Lawsuits Against Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration - Page 1
Some of the legal issues of Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con). Here you will find a short list of the lawsuits against Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration. We have included lawsuits against Trump and the Trump Administration. We included the Trump Administration because Trump has corrupted most if not all federal agencies and that corruption has caused some federal agencies under Trump to do things they would not normal do and run afoul of the law. We may never know all of Donald J. Trump legal issues because he hides them with Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), threats, false names and fixers. Donald J. Trump is a crook a deadbeat and a fraud. The more you know the better informed you will be to make your own determination on Donald J. Trump.
A Short List of Legal Issues of Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration
By Melissa Quinn, Robert LegareWashington — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has made public a key filing from special counsel Jack Smith that includes evidence compiled in his investigation into former President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.The highly anticipated 165-page filing provides the most comprehensive look at the evidence federal prosecutors have amassed in their case, which was upended by the Supreme Court's July decision finding Trump is entitled to some level of immunity from federal charges.In the new brief, prosecutors argued that Trump's conduct was private in nature and therefore not covered by immunity. They reiterated the allegations against Trump and revealed new insights into the mountains of evidence they have collected over the course of the case.The filing described how Trump and his aides allegedly planned to challenge the election results far in advance of Election Day and pressured Vice President Mike Pence to reject Electoral College votes on Jan. 6, 2021. In one striking passage, prosecutors said Trump replied, "So what?" when he was told that Pence could be in danger at the Capitol."When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office," Smith and his team wrote.
Story by Reuters(Reuters) - A New York jury found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star, making him the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime.Here is some international reaction:HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN ON X:"I’ve known President @realDonaldTrump to be a man of honour. As President, he always put America first, he commanded respect around the world and used this respect to build peace. Let the people make their verdict this November! Keep on fighting, Mr. President!"BRITISH OPPOSITION LABOUR PARTY LEADER KEIR STARMER:"First and foremost, we respect the court's decision in relation to the decision in the Trump case. There's sentencing still to go and possible appeal, but we respect the court process."...We have a special relationship with the U.S. that transcends whoever the president is, but it is an unprecedented situation, no doubt about that."MATTEO SALVINI, ITALY'S DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND HEAD OF THE LEAGUE PARTY:“Solidarity and full support for @realDonaldTrump, victim of judicial harassment and a process of political nature. In Italy, we are sadly familiar with the weaponisation of the justice system by the left, given that for years attempts have been made to eliminate political opponents through legal means. I hope Trump wins; it would be a guarantee of greater balance and hope for world peace.”
By Jabin Botsford, Gregory WALTONA New York jury convicted Donald Trump on all charges in his hush money case Thursday in a seismic development barely five months ahead of the election where he seeks to recapture the White House.The historic first criminal trial of a former US president ended with the 77-year-old Trump found guilty on each of the 34 charges of falsifying business records to hide a payment meant to silence porn star Stormy Daniels.Trump, who is all but certain to appeal, did not immediately react, but sat still, his shoulders dipping.The conviction thrusts the United States into uncharted political territory but does not bar Trump from a White House run, even in the unlikely event that Judge Juan Merchan sentences him to prison time.
By Graham Kates, Katrina KaufmanThe jury in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York will resume its deliberations toward reaching a verdict on Thursday, one day after jurors received their instructions for deciding the case.The 12 Manhattan residents who sit on the jury met behind closed doors for nearly five hours on Wednesday. They ended the day by asking to review several portions of testimony from two witnesses in the case, David Pecker and Michael Cohen, about key interactions both men said they had with Trump in 2015 and 2016.
Judge Merchan threatened to remove Robert Costello for his audible reactions during final hush money testimonyAlex Woodward in Manhattan criminal courtThe judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial in Manhattan cleared the courtroom and reprimanded a defense witness Robert Costello for his heavy sighs, eye rolls and audible reactions to a series of objections to his testimony.New York Justice Juan Merchan excused the jury on Monday to school Costello about “proper decorum” in the courtroom moments after his testimony began.“You don’t like my rulings? You don’t say ‘jeez’,” he said. “You don’t roll your eyes. Do you understand that?”While in the middle of asking the jury to return, the judge fired back: “Are you staring me down right now? Clear the courtroom.”Members of the press and public along with the former president’s entourage were asked to leave, with court officers shouting out “get out” to journalists who were abruptly forced out of an open court.According to a court transcript, the judge had threatened to toss Mr Costello out of the courtroom.“Sir, your conduct is contemptuous right now,” he told him while jurors, press and members of the public were no longer in the room.
Story by Andrew Goudsward(Reuters) - Donald Trump's trial in Florida on charges of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office has been indefinitely postponed, a judge decided on Tuesday, greatly reducing the odds he will face a jury in either of the two federal criminal cases against him before the Nov. 5 U.S. election.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency, previously had been scheduled to go to trial on May 20 in the documents case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, but the prosecution and defense had both acknowledged that date would need to be delayed.U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump in 2020, said on Tuesday the trial would no longer begin May 20 but did not set a new date. Cannon scheduled pre-trial hearings to run through July 22.Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal counts accusing him of retaining sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in 2021 and obstructing U.S. government efforts to retrieve them.
