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☆ Defense asks hush-money judge to let Trump continue verbally attacking the judge's daughter
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump and Manhattan prosecutors are arguing over the scope of this week's hush-money gag order. AdvertisementLawyers for Donald Trump made an extraordinary request in his hush-money case on Friday: they want state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan to affirm that Tuesday's gag order lets Trump continue verbally attacking the judge's progressive daughter. Their motion, if allowed, would ask the judge to "direct that defendant immediately desist from attacks on family members." The next step in this battle over Trump's hush-money gag order is now in Merchan's court, so to speak. Alternately, he could expand or clarify the gag order to protect family members, and deny further motions on the topic.

Persons: Trump, —, Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Loren Merchan, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Susan Necheles, Todd Blanche, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Trump's, Biden, Harris, Hakeem Jeffries, Gavin Newsom, — he'll Organizations: Trump, Prosecutors, Service, Social, Democratic, Attorney, California Gov Locations: Manhattan, Chicago

☆ Trump lawyers don't want prospective jurors in 'hush-money' case to be asked if 2020 election was stolen
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Todd Blanche, the lead attorney representing Trump in the case, said that jurors should not be asked whether they believe the 2020 election — which Trump lost to now-President Joe Biden — was "stolen." Ahead of the 2016 election, Trump sought to keep Daniels — an adult film actor whose real name is Stephanie Clifford — quiet about an affair she says she had with him. It will also be the first time a former president has ever sat for a criminal trial. Blanche asked Merchan to take a fresh look at the questions jurors should be asked. AdvertisementLast year, Trump went through a three-month civil trial in Manhattan for a case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson, Todd Blanche, Trump, Joe Biden —, Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Biden didn't, Steinglass, Juan Merchan, couldn't, Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Stephanie Clifford —, Jean Carroll, defaming, Lewis Kaplan's, Jean Carroll's, Judge Kaplan, Pres, Donald Trump winked, Jeffrey Toobin, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Jeffrey Toobin —, Susan Necheles, mutter, Carroll, Toobin, Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Smith, Letitia James, Arthur Engoron Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, New, Attorney, US, Getty, Prosecutors, New Yorker, CNN, Justice, New York, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Washington, DC, Fulton County, Florida

☆ 'Stop interrupting me': Judge loses patience with Trump lawyer who tries to move back 'hush-money' trial because ex-president is too busy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

At a hearing, they repeatedly pushed to move the criminal trial, scheduled for March. So is the judge who will oversee his first criminal trial. Apart from the Manhattan case, Trump faces two other criminal trials over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, in Georgia and Washington, DC. He also has a pending criminal case in Florida, over his taking government records with him when he left the office of the presidency. Donald Trump inside Manhattan Criminal Court for a hearing on his felony hush money case on Feb. 15, 2024.

Persons: Donald Trump's, —, Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Todd Blanche, Blanche groused, Trump, Merchan, Blanche, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Merchan —, Allen Weisselberg —, Blanche griped, Tanya Chutkan, didn't, Joshua Steinglass, dizzying, Mr, Jean Carroll, skeptically Organizations: Trump, Service, New, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump Organization, DC Locations: Manhattan, Georgia, Washington, DC, Florida

☆ Opinion | Why Are So Many Girls Suffering From Anorexia?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She was too smart for her school. These are among the 75 explanations given by doctors, therapists and others to Hadley Freeman for her severe anorexia nervosa. Freeman, the author of a riveting new memoir, “Good Girls: A Study and Story of Anorexia,” became sick during the 1990s, but over the last few years, the incidence of anorexia, which predominantly affects preteen and teenage girls, seems to have gone up. We’ve known about anorexia for a long time. Is it related to the general increase in rates of depression and anxiety among girls?

