Random

    News

    Home News Page 65

    Former Trump Org. CFO Sentenced to Notorious Prison

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2

    Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, is expected to be sent to Rikers Island jail in New York after receiving his sentence for his participation in a tax fraud scheme.

    Wesselberg, along with other top executives, pled guilty to running the scheme for the past 15 years where he and others received bonuses and other kickbacks designed to save the real estate company money.

    On Tuesday, the CFO was sentenced to five months in jail as well as pay nearly $2 million in taxes, penalties, and interest, and serve five years of probation.

    Rikers Island is one of New York’s most well-known jails and has become notorious for violence and drug use.

    The Washington Examiner reports:

    Weisselberg’s sentence comes one month after prosecutors and defense lawyers gave their closing arguments in the criminal tax fraud trial against the Trump Organization, wrapping up the yearslong investigation into the former president’s company and its financial dealings.The former CFO emerged as the prosecutor’s star witness after he testified that he had accepted illegal compensation for his own benefit and hid the payments from the company’s outside accountant. The former CFO continued this practice for years, ending it once Donald Trump was elected president and his company’s business practices came under new scrutiny.

    Weisselberg’s testimony strengthened prosecutors’ accusations that the Trump Organization paid for the personal expenses of several company executives without reporting them as income. These payments included paying for the managers’ rent, car lease payments, and other expenses. Prosecutors also alleged the company partially paid these executives as independent contractors rather than company employees.

    The Trump Organization pleaded not guilty, and defense lawyers sought to point the finger solely at Weisselberg.

    This story is breaking. Click refresh for the latest updates.

    House Releases Trump Tax Records

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    13
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The House Ways and Means Committee released a partially redacted version of former President Donald Trump’s taxes on Friday.

    The committee voted 24 to 16 along party lines to release Trump’s tax returns late Tuesday evening. 

    The House Ways and Means Committee released six years’ worth of Trump’s tax returns totaling 46 individual documents with hundreds of pages and more than a gigabyte’s worth of data.

    According to Fox News, the financial documents cover six years of Trump’s individual returns filed jointly with his wife, Melania, including his time in the White House. The document dump also includes tax forms for several of Trump’s business entities that were investigated by Ways and Means Democrats, a report from the Democratic majority, and a response by Republicans on the committee. 

    Ways and Means Committee Democrats released a report on Trump’s taxes last week that showed the former president paid little to no federal income taxes on his multimillion-dollar income from 2015 to 2022, as he claimed millions in business losses.

    The analysis within the reports conclude that any lack of proper taxation on Trump’s earnings appears to have been ultimately a failing of the IRS and not the result of pressure or obfuscation from the White House.

    Trump’s family of enterprises used reported losses, foreign tax credits, deductions, charitable donations and many other financial maneuvers to great effect in offsetting taxation on profits.

    These business tactics frequently shrank his otherwise sizable tax requirements down to miniscule amounts — sometimes under $1,000, according to the committee.

    This story is breaking. Stay with Great America News Desk for the latest updates.

    Trump Has ‘No Plan’ To Testify In Grand Jury As Prosecutors Inch Toward Charges

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former President Donald Trump seems unconcerned with Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into his alleged involvement in the $130,000 hush payment made to former pornstar Stormy Daniels.

    On Monday, Trump’s attorneys revealed the former president would not testify in the grand jury investigation into the 2016 payment.

    “We have no plans on participating in that proceeding,” Trump attorney Joe Tacopina told ABC News on Monday. “Decision needs to be made still. There’s been no deadline set, so we’ll wait and see.”

    The Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has been investigating whether Trump falsified business records in connection with a $130,000 payment Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels before the 2016 election. Prosecutors allege the “hush money” was to keep her from talking about a long-denied affair.

    Trump has adamantly denied the affair.

    On Friday, Cohen reportedly met with prosecutors for over seven hours in the latest sign the investigation into Trump is heating up. The former Trump adviser is scheduled to testify before a grand jury on Monday. (RELATED: Michael Cohen To Testify Monday In Trump Probe)

    “My goal is to tell the truth,” Cohen told reporters outside the courthouse, according to the AP.

    “This is not revenge,” he added. “This is all about accountability. He needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds.”

    Last week, The New York Times reported prosecutors are getting closer to formally charging Trump.

    The Manhattan district attorney’s office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.

    The prosecutors offered Mr. Trump the chance to testify next week before the grand jury that has been hearing evidence in the potential case, the people said. Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him.

    In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges.

    Any case would mark the first indictment of a former American president, and could upend the 2024 presidential race in which Mr. Trump remains a leading contender. It would also elevate Mr. Bragg to the national stage, though not without risk, and a conviction in the complex case is far from assured.

