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Donald J. Trump, a week away from standing trial in Manhattan on criminal charges that he falsified records to cover up a sex scandal, has indicated he plans to file a lawsuit against the judge overseeing the case. Court records showed on Monday that Mr. Trump was filing an action against the judge, Juan M. Merchan, though the papers were not immediately made public. An online court docket where Mr. Trump is expected to file the so-called Article 78 action — a special proceeding that can be used to challenge New York state government agencies and judges — showed that the related paperwork was sealed. The order prevents Mr. Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and the judge’s own family. Mr. Trump’s unorthodox move — essentially an appeal in the form of a lawsuit — is unlikely to succeed, particularly so close to trial.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, —, Merchan Locations: Manhattan, New York

Federal authorities investigating Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign fund-raising have been examining valuable flight upgrades they believe he received from Turkish Airlines that elevated him to its highest class of seats available on international trips, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The scrutiny is part of a broad corruption inquiry that has already led the F.B.I. to search the homes of the former top New York-based executive of Turkish Airlines and aides to Mr. Adams, who has frequently traveled abroad and has made no secret of his affinity for flying on the Turkish carrier. agents searched the homes of the former airline executive, Cenk Öcal, the mayor’s liaison to the Turkish community, Rana Abbasova, and his chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs — and seized Mr. Adams’s electronic devices. The inquiry has shaken an administration that has become increasingly mired in investigations and beset by legal and ethical problems.

Persons: Eric Adams’s, Adams, Cenk Öcal, Rana Abbasova, Brianna Suggs — Organizations: Turkish Airlines Locations: New York

☆ Judge Won’t Delay Trump’s Criminal Trial to Wait for Immunity Ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Ben Protess | William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump’s criminal case in Manhattan rejected his last-ditch bid to delay a trial beyond April 15, removing on Wednesday one of the final obstacles to the first prosecution of a former American president. That issue arose in another of his criminal cases, and the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments this month, but might not rule until June. The judge in the Manhattan case, Juan M. Merchan, ruled that his trial did not need to wait for the Supreme Court. He denied Mr. Trump’s effort as “untimely,” ruling that he had failed to request the delay by a legal deadline. The judge said the request’s timing — just weeks before the trial was set to start — also raised “real questions about the sincerity and actual purpose of the motion.”

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan, ”, — Organizations: Supreme Locations: Manhattan, American

The New York judge overseeing Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial later this month expanded a gag order on Monday to bar the former president from attacking the judge’s family members, who in recent days have become the target of Mr. Trump’s abuse. Justice Juan M. Merchan last week issued an order prohibiting Mr. Trump from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court staff, as well as their relatives. That order, however, did not cover Justice Merchan himself or the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, who brought the criminal case against the former president. And although the ruling issued on Monday still does not apply to the judge or the district attorney, Justice Merchan, granting a request from Mr. Bragg’s office, amended the gag order so that it does now cover their families. In his ruling, the judge cited recent attacks against his daughter, and rejected Mr. Trump’s argument that his statements were “core political speech.”

Persons: Donald J, Juan M, Merchan, Trump, Alvin L, Bragg, Justice Merchan, ” Locations: York, Manhattan

Donald J. Trump watched anxiously from the White House in April 2018 as news broke about federal agents searching the home of Michael D. Cohen, the man entrusted to conceal some of the president’s deepest secrets. After initially coming to Mr. Cohen’s defense, Mr. Trump washed his hands of his fixer within weeks, brushing aside Mr. Cohen’s feelers about a pardon and disavowing his legal bills. Mr. Trump took a different tack when prosecutors shifted their scrutiny to Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump family’s longtime financial gatekeeper. Mr. Trump’s company paid Mr. Weisselberg’s legal bills and awarded him a $2 million severance, with a condition: He could not voluntarily cooperate with any law enforcement agency. But prosecutors say Mr. Weisselberg lied during his testimony, and this month he pleaded guilty to perjury.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Cohen’s, Allen H, Weisselberg, Mr Organizations: White House, Trump Locations: Manhattan, U.S

On Tuesday, lawyers for Ms. Lake indicated she would not dispute the facts of a defamation lawsuit that Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder, had filed against her. But they seem to be more durable and pervasive in Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, riling up residents long after campaigns have closed up shop. Credit... Rebecca Noble for The New York TimesThe numbers back up Arizona’s outsize role in election fraud claims. At a news conference on Monday, Gary M. Restaino, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, said seven of the nation’s roughly 18 federal cases regarding election threats involved people targeting Arizona election officials, though the suspects are not Arizonans. Image Bill Gates, a Maricopa County supervisor, during Arizona’s primary presidential election in Phoenix earlier in March.

