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CNN —After months of either ignoring or poking fun at former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, the Biden campaign on Tuesday decided for the first time to stage a news conference about Trump’s record outside the courthouse where closing arguments were taking place. In their view, Trump’s trial would speak for itself, reintroducing the former president and the chaos that surrounds him to voters who may have tuned him out. “The entire news media is camped out here, day in and day out,” campaign communications director Michael Tyler said, explaining the choice to address reporters outside the lower Manhattan courthouse. Biden campaign officials are still grappling with the reality, this person said, that a substantial part of the population still doesn’t see that the choice on Election Day will be between Biden and Trump. “We knew Trump was out of control when he was president,” De Niro says over a shot of Trump behind the Resolute Desk.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Biden, Robert De Niro, Trump, ” De Niro, That’s, Michael Tyler, De Niro, Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn, “, Donald Trump, United States —, ” Fanone, Jason Miller, Steven Cheung, Karoline Leavitt, Miller, ” Miller, Juan Merchan, ”, won’t, Harris, Niro, ” Dunn, We’ve, –, Biden’s, Aquilino Gonell, Danny Hodges, Dunn, Gonell, Hodges, CNN’s Kate Sullivan Organizations: CNN, White, Capitol, Trump, United, Top Trump, Biden, ”, Resolute, Metropolitan Police, US Capitol Police, Capitol Police, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department Locations: Manhattan, United States, White, —, Washington, DC

☆ Robert De Niro slams 'clown' Trump outside NY criminal trial, as Biden campaign ramps up attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"He doesn't belong in my city," De Niro, a native New Yorker, said of Trump during a press conference hosted by President Joe Biden's reelection campaign outside Manhattan Supreme Court. Immediately following the Biden campaign event, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller accused Biden of employing a "washed-up actor" to campaign for him in a Hail Mary attempt to reverse Trump's narrow lead in 2024 election polls. The De Niro event marks the first time the Biden campaign has appeared outside Trump's trial, which began more than five weeks ago. As the criminal trial winds down, the president's reelection campaign is planning to crank up its attacks on Trump, NBC News reported Friday. Defense attorney Todd Blanche began Tuesday's closing arguments by declaring, "President Trump is innocent."

Persons: Robert De Niro, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, De Niro, Joe Biden's, —, Trump, Trump's, Harris, Niro, Harry Dunn, Jason Miller, Biden, Mary, Miller, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Bragg Organizations: Republican, Trump, U.S, Capitol, Biden, U.S . Capitol Police, NBC, Democratic, Manhattan, Attorney Locations: Manhattan, New York City, New Yorker, United States, White

☆ Defense Lawyers to Begin Closing Arguments in Trump’s Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final stage Tuesday as defense lawyers and prosecutors deliver their closing arguments in a last attempt to sway the 12 New Yorkers who will decide his fate. First the defense and then the prosecution will spend hours weaving disparate strands of evidence into a cohesive story that they hope will resonate with the jurors. The undisputed facts concern that $130,000 transaction; Mr. Cohen paid the porn star, Stormy Daniels, to silence her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Trump directed Mr. Cohen to pay Ms. Daniels and approved a criminal scheme to reimburse Mr. Cohen, disguising the repayments by saying that they were made for legal services that in fact were nonexistent. Their case is backed by the testimony of Mr. Cohen himself, as well as Ms. Daniels, several other witnesses and phone records, text messages and emails.

Persons: Donald J, Yorkers, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Mr Organizations: Prosecutors

☆ If Trump Is Convicted, How Will Biden’s Team Go on the Attack?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | Nicholas Nehamas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Normally, seeing your presidential opponent convicted of a felony would be a cause for celebration. At the same time, many Democrats are aghast at the idea that Mr. Trump could become a felon and the Biden campaign would not do everything in its power to remind voters of that fact. This tension will define the Democratic reaction if a Manhattan jury indeed convicts Mr. Trump in the coming days, an outcome that could land like a thunderbolt for the nation’s news media and political class. On Tuesday, the Biden campaign flashed its hand, holding a news conference outside the Manhattan courthouse where Mr. Trump is standing trial that featured Robert De Niro and two former U.S. Capitol Police officers. The Trump campaign was quick to accuse Mr. Biden of pulling a political stunt.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden, Robert De Niro, Mr Organizations: North Star, U.S . Capitol Police Locations: New York, Manhattan

