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Without saying so specifically, the upshot from Trump’s attorney was that the Trump deals followed a pattern that bordered on extortion. The upshot from Trump’s attorney was that the Trump deals followed a pattern that bordered on extortion. After the lunch break, Trump attorney Susan Necheles said Trump’s legal team feels the gag order is ambiguous about whether Trump can repost article written by lawyers analyzing the trial. During Tuesday’s session, Davidson testified that he ended up getting involved with the Daniels deal because Cohen was being so difficult. “The moral of the story was: No one wanted to talk to Cohen,” Davidson said.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Stormy Daniels, ” Trump, Emil Bove, Keith Davidson, – Hulk Hogan, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Tila Tequila –, Davidson, Michael Cohen, Daniels, Judge Juan Merchan, Trump, Karen McDougal, Bove, Cohen, McDougal, ” Davidson, Hulk Hogan, “, ”, Hogan, ” Bove, Joshua Steinglass, ” Merchan, Merchan, Chris Conroy, David Pecker, “ He’s, ” Conroy, Conroy, Trump “, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Susan Necheles, “ I’m, Trump’s, ’, ’ ” Cohen, Daniels “, they’d, ” Prosecutors, Daniels ’, Witnesses, Michael Cohen Davidson, Cohen –, –, ‘, I’m, I’ve, ’ ” Davidson, Cohen’s, Pecker, he’s, Hunt Organizations: CNN, Trump, AMI, Bove, Democratic, ” Locations: Washington

☆ Stormy Daniels' lawyer says 'extremely strict reading' of her earlier Trump affair denial was true because the relationship wasn't 'romantic'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Davidson testified on Thursday that "an extremely strict reading of this statement would technically be true" based on how he would parse "affair," "romantic," and "and/or." Asked by Steinglass whether "there was a sexual encounter" between Daniels and Trump, Davidson said he believed there was. Related storiesDavidson also said the statement's denial of rumors that Daniels "received hush money" from Trump was also true, because he "would never use that word." Advertisement"There wasn't hush money. Cohen worked at all hours trying to keep the narrative under control, sending text messages "with little regard for my schedule," Davidson testified.

Persons: —, Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump —, Joshua Steinglass, Davidson, Daniels, Michael Cohen, Davison, Donald Trump, Trump, reimbursements, Cohen, MARK PETERSON, Dylan Howard, Jimmy Kimmel, Marilyn Monroe, Hollywood Roosevelt Organizations: Service, Trump, Business, Manhattan, Attorney's, Manhattan Criminal, Getty, National Locations: New York City, Hollywood

☆ Opinion: How one text exchange gave Trump an ominous day in court
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Norm Eisen Courtesy Norm EisenIn Donald Trump’s Manhattan election interference trial, the case is coming in better than expected, and that is ominous for the former president. The prosecution asked Davidson to explain the meaning of a text he had sent to Howard that evening. As the election was about to be called for Trump, Davidson sent a text to Howard asking, “What have we done?”Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Davidson what the meaning of those words were. It also highlighted the stakes here: Unlike Trump’s 2020 election interference cases pending in Georgia and federal court, the unlawful effort to impact the election alleged in this case might have actually worked. I was watching the jury closely when Davidson spoke, and they were riveted.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Donald Trump, CNN CNN —, Norm Eisen, Donald Trump’s, Keith Davidson, Davidson, Karen McDougal, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Michael Cohen, Daniels, David Pecker, Cohen, Dylan Howard —, Howard, Joshua Steinglass, ”, Matthew Colangelo Organizations: CNN, CNN CNN, American Media, Inc, National Enquirer, Trump, Twitter Locations: ”, Donald Trump’s Manhattan, Georgia

☆ Hush-money texts reveal tawdry bidding war over a porn star, a Playboy model, and their tales of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Every single time I talked to Michael Cohen, he leaned on his close affiliation with Donald Trump," Davidson testified. Advertisement"It was part of his identity," the lawyer told jurors of Cohen. When Daniels' lawyer responded "Yup," the Enquirer editor responded, "I reckon that trump[sic] impersonator I hired has more cash." At another point, Cohen claimed the Trump Organization computer systems were, "quote, all fucked up," Davidson told the jury. "I called him and said, Michael, this is a very bad situation," he said he told Cohen.