Sean PiccoliUPDATE: The lawyer for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels further outlined the hush money deals made to his clients, including his suspicion that Donald Trump was “the one” who ultimately funded the Daniels payoff.Lawyer Keith Davidson said on Tuesday that he did not enjoy having to deal with Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen.The tension went back to a hostile phone call in 2011 after a gossip site called TheDirty blogged about rumors of a sexual liaison between adult film star Daniels and Trump. “Before I could barely get my name out, I was met with a hostile barrage of insults and allegations,” Davidson testified in Trump’s hush-money trial in Manhattan.Cohen was “just screaming,” Davidson said, and he accused Davidson’s clients, Daniels and her manager, Gina Rodriguez, of leaking the claim to TheDirty. “Finally, after he finished,” Davidson recalled, he assured Cohen that Daniels didn’t want the story publicized. Davidson wound up agreeing to call TheDirty with a cease and desist order, and the publication pulled the post, he testified.Before that call, Rodriguez warned Davidson that “some jerk,” meaning Cohen, had called her threatening to sue over the gossip item, Davidson testified.
Story by Jack Queen and Jody GodoyBy Jack Queen and Jody Godoy(Reuters) - The judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial fined the former U.S. president $9,000 on Tuesday for statements that he found violated a gag order in the case.Justice Juan Merchan's order came as Trump's trial was due to resume in New York with testimony from a banker familiar with accounts involved in the former U.S. president's alleged scheme to influence the 2016 election by covering up a sex scandal.Trump, the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, is charged with falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006.
By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNNCNN — The first criminal trial of Donald Trump is officially underway.Prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys delivered opening statements and the first witness – a former National Enquirer publisher – was called Monday in the historic and unprecedented criminal trial of a former president.Each side got their first chance to lay out a theory of the case for jurors. Prosecutors told jurors that the reimbursement of hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels was part of a larger conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by hiding damaging information about Trump.The former president’s attorneys responded by telling the jury that Trump was innocent and not involved in the creation of the 34 business records he’s charged with falsifying. They also pointedly added that there’s “nothing wrong with trying to influence an election.”Trump continued to rail against the case as he entered and left the courtroom. On Tuesday, before the trial resumes, Judge Juan Merchan is holding a hearing on the district attorney’s motion to sanction Trump for violating the judge’s gag order barring discussion of witnesses.Here are the key takeaways from Monday:
By Jack Queen and Luc CohenNEW YORK (Reuters) -Lawyers in Donald Trump's historic criminal trial on Thursday selected 12 jurors who will assess his guilt or innocence over the coming weeks in a case stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star.Lawyers for the defense and the prosecution still must select alternate jurors for the trial, the first ever in which a former U.S. president is the defendant.Opening statements could take place on Monday, said Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial.Earlier in the day, Merchan dismissed a juror who said she felt intimidated that some personal information was made public.The judge also excused another juror after prosecutors said he may not have disclosed prior brushes with the law.
Dan ManganA New York appeals court on Monday paused for 10 days a massive civil business fraud judgment against Donald Trump — and sharply reduced to $175 million the bond amount he will have to post to obtain a longer stay of that award.The ruling came the same day that New York Attorney General Letitia James would have been allowed to start seizing the former president’s real estate assets and bank accounts to satisfy the $454 million-and-rising judgment after he failed to obtain an appeal bond.James is prevented from doing so — for now — due to the order from the five-judge panel in Manhattan Supreme Court’s appellate division.Trump in a social media post quickly said that he would “post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash” in the new amount set by the appeals court.
Story by KATE BRUMBACK, Associated PressATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case on Wednesday dismissed some of the charges against former President Donald Trump, but many other counts in the indictment remain.Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in an order that six of the counts in the indictment must be quashed, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But the order leaves intact other charges, and the judge wrote that prosecutors could seek a new indictment on the charges he dismissed.The ruling is a blow for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose case has already been on shaky ground with an effort to have her removed from the prosecution over her romantic relationship with a colleague. It’s the first time charges in any of Trump's four criminal cases have been dismissed, with the judge saying prosecutors failed to provide enough detail about the alleged crime.
Story by esnodgrass@insider.com (Erin Snodgrass)Brian Butler, who until now has been known only as "Trump Employee 5" in the federal indictment special counsel Jack Smith brought against Trump last year, went public in a CNN interview this week, sharing new details about the alleged documents cover-up.Butler told the outlet that he unwittingly helped Trump staffers move 10-15 boxes of sensitive records in June 2022. He has spoken with federal investigators several times since then and his testimony played a central role in the indictment against Trump unveiled last year."I think the American people have the right to know the facts, that this is not a witch hunt," Butler said.Trump is charged with dozens of felony counts related to allegations that he mishandled national defense information and purposefully withheld classified documents from the government. Walt Nauta, a close Trump aide, faces six counts in the case, including obstruction and concealment, while Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago, is charged with four counts.