☆ Trump Org sentenced to pay a $1.6 million tax-fraud fine Friday, but the fraud still yields a profit for Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump Org must pay $1.6 million, the maximum fine allowed by law, a Manhattan judge ordered Friday. The fine is Trump Org's penalty for a decade-long tax-fraud scheme it was convicted of last month. The fine is the maximum allowed under New York State law, and came with harsh words from a Manhattan prosecutor. Trump saved millions in payroll costs over the course of the decade-long scheme, Manhattan prosecutors have repeatedly argued. He added that the Trump Organiztion and Weisselberg sentencings "closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the president's businesss."

The sentence, handed down by a judge in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, caps a lengthy legal ordeal for Mr. Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, which was convicted in December of doling out off-the-books perks to some of its top executives. One of the executives who orchestrated the scheme, Allen H. Weisselberg, pleaded guilty and testified at the company’s trial. But the verdict branded the company a lawbreaker, exposed a culture that nurtured illegality for years and handed political ammunition to Mr. Trump’s opponents. They also blamed Mr. Weisselberg, who they say carried out the scheme without intending to benefit the Trump Organization. But Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, argued that the company carried out “a multidimensional scheme to defraud the tax authorities.”

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Commerce, Georgia, U.S. March 26, 2022. Trump's company faces only a maximum $1.6 million penalty, but has said it plans to appeal. Bragg and James are Democrats, as is Bragg's predecessor Cyrus Vance, who brought the criminal case. "The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real," Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass told jurors in his closing argument. State law limits the penalties that Justice Merchan can impose on Trump's company.

☆ Ex-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg begs for leniency as he's sentenced to 5 months for Trump Org tax fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Top Trump money man Allen Weisselberg sentenced to five months in Trump Org tax-dodge scheme. He testified in a monthlong tax crimes trial against the Trump Organization, which was found guilty. The former Trump Organization chief financial officer had overseen a decade-long scheme that allowed top executives to dodge hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes. Along with charges against Weisselberg, the Manhattan district attorney's office brought charges against the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation, two of the entities that comprise the Trump Organization. Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesWeisselberg's plea came after months of pressure from the Manhattan district attorney's office.

☆ Allen Weisselberg could get more time since the Trump Org guilty verdict required jurors to find he lied
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A judge could rule Weisselberg violated the deal because jurors, by their verdict, found he lied. He has been promised a five-month jail sentence as part of his August plea deal. But that deal required Weisselberg, 75, to testify truthfully against former President Donald Trump's real-estate company, where he's worked since the 1970s. "Weisselberg says over and over, 'I, together with the Trump Organization,'" Florence, now in private practice, noted of his guilty plea. Trump Organization lawyers have already promised to appeal the verdict itself.

☆ 5 reasons to applaud the smart, speedy jury that convicted the Trump Organization of tax fraud
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A Manhattan jury convicted Donald Trump's company of all 17 tax-fraud counts on Tuesday. But he would not implicate anyone named Trump — not Donald Trump, who he worked for since the 1980s. And not any of Trump's three eldest kids — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, or Ivanka Trump, who have all served as Trump Organization executive vice presidents. Back during jury selection in late October, defense lawyers had the darnedest time finding Manhattan residents who didn't hate Donald Trump. They certainly did not look like Donald Trump's C-suite of well-paid, white-collar white men.

[1/6] Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a rally to support Republican candidates ahead of midterm elections, in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. November 7, 2022. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told reporters the company would appeal. SEPARATE LAWSUITThe Trump Organization separately faces a fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James. The Trump Organization argued that Weisselberg carried out the scheme to benefit himself. "The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real," Steinglass said.

The jury is set to begin deliberations Monday in the tax fraud trial of the Trump Organization, which is accused of a sweeping, 15-year scheme to compensate top executives of former President Donald Trump’s company off the books. The 15-count indictment charges the company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records. Trump Organization lawyers outlined their case that the prosecution’s star witness in the criminal trial, Weisselberg, committed his crimes to benefit himself. Other executives were compensated with similar perks, they said, and were paid bonuses as independent contractors, saving the company payroll taxes. “Donald Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud.