Persons: —, Donald Trump —, Playboy Bunny, Keith Davidson, Bunny Karen McDougal, Stormy Daniels, Melania Trump, Trump, Davidson, Trump's, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Daniels, Donald Trump, Dylan Howard, texted, Ethan Miller, Raymond Hall, Joshua Steinglass, Yom Kippur, Michael, Steinglass, he's, Karen McDougal, Playboy Bunny —, Howard, McDougal, Davidson — Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, National Enquirer, Manhattan DA, Getty, Trump Organization, Enquirer, National, GOP Locations: LA

CNN —Judge Juan Merchan handed down his first punishment to Donald Trump for violating the judge’s gag order in the New York hush money trial Tuesday, fining Trump $9,000 for nine violations. Instead, Davidson negotiated a $130,000 hush money deal with Cohen on Daniels’ behalf, and she did not speak out publicly before the 2016 election. In his order, the judge warned Trump that he could be imprisoned if he continues to willfully violate the gag order. “All you have to do is talk to that a**hole Cohen,” Davidson recalled. His son, Eric Trump, attended the trial – the first family member of the former president to appear during the trial.

Persons: Juan Merchan, Donald Trump, fining, Daniels, Karen McDougal, Keith Davidson, Trump’s, Michael Cohen, Davidson, Cohen, Trump, –, Merchan, David Pecker, “, ” Merchan, Stormy’s, McDougal, ’, Dylan Howard –, Gina Rodriguez, “ It’s, ” Davidson, Rodriguez, Peggy Peterson, David Dennison, Joshua Steinglass, Dennison, ” Steinglass, ” Cohen, Gary Farro, Daniels ’, Farro, ” Trump, “ Michael Cohen, He’s, Judge Merchan didn't, Jean Carroll, Prosecutors, Melania Trump, Eric Trump, Susie Wiles, Ken Paxton, David McIntosh, Barron’s Organizations: CNN, fining Trump, Trump, AMI, Prosecutors, American Media Inc, Daniels . Records, Bank, Twitter, Club for Growth, Mar Locations: New York, LA, Texas

☆ Old, unused, and 'twisty' — meet the obscure NY election-conspiracy law that just might get Trump convicted
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Attorneys specializing in state election law believe the statute has never been prosecuted. Jeenah Moon-Pool/Getty ImagesTwo highly respected law professors specializing in New York election law said the same. "I think it's very smart of prosecutors to use this state law, whether it's been used before or not," said Jeffrey M. Wice, who teaches state election law at New York Law School. Related storiesThese same three "underlying crimes" — using state election law, federal election law, and state tax law — were again given equal prominence here in a February 15 decision by Merchan. "You're having an underlying crime within an underlying crime to get to that felony," Connor told BI.

Persons: Alvin Bragg's, Trump, —, Donald Trump's, Donald Trump, Law Trump, Stormy Daniels, Joshua Steinglass, Juan Merchan, Steinglass, I've, Sen, Martin Connor, Joseph T, Burns, that's, it's, Jeffrey M, Wice, — Merchan, Alvin K, Trump's, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Michael Cohen, Daniels, Cohen, Connor, Prosecutors, Jerry H, he's, Goldfeder, Cozen O'Connor Organizations: Service, Manhattan, New York, Court, New, Republican, Democratic NY, Erie, Erie County Republican, New York Law School, Attorney, National Enquirer, Trump, Fordham Law, Democracy Locations: Manhattan, New York, Brooklyn, Erie County, Buffalo , New York

CNN —Jurors will now have a three-day weekend to think about what they heard during the first full week of testimony in the historic Donald Trump hush money trial. In one instance, Bove pointed to FBI notes from a 2018 interview, where agents had written that Pecker testified Trump did not thank him or AMI during a January 6, 2017, meeting at Trump Tower. In that interview, Pecker testified that Trump had in fact thanked him during that 2017 Trump Tower meeting. Trump cracks a smile for his longtime assistantTrump’s longtime assistant Rhona Graff testified for less than an hour. He replied, “Of course I do.”Graff no longer works for Trump, but she spoke positively about her experience at the Trump Organization and having Trump as a boss.