Story by Alison Durkee, Forbes StaffToplineFormer President Donald Trump was ordered to pay more than $300,000 Thursday for his failed lawsuit against former British spy Christopher Steele—adding a modest amount to the more than $540 million the ex-president has been forced to pay in legal fees and court judgments in recent months as he’s faced a series of court losses.TimelineMarch 7, 2024$382,000: Trump was ordered to pay £300,000 in legal fines after losing a lawsuit brought against Steele and his company Orbis Business Intelligence in the U.K. over the controversial dossier alleging Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 election.Feb. 16, 2024$454.2 million: New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and companies he controls to pay nearly a half-billion in penalties and pre-judgment interest for fraudulently misstating the value of assets on financial statements—an amount that will continue to accrue significant interest—part of a broader $465 million judgment that also includes fines for his sons Eric and Donald Trump, Jr., and ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.Jan. 26, 2024$83.3 million: A jury ordered Trump to pay damages to writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation, after he attacked her and said she wasn’t “my type” when she accused him of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.Jan. 12, 2024$392,638: Trump was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees to The New York Times after a court tossed his lawsuit taking issue with the newspaper acquiring and publishing his tax records, which the Times said in February Trump has now paid.
By The Associated PressNEW YORK — The federal judge who oversaw a New York defamation trial that resulted in an $83.3 million award to a longtime magazine columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in the 1990s refused Thursday to relieve the ex-president from the verdict's financial pinch.Judge Lewis A. Kaplan told Trump's attorney in a written order that he won't delay deadlines for posting a bond that would ensure 80-year-old writer E. Jean Carroll can be paid the award if the judgment survives appeals.The judge said any financial harm to the Republican front-runner for the presidency results from his slow response to the late-January verdict in the defamation case resulting from statements Trump made about Carroll while he was president in 2019 after she revealed her claims against him in a memoir.
Story by By Devan Cole and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNNDonald Trump is not immune from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency to reverse the 2020 election results, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.The ruling is a major blow to Trump’s key defense thus far in the federal election subversion case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith. The former president had argued that the conduct Smith charged him over was part of his official duties as president and therefore shield him from criminal liability.“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant. But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution,” the court wrote.The ruling from the three-judge panel was unanimous. The three-judge panel who issued the ruling Tuesday includes two judges, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, who were appointed by Joe Biden and one, Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was appointed by George H.W. Bush.
Igor DeryshAllen Weisselberg, the former longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, is negotiating a deal with Manhattan prosecutors to plead guilty to perjury, according to The New York Times.The deal would require Weisselberg to admit that he lied while testifying at Trump’s recent civil fraud trial and in an earlier interview with the New York attorney general’s office, sources told the outlet.The reported deal comes after a long pressure campaign by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose team sought Weisselberg’s cooperation in several investigations into Trump’s business and alleged election crimes. Trump is scheduled for trial in Manhattan in March in the 2016 hush-money case.The deal likely would not require Weisselberg to “turn on his former boss,” according to the report. Prosecutors are not expected to call him as a witness in the hush-money case and the investigation into Trump’s finances “may no longer be a priority for prosecutors,” the Times reported.
Story by Corinne RameyA federal jury ordered Donald Trump to pay more than $83 million in damages for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, handing the former president a financial and legal blow just as he moves closer to cementing the Republican nomination for November’s presidential election.The award by the Manhattan jury came after a trial in which Carroll accused Trump of shattering her reputation while he was president by denying her claims of sexual assault. The new award dwarfs the $5 million that a different federal jury awarded to Carroll last year after finding Trump liable for sexually assaulting her in the 1990s and then defaming her when he denied it in 2022.
Story by Nouman RasoolIn a recent development in the ongoing legal saga involving former President Donald Trump, Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team have firmly opposed Trump’s efforts to access classified intelligence materials related to the Florida document case.This stance was articulated in a detailed response to a filing by Trump's legal team, which Smith's team criticized for being laden with inaccuracies and groundless claims. In a robust four-page document submitted to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Trump himself, Smith’s team argued for maintaining the integrity of the record.This approach aligns with the need for transparency, while safeguarding witness safety, national security, and adhering to the court’s protective order. "The drive for openness is partly to counteract the defendant's skewed representation of both factual and legal aspects in their motions," Smith’s team emphasized, as highlighted by The Messenger.
Story by David McAfeeNew audio recordings released by CNN revealed that ex-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro had lots of grievances with the ex-president's campaign, but it also points to potentially new defendants, according to an ex-prosecutor. Joyce Vance did an in-depth dive on the new evidence from CNN, which put together a timeline of what happened to fake elector ballots before Jan. 6, 2021. The article the outlet put out included some already reported information, as well as new audio recordings, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance said on Friday. "None of this makes sense," Vance wrote while walking through the new evidence."It suggests some of the folks he worked with, who avoided indictment in Fulton County, may have some culpability—we’ll get to that," Vance wrote. "Several of them have reportedly spoken with either federal or state prosecutors, or both and remained silent since, possibly suggesting cooperation in the real sense of that term. But none of this is exculpatory for Chesebro." One individual whom Vance highlights is Matthew Morgan, a lawyer who joined Vice President Pence’s office in 2017, she says.
Story by Steve ReillyA federal appeals court on Wednesday issued a new, unredacted version of its decision upholding the partial gag order in the Washington, D.C.-election subversion case against Donald Trump, revealing security concerns by state and local officials.A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 8 issued the ruling in a 68-page order on Dec. 8, but with certain information redacted, or blacked out, on three of its pages. The material which was redacted, and is now public, mostly pertains to descriptions of security concerns from public officials who had been targeted by Trump or his supporters.One newly-unredacted sentence discusses how a state official avoided "commenting on most things publicly" because it was "the safest thing to do" after the former president tweeted about him. Another section describes an episode in which a local government official "had to evacuate his home when one of the then-President's supporters posted the official's address online."