Its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. The Trump Organization has pleaded not guilty. Its lawyers have argued that an outside accountant from Mazars USA who prepared tax returns for the company, Donald Bender, should have caught Weisselberg's fraud and blown the whistle. Bender "turned a blind eye to Allen Weisselberg's wrongdoing," defense lawyer Susan Necheles said in her closing argument on Thursday. Mazars cut ties with the Trump Organization earlier this year.

Prosecutors in the Trump Organization tax fraud trial said in their closing arguments Friday that the former president sanctioned what became a sweeping 15-year scheme to compensate top company executives off the books. “Donald Trump is explicitly sanctioning tax fraud. “This whole narrative that Donald Trump is blissfully ignorant is just not real.”Attorneys for the defense objected to the late-trial move by the prosecution, which also mentioned Trump at the beginning of closing arguments on Thursday. The 15-count indictment in the case charges the company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records. Donald Trump stands next to Allen Weisselberg at a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower on Jan. 11, 2017.

"The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real," Steinglass told the 12-person jury in a New York state court. Company lawyers objected when Steinglass showed jurors a Trump-initialed memo said it showed the former president "explicitly sanctioning tax fraud." If convicted on tax fraud, falsifying business records and other charges, Trump's company faces up to $1.6 million in fines. Steinglass said Trump approved luxury apartments for Weisselberg and his son, and for chief operating officer Matthew Calamari and his son. "Free cars for you, free cars for your wife, free apartments for you, free apartments for your kids."

☆ DA in Trump Org closings accuses Donald Trump of 'sanctioning tax fraud' — and implies 1 witness was paid off
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In closings, a prosecutor took the extraordinary step of accusing Trump of "sanctioning tax fraud." This 2012 memo shows Donald Trump 'explicitly sanctioning tax fraud,' a prosecutor said in closing arguments on December 2, 2022, in the Trump Organization tax-fraud trial. multiple defense lawyers shouted when the prosecutor accused Trump of "sanctioning tax fraud," interrupting the closing arguments. Judge, we go back to the issue that he just argued Donald Trump was explicitly authorizing tax fraud," she complained. The Manhattan case charges two corporate subsidiaries — the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation, both doing business as the Trump Organization — with scheme to defraud, conspiracy and related tax-fraud crimes.

☆ 'Donald Trump knew exactly what was going on' in Trump Org. tax fraud, Manhattan prosecutor says in summations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Late Thursday, a prosecutor told jurors Trump "knew exactly" how his top executives dodged taxes. The "Trump was in on it" pronouncement, made in summations by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, prompted strong opposition from defense lawyers after jurors left the courtroom for the day. One defense lawyer, Alan Futerfas, objected that Steinglass violated an agreement not to speculate to jurors about what Trump knew or didn't know. "The first problem of the 'prodigal son' narrative," Steinglass told jurors Thursday, "is he didn't steal from the company. The two Trump Organization subsidiaries face a maximum $1.6 million in penalties if convicted of conspiracy, scheme to defraud, and tax fraud.

"The entire defense strategy here is to promote the notion that Weisselberg did it for Weisselberg," Steinglass told the jury in a New York state court in Manhattan. Steinglass told jurors that Trump executives other than Weisselberg were involved, saying the company's chief operating officer and a former general counsel received Christmas bonuses as if they were independent contractors. If convicted on all nine counts it faces, Trump's company faces up to $1.6 million in fines. 'SMORGASBORD OF BENEFITS'Defense lawyers had told jurors on Thursday that Weisselberg's intent was to benefit himself and not the company. Weisselberg is expected to serve five months in jail after pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges.

☆ Trump company tax fraud trial nears end in battle over who to blame
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Joshua Steinglass, a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney's office, said Weisselberg was a product of the "culture of fraud and deception" at Trump's company, and not its only tax fraud beneficiary. Weisselberg is expected to serve five months in jail after pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges. He told jurors his greed motivated him to cheat on taxes, and described the company's modest payroll tax savings as a "byproduct." Necheles told jurors: "The issue here is not whether as a byproduct the company saved some money. Steinglass urged jurors to dismiss the defense's "far-fetched argument" that Trump's company relied on Mazars to catch wrongdoing.