Persons: Donald Trump, David Pecker, pummel, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Trump’s, Rhona Graff, Cohen, Trump, Karen McDougal’s, Banker Gary Farro, Daniels, Farro, He’s, Emil Bove, Pecker, Bove, McDougal, Prosecutors, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Karen McDougal, ”, Graff, Susan Necheles, ” Graff, “, humanize Trump, ” Trump, Hope Hicks Organizations: CNN, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, Trump Organization, Trump, First Republic Bank, AMI, Trump Tower, Trump Org, ” Defense Locations: Delaware

☆ Trump feared for campaign, not family, as sex scandals were caught and killed, ex-Enquirer CEO tells hush-money jury
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When a porn star and Playboy Bunny both came forward, Trump feared for voters, not family, Pecker told jurors. Then, in swift succession and with the 2016 election just months away, a Playboy Bunny and a porn star appeared with more sex scandals. But in the months before the 2016 election, all Trump worried about was his voters, Pecker testified on his third day on the stand. "I thought his concern was with the campaign," Pecker added. Pecker told jurors he had been investigated by California officials for just this sort of thing more than a decade before Trump's 2016 campaign.

Persons: David Pecker, Playboy Bunny, Trump, Pecker, —, Donald Trump, Dino Sajudin, Bunny Karen McDougal, Stormy Daniels, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Daniels, Michael Cohen, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Dylan Howard, Trump's, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold, Howard, Howard texted, Cohen, Karen, McDougal, Michael, Jeff Sessions Organizations: National Enquirer, Service, Trump, Enquirer, Trump Organization, Attorney, American Media International, AMI, Prosecutors, McDougal's, Federal, Commission Locations: Manhattan, California, Australia

☆ Opinion: As Trump trial opens, attorneys have to make deft first moves
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Editor’s Note: Norman Eisen is a CNN legal analyst and editor of “Trying Trump: A Guide to His First Election Interference Criminal Trial.” He served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the first impeachment and trial of Trump. CNN —I will be joining the line Monday morning to witness opening statements in the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president. As a trial lawyer, I always would rather the jury hear about any problems with witnesses from me first, together with the solution. If the DA wants to build a bridge for the jury into what Trump was thinking, Blanche wants to preemptively destroy it. But before that I’ll be back to you with an evaluation of how both sides did for the next installment of my trial diary.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Trump, CNN —, Norm Eisen, Donald Trump –, Juan Merchan, Alvin Bragg’s, Matthew Colangelo, Susan Hoffinger, Joshua Steinglass, it’s, It’s, –, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, David Pecker –, Todd Blanche, he’s, Blanche, Cohen, Daniels, I’ll Organizations: CNN, Norm Eisen Journalists, Justice Department, New York, American Media, National Enquirer Locations: American, Manhattan

Mr. Cohen has said he acted at Mr. Trump’s direction, but the former president is not charged over the payment itself. If Mr. Trump testifies in his own defense, that could pit Mr. Cohen’s word against Mr. Trump’s — a he-said, he-said story, with two questionable narrators. Mr. Trump’s lawyers will seek to emphasize Mr. Cohen’s checkered past at every turn. And, on cross-examination, Mr. Trump’s lawyers are likely to portray Mr. Cohen as a serial liar with a grudge against his former boss. Mr. Pecker can support at least some of Mr. Cohen’s testimony about Mr. Trump’s involvement in the hush-money deals.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Alvin L, Bragg, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniel J . Horwitz, Michael Cohen, ” Mr, Horwitz, Mary Altaffer, Daniels, Trump’s, Joshua Steinglass, Donald Trump, Mr, Steinglass’s, David Pecker, Hope Hicks, Pecker, Bragg’s, Karen McDougal, Marion Curtis, reimbursements, Allen H, Weisselberg, Steinglass, McDougal, Dave Sanders, The New York Times Susan Necheles, Cohen’s, President Trump, Madeleine Westerhout, “, ”, ” William K, Rashbaum, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Michael Rothfeld Organizations: Prosecutors, Mr, fixer, National Enquirer, Trump, Trump . Credit, The New York Times, American Media, Associated, ” Locations: New York, Manhattan, Trump ., America, Russia