Story by Sean O'DriscollThe two Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation case against Rudy Giuliani will likely be called as witnesses in Donald Trump's election fraud case, a law professor has said. The prosecutors in Trump's election fraud case signaled on December 5 that they intended to introduce evidence about election workers Ruby Freeman and Sheye Moss."Make no mistake. This huge verdict for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss is a sign of how things will go for Trump before a jury—when these two American heroes are likely to be prosecution witnesses for Jack Smith and the Department of Justice," Ryan Goodman wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Goodman is a former special counsel at the Department of Defense and is now a New York University law professor.
Story by Jacob MillerThe case against former President Donald Trump, who is accused of subverting the 2020 election results and inciting the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, is heating up as new court documents reveal more details of his alleged actions.Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, submitted new evidence that claims Trump specifically “sent” his supporters to the Capitol to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. Smith wrote in his documents that “Evidence of the defendant’s post-conspiracy embrace of particularly violent and notorious rioters is admissible to establish the defendant’s motive and intent on January 6—that he sent supporters, including groups like the Proud Boys, whom he knew were angry, and whom he now calls ‘patriots,’ to the Capitol to achieve the criminal objective of obstructing the congressional certification.”
Story by Nick MordowanecA witness testifying on behalf of Donald Trump in the former president's $250 million civil fraud lawsuit said Thursday that the price of one of his properties was inflated but that no fraud occurred.Trump was in the New York courtroom for the first time in about a month, looking on as the months-long legal proceeding accusing him and his sons of inflating their net worth and the value of their properties owned by the Trump Organization continued.New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the lawsuit and has been a fixture in the courtroom as testimony has continued, did not show up to her usual front-row seat on Thursday.Eli Bartov, a research professor of accounting at New York University's Stern School of Business, testified on Thursday on Trump's behalf and previously testified as an expert witness more than 15 times.
Kevin BreuningerA New York appeals court Thursday reinstated a gag order on Donald Trump in the former president’s $250 million civil business fraud trial. The order bars Trump from making public statements about the staff of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the ongoing trial.Engoron had imposed the gag order on Trump, and later expanded it to cover his attorneys, after they repeatedly targeted the judge’s principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield.Engoron has said his chambers have been “inundated” with threats and harassment against him and his staff during the trial. An official who monitors threats for the New York Court System’s Department of Public Safety told the appeals court in a sworn statement that Trump’s comments about Greenfield have prompted “hundreds” of threatening messages, many of which were antisemitic.
Story by Cynthia PaulIn his ongoing civil fraud trial in New York, Donald Trump had his worst day to yet on Tuesday—and it was all because of one of his own important witnesses, a former executive of the Trump Organization who directly connected the former president to the murky arithmetic at the heart of the case.Trump Linked Firmly to Conspiracy and Fraud CountsJeffrey McConney, the former spreadsheet guru and comptroller for Trump Organization, was the witness. During the non-jury trial, McConney was asked to testify by the defense. However, during the state attorney general’s office’s cross-examination on Tuesday, he established a strong connection between Trump and the conspiracy and fraud charges that are now pending resolution.DJT to Get Final ReviewPeople’s Exhibit 3054, a draft of Trump’s 2014 net worth declaration, was sent to McConney. He was called to look at his own handwritten notation, “DJT TO GET FINAL REVIEW,” scribbled on the first page of the document in faint blue ink.
Story by Kunal DeyNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: In a disturbing turn of events, the New York judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial, Arthur Engoron, and his law clerk have reportedly been subjected to a barrage of harassing messages deemed "serious and credible" by court security. The onslaught reportedly began on October 3, shortly after Trump levied unfounded allegations against Judge Engoron's law clerk on social media.Security concerns prompt gag orderCharles Hollon, a court officer-captain assigned to the Judicial Threats Assessment unit of the Department of Public Safety, revealed in a sworn statement that threats against the judge and his clerk have "increased exponentially" since Trump's inflammatory post.According to NBC News, Trump posted a message on Truth Social identifying Engoron's principal law clerk and claimed she was in a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrat Senator from New York.
By Katherine FungFormer President Donald Trump was caught in a lie during his Monday testimony, telling prosecutors he was too "busy in the White House" to be involved in the preparing of his 2021 financial statements, even though he had already been succeeded by Joe Biden.Asked about whether he was involved in the 2021 valuations of his properties, Trump defended himself by telling prosecutor Kevin Wallace, "I was so busy in the White House. My threshold was China, Russia, and keeping our country safe." Wallace followed up by asking, "Just to clarify, you weren't president in 2021, correct?" to which Trump replied, "No, I wasn't."
By Ella LeeThe Trump Organization’s skewed financial statements may have cost banks more than $168 million in interest, according to an expert witness hired by the New York attorney general’s office. Michiel McCarty, chairman and CEO at the investment bank M.M. Dillon & Co., testified Wednesday to his “lost interest calculations” for banks that handed out loans to the Trump Organization. His calculations determined that across four Trump Organization assets, banks lost out on just over $168 million in interest.The assets — 40 Wall Street, Trump’s Chicago hotel, the Old Post Office-turned-hotel and Trump’s golf course in Doral, Fla. — each lost banks tens of millions of dollars in interest across nearly a decade, according to McCarty’s assessment. Judge Arthur Engoron already found Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives — including Trump’s adult sons — liable for fraud before the trial began, ruling that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) had proved the crux of her case.