☆ Congestion Pricing Could Bring Cleaner Air. But Maybe Not for Everyone.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Hilary Howard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When congestion pricing takes effect in New York City later this month, officials say it will create an array of benefits: The system’s tolls will generate revenue for improving mass transit while prompting some drivers to avoid Manhattan, potentially reducing traffic and air pollution, as well as carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. For now, though, it is unclear how much the program will contribute to New York State’s ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse emissions 85 percent by 2050. And some people worry that less air pollution in some areas will be offset by more in others, despite efforts to keep that from happening. According to an environmental assessment by the authority, congestion pricing could decrease air pollution overall in three boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The concern is that rerouted traffic could increase it in the Bronx and on Staten Island.

Organizations: Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New York City, Manhattan, New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island

☆ Opinion | Will Roy Cohn Save Donald Trump’s Hide One Last Time?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Kai Bird | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But it was in another courthouse just down the street that Mr. Trump’s wily mentor, Roy Cohn, pulled off one of his greatest legal feats. It was Mr. Cohn who taught Mr. Trump how to manipulate the law, and other people, to his advantage. Mr. Trump always admired Mr. Cohn’s bravado and belligerence; Mr. Cohn’s whole worldview seemed to validate the young developer’s crassest instincts. “If you need somebody to get vicious,” Mr. Trump once said, “hire Roy Cohn.” His legal strategy boiled down to: Delay and deny. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have aggressively sought every delay possible and called for mistrials or new judges on a regular basis.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump’s, Roy Cohn, Cohn, Trump, Cohn’s, Mr, ”, Don’t, —, Juan Merchan Organizations: Truth

☆ In a baffling closing argument, Trump attorney Todd Blanche used DA's evidence against his own client
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Laura Italiano | Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementTrump was not involved with any such conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, Blanche told jurors in great detail on Tuesday, during a three-hour summation. "The government has to prove to you that President Trump caused these entries — even if they were false — with an intent to defraud," Blanche told jurors. "That was outrageous, Mr. Blanche," state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan told Blanche after jurors were dismissed for lunch. Advertisement"President Trump tweeted what happened when it came out," and then signed a government ethics form that also admitted to the reimbursement, Blanche told jurors Tuesday. Cohen is "literally like an MVP of liars," Blanche told jurors.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Trump, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, reimbursing Cohen, Cohen, Juan Merchan, It's, they'd, Allen Weisselberg, what's, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Prosecutors, New, BI, Trump Organization —, Trump, — Trump Locations: Manhattan, York, New York, Blanche's summations

☆ How Trump could turn a guilty verdict into a win
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Twelve New Yorkers will then weigh the possibility of a historic verdict: finding the first-ever former president guilty in a criminal trial. Polling shows that a guilty verdict has some potential peril. AdvertisementIn a recent Quinnipiac University nationwide poll, 62% of voters said a guilty verdict would not affect their vote in November. It's not hard to imagine that in responding to a potential guilty verdict Trump lashes out in a way that causes him more problems. During the Manhattan criminal trial, Trump has sent repeated fundraising appeals, including when Justice Juan Merchan found Trump in contempt for violating his gag order.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Jean Carroll, Cook, Mike Johnson, Donald Trump's, Justin Lane, It's, Paul Ryan, couldn't, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Tish James, Justice Juan Merchan Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, Quinnipiac University, Republicans, GOP, Yahoo, New York Times, Siena College, Justice Department, Florida Gov, Politico, New York, Save Locations: Manhattan, Quinnipiac, Donald Trump's Manhattan, weaponized, Florida

☆ Opinion: Trump trial verdict now hinges on these three questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Opinion Norman Eisen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —On Tuesday, we at last came to closing arguments in the Manhattan criminal trial of former President Donald Trump after 20 days of trial, testimony from 22 witnesses and over 200 exhibits. Were the 34 allegedly false records actually false? The first pivot point is whether the 34 business records at the heart of the case actually contain false information. And Steinglass pushed back on Blanche’s emphasis on the much-discussed October 24, 2016, Cohen call to Trump’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller. Indeed, Blanche continued, Trump repeatedly disclosed the reimbursement — including on Twitter, a 1099 form to the IRS and a federal financial disclosure form.