☆ Opening statements to show the stark personal and political stakes of Trump’s first criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But on Monday, his diminished reality as a criminal defendant will become clear in humbling fashion during opening statements in his first criminal trial. The process, known as a Sandoval hearing, offered the ex-president a glimpse of personal and unflattering revelations that the trial could dredge up. The political case against the prosecutions was laid out by South Dakota Gov. But Noem rehearsed a political argument that Trump and his associates will be seeking to land as the trial goes ahead. But the deeply consequential political and personal stakes for the former president will become even clearer when the first trial begins for real on Monday.

Persons: Donald Trump, he’s, Trump, Joe Biden, –, victimhood, He’s, “, ” Trump, president’s, haggled, Sandoval, Stacey Schneider, Jean Carroll, ” Schneider, it’s, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Pecker, Joshua Steinglass, ”, Juan Merchan, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Bragg, Biden, There’s, Kristi Noem, ” Noem, CNN’s Dana, Noem, Cohen Organizations: CNN, White, Republican, Trump, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, Prosecutors, Manhattan, Attorney, Democratic, Mar, South Dakota Gov, New York Times Locations: Manhattan, North Carolina, New York, United States, “ State, Siena, Dakota

☆ 12 jurors — including 3 finance guys and a woman whose friend is a convicted fraudster — have been chosen for Trump's Manhattan criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewTwelve of Donald Trump's peers — 7 men, and 5 women — have been chosen to decide the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president. On Thursday afternoon, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan selected the 12th juror in Trump's Manhattan criminal case. AdvertisementTwo men chosen in the afternoon filled seats that had been vacated earlier in the day. One out of six alternate jurors, a woman, was also chosen. AdvertisementThere's a man who says he knows "little" about Trump's criminal cases and gets his news from The New York Times, The Daily Mail, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Juan Merchan, Merchan, Trump, doesn't, Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, Christine Cornell, Stormy Daniels, Blanche, That's, Joshua Steinglass, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, The New York Times, The Daily Mail, Fox News, MSNBC, AP Pool Trump, Prosecutors Locations: Manhattan, New

☆ A beheading meme and 'Mark Ruffalo, naked' — how 'anti-Trump' posts got 5 New Yorkers booted from the hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

She was the first of the prospective jurors who were challenged by Trump's defense team on Tuesday over their "anti-Trump" social media. AdvertisementThe prospective juror, identified only as "B-133," had clearly "attended an "anti-Trump rally," defense lawyer Susan Necheles protested. When it was released in 2016, the clip was shared on the Facebook account of the husband of prospective juror B-330. "I would have to say that politically, yes, I do," the prospective juror answered. "Boys request to return to cave"The final prospective juror questioned on their social media posts was a retired grandmother from Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Persons: —, Trump, Mark Ruffalo, Donald Trump's, Juan Merchan deadpanned, Todd Blanche, who'd, Joe Biden's, Susan Necheles, Joshua Steinglass, stammered, Blanche, he'd, DJT, Donald Trump, Robert Downey Jr, Neil Patrick Harris, Donald Trump …, sheepishly, Barack Obama, Trump's, Steinglass, Biden, Harris, Blanche complainingly, Blanche huffed Organizations: Service, Trump, Business, Yorkers, Facebook, Economic Development Corporation, Biden, Thai, White, Republicans Locations: New York City, Midtown, Manhattan's, Thailand, Trump

☆ Opinion: Trump trial isn’t a hush money case, but an election interference one
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

We should call it an “election interference” trial going forward. Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass skillfully advanced the election interference theory by structuring his evidentiary points in chronological order within that frame. Trump’s alleged 2020 attempt to overthrow our government distorts perceptions of how serious the charges related to the 2016 election are. How can we call this an election interference trial, they ask, if the election was already over when the 34 alleged document falsification crimes occurred? It is an election interference one and we should say so.