Story by Sarah K. BurrisDonald Trump's trial in Manhattan continued Tuesday with the Trump Organization's former CFO Allen Weisselberg confessing he approved company financial documents so that Trump wouldn't default on loans. ABC News, which has a running blog update of the trial, cited the moment, revealing that it was he and not Trump who approved loan documents that grossly exaggerated the assets. Certifying Trump's financial statements were "true, correct and complete," Weisselberg said that he signed them.
On Day 5 of Donald Trump's fraud trial in New York, former Trump Org official Jeffrey McConney was grilled on the stand about the loose methods used to evaluate the worth of Trump's real estate holdings, resulting in grossly inflated numbers. Kristy Greenberg, former federal prosecutor, discusses with Alex Wagner.
By Geoff Bennett, By Ali SchmitzFormer President Trump was in court Monday for a civil fraud trial over his real estate dealings. The judge already ruled on one of the arguments from prosecutors last week, saying Trump and his executives fraudulently inflated the value of real estate holdings. The judge still has to weigh in on other claims in the suit. Geoff Bennett discussed the case with Russ Buettner of The New York Times.
By Mike Hayes, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNNCourt has wrapped for the day and the first witness for the attorney general will continue testimony TuesdayFrom CNN's Aaron Cooper, Lauren del Valle, Kara Scannell and Laura DolanCourt has wrapped for the day in the Trump civil fraud trial. The first witness for the New York attorney general, Trump’s former long-time accountant Donald Bender, testified about financial documents from 2011.Mazars USA, the accounting firm where Bender worked, would not have issued these statements of financial condition if the Trump Organization did not represent that the numbers were accurate, Bender testified. Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s former longtime chief financial officer, signed on behalf of Trump that the documents from 2011 were accurate, he added. Additionally, Mazars would not have issued these statements if they learned the numbers were not true, Bender said.
MSNBCThe civil business fraud trial against former President Donald Trump is set to begin Monday in New York City. The New York Times' Ross Buettner and Andrew Weissmann join Morning Joe to discuss.
Story by Jan WolfeA bail bond business owner charged along with former President Donald Trump in a sweeping Georgia election-interference case pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges on Friday, becoming the first of Trump’s 18 co-defendants to strike a deal with prosecutors.The deal prosecutors cut with Scott Hall, who had previously pleaded not guilty to racketeering and other criminal charges, could help Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis bolster her case against the other defendants, who include Trump-aligned lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.Hall agreed to cooperate with the district attorney’s office as part of his plea deal, in which Willis agreed to drop the racketeering charge against him. Hall pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with election duties.Hall, who is 59 years old, entered the guilty plea during an impromptu court hearing on Friday afternoon before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the sprawling racketeering case. He negotiated a recommended sentence with Willis’s office, which will include five years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 200 hours of community service and writing a letter of apology to the citizens of Georgia. McAfee adopted that recommended sentence, allowing Hall to avoid the threat of prison time.
ABC NewsFormer President Donald Trump submitted "fraudulent valuations" for assets that were then used by himself, his eldest sons and his business to obtain better loan and insurance terms, a judge in New York decided Tuesday before ordering the cancelation of the company's business certificates in New York.The judge's determination came as he granted partial summary judgment in New York Attorney General Letitia James' multimillion-dollar civil fraud lawsuit. Judge Arthur Engoron cites "false and misleading square footage" of Trump's Fifth Avenue apartment among other faulty valuations. The judge immediately canceled all of the defendants' business certificates in New York, and ordered that they must recommend no more than three potential independent receivers to manage the dissolution of the canceled LLCs within 10 days.The move severely restricts Trump's ability to conduct business in New York going forward. The judge said Trump and the other defendants have a "propensity to engage in persistent fraud," severely undercutting the defense Trump will offer when the case goes on trial next month.Engoron wrote in his order that Trump, his adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., and the other defendants fraudulently inflated the value of properties including Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate in Florida and his own triplex apartment in New York City, as well as 40 Wall Street, Trump Park Avenue, multiple golf courses, and an estate in upstate New York.
By Kara Scannell, CNNCNN — A federal judge ruled that the jury hearing E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit will only need to decide how much money Donald Trump will have to pay her, after the judge found the former president was liable for making defamatory statements. The finding is a significant blow to Trump, who is facing numerous criminal indictments and civil lawsuits – many of them coming to a head as he embarks on a presidential campaign.Judge Lewis Kaplan said that a federal jury’s verdict earlier this year against Trump will carry over to the defamation case set to go to trial in January involving statements Trump made in 2019 about Carroll’s sexual assault allegations. Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her when he denied her claim.
The trial will begin in the middle of the Republican presidential primaries. Special counsel Jack Smith had requested a January trial, while Trump pushed for a 2026 start date.By Ryan J. ReillyWASHINGTON — The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in federal court set a trial date for March 4, 2024, a schedule that could have a crucial impact on the 2024 race for the White House. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision sets the trial in the middle of the Republican presidential primaries and the day before Super Tuesday.During a hearing on Monday, Chutkan heard arguments from Trump's lawyers and federal prosecutors about when the case could be set for trial. Special counsel Jack Smith proposed that the trial start in January, with jury selection beginning in December of this year, while Trump’s team said the trial should be pushed back until April 2026, after the presidential election."These proposals are obviously very far apart," Chutkan said Monday. "Neither of them is acceptable.” Chutkan said that Trump will have to prioritize the trial and that she wouldn't change the trial schedule based upon another defendant's professional obligations, say, for a professional athlete.