Persons: Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, Joshua Steinglass, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen, Blanche, Daniels, ”, Norm Eisen, Madame Tussaud’s, Cohen, Steinglass, Keith Schiller, Schiller, Allen Weisselberg, “, ” Steinglass, …, ” Blanche, Hope Hicks, Madeline Westerhout, Cohen — Organizations: CNN, Trump, Trump Foundation, Trump Organization, Twitter, IRS, New, White House, Facebook Locations: Manhattan, New York

After first ignoring former President Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial, then beginning to make sly insinuations about how he was “free on Wednesdays,” the court’s day off, President Biden’s campaign has jumped in with a stunt designed to emphasize the unprecedented situation of a major party’s presidential candidate awaiting a felony verdict. The Biden campaign on Tuesday held a news conference outside the Manhattan courthouse with Robert De Niro, the actor whose voice narrates the campaign’s latest ad, as well as Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, two former U.S. Capitol Police officers who have attacked Mr. Trump over his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. De Niro said that Mr. Trump had engaged in a “coward’s violence” after the 2020 election. “He directs the mob to do his dirty work for him,” he said. The news conference was the sort of thing the Trump campaign would have done from the beginning if the political situation were reversed.

Persons: Donald J, Biden’s, Biden, Robert De Niro, Harry Dunn, Michael Fanone, Trump, De Niro, ” Organizations: U.S . Capitol Police Locations: Manhattan

☆ Trump trial closing arguments to begin in New York hush money case
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald Trump looks on before the start of trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court during trial in New York City May 20, 2024. Closing arguments in the criminal hush money trial of Donald Trump are set to begin in New York on Tuesday, with jurors on track to begin deliberations in the historic case the following day. If convicted, Trump faces a possible maximum sentence of four years in prison for each felony count. He denies Daniels' claim that the two had sex once in 2006, months after his wife Melania gave birth to their son, Barron. Matthew Colangelo told jurors that the hush money payment to Daniels, and the reimbursements to Cohen, amounted to "election fraud.

Persons: Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Daniels, Melania, Barron, D.A, Matthew Colangelo, Joe Biden Organizations: Manhattan, New York City, Attorney's Locations: New York, U.S, Manhattan

☆ US returns $80 million-worth of stolen artifacts to Italy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Bogdanos said the $80 million of items does not include a further 100 items his team has just seized in the US. That means that, in addition to the items themselves, their historical context was stolen, robbing archaeologists of valuable information. Most of the recent items returned to Italy were dug out of clandestine excavations or stolen from churches, museums and private individuals, Gargaro said. Italy’s Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection unit uses artificial intelligence to search for stolen cultural assets. Italy’s Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection unit uses artificial intelligence to search for stolen cultural assets under a new program called “Stolen Works Of Art Detection System” (SWOADS), which searches for taken items by scanning the web and social media for images.

Persons: Rome, Matthew Bogdanos ’, Emanuele Antonio Minerva, Bogdanos, Francesco Gargaro, ”, Gargaro, Gianmarco Mazzi Organizations: Rome CNN, Central Institute, New, The, CNN, Cultural Heritage Locations: Rome, Manhattan, Italy, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Sicily, New York, United States, York, “

☆ Live Updates: Closing Arguments to Begin in Trump Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

The defense did not call Mr. Weisselberg either, nor did Mr. Trump take the stand in his own defense. And for weeks, Mr. Weisselberg’s absence has loomed large over Mr. Trump’s case, the first criminal trial of an American president. And when Mr. Trump was sworn in as president in 2017, he entrusted Mr. Weisselberg, along with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, with running his company. Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen told the jury, “approved” of the arrangement and knew that they would falsify records to cover it up. Over the course of their decades together, Mr. Cohen knew, Mr. Trump and Mr. Weisselberg had become more or less symbiotic.