    Ronna McDaniel Faces Roadblocks Over NBC News Gig

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Ronna McDaniel via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel could already be heading for the exit…

    Days after NBC News announced it had hired McDaniel as a new contributor to the network and reports of inner turmoil are already running rampant.

    According to The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC president Rashida Jones “has no plans to have McDaniel on the channel,” citing “people familiar” with the controversy.

    The Journal reported that there has been “internal backlash” over the hire — adding that “a number of MSNBC anchors and producers have voiced concern about McDaniel’s ties to former President Donald Trump and the RNC’s role in his efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.”

    “Morning Joe” Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski in their Monday broadcast sharply criticized the network for hiring McDaniel and called on NBC News to reconsider the decision.

    “To be clear, we believe NBC News should seek out conservative Republican voices to provide balance in their election coverage. But it should be conservative Republicans, not a person who used her position of power to be an anti-democracy election denier,” Brzezinski said.

    “And we hope NBC will reconsider its decision. It goes without saying that she will not be a guest on ‘Morning Joe’ in her capacity as a paid contributor,” Brzezinski added.

    On Friday, Carrie Budoff Brown, who leads political coverage at NBC, wrote in a memo shared with The New York Times, “It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team.”

    Chuck Todd, the former host of “Meet the Press,” appeared on the Sunday morning show and blasted his network over the decision.

    “There’s a reason why there are a lot of journalists at NBC News uncomfortable with this, because many of our professional dealings with the RNC over the last six years have been met with gaslighting, have been met with character assassination,” he said.

    “We learned about the hiring when we read about it in the press on Friday,” Scarborough said.

    “We weren’t asked our opinion of the hiring, but if we were, we would have strongly objected to it for several reasons, including, but not limited to, as lawyers might say, Ms. McDaniels’s role in Donald Trump’s fake electoral scheme, and her pressuring election officials to not certify election results while Donald Trump was on the phone,” he continued.

    Report: Judge Rules Over Trump Gag Order Violations

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan fined former President Donald Trump nearly $10,000 for violating his gag order.

    Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office claim Trump has so far violated the order barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, court staff, and the judge’s family 10 times. They asked the judge to fine Trump $1,000 for each violation.

    The Hill reports:

    “What happened here is precisely what this order was designed to prevent and this defendant doesn’t care,” Assistant District Attorney Chris Conroy said at last week’s hearing.

    At one point, a hearing on the matter grew heated between the judge and Trump’s attorney, where at one point Merchan told Todd Blanche that he was “losing all credibility” with the court.

    Trump regularly rails against his perceived foes in his legal entanglements, leading his hush money judge, at prosecutors’ request, to place restrictions on Trump’s speech as the case headed to trial.

    728068518-Read-judge-s-rulingDownload

    Trump is being charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to make alleged hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Ivanka Trump Signals Potential New White House Role

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    0
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Could Donald Trump’s second White House administration include family members after all?

    Ivanka Trump, the former President’s oldest daughter, signaled a willingness to return to politics if her father wins another term in the White House.

    Puck’s Tara Palmeri reported, citing someone familiar with the matter, that the former president’s daughter, who served in his first administration, is “warming to the idea of trying to be helpful” again. The source told Palmeri that Ivanka Trump is “privately not ruling out having some sort of role.”

    “She’s not like ‘Hell no’ anymore,” the person said.

    Ivanka Trump served as an advisor in her father’s administration but announced in 2022 that she was leaving politics behind even though her father is running again. Other Trump family members have also made similar statements regarding future roles in the White House.

    “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics,” she said at the time.

    Palmeri reported that Ivanka Trump has been advised to wait to make a full dive back onto the Trump team until the GOP convention this summer.

    A spokesperson for the couple said in a statement that both are still committed to being in the private sector currently.

    “As they’ve both repeatedly stated, Ivanka and Jared continue to focus on their family and lives in the private sector and do not intend to go back to politics,” the spokesperson said.

    Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, also served as a senior advisor in Trump’s administration, helping to negotiate the historic Abraham Accords. 

    Ex-Trump Admin. Official Wins Race for Montana House Seat

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Donald Trump via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    The GOP is inching closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives as former Trump Administration official Ryan Zinke declares victory in Montana’s newly created 1st Congressional District.

    Zinke, the former interior secretary during the Trump administration, beat Democrat opponent Monica Tranel the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

    According to The Washington Examiner:

    Prior to Tuesday’s election, Zinke’s and Tranel’s campaigns both focused on affordability, though Zinke also focused on inflation and spending, while Tranel focused on growth. To combat inflation, Zinke has suggested slowing federal spending and has advocated more action to lower energy costs, according to KTVH.