Persons: Joseph R, Biden, Donald J, Kari Lake, Trump, baselessly, hasn’t, Lake, Stephen Richer, Richer, —, ”, Joshua Garland, Rebecca Noble, Gary M, “, Mr, Restaino, Lake’s, ” Mr, they’re, Katie Hobbs, Bill Gates, Gates, Lake —, ‘, ’ ‘, ’ ”, “ It’s Organizations: Republican, Arizona State University, “, The New York Times, Arizona, U.S, Supreme, Lake’s Democratic, Mr, Republicans Locations: Arizona, Maricopa, Maricopa County, Phoenix, Georgia, U.S, . Credit, Gitmo

☆ Judge Imposes Gag Order on Trump in Manhattan Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Ben Protess | William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The New York judge presiding over one of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trials imposed a gag order on Tuesday that prohibits him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors, the latest effort to rein in the former president’s wrathful rhetoric about his legal opponents. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, imposed the order at the request of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case against Mr. Trump. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has accused Mr. Trump of covering up a potential sex scandal during and after his 2016 campaign. The ruling comes on the heels of Justice Merchan’s setting an April 15 trial date, rejecting Mr. Trump’s latest effort to delay the proceeding. Mr. Trump recently clinched the Republican presidential nomination for the third time, and with three other criminal cases against him mired in delay, the Manhattan case could be the only one to go to trial before voters head to the polls in November.

Persons: Donald J, Juan M, Trump, Alvin L, Bragg, Merchan’s, Trump’s Locations: York, Manhattan, American

Combs was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities. The authorities did not say whether Mr. Combs was a target or what criminal charges they were investigating. “This unprecedented ambush — paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence — leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs,” Mr. Dyer said. “There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Persons: Sean Combs, ”, Aaron Dyer, “ Mr, Combs, —, Mr, ” Mr, Dyer Organizations: Homeland Security Investigations, Miami, Fox Locations: Los Angeles, Miami Beach, Fla

☆ Trump Can Post Smaller Bond in Civil Fraud Case, Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Ben Protess | William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With Donald J. Trump on the clock to secure a nearly half-billion-dollar bond in his civil fraud case, a New York appeals court appears to have handed the former president a lifeline on Monday, saying it would accept a far smaller bond of $175 million. The ruling by a five-judge panel of appellate court judges was a crucial and unexpected victory for the former president, potentially staving off a looming financial disaster. Had the court denied his request — and had he failed to obtain the full bond — Mr. Trump risked of losing control over his bank accounts and, eventually, even some of his marquee properties. If Mr. Trump obtains the smaller bond, it would prevent the New York attorney general’s office, which brought the case accusing him of fraudulently inflating his net worth, from collecting while Mr. Trump appeals the $454 million judgment imposed by a trial judge. Mr. Trump has 10 days to secure the bond, and two people with knowledge of his finances said he should be able to do so by then.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: New Locations: New York

At 11 a.m. Monday, a New York appeals court made Donald J. Trump’s day, rescuing him from financial devastation in a civil fraud case. By noon, the New York judge overseeing his criminal case had nearly ruined it, setting Mr. Trump’s trial for next month and all but ensuring he will hold the dubious distinction of becoming the first former American president to be criminally prosecuted. The contrasting outcomes of Mr. Trump’s twin New York legal crises — a triumph in the civil case and a setback in the criminal one — set the former president on a winding path as he seeks to navigate around an array of legal troubles to recapture the White House. Unfolding in rapid succession in his hometown courts, the day’s events captured the disorienting reality of having a candidate who is also a defendant. And they showed that nothing about the six months until Election Day will be easy, linear or normal — for Mr. Trump or the nation.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Trump Organizations: New, Mr Locations: New York, American, York

Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security on Monday raided homes in the Los Angeles area and Miami that a person with knowledge of the case said were connected to Sean Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking in multiple civil lawsuits over the last several months. In a statement on Monday, in response to questions about news reports of a raid on Mr. Combs’s residences, Homeland Security Investigations said: “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available.”A spokesperson for Mr. Combs did not respond to a request for comment. The criminal inquiry was being conducted by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a law-enforcement official said. Video from Fox 11 (KTTV), a local television news station in Los Angeles, showed armed officers entering a home in the Holmby Hills area of the city, which the station said was connected to Mr. Combs’s company, Bad Boy Entertainment.

Persons: Sean Combs, HSI, Combs, Nicholas Biase Organizations: Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, of, Southern, Fox, Bad Boy Entertainment Locations: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, HSI Los, HSI Miami, Southern, of New York, Holmby

A Chinese business titan pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges that he made more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions to political candidates — including, a person familiar with the case said, to a New York congressman and Mayor Eric Adams. Hui Qin, 56, of Old Westbury, N.Y., who was once listed on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, ran a now-defunct entertainment business called SMI Culture. Image Hui Qin Credit... ImaginechinaMr. Qin asked others to contribute to political campaigns of his choosing, and he agreed to reimburse them, in 2021 and 2022, according to prosecutors. The other figures who received donations were Representative Andrew Garbarino of Long Island and Allan Fung, a former mayor of Cranston, R.I., who ran for Congress, the person familiar with the case said. Both are Republicans, while Mr. Adams is a Democrat.

Persons: Eric Adams, Hui Qin, Imaginechina Mr, Qin, Andrew Garbarino, Allan Fung, Adams Organizations: Forbes, Congress Locations: New York, Old Westbury, N.Y, Manhattan, Qin, Long, Cranston, R.I

The schedule seemed stacked against Donald J. Trump: four criminal trials in four cities, all in the same year he is running for president. But rather than doom Mr. Trump, the chaotic calendar might just save him. Mr. Trump, who as president helped reshape the federal judiciary, has already persuaded the Supreme Court to delay his trial in Washington. The case in Manhattan, where Mr. Trump is accused of covering up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, was the only one not mired in potential postponements. On Friday, Justice Juan M. Merchan, who is overseeing the case, delayed the trial at least three weeks, until mid-April.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan Organizations: Trump Locations: Washington, Florida, Georgia, Manhattan

☆ Judge Delays Trump’s Manhattan Trial Until at Least Mid-April
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Ben Protess | William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A New York judge on Friday delayed Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan until at least mid-April, postponing the only one of Mr. Trump’s four criminal cases that appeared set to begin. Citing the records, Mr. Trump’s lawyers sought a 90-day delay of the trial, while the Manhattan prosecutors that brought the case proposed a postponement of up to 30 days. The prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, who accused the former president of covering up a sex scandal during and after his 2016 campaign, had said the extra time would allow Mr. Trump’s lawyers to review the records that recently emerged. Mr. Trump, who recently clinched the Republican presidential nomination for the third time, was initially set to go on trial on March 25. Now, the judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, will hold a hearing that day to determine whether the trial should be delayed further — and if so, for how long.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Trump, Juan M Organizations: Manhattan, Mr Locations: York, Manhattan

Less than two weeks before Donald J. Trump is set to go on trial on criminal charges in Manhattan, the prosecutors who brought the case proposed a delay of up to 30 days, a startling development in the first prosecution of a former American president. The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which accused Mr. Trump of covering up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, said the delay would give Mr. Trump’s lawyers time to review a new batch of records. In response to the new records — tens of thousands of pages of them — Mr. Trump’s lawyers requested that the trial be delayed 90 days. Mr. Trump, who clinched the Republican presidential nomination for the third time this week, faces four criminal trials and several civil lawsuits. The Manhattan case had been the only one of the four criminal cases not mired in delays.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Locations: Manhattan, American