Persons: Donald J, Allen Weisselberg, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Allen H, Weisselberg, Trump’s moneyman, Trump’s, lucre —, Eduardo Munoz, Stormy Daniels, Weisselberg’s, beholden, ” Emil Bove, Juan M, Justice Merchan, “, Evan Vucci, Fred Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, ” Mr, ” “, Mr, Jefferson Siegel, —, Arthur F, Engoron, Justice Engoron, ”, ‘ Frick, Frack, Cohen’s, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, Todd Blanche, Dave Sanders, Blanche, Kate Christobek Organizations: Prosecutors, New York Times, Trump, Mr, Reuters, Manhattan, Trump Organization, “ Trump, New, The New York Times, The Trump Organization, Credit, Frick Locations: Washington, New York, Trump, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, York, tatters

Mr. De Niro said that Mr. Trump had engaged in a “coward’s violence” after the 2020 election. The news conference was the sort of thing the Trump campaign would have done from the beginning if the political situation were reversed. The Biden campaign has rarely discussed that case or the verdict against Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump has sought to tie together all four of his pending criminal cases and has argued baselessly that Mr. Biden is behind them all. Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said the Biden campaign was “making a political mockery” of the criminal case with its appearance.

Persons: Donald J, Biden’s, Biden, Robert De Niro, Harry Dunn, Michael Fanone, Trump, De Niro, ”, surrogates, Trump’s, —, Jean Carroll, Carroll, The Biden, “, Mr, “ We’re, ” Michael Tyler, Jason Miller, De, Steven Cheung, Karoline Leavitt Organizations: U.S . Capitol Police, Mr, Capitol Police, Biden Locations: Manhattan, Trump’s Manhattan, Georgia

☆ Jaap van Zweden’s Brief, Fraught Time Atop the New York Philharmonic
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a balmy spring morning, after a breakfast of coffee and plain yogurt at a luxury Manhattan hotel, Jaap van Zweden grabbed his bag of conducting batons and scores by Mozart and Gubaidulina and set out for Lincoln Center through the wilds of Central Park. “I love the air, I love the trees,” he said. “Everybody can do whatever they want here. This is freedom, absolute freedom.”Van Zweden, 63, will leave the New York Philharmonic this summer after six seasons as its music director, the shortest tenure of any maestro since Pierre Boulez, the eminent French composer and conductor who led the Philharmonic in the 1970s. But throughout his tenure, van Zweden, an intense, exacting maestro from Amsterdam, faced persistent questions about whether he had the star power, creative drive and strong connection to New York needed to lead the Philharmonic.

Persons: Jaap van Zweden, Mozart, Gubaidulina, ”, ” Van Zweden, Pierre Boulez, Van Zweden, David Geffen, van Zweden Organizations: Lincoln Center, New York Philharmonic, Philharmonic, David Geffen Hall Locations: Manhattan, Central, French, Amsterdam, New York

☆ Trump continues his revenge tour against pro-DeSantis lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DeSantis and Good later endorsed Trump, who will formally receive the GOP's presidential nomination in July. Advertisement"Thank you President Trump for endorsing my campaign for Congress!" Before Trump endorsed McGuire, Good had gone to great lengths to appear close to the former president. Trump's most successful revenge tour has been against the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Last month, Trump endorsed a primary challenger to one of those two, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Bob Good, Trump, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Sen, John McGuire, McGuire, Good, Matt Gaetz's, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Tony Gonzales, Chip Roy, Texas, Roy, Dan Newhouse Organizations: Service, Truth, Business, Caucus, Florida, Save, Trump, Republicans, Republican, Democrats, GOP, Capitol, Dan Newhouse of Washington Locations: Virginia, New York City, Manhattan, Florida, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Dan Newhouse of

☆ Top FTX Executive Sentenced to Seven and a Half Years in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( David Yaffe-Bellany | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ryan Salame, a top executive at the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on Tuesday, making him the first of Sam Bankman-Fried’s circle of advisers at FTX to receive prison time. Mr. Salame, 30, a trusted lieutenant of Mr. Bankman-Fried, the exchange’s founder, pleaded guilty last year to a campaign finance law violation and a charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He is one of four top deputies in the FTX empire who have pleaded guilty to crimes since the company imploded in November 2022. Mr. Salame’s sentence exceeded the five to seven years that prosecutors had recommended. Judge Kaplan called Mr. Salame’s crimes “astonishing.”

