DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

"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's expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Republican mounts a bid to regain the presidency, could further inflame divisions in the United States. The specific charges are not yet known, though CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006. Bragg said Congress does not have authority to interfere with a New York legal proceeding and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions. Bragg's office prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty, but Trump himself was not charged.

'LET THE PROCESS PROCEED'Shortly after the news of his indictment broke, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. As news of Trump's indictment flashed across a news ticker on a Times Square skyscraper on Thursday evening, New York City resident Elizabeth Blaise welcomed the news. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles confirmed the Tuesday surrender date and said she did not expect charges to be unsealed until that day. "Do you really think that they're going to take President Trump out of the running for president because of some old horse-face story? The Manhattan District Attorney's office successfully prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

☆ Trump charges follow criticism of Manhattan prosecutor for not acting sooner
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has said he made the payment to silence Daniels about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Bragg's charges come at a critical time, as Trump is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. A prosecutor leading that probe, Mark Pomerantz, resigned in February 2022 after Bragg declined to charge Trump himself with financial crimes. Pomerantz has publicly criticized Bragg's decision not to bring charges and published a book about the investigation. In the biggest trial victory so far in his tenure, his office last December won the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges.

The specific charges against Trump are not yet known as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there for fingerprinting and other processing at that point. Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

[1/3] Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, Texas, U.S., March 25, 2023. Trump has denied Daniels's claim, and his lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion. To elevate that charge to a felony, prosecutors must prove that Trump falsified records to cover up a second crime. The New York Times and NBC News reported that Trump is expected to surrender next week, citing his lawyers. If Trump for some reason decided not to come in voluntarily, prosecutors could seek to have him extradited from Florida.

☆ Alvin Bragg: Who is the New York prosecutor who got Trump indicted?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Companies Trump Organization Inc FollowNEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's indictment has thrust into the spotlight Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor whose office convinced a New York grand jury to bring the first criminal charges ever against a former U.S. president. Bragg, 49, took office in January 2022, the first Black person elected Manhattan District Attorney. In 2021, Bragg won a crowded primary for the Democratic nomination to succeed Cyrus Vance as Manhattan District Attorney. "I've done this type of work under this type of scrutiny," Bragg said during the campaign, referring to the case against the Trump Foundation. Bragg came under criticism last year for declining to bring charges against Trump over his family real estate company's business practices.

Trump previously said he would continue campaigning for the Republican Party's nomination if charged with a crime. Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. Trump will have to travel to Manhattan for fingerprinting and other processing at that point. The Manhattan investigation is one of several legal challenges facing Trump, and the charges could hurt his presidential comeback attempt. No former or sitting U.S. president has ever faced criminal charges.

☆ Factbox: Who is Stormy Daniels and what did she say happened with Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump has denied the relationship and has said the payment was made to stop her "false and extortionist accusations." loadingHere are facts about the Daniels and her alleged relationship with Trump. STORMY DANIELS, ADULT FILM STARDaniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is 44 years old and from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She said Trump asked her about herself and whether she would like to appear on his TV show "Celebrity Apprentice." Trump responded on Twitter to the release of the sketch, writing: "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man.

☆ FTX's Bankman-Fried to plead not guilty to campaign finance, China bribery charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to new U.S. criminal charges, which include conspiring to violate campaign finance laws and bribe Chinese authorities. Bankman-Fried, 31, had earlier pleaded not guilty to eight counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly stealing billions in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters he also plans to plead not guilty to the new 13-count indictment. Bankman-Fried is confined to his parents' Palo Alto, California, home on $250 million bond pending trial. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trump's alleged hush money payments and the path to criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

AUGUST 2018Cohen pleads guilty to criminal charges in Manhattan federal court, including campaign finance violations over the hush money payments. DECEMBER 2018Trump, on Twitter, calls the hush money payments a "simple private transaction." AUGUST 2019Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney at the time, issues a subpoena to the Trump Organization - Trump's family real estate company - for records of hush money payments. Trump himself is not charged with a crime, and the indictment contains no references to hush money payments. JANUARY 2023Bragg's office begins presenting evidence about Trump's alleged role in the 2016 hush money payments to a grand jury.

A grand jury of New Yorkers has brought charges against the former president, Trump's lawyer Susan Necheles said on Thursday. The inquiry opened and shut so many times that it came to be known as a "zombie case," Pomerantz said. In the federal case, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels and another woman. 'BACK INTO THE GRAVE'After hiring an outside law firm for advice, Vance's office decided not to bring any charges, Pomerantz wrote. "The 'zombie' case," Pomerantz wrote, "went back into the grave."

☆ Who is Stormy Daniels and how is she involved in Donald Trump indictment?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump asked Raffensperger to "find" enough votes needed to overturn Trump's election loss in Georgia. Only the Justice Department can decide whether to charge Trump, who has called the Democratic-led panel's investigation a politically motivated sham. Trump has accused the Justice Department of engaging in a partisan witch hunt. NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL CIVIL LAWSUITNew York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump and his Trump Organization last September for fraud. The second lawsuit could go to trial on April 25, after a U.S. judge in January called Trump's bid to dismiss it "absurd."