Story by Matt NahamOscar Stilley (L) in a KXAN interview about his S.B. 8-related lawsuit, (R) Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis attend a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)A self-described “disbarred and disgraced former Arkansas lawyer” who previously made national headlines for suing a doctor for violating Texas’ abortion ban is now suing former President Donald Trump and several of his allies, including members of his “elite strike force” legal team, in a bid to have them declared “insurrectionists” in federal court.Oscar Stilley (L) in a KXAN interview about his S.B. 8-related lawsuit, (R) Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis attend a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)A self-described “disbarred and disgraced former Arkansas lawyer” who previously made national headlines for suing a doctor for violating Texas’ abortion ban is now suing former President Donald Trump and several of his allies, including members of his “elite strike force” legal team, in a bid to have them declared “insurrectionists” in federal court.
It’s the fourth indictment in five months for former President Donald Trump.Dylan Stableford and Yahoo News StaffFormer President Donald Trump and 18 others have been indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on criminal charges stemming from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s long-running investigation into their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.Speaking after the indictment was unsealed late Monday, Willis said the defendants have until noon on Aug. 25 to surrender. Trump has been charged with 13 counts — including a charge of violating Georgia's RICO (or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. It’s the fourth indictment in five months for Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination.
By Andy Sullivan, Joseph Ax and Sarah N. LynchAug 14 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump was hit with a sweeping fourth set of criminal charges on Monday when a Georgia grand jury issued an indictment accusing him of efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. The charges, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, add to the legal woes facing Trump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.The sprawling 98-page indictment listed 19 defendants and 41 criminal counts in all. All of the defendants were charged with racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.Among the other defendants were Mark Meadows, Trump's former White House chief of staff, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman. "Trump and the other defendants charged in this indictment refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump," the indictment said.
Story by Gabriella FerrigineFormer President Donald Trump's failed attempt to move Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's hush-money case to federal court may end up bolstering the prosecutor's case, according to The Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery. Trump's move gave U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein a chance to "take the first swing," which he used to "make it clear that the case against Trump is far more serious than it otherwise seems," Pagliery wrote. Former New York prosecutor John Moscow told the outlet that Hellerstein's rejection of Trump's effort was effectively "a seal of approval on the indictment."
Story by charity.nelson@blavity.comThe Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, has been receiving threatening messages ahead of her decision to either indict former Donald Trump or not. It is being speculated that Willis will indeed indict the country’s 45th president which Atlanta News First reports has prompted a barrage of threats being sent to her office.The outlet reports that the emails Willis has received have been racially charged and derogatory. One such email Willis says she received August 28. It’s subject line read, “Fani Willis-Corrupt (N-word).” With the email body reading, “You are going to fail, you Jim Crow Democrat w***e.”
Story by By MARY CLARE JALONICK, BRIAN SLODYSKO and MEG KINNARD, Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — The federal indictment of Donald Trump on Tuesday marks the first time that the former president has been formally held accountable for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. And it adds new details to what was already known about his actions, and those of his key allies, in the weeks leading up to the violent Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.The newest charges — Trump's third criminal indictment this year — include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's victory. It describes how Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the election, despite knowing that was false, and how he tried to persuade state officials, his own vice president and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.
Story by Isaac Stanley-Becker, Spencer HsuA carload of White men who attacked an interracial couple with rocks and bricks. A member of the Ku Klux Klan who built a cross, wrapped it in sheets soaked in gas and oil and instructed two others to set it ablaze in front of the home of a family of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent. A social media influencer who spread misinformation aimed at preventing people from voting.And now, a former president of the United States. When Donald Trump was indicted Tuesday and accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election, he found himself in the unenviable company of defendants charged under a criminal statute dating to the Reconstruction era.The statute, Section 241 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, was originally approved as part of the Enforcement Act of 1870. It was the first in a series of measures known as the Ku Klux Klan Acts designed to protect rights codified in the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, collectively called the Reconstruction Amendments. Section 241 makes it a crime to “conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” exercising a right protected by the Constitution or federal law.
MSNFormer President Donald Trump -- already facing two indictments -- now faces a third set of charges after a grand jury handed up a wide-ranging indictment against him, alleging he undertook a "criminal scheme" to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.Prosecutors say the alleged scheme, which allegedly involved six unnamed co-conspirators, included enlisting a slate of so-called "fake electors" targeting several states, using the Justice Department to conduct "sham election crime investigations," enlisting
Story by Zach SchonfeldAPennsylvania state judge ruled Monday that an election worker cannot sue former President Trump over statements he made sowing doubt in the 2020 election results while in office, finding the statements are protected by presidential immunity.Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Erdos said Trump’ had immunity’s immunity covered a tweet he issued and comments he made remotely from the White House during a Pennsylvania state Senate committee hearing in November 2020. The statements, made without evidence, claimed fraud in Pennsylvania’s election tabulations.“Other legal proceedings may examine the propriety of his statements and actions while he was the President and whether, as the plaintiffs in this and other cases contend, it was this conduct which served as the actual threat to our democracy,” Erdos ruled. “But this case is not the proper place to do so. Here, Trump is entitled to Presidential immunity.”