    “The things that are hurting are inflation — energy costs too much, fertilizer’s too much,” he said during a debate in Bozeman last month.

    Ahead of the election, Tranel highlighted her four-point affordability plan, which calls for investing in the American workforce and domestic manufacturing, as well as standing up against corporate consolidation. To fix the housing situation, Tranel said during last month’s debate that she wants to expand tax credits for affordable developments and put restrictions on corporations that have been purchasing homes for investment purposes.

    Legal Expert Says DA Alvin Bragg Violated Donald Trump’s Constitutional Rights

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    2
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg may have violated Donald Trump’s Constitutional rights according to Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.

    On “Hannity,” Jarrett said that Bragg’s refusal to disclose the underlying crime the defendant intended to conceal through his alleged falsification of business records violated the Sixth Amendment.

    The Sixth Amendment provides in part for the right of a criminal defendant to “be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor…”

    When questioned by a reporter as to what the underlying crime the indictment fails to name is, Bragg replied in New York State, he does not have to.

    “The indictment doesn’t specify it because the law does not so require,” he told the journalist.

    “He does [have to name it, via] the Sixth Amendment,” Jarrett said. “[The indictment] is therefore facially defective. It is deficient on its face and it would be susceptible to a motion-to-dismiss.”

    Jarrett recalled a warning from former Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, a Nuremberg Trial prosecutor, who said the “greatest danger to justice is an unscrupulous prosecutor who targets a person and then scours the law books to find an offense he can pin on that person.”

    “That’s what Alvin Bragg has done,” he said.

    Last Thursday, the New York grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in a hush money bribe to adult film star Stormy Daniels amid the 2016 presidential election in DA Alvin Bragg’s yearslong investigation into the real estate mogul.

    Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

    On Tuesday, the former President surrendered to the Manhattan Criminal Court for his arraignment. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.

    Anti-Trump Congressman Leads Charge to Ban Trump from U.S. Capitol

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    23
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    Democrats are getting desperate…

    A group of Democrat lawmakers is attempting to bar former President Donald Trump and several allies from entering the U.S. Capitol.

    According to The Washington Examiner, the effort led by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Nikema Williams (D-GA) ask U.S. Capitol Police and House and Senate sergeant-at-arms to take “such actions as may be necessary” to banish Trump and eight of his former top aides from the Capitol permanently.

    This resolution draws on information from a report released two months ago from the House select committee investigating the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The report referred the former president to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, as well criminal referrals for several of his top advisers.

    “The effort to undermine and overturn the 2020 presidential election damaged the functions of our democracy,” the resolution states. Those efforts also “damaged the integrity of Congress’s constitutional role in certifying the election results” and “put the lives of Members of Congress and the Vice President of the United States in genuine peril.”

    This new resolution, introduced in the House Committee on House Administration on Feb. 17, specifically cites his intent to overturn the 2020 election. Under the bill, Trump, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, former Trump assistant Peter Navarro, former Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, and lawyers John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, and Rudy Giuliani would be prohibited from entering the Capitol.

    Bannon, Meadows, Scavino, and Navarro were found by the Jan. 6 committee to be in criminal contempt of Congress, and Trump, Eastman, Meadows, Giuliani, Clark, and Chesebro were referred for criminal prosecution.

    This isn’t Williams’s first attempt to have the former president barred from the Capitol. In 2021, a similar resolution was introduced that would have prohibited Trump from entering the Capitol upon his exit from the presidency but it never gained traction.

    This is the latest move against top Republicans for Swalwell, who was recently removed from the House Intelligence Committee by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

    Report: Two Republican Congressmen Subpoenaed In Trump Probe

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Two Republican Congressmen have been subpoenaed as part of a probe into a scheme that attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Arizona.

    According to a Politico report, the investigation by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is similar in nature to those in other states Donald Trump lost, where the former president and his allies attempted to advance slates of pro-Trump electors for recognition in the Electoral College.

    Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar have been ordered to testify before a grand jury, noting:

    There is no indication that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is leading the probe, is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker. And it’s unclear whether Mayes has insisted on enforcing the subpoenas against the lawmakers, who may have legal bases to resist testifying.

    But the subpoenas themselves — in conjunction with a series of other aggressive recent moves — show that Mayes, a Democrat, has cast a far wider net in her probe than previously understood.

    Politico said it reviewed a letter dated Feb. 16 from Gosar to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) apprising the speaker of the subpoena.

    The pair of GOP congressmen mark the latest Trump allies to be subpoenaed in Mayes’ Investigation. Last month, she subpoenaed former Trump campaign aide Michael Roman.

    Electors in Michigan and Nevada, where similar schemes were attempted, have already been indicted in those states.

    1...64656667Page 65 of 67
    © Great America News Desk 2022