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"I will do anything to protect Mr. Trump," Cohen told Fox News in 2017. "I decided that I was not going to allow history to remember me as the villain to his story," Cohen told Reuters in an interview. He said he was reimbursed in installments, and displayed a copy of a $35,000 check from Trump's personal bank account. He has also said that much of his criminal conduct - including the lie to Congress and the Daniels payment - arose out of his blind loyalty to Trump. On Friday, Cohen told Reuters he expected Trump and his allies to attack him.

Trump did not say he had been formally notified of forthcoming charges and provided no evidence of leaks from the district attorney's office. A Trump spokesperson said in a statement to reporters that, “There has been no notification," beyond leaks to the media. Bragg's office earlier this month invited Trump to testify before the grand jury probing the payment, which legal experts said was a sign that an indictment was close. Cohen, who served time in prison after pleading guilty, testified before the grand jury this week. Grand jury proceedings are not public.

Trump, who has denied having an affair with Daniels, is seeking the Republican nomination for the presidency in 2024. "Stormy responded to questions and has agreed to make herself available as a witness, or for further inquiry if needed," Clark Brewster, Daniels' lawyer, wrote on Twitter. Susan Necheles, a lawyer for Trump, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Daniels' talks with prosecutors. Joseph Tacopina, another Trump lawyer, said earlier this week Trump did not plan to appear before the grand jury, but that a decision had not yet been made. The investigation centers on a $130,000 payment Daniels - whose real name is Stephanie Clifford - received in October 2016 from Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney and fixer.

[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 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.

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Lawyers for former U.S. President Donald Trump's real estate company rested their case on Monday after calling just two witnesses in the Trump Organization's criminal trial in a New York state court on tax fraud charges. Juan Merchan, the judge in the case, set closing arguments for Thursday and Friday with jury deliberations expected to begin next Monday. Trump, who this month launched a run for the presidency in 2024, has not been charged in the case. Weisselberg has worked for the Trump family for about five decades, but is no longer CFO and is on paid leave. "The case was not fair or good," Trump wrote on Monday on social media.

But Weisselberg said Trump did not conspire with him on the tax fraud scheme for which the Trump Organization is on trial. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August and agreed to testify as part of a plea deal. But under cross-examination by Trump Organization lawyer Alan Futerfas, Weisselberg said he conspired with McConney, but not with any member of the Trump family. McConney is immune from prosecution for the tax fraud because he testified before the grand jury that indicted both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization. The questionable practices eventually came to an end in 2017 when Trump became president, Weisselberg said.

The Manhattan district attorney's office charged the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, its then-chief financial officer, in July 2021. Weisselberg pleaded guilty in August to 15 charges, which included grand larceny and tax fraud, and admitted concealing $1.76 million in income in an agreement with prosecutors that requires him to testify at this trial. Prosecutors accused the company of engaging in a sweeping tax fraud over a period of 15 years starting in 2005. Lawyers for the Trump Organization have called the case a "selective prosecution" based on animosity by the prosecution toward Trump for his political views, though the judge overseeing it has rejected that argument. Two other Trump Organization employees received compensation in the form of lodging and car leases, prosecutors added.

His plea agreement requires him to testify at the trial against the Trump Organization, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterJury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manhattan state court. The Trump Organization could face up to $1.6 million in fines for the three tax fraud counts and six other counts that were brought. The company's lawyers also said prosecutors presented no evidence to the grand jury that returned the indictment that the Trump Organization evaded payroll taxes. Two other Trump Organization employees received compensation in the form of lodging and car leases, prosecutors said.

Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. "Lafarge made a deal with the devil," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, told reporters following the guilty plea. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said. REUTERS/Charles PlatiauHolcim said that former Lafarge executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim, as well as from external auditors. No Lafarge executives were charged in the United States.

Companies Lafarge Sa FollowHolcim AG FollowNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a U.S. charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including Islamic State. The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim (HOLN.S) in 2015, agreed to pay $778 million in forfeiture and fines as part of the plea agreement. U.S. prosecutors said that Lafarge paid Islamic State and al Nusra Front, through intermediaries, the equivalent of approximately $5.92 million. At that point, Islamic State took possession of the remaining cement and sold it for the equivalent of $3.21 million, prosecutors said.

Companies Lafarge Sa FollowHolcim AG FollowNEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - French cement maker Lafarge pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a U.S. charge that it made payments to groups designated as terrorists by the United States, including Islamic State, according to a court hearing. The admission in Brooklyn federal court marked the first time a company has pleaded guilty in the United States to charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization. The cement maker previously admitted after an internal investigation that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant. Holcim said that former Lafarge executives involved in the conduct concealed it from Holcim, as well as from external auditors. Rights groups in France in 2017 accused Lafarge of paying 13 million euros ($12.79 million) to armed groups including Islamic State militants to keep operating in Syria between 2011 and 2015.

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