Story by Tommy ChristopherSpecial Counsel Jack Smith’s team revealed the existence of “additional CCTV footage” in a new filing detailing evidence produced for ex-President Donald Trump’s defense team.News broke last Thursday afternoon that Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed three additional charges against Trump: one additional count of unlawful retention of National Defense Information and two new obstruction counts based on allegations that Trump and co-defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira attempted to delete surveillance video footage at The Mar-a-Lago Club in the summer of 2022.But a new filing posted on Monday reveals that Smith’s team has produced “additional” footage that Trump’s team didn’t have before:
By Robert Legare, Melissa Quinn, Kathryn WatsonWashington — Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith's office have added new charges against former President Donald Trump in the case involving documents with classified markings discovered at his Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago, according to court papers filed in federal court Thursday evening.A superseding indictment unsealed by the Justice Department lists multiple new counts against Trump, including: altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing an object; and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating or concealing a document, record or other object; and an additional charge of willful retention of national defense information.Trump was previously charged with 37 felony counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of classified documents and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. He has pleaded not guilty and claimed the prosecution is a politically motivated "witch hunt" against him. Speaking Thursday with Breitbart, Trump called the charges "harassment" and "election interference."
Story by By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated PressNEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's company and his former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen have settled a lawsuit over Cohen's claims that he was unfairly stuck with big legal bills after getting entangled in investigations into the former president.Lawyers for the two sides disclosed the settlement during a video conference with the judge Friday, three days before Cohen’s 2019 lawsuit was slated to go to trial in a Manhattan state court. Details of the agreement were not made public. Cohen said Friday the matter "has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.” Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Trump’s company, the Trump Organization.The legal fees lawsuit was one of the more obscure branches of the thicket of legal troubles surrounding Trump and his company. Still, the trial stood to give a platform to Cohen — an ardent Trump loyalist who became an outspoken antagonist — and to put the ex-president's son Donald Trump Jr. on the witness stand.
Story by Matthew ChapmanWhile Trump waits to see whether he is indicted in the January 6 investigation, the existing charges against him in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case continue forward, with a back and forth between his lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith on when to hold the trial.Trump's lawyers, however, committed a serious blunder by demanding the Judge Aileen Cannon push the trial date out to after the 2024 presidential election — at least according to former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton on CNN Wednesday."I think the single most important question now on the legal side is whether any of these cases actually get to trial before the 2024 election," said Bolton. "That is what will be important. Not this indictment or that indictment or the next indictment. Which case if any gets to trial and does he get convicted?"
Story by MillaE. Jean Carroll’s case against Donald Trump ended with the jury finding the former president liable for assault and defamation. The civil lawsuit brought up another alleged story on the surface. Carroll, in her lawsuit, alleged that Trump raped her in a New York City department store in the 90s. However, she sued over calling her “a liar.”One lawsuit never got enough attention and was quickly dropped since the alleged victim was a 13-year-old virgin. The charges were dropped in 2016, and the woman remained Jane Doe or Katie Johnson, likely her real name. However, the severity of this case was never truly examined since the elections occupied the media.Wild and Graphic AccusationsThe initial allegations, brought by attorney Lisa Bloom claimed Johnson was violently raped in 1994. The assault allegedly happened when the 13-year-old attended org..s organized by Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein allegedly lured Johnson by promising her a modeling career. In the withdrawn lawsuit, Johnson claimed she met Trump four times.One encounter was described as a “savage sexual attack.” Allegedly, Johnson “loudly pleaded” for the former president to stop when he started “violently striking Plaintiff in the face with his open hand and screaming that he would do whatever he wanted.”
Story by Adam NicholsEven Donald Trump’s inner circle didn’t buy the former president's claims that the 2020 election was rigged, according to a mountain of evidence built by Special Prosecutor Jack Smith. Emails and interviews gathered from multiple members of Trump’s team suggest that many knew the election fraud claims were a lie even as they pushed them, a Washington Post report on Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn President Joe Biden's election revealed.The evidence also suggests those pushing adverts designed to sow doubt in the veracity of the election knew they were based on false information. In one email obtained by Smith’s team, Trump adviser Jason Miller told an executive at the firm that produced Trump’s campaign ads: “The campaign’s own legal team and date experts cannot verify the b– s— being beamed down from the mothership,” the Post reported. Smith’s investigation has a trove of evidence that shares similar sentiments.
The former president made the announcement on his social medial platform Thursday night.By Katherine Doyle, Adam Reiss, Dareh Gregorian and Daniel BarnesWASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has indicted Donald Trump on seven criminal counts in connection with his mishandling of more than 100 classified documents that were discovered last year at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, making the twice-impeached former commander-in-chief the first former president to face federal criminal charges.Trump said Thursday night that his attorneys were informed that he’s been indicted in the special counsel’s investigation into his handling of classified documents. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the indictment. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax.”
The former president said that he is innocent.By Katherine FauldersFormer President Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time, this time on federal charges in relation to his handling of classified information while out of office, sources familiar confirm to ABC News. He is set to be arraigned in federal court in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET, sources said."We're learning from our sources that there appear to be at least seven counts here. This ranges from everything from the willful retention of national defense information to conspiracy to a scheme to conceal, to false statements and representations," ABC News' Katherine Faulders reported during a special report on the network.
