is doing better than San Francisco — Manhattan has a vacancy rate of 13.5 percent — but it can no longer count on the technology industry for growth. More than one-third of the roughly 22 million square feet of office space available for sublet in Manhattan comes from technology, advertising and media companies, according to Newmark. The company has opted not to renew leases covering 250,000 square feet in Hudson Yards and for 200,000 square feet on Park Avenue South. Twitter, Microsoft and other technology companies are also trying to sublease unwanted space. The large amount of space available for sublet is also driving down the rents that landlords are able to get on new leases.

Persons: Newmark, ”, Ruth Colp, Haber, Colp Organizations: sublet, New, New York State, Spotify, Trade Center, Twitter, Microsoft, Wharton Property Advisors Locations: York, Francisco —, Manhattan, New York, Hudson Yards

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