Allen H. Weisselberg, a longtime lieutenant to former President Donald J. Trump, has reached an agreement with Manhattan prosecutors to plead guilty to perjury charges on Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Yet Mr. Weisselberg, who for years has remained steadfastly loyal to Mr. Trump in the face of intense prosecutorial pressure, is not expected to implicate his former boss. Mr. Weisselberg, 76, is now expected to concede that he lied to investigators from the New York attorney general’s office when they were investigating Mr. Trump for fraud. The attorney general, Letitia James, had accused Mr. Trump of wildly inflating his net worth to obtain favorable loans and other benefits. That civil case recently ended with a judge imposing a huge financial penalty on the former president — more than $450 million with interest.

Persons: Allen H, Donald J, Trump, Weisselberg, Letitia James, — Organizations: New Locations: Manhattan, New York

Donald J. Trump was minutes away from being grilled under oath by the New York attorney general and he was itching to talk. But his lawyer at the time, Ronald P. Fischetti, directed Mr. Trump to keep quiet. Mr. Fischetti warned Mr. Trump that he was risking perjury charges, and that he would come to regret it. Over the past year, he was indicted four times and faced three civil trials. And as the former president’s first criminal trial approaches on March 25, it has become clear — as it was to Mr. Fischetti — that the single person who poses the greatest danger to Donald J. Trump may just be Donald J. Trump.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Ronald P, Letitia James, Fischetti Organizations: New, Trump Locations: New York

Manhattan prosecutors on Monday asked the judge overseeing the criminal case against Donald J. Trump to prohibit the former president from attacking witnesses or exposing jurors’ identities. The requests, made in filings by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, noted Mr. Trump’s “longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him.”In outlining a narrowly crafted gag order, the office hewed closely to the terms of a similar order upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington in another of Mr. Trump’s criminal cases. The gag order in the Manhattan case, if the judge approves it, would bar Mr. Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in the case. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, also asked that Mr. Trump be barred from commenting on prosecutors on the case — other than Mr. Bragg himself — as well as court staff members.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Alvin L, Bragg, — Organizations: Monday Locations: Manhattan, Washington

☆ Highlights From the Decision in Trump’s Fraud Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( William K. Rashbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The judge who cut a broad swath through Donald J. Trump’s personal and corporate coffers on Friday, ordering him to pay a penalty in his civil fraud trial that will exceed $450 million, was both cutting and colorful in his characterization of the former president’s conduct. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, an unconventional jurist who presided over the trial, wrote a detailed 92-page legal decision that wove lyrical descriptions of Mr. Trump’s statements and actions into the legal analysis that supported his decision. There’s Bernie Madoff. And there’s even an 18th-century poet. A former cabdriver and music teacher, the judge is an unlikely antagonist for Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced him as a Democratic stooge and criticized his family and his law clerk.

Persons: Donald J, Arthur F, There’s Bernie Madoff, Trump Organizations: Democratic

agents early Thursday searched the homes of two senior New York Fire Department chiefs responsible for overseeing safety inspections while city investigators also searched the chiefs’ offices at the agency’s headquarters in Brooklyn, people with knowledge of the matter said. There was no immediate indication that the searches were part of a broad federal corruption investigation focused on Mayor Eric Adams and fund-raising for his 2021 campaign, although spokesmen for the F.B.I. A spokeswoman for the Department of Investigation could not immediately be reached for comment. Neither of the chiefs, Brian Cordasco and Anthony Saccavino, has been accused of wrongdoing. The Fire Department said in a statement that Commissioner Laura Kavanagh has “proactively” placed both chiefs on modified duty.

Persons: Eric Adams, Brian Cordasco, Anthony Saccavino, Laura Kavanagh Organizations: New York Fire Department, city’s Department of Investigation, U.S, Department, Fire Department Locations: Brooklyn, Manhattan

☆ Blindsided Trump Fraud-Trial Judge Demands Intel on Perjury Plea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Dear Counselors," the fraud-trial judge, state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, begins an acidly-worded email he sent Monday. After all, he notes, he is the fraud trial's "presiding magistrate, the trier of fact, and the judge of credibility." AdvertisementIn describing the potential trial monkey wrench that a Weisselberg perjury admission would be, Engoron drops some Latin. Lawyers for his co-defendants in the lawsuit — the Trump Organization, eldest sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump, Weisselberg and another longtime Trump Org executive, Jeffrey McConney — have also denied wrongdoing. AdvertisementAttorneys for Trump and Weisselberg, and spokespersons for the AG's office and Manhattan district attorney's office, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Allen Weisselberg, Arthur Engoron, William K, Rashbaum, Jonah E, Ben Protesss, Alan, Weisselberg, Trump's, Manhattan, Forbes, Engoron, Letitia James, Trump, Donald Trump , Jr, Eric Trump, Jeffrey McConney — Organizations: Service, New York Times, Trump Org, Business, Trump, Former Finance, Manhattan, Times, Penthouse, New York, Lawyers, Trump Organization, Weisselberg Locations: York, Bromwich, Manhattan, trier

A former executive at a prominent New York City development firm that collapsed amid an avalanche of investor lawsuits and foreclosures was arrested this week and is expected to be charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme, according to several people with knowledge of the case. The developer, Nir Meir, was taken into custody on Monday at the 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami and was expected to be extradited to New York City on the charges, which were brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, the people said. Several other people and businesses were expected to be charged in a series of indictments brought by the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, as part of a sprawling web of suspected criminal conduct involving Mr. Meir’s former company, HFZ Capital Group. Those expected to be charged include people involved with the construction firm Omnibuild, which worked on at least one major HFZ project, including a principal at the company, some of the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Persons: Nir Meir, Alvin L, Bragg, Meir’s Organizations: HFZ Capital Group Locations: New York City, Beach, Miami, Manhattan

Federal prosecutors have accused Donald J. Trump of plotting to subvert American democracy and mishandling nuclear secrets. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has begun to approach witnesses to prepare them for trial, including Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer, according to people with knowledge of the matter. He and at least two others involved in buying a porn star’s silence about her story of a tryst with Mr. Trump are expected to meet with prosecutors in the coming weeks. With the potential trial drawing near, the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has also added one of his most experienced trial lawyers to the team assigned to prosecute Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump did so, the district attorney argues, by concealing an illegal payoff to the porn star, thus hiding damaging information from voters just days before they headed to the polls.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Trump’s, Alvin L, Bragg, Mr Organizations: White House, Mr Locations: Manhattan

Mayor Eric Adams raised $732,000 in less than two months to pay for legal expenses related to a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising, according to a filing submitted Tuesday. The contributors to Mr. Adams’s defense fund include an array of wealthy players in business and politics, among them at least four who have been described as billionaires: the former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Ukrainian-British oligarch Leonard Blavatnik, the real estate and fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt and the cryptocurrency investor Brock Pierce. The fund has so far spent $440,000, most of it on WilmerHale, the law firm Mr. Adams hired to represent him in the investigation, the filing shows. City law permits elected officials to set up defense funds to pay for expenses related to criminal or civil investigations that are unrelated to their government duties and cannot be paid for with public money. The funds can collect up to $5,000 per donor but are not permitted to solicit or receive contributions from anyone with city contracts or business before the city.

Persons: Eric Adams, Michael Bloomberg, Leonard Blavatnik, Alexander Rovt, Brock Pierce, Adams Organizations: New, New York City Locations: New York, Ukrainian, British

Mayor Eric Adams of New York said on Tuesday that the 25-year-old woman he had chosen to manage his political fund-raising was no longer working in that role, weeks after a search of her home by the F.B.I. revealed a federal investigation into his campaign and plunged his administration into turmoil. The announcement by Mr. Adams was something of a reversal: He had previously said he had “full confidence” in the fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs, adding that she was qualified for the job and that he would love for her to remain on his team. At his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Adams declined to explain the reasons for the change, saying as he often does that he would not discuss private conversations. “She is no longer doing fund-raising for the campaign,” Mr. Adams said, in response to a question from a reporter.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, Brianna Suggs, ” Mr Locations: New York

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