David Jackson | USA TODAYA federal jury found former President Donald Trump liable Tuesday in a civil case for a 1996 sexual abuse and battery of E. Jean Carroll and said he should pay her $5 million in damages, a verdict that could further complicate the former president's election bid in 2024. The jury, which deliberated fewer than three hours, also found Trump liable for defamation.Carroll, a professional writer, sued Trump for defamation, saying he lied about a 1996 sexual assault in a New York City department store and disparaged her character in doing so. Trump, who has denied Carroll's claims, said on his Truth Social website that the trial involved a "False Accusation" and he would "not speak until after the trial."
Story by Adam Reiss and Dareh GregorianThe New York state judge presiding over the criminal hush money case against Donald Trump issued an order Monday restricting the former president from posting about some evidence in the case on social media.In his order, Judge Juan Merchan largely sided with the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg by limiting what Trump can publicly disclose about new evidence from the prosecution before the case goes to trial.Merchan's order said that anyone with access to the evidence being turned over to Trump's team from state prosecutors “shall not copy, disseminate or disclose” the material to third parties, including social media platforms, “without prior approval from the court."It also singles out Trump, saying he is allowed to review sensitive "Limited Dissemination Materials" from prosecutors only in the presence of his lawyers, and "shall not be permitted to copy, photograph, transcribe, or otherwise independently possess the Limited Dissemination Materials."
Story by Marissa MatozzoIn a letter submitted in court last week, the New York attorney general’s office claimed that Donald Trump, his three eldest children (Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric) and the Trump Organization failed to turn over emails and other important documents in a fraud lawsuit. The office also noted that there was “an unexplained drop-off in emails for Ivanka Trump.”
By Clare Hymes, Graham KatesAttorneys for the writer E. Jean Carroll released about 48 minutes of deposition video shown at the trial in which former President Donald Trump was pressed about Carroll's claim that he raped her in the 1990s.The video was released after media organizations, including CBS News, asked the judge in the case to make it public.During the October deposition, Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan showed Trump a late-1980s photo of him with his then-wife Ivana, Carroll and her then-husband John Johnson. Referring to Carroll, Trump said, "It's Marla," referring to his second wife, Marla Maples."That's Marla, yeah. That's my wife," he said, before being corrected, and told it was Carroll. The writer sued Trump for defamation and battery after he said she "made up" allegations that he raped her in a New York City department store in the mid-1990s. Trump has adamantly denied the allegations and claimed Carroll "is not my type."
Story by Sarah K. BurrisForbes reported on Wednesday that Donald Trump and his three eldest children who worked at the Trump Organization have failed to turn over emails and other communications requested in the fraud suit from New York Attorney General Letitia James.A letter submitted to the court last week revealed “an unexplained drop-off in emails for Ivanka Trump” as another one of the issues for the investigators. The request comes from the fraud investigation into the Trump Organization's business practices. Already, Trump has been forced to pay $110,000 in fines because Judge Arthur Engoron found the former president in contempt because he wouldn't comply with a subpoena.It's unclear if Trump and his family members could be forced to fork over more cash due to the inability to comply with other subpoenas. But thus far, the AG's office is requesting a timeline for the document delivery.
Learn more about Don the Con the real Donald J. Trump:
Donald J. Trump News: Is Donald J. Trump Is A Deadbeat? Is Donald J. Trump a traitor? Did the Trump campaign collude or conspire with Putin and the Russians? Donald J. Trump is the king of lies, fake news and alternative facts. Does Donald J. Trump lies about his lies. Doanld J. Trump is a con man, a crook, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a bad businessman, and a white supremacist. How many people will become sick or die from Trump’s changes to environmental rules and regulations? Donald J. Trump is making a profit on the American taxpayer dime. Donald J. Trump is the greatest threat to national security America has ever faced. Donald J. Trump is a threat to free press, free speech, free trade, the rule of law, human rights, human decency, our democracy, our air, our water, our lands and the American way of life. Donald J. Trump is a threat to America and we are dedicated to exposing Don the Con the real Donald J. Trump and shining a light on the threat Donald J. Trump is to Democracy, the America way of life and you. Find out more about Trump Impeachments or the Trump Insurrection. The more you know the better informed you are. Find out for yourself how much of a threat Donald J. Trump is to America and you by clicking the links below and reading more.The Real Donald J. Trump (aka Don the Con, aka Don the Snake, aka Two face Donnie, aka The Don, aka Criminal Don)
Polls:
Your opinion matters take one of our free online polls:
Some of Donald J. Trump's Twitter Hashtags:
See what people really think about Donald J. Trump.
News Menu:
All News Blog Business and Financial News Commentary and Opinions Coronavirus (Covid-19) Corruption News Crime News DEM Watch Election Fraud Election Interference Entertainment News Environment News FBI News Fox News GOP Watch Headline News Health News January 6 Commission Mob News News Links Odd News Past Headline News Political News Politics Republicans vs Republicans Sports News Technology News Terrorism News The Mueller Investigation Top Stories Trump U.S. Headline News U.S. Monthly News White House World Headline News World Monthly News
Read it the then discuss it in the Forums.
News got you down then check out: