Donald Trump appears in court as civil fraud trial begins in New York
Donald Trump has appeared in court in Lower Manhattan for his New York civil fraud trial where a judge will determine what penalties he will face over his fraudulent business activities.
Before his appearance on Monday, the former president took to Truth Social to attack both New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James — something he continued to do throughout the day.
Indeed, the trial began nine minutes late after he stopped to give extensive remarks in the hall outside the courtroom, baselessly claiming that it was a “scam and a sham” while further attacking the judge and Ms James.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s longest-serving Chief of Staff has confirmed remarks made and previously denied by the former president, in which he branded wounded or killed US war heroes as “losers” and “suckers”.
General John Kelly, who served the Trump administration from 2017 until 2019, confirmed details of a damning 2020 article in The Atlantic as well as other offensive remarks made by Mr Trump while he was president.
But in a statement to CNN, Mr Kelly confirmed several details of the story on the record.
How much to keep Trump out of the 2024 race? Author claims it could be $5bn
FTX founder and suspected fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried considered the possibility of paying Donald Trump up to $5bn to stay out of the 2024 presidential race, a new book claims.
In an essay published in the Washington Post — developed from Michael Lewis’ new book Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon — Mr Lewis wrote that Mr Bankman-Fried “was exploring the legality of paying Donald Trump himself not to run for president”.
“His team had somehow created a back channel into the Trump operation and returned with the not terribly Earth-shattering news that Donald Trump might indeed have his price: $5 billion. Or so Sam was told by his team,” he wrote.
Mr Lewis expanded on this claim in an interview on 60 Minutes, saying Mr Bankman-Fried wondered “how much would it take” for the former president to seek re-election in 2024. “There was a number that was kicking around” at the time that Mr Lewis was talking to the FTX founder, he said – $5bn.
“Sam was not sure that number came directly from Trump,” Mr Lewis clarified. “The question Sam had was — not just ‘is $5bn enough to pay Trump not to run’ — but was it legal?”
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Oliver O’Connell3 October 2023 02:00
Garland says in interview he’d resign if Biden asked him to take action on Trump
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. But he doesn’t think he’ll be put in that position.
“I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard,” he said in an interview on CBS 60 Minutes. “And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen.”
The Justice Department is at the centre of not only indictments against Trump that include an effort to overturn the 2020 election and wrongly keeping classified documents, but also cases against Biden’s son Hunter, the aftermath of the riot at the U.S. Capitol and investigations into classified documents found in the president’s home and office. Garland has appointed three separate special counsels.
Garland has spoken only sparingly about the cases and reiterated Sunday he would not get into specifics, but dismissed claims by Trump and his supporters that the cases were timed to ruin his chances to be president in 2024.
“Well, that’s absolutely not true. Justice Department prosecutors are nonpartisan. They don’t allow partisan considerations to play any role in their determinations,” Garland said.
Donald Trump appears in court as civil fraud trial begins in New York
Donald Trump arrived at court in Lower Manhattan for his New York civil fraud trial on Monday 2 October. The trial began 10-15 minutes late after the former US president gave remarks in the hall outside. He called the trial “a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time” and maintained his innocence in the case. Mr Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization, are accused of inflating the value of their properties by more than $2bn (£1.65bn). Last week, a New York judge ruled Mr Trump was liable for business fraud.
Oliver O’Connell3 October 2023 00:00
Trump refuses to take sides between Gaetz and McCarthy
Donald Trump appears to be sitting out the crisis of leadership occurring in the House Republican caucus, a move that may serve to strengthen Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chances of remaining at its head.
A group of right-wing Republicans led by Matt Gaetz is likely to try to oust the GOP speaker of the House in the coming days following Mr McCarthy’s decision to cut a deal with Democrats to avert a government shutdown over the weekend. Those same holdouts had been pressuring Mr McCarthy to push forward only with budget resolutions that would require major cuts in federal spending, measures which were doomed to fail in the Senate if they even passed the lower chamber.
Mr Gaetz, a close ally of Donald Trump, had apparently been hoping to win the ex-president’s support for his crusade against Mr McCarthy — he indicated to reporters on Monday that he had spoken with Mr Trump on the matter, and played coy about how Mr Trump was leaning on the issue.
But the ex-president himself dispelled any notion of supporting Mr Gaetz’s bid to oust Mr McCarthy as speaker upon his arrival in New York for the beginning of his fraud trial. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, he took a position of neutrality.
John Bowden2 October 2023 23:30
Legal experts divide on whether Trump can be banned from 2024 presidential race
As Donald Trump looks increasingly likely to be the 2024 Republican nominee for president, it continues to look more and more plausible that there could be a serious effort to keep him off the ballot entirely.
Following his presidency ending in a bloody battle on Capitol Hill, Mr Trump remains the de facto leader of the Republican Party, at least among its primary voting electorate.
Recent polls show the ex-president supported by as many as six in 10 of GOP primary voters nationally, while he also continues to hold commanding leads in early primary and caucus states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But winning a primary election is one thing; winning a general election is another. And as Mr Trump consolidates his support within the GOP, some politicians and constitutional law experts alike are growing more vocal about the possibility of simply denying the Republican Party’s candidate from appearing on the ballot next November at all.
John Bowden2 October 2023 23:00
Sarah Huckabee Sanders faces investigation amid spending furore
Tom Mars, the attorney representing the whistleblower, is reportedly seeking a legislative audit of the governor, according to a letter he sent to state Representative Jimmy Hickey on Friday. The letter also said the whistleblower would be willing to give testimony, according to the Arkansas Times.
Mr Hickey and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee began investigating a purchase she made for her office. The governor of the seventh poorest state in the US reportedly purchased a $19,000 lectern, sparking blowback on social media, according to the Arkansas Advocate.
Arkansas’ median income for an individual in 2020 was a little more than $27,000, according to the US Census Bureau.
Graig Graziosi has the more of the details…
Oliver O’Connell2 October 2023 22:43
There is no jury at Trump’s fraud trial — here’s why
Former president Donald Trump complained that his trial was not in front of a jury as he left court today in New York.
Alex Woodward who watched proceedings from inside the courtroom explains why that was, and it could be down to a “terrible error” on the part of Mr Trump’s lawyer.
Oliver O’Connell2 October 2023 22:27
Donald Trump speaks to press after departing court in New York City
Oliver O’Connell2 October 2023 22:06
Profile: Judge Arthur Engoron — the judge presiding over Trump’s civil fraud trial
This time, the trial is set in New York City civil court where Justice Engoron is presiding over the fraud case against Mr Trump, his adult sons and several Trump Organization executives in a lawsuit brought forth by New York attorney general Letitia James.
Already, Justice Engoron has shown to be a no-nonsense judge, having found Mr Trump liable for committing business fraud and stripped away the former president’s control over some of his notable properties.
In a trial that is expected to last three months, Justice Engoron will determine the fate of Mr Trump’s business dealings in the state as the trial to resolve claims in Ms James’ lawsuit and decide damages begins.
So who is the 74-year-old Justice (and former cab driver) presiding over the case?
Ariana Baio2 October 2023 22:00
Watch: Trump complains about lack of jury… because one was not requested
Oliver O’Connell2 October 2023 21:50