☆ Tale of 2 Donalds: Trump Org defense shifts blame away from Donald Trump and onto Mazars' Donald Bender
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But another Donald — Mazars accountant Donald Bender — saw it all and said nothing, McConney said. "Did you understand that Mr. Bender was paid to make sure that the Trump Corporation books were kept correctly?" Bender, McConney told jurors, handled most of the Trump Organization's tax matters as a partner at Mazars, the Trump Organization's longtime outside accounting firm. Necheles, the defense lawyer, asked McConney, who answered, "Yes." Necheles asked McConney.

☆ Trump Org lawyers debut a new defense at the company's New York tax-fraud trial: Trump is just a generous boss
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Trump Organization criminal tax-fraud trial is in its fourth week in lower Manhattan. On Tuesday, lawyers for Trump's company debuted a new defense: Trump is just a generous boss. An employee brushed off the DA's best evidence — checks signed by Trump — as mere "gifts." defense lawyer Michael van der Veen asked the witness, referring to Allen Weisselberg, the company's ex-CFO. Trump's company, though not Trump himself, is on trial in New York Supreme Court fighting charges it was in on the scheme.

☆ Trump Org is battling prosecutors over 3 little words that could swing the New York tax-fraud trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not enough, they'll be told, for Trump Org executives to get caught selfishly stuffing their pockets. Prosecutors, meanwhile, find the three words so worrisome, they asked the judge — unsuccessfully — to strike them from the case entirely. In defense of their love or hate of the three words, the sides have cited a gamut of arcane case law and other source material. Holtzman — who, as a US Congresswoman, voted to impeach Richard Nixon — is the author of "The Case For Impeaching Trump." Much of the case law being cited, the judge said, was not quite on point, including the bilge and thermometer decisions.

Prosecutors in Manhattan charged the company with being involved in a 15-year tax fraud scheme. Asked whether former President Donald Trump, who was running the business at the time, was aware of the scheme, McConney said Weisselberg told him that Trump knew about it. He said the payments system stopped after Trump was elected president and one of his tax advisers, Sheri Dillon, reviewed the company's business practices. On cross-examination by Trump company lawyer Susan Necheles, McConney painted Weisselberg as the lone bad actor, calling him a "micromanager" who had to sign off on all financial decisions. Weisselberg, who worked for Trump for decades and was indicted alongside the company last year, pleaded guilty to 15 felony charges in August.

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNov 10 (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump was aware of allegedly illegal tax practices at his namesake real estate company, a senior executive indicated in testimony on Thursday during the Trump Organization's criminal trial on charges of tax fraud. McConney was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying, and remains employed by the Trump Organization. Asked whether he helped people evade tax, McConney said, "Evade is a very strong word. McConney said a former general counsel, Jason Greenblatt, received bonuses as non-employee compensation until 2011 when the company's accountant told McConney to stop. McConney also identified Trump's initials on a memo concerning the reduction of Trump Organization executive Matthew Calamari's salary by $72,000, reflecting rent for his apartment.

☆ Trump Org begins turning prosecution witnesses to their own advantage in 'politically motivated' tax-fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"I just felt this was politically motivated," McConney told jurors on Thursday of how prosecutors treated him before he decided to stop cooperating. Mazars severed ties with the Trump Organization in February after publicly questioning "discrepancies" in the Trump Organization's finances. Steinglass also elicited more testimony from McConney on what the prosecutor called a 2017 "clean up" of the company's books. "Nobody told me specifically," McConney said, "that this change was because Mr. Trump became President Trump. Prosecutors must prove that Trump's company was in on Weisselberg's admitted tax-fraud efforts.

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