Persons: Ryan Salame, Sam Bankman, Salame, Judge Lewis A, Kaplan, Judge Kaplan Organizations: Defense Locations: U.S, Manhattan

☆ Trump braces for final act of his historic criminal trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Donald Trump’s first criminal trial has arrived at its dramatic final act with lawyers for both sides primed on Tuesday to hammer home their cases before jurors consider a verdict that could make history. They argued during the trial that there was no evidence of criminal intent. The trial has not gripped the attention of the country as it might have were television cameras allowed in the courtroom. And Trump used his multiple criminal indictments to his political advantage in clearing the Republican nominating field. The time off only seems to have escalated Trump’s fury as one of the defining weeks of his life dawns.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Juan Merchan, Trump, president’s, Todd Blanche, Michael Cohen, CNN’s Kara Scannell, Joshua Steinglass, Blanche, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Stormy Daniels, Cohen, ”, Elliot Williams, “, ” Cohen, Jeremy Saland, you’d, Matthew Colangelo, Daniels, David Pecker, Hope Hicks, Joe Biden, Yorkers, Mike Johnson, Biden, he’s, Merchan, ” Trump, Jean Carroll Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Attorney, Democrat, “ CNN, Trump, White House, Prosecutors, Justice Department, Republican Locations: New York

☆ Trump’s family members have visited court during the hush money trial. Notably missing: Melania and Ivanka Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Steve Contorno | Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

With a jury verdict potentially days away, Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump have yet to join the former president as he defends himself against 34 charges. Melania Trump, though, has not appeared alongside her husband at a single Trump rally and rarely joins him in public. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not respond when asked if she intends to accompany him for any of the final days of his trial. Ivanka Trump’s absence from the Manhattan trial is not surprising to many close to the former president after she and Kushner’s public distancing from Trump’s latest presidential campaign. “When [Ivanka Trump] was at the White House, her kids were still at the age where they might not know exactly what was going on,” the source said.

Persons: Donald Trump, –, Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Ivanka’s, Trump, hasn’t, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric’s, Lara, Trump’s, Tiffany, Michael Boulos, Michael Cohen, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Robert De Niro, Joe Biden’s, De Niro, it’s, ”, Lara Trump, Ronna McDaniel, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, Barron, Ivanka, “, Charles, Seryl Kushner, Howard Lutnick, Charles Kushner, Daniels, CNN’s Kate Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, Attorney, Trump, Trump Jr, Biden, White, Republican National Committee, House, New, Federal, Commission, Republican Locations: Manhattan, Washington, New York, Florida, Trump

☆ 10 Smoking Guns in Trump Hush-Money Trial That Speak for Themselves
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Manhattan district attorney's office/BIWhy is this evidence — our third smoking gun — so important? AdvertisementEvidence People's 35 in the Trump hush-money trial. Robert Costello, a key defense witness in the Donald Trump hush-money trial in New York. Manhattan district attorney's office/BI"Rudy was thrilled and said this could not be a better situation for the President or you. From People's 374 Manhattan district attorney's office/BICohen testified that immediately after these calls with Trump, he took the elevator down from his Trump Organization offices at Trump Tower.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Stormy Daniels, Trump, Michael Cohen Alex Brandon, Eduardo Munoz, " Cohen, Cohen, Karen McDougal's, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Daniels, Trump's, Allen Weisselberg, Jonathan Ernst, Jon Elswick, MARK PETERSON, Todd Blanche, Mamaroneck , New York —, Madeleine Westerhout, Westerhout, Cohen —, Weisselberg, Robert Costello, Jane Rosenberg, Rudy Giuliani, Costello, Bob Costello, Rudy, Jay Sekelow, Giuliani, It's Trump, Timothy A, Clary, Donald, he's, — Trump, reimbursing Cohen, Pecker —, Pecker, — that's, Cohen's, Melissa Duran, Duran, Susan Hoffinger Organizations: Service, Business, Reuters, Trump, Prosecutors, National Enquirer, Trump Org, Manhattan Criminal, Getty, Defense, White House, —, Read, Wall Street Journal, FBI, Giuliani, CQ, Cohen's, AMI, Department of Justice, Federal, First Republic Bank, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, Trump, New York City, Mamaroneck , New York, Republic, New York, United States

They met on the 26th floor of Trump Tower, Mr. Cohen says, and struck a $420,000 deal. Seven years later, Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan hinges on that fleeting encounter, which is both critically important and completely in dispute. Mr. Cohen says he paid off a porn star at his boss’s behest, and in that meeting, he and Mr. Trump settled on a plan to repay him and conceal the reimbursement as legal expenses. But prosecutors say there was a third man in the room that day: Allen H. Weisselberg, Mr. Trump’s moneyman, the keeper of the balance sheet. Prosecutors never called Mr. Weisselberg to testify, because, although he knows the truth, he has not always told it.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Allen H, Weisselberg, Trump’s moneyman Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Washington, New York, Trump, Manhattan

☆ E. Jean Carroll's lawyer responds to Trump Memorial Day post: 'All options are on the table'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Micah Washington | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Trump on Monday again denied rape and defamation claims against him by writer E. Jean Carroll, nabbing the attention of her lawyer. Kaplan later ruled in the civil defamation case in January that as president Trump defamed Carroll after she accused him in 2019 of rape. Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan swiftly responded to Trump's post, "We have said several times since the last jury verdict in January that all options were on the table. The Biden campaign also responded to Trump's post on X and wrote, "Trump posts Memorial Day message with zero mention of fallen American service members, instead calling those who don't support him "'Human Scum.'" Then continued, "As we said after the last jury verdict, we continue to monitor every statement that Donald Trump makes about our client, E. Jean Carroll."

Persons: Donald Trump, E, Jean Carroll, Lewis Kaplan, Carroll's, Kaplan, Trump, Carroll, Roberta Kaplan, Biden, CNBC's Organizations: U.S, Manhattan Criminal, Monday, Manhattan Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan

☆ Opinion: Here’s how I, as an attorney, would try to persuade the Trump jury in closing arguments
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-27 | by ( Opinion Joey Jackson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

If the jury agrees, Trump would become a convicted felon, and could face up to four years in prison. But Trump’s defense attorneys will have much to say Tuesday about the evidence presented by prosecutors in an attempt to avoid that outcome. As to ledgers and invoices keeping track of these checks, Trump is the owner of the organization, not the bookkeeper or finance person. Cohen claims Trump was with the bodyguard at the time, and that he handed Trump the phone. The evidence shows that in order for checks to be issued to Cohen, Trump would have had to give his approval.

Persons: Joey Jackson, Donald, Joey Jackson Jeremy Freeman, Trump, District Attorney Alvin L, Bragg, ledgers, Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, he’d, Cohen, It’s, Daniels, reimbursing Cohen, Hope Hicks, Karen McDougal, McDougal, Keith Davidson, Davidson, I’ll, Cohen wasn’t, ” Organizations: CNN, Manhattan Supreme, District Attorney, Prosecutors, Trump, Department of Justice, Trump Organization, Playboy, White, FedEx, Twitter, Facebook Locations: United States

☆ Trump’s Post-Verdict Playbook: Anger and Retribution, Regardless of the Outcome
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Jonathan Swan | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The verdict in former President Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial remains a mystery, at least for a few more days. Less of a mystery is what Mr. Trump will say and do after it is announced — whatever the outcome might be. If the past is any guide, even with a full acquittal, Mr. Trump will be angry and vengeful, and will direct attacks against everyone he perceives to be responsible for the Manhattan district attorney’s prosecution. He will continue to level the attacks publicly, at rallies and on Truth Social, and privately encourage his House Republican allies to subpoena his Democratic enemies. “Regardless of the outcome, the playbook is the same,” said Alyssa Farah Griffin, Mr. Trump’s former White House communications director, who began working for him shortly after his first impeachment trial but has since become a sharp critic of her former boss.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Robert S, Mueller, ”, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Trump’s Organizations: Truth, Republican, Democratic, White House Locations: Manhattan, Russia

☆ Trump will try to spin his Manhattan trial verdict in his favor, no matter what happens
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Twelve New Yorkers will then weigh the possibility of a historic verdict: finding the first-ever former president guilty in a criminal trial. Polling shows that a guilty verdict has some potential peril. It's not hard to imagine that in responding to a potential guilty verdict Trump lashes out in a way that causes him more problems. The easiest prediction is that Trump's verdict will likely spawn a wave of donations. During the Manhattan criminal trial, Trump has sent repeated fundraising appeals, including when Justice Juan Merchan found Trump in contempt for violating his gag order.

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