Persons: Norman Eisen, “, Donald Trump, Juan Merchan, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Daniels, Cohen, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Trump’s, Bragg Organizations: CNN, Trump, ”, American Media, National Enquirer, DA, Attorney, Fulton, Twitter Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Manhattan

☆ Takeaways from the second day of jury selection in Trump’s hush money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Jeremy Herb | Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

That process prompted Judge Juan Merchan to sternly admonish Trump for his conduct toward the first juror questioned about her social media. That gave Trump’s team the chance to mine their public social media postings to be ready for their challenges to the judge. As for the three jurors Merchan did not strike: Trump’s side used its preemptory challenges to remove all of them anyway. The juror was later struck for cause by the judge on a challenge from Trump’s team over his social media posts. But the judge is hoping to wrap up jury selection this week.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, admonish Trump, foreperson, Trump, Trump’s, Todd Blanche, Merchan, –, Joe Biden, “, ” Merchan, Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Michael Cohen, Steinglass, it’s, meanwhile, that’s Organizations: CNN, Trump, Facebook, Prosecutors, Democrat Locations: New York, Ireland

☆ Judge bench-slaps Trump lawyer 5 times on day 1 of hush money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Merchan didn't hit Blanche as hard as a federal judge in Manhattan has hit Trump lawyer Alina Habba for her lawyering. During the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial in January, Judge Lewis Kaplan bench-slapped Habba 14 times during a single day of testimony. "Please direct me to the portion of the original gag order, or the subsequent gag order, where it makes any exception if Mr. Trump feels he is under attack. The judge told Blanche to file a response, in writing, explaining why Trump should not be held in contempt for violating the gag order. The judge paused, then added, with some sarcasm, "I don't recall inserting that anywhere in either gag order."

Persons: —, Juan Merchan, Donald Trump's, — Trump's, Todd Blanche, Merchan didn't, Blanche, Alina Habba, Jean Carroll, Lewis Kaplan, Joshua Steinglass, blanch, I've, Merchan, Blanche's, Trump, Donald Trump, Susan Necheles, Timothy A, Clary, — Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Cohen, Chris Conroy, Conroy, Trump's, snarked, — Merchan, meekly, Emil Bove, Jabin, — Blanche, Jack Smith, didn't, Steinglass, incredulously Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, Former U.S, Manhattan Criminal, Justice Locations: New, Manhattan, Trump's, balking, New York City, New York, New York County

Read previewThe judge presiding over Donald Trump's historic criminal trial has barred testimony that the former president's wife, Melania Trump, was pregnant at the time a former Playboy model says she had an affair with Donald Trump. Additionally, Steinglass explained that during the trial, he planned to bring into evidence how McDougal claims she had the affair with Trump while Melania Trump was pregnant with their now-18-year-old son Barron. AdvertisementThe McDougal-Trump narrative includes "that Karen McDougal was a former Playboy model," and that the affair began "when his wife, Melania, was pregnant with his child," Steinglass said. AdvertisementDonald Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche, argued strenuously against any evidence concerning a "literally just salacious with no value." Merchan ruled that he would allow prosecutors to talk about Trump's alleged affair with McDougal during the trial — but that he would not permit them to mention that Melania Trump was pregnant at the time.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Joshua Steinglass, Juan Merchan, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Steinglass, Trump, Barron, Melania, Trump's, Stormy Daniels, Todd Blanche, Blanche, It's, Merchan, Daniels, Prosecutors, Michael Cohen Organizations: Service, Playboy, New, Business, Trump, American Media Inc, National Enquirer, AMI Locations: Manhattan

☆ 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

☆ '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

☆ 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

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.

☆ 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."

☆ 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.

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