Bankman-Fried is expected to be arraigned on the new indictment on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court. The new indictment said Bankman-Fried ordered the $40 million cryptocurrency payment to a private wallet from Alameda's main trading account, to persuade Chinese government authorities to unfreeze Alameda accounts with more than $1 billion of cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the Alameda accounts had been frozen as part of an investigation into an unnamed Alameda counterparty, and Bankman-Fried's prior efforts to lobby Chinese officials to lift the freeze were unsuccessful. They also said Bankman-Fried around November 2021 authorized a transfer of tens of millions of dollars of additional cryptocurrency to "complete" the bribe. Concerns that Bankman-Fried might tamper with witnesses prompted Kaplan to threaten jailing him unless tighter restrictions could be worked out.

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled a new indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried, accusing the founder of now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to pay a $40 million bribe to Chinese government officials. The indictment said Bankman-Fried ordered the $40 million cryptocurrency payment to a private wallet from Alameda's main trading account, to persuade Chinese authorities to unfreeze Alameda accounts with more than $1 billion of cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the Alameda accounts had been frozen as part of an investigation into an unnamed Alameda counterparty. They also said Bankman-Fried later authorized a transfer of tens of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency to "complete" the bribe. Under the new conditions, Bankman-Fried would be barred from using electronics except for a phone with no internet capability and a basic laptop with limited functions.

NEW YORK, March 28 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried said they reached an agreement with U.S. prosecutors on Monday on revised bail conditions, after a judge raised the prospect of sending the indicted FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder to jail pending trial. The laptop will have monitoring software to track user activity and Bankman-Fried won't have administrative access to prevent tampering with the restrictions. In Monday's letter, Bankman-Fried's parents agreed to restrict his access to their devices, while also signing sworn affidavits to not bring prohibited electronic devices into their home. If there's reasonable suspicion of a violation, Bankman-Fried must submit his devices for a search, the letter added. But in January, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Bankman-Fried attempted to contact current executives at now-bankrupt FTX.

March 27 (Reuters) - A former National Enquirer publisher testified on Monday before a Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump's role in a hush-money payment to a porn star, said a person familiar with the matter. The grand jury's proceedings are shrouded in secrecy and the timing of a grand jury vote is unclear. [1/8] An officer from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Canine Unit checks outside the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, U.S., March 27, 2023. Costello testified before the grand jury last week. Trump faces several other criminal investigations, including one tied to the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

REUTERS/Eduardo MunozMarch 27 (Reuters) - A Manhattan grand jury hearing evidence about former President Donald Trump's role in a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels was expected to reconvene on Monday, a law enforcement source said. The grand jury, which has been meeting since January, could indict Trump over the handling of the payment, which would make him the first U.S. president to face a criminal charge in court. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been presenting evidence about the $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen has said he made the payment at Trump's direction to buy her silence about a sexual liaison she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump faces several other criminal investigations, including one tied to the Jan. 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol.

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday ordered former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) banker Roger Ng to forfeit $35.1 million, after sentencing him to 10 years in prison for helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and suspected mastermind of the scheme, was also indicted but remains at large. Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay $2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is serving a 12-year prison sentence after being convicted in a Malaysian court of receiving $10 million from a former 1MDB unit. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - New York City prosecutors on Thursday said Donald Trump created a false expectation of his arrest and led fellow Republicans in Congress to interfere with a probe of his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Saturday, the former president forecast he would be arrested on Tuesday in the probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The letter said the chairmen's accusations "only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene." It confirmed that Bragg's office was "investigating allegations that Donald Trump engaged in violations of New York State penal law." A former fixer for Trump said he made the payment to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election at Trump's direction.

A Manhattan grand jury did not meet as had been expected on Wednesday, a law enforcement source said, although it was unclear why that was or how much longer the grand jury would take to conclude its work. The Insider news outlet first reported the news that the grand jury would not convene on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office declined to comment on the grand jury. Security officials are bracing for possible unrest, but so far few of Trump's supporters have heeded his call for protests. Several media outlets reported that his lawyer, Evan Corcoran, would testify on Friday before a federal grand jury in Washington investigating whether Trump mishandled sensitive federal documents.

The inquiry opened and shut so many times that it came to be known as a "zombie case," Pomerantz said. "The bottom line for me was that the 'zombie' case was very strong," Pomerantz wrote. In the federal case, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and testified that Trump directed him to pay Daniels and another woman. 'BACK INTO THE GRAVE'After hiring an outside law firm for advice, Vance's office decided not to bring any charges, Pomerantz wrote. "The 'zombie' case," Pomerantz wrote, "went back into the grave."

☆ Donald Trump could be charged any day - what happens next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Trump has denied the affair, and his lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion. Were he charged, Trump would become the first former U.S. president to face criminal prosecution. While serving as president, Trump reimbursed Cohen for the Daniels payments, and federal prosecutors who charged Cohen said in court papers that the payments were falsely recorded as for legal services. Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, told CNBC on Friday that Trump would surrender if charged. If Trump refused to come in voluntarily, prosecutors could seek to have him extradited from Florida, where he currently resides.

[1/2] Workers remove scaffolding at the New York Courthouse at 80 Centre Street where Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg continues his investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 18, 2023. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday and called on his supporters to protest. A prosecutor leading that probe, Mark Pomerantz, resigned in February 2022 after Bragg declined to charge Trump himself for financial crimes. Cohen previously testified that Trump directed him to arrange the payment, and Cohen pleaded guilty in December 2018 to campaign finance violations and other charges. In the biggest trial victory so far in his tenure, his office last December won the conviction of the Trump Organization on tax fraud charges.

Search resuls for: "Luc Cohen"

25 mentions found