Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
#Blanche notes that #MichaelCohen said under oath that he accepted responsibility & then later undermined that outside of court. (Something #Trump constantly does)
A similar tack tripped Cohen up when he was questioned about his federal guilty pleas at Trump’s #civil#fraud trial. He was led into saying he had lied about one of the pleas itself. But earlier in the trial he clarified that he thought he had not been charged,but was not objecting to the underlying facts
#Blanche is using #MichaelCohen’s claims of widespread corruption — in which Cohen has accused not just Manhattan federal prosecutors but the judge in his case of being out to get him — against him. He is also using his previous testimony that he didn’t commit the #crimes to which he pleaded against him.
Blanche finally arrives at the moment that prosecutors sought to prep the jury for: That Cohen said under oath at #Trump's civil #fraud trial he had lied to a federal judge.
#Trump has his posse again. Today it’s more #Republican elected officials. Today, Trump will be joined by the #House speaker, #MikeJohnson, as well as #NorthDakota’s governor, #DougBurgum, a contender to be Trump's running mate. Also present will be Representatives #ByronDonalds & #CoryMills of Florida, & #VivekRamaswamy, who was one of Trump's primary rivals this year. Both Donalds & Ramaswamy are longshot hopefuls to be Trump's running mate.
In 2023, during #MichaelCohen’s testimony at #Trump’s #civil#fraud trial, the defense was able to trip him up while asking him about one of his federal guilty pleas. There, he seemed to suggest that he wasn’t actually #guilty of one of the #crimes he had pleaded guilty to. Ever since, Trump’s lawyers have accused him of perjury.
#MichaelCohen is still calm, but focused, & turning around #Blanche’s questions wherever possible. He’s not being defiant, as he was during his shaky cross-examination in #Trump's #civil#fraud trial. Some of his answers, perhaps unintentionally, are funny, which could be taking the sting out of some of Blanche’s insinuations. The jurors look amused. One is smiling.
#Trump May Owe $100 Million From #DoubleDip Tax Breaks, Audit Shows
A previously unknown focus of an #IRS audit is a dubious accounting maneuver that effectively meant taking the same write-offs twice on his #Chicago skyscraper.
The first write-off came on Trump’s #tax return for 2008. With sales lagging far behind projections, he claimed that his investment in the condo-hotel tower met the tax code definition of “worthless,” because his #debt on the project meant he would never see a profit. That move resulted in #Trump reporting losses as high as $651 million for the year, The Times & ProPublica found.
#MichaelCohen is called. Susan #Hoffinger, the head of investigations at the Manhattan DA's office, will handle the questioning for the prosecution. She was in the courtroom when Cohen testified in #Trump’s #civil#fraud trial — he did well during direct examination but not-so-much during cross.
Hoffinger starts by asking Cohen about his background, & he says he’s a descendant of Holocaust survivors. He “really didn’t want to be a lawyer,” but that his family is filled w/them.
I just got emails that sure looked like official messages from my bank saying I'd added a Zelle recipient and sent him a bunch of money.
Of course I didn't click on any of the links; I just went to my bank's website and checked my accounts, and everything is fine. Also: The Zelle messages referenced an account ending in four digits which match none of my bank accounts.
So a warning that fake messages like this are circulating.
California's BOT Disclosure Law was perhaps unfairly panned in a Wired commentary in 2019, by an employee of what Harper's magazine said is the industry-captured "Big Disinformation" research industry.
It was passed by the legislature and signed by CA Gov Jerry Brown.
The title of the Wired commentary (above) is possibly a mismatch to what the article said. The piece is loaded with shaded language that takes no position. That's what many felt they had to do the last decade to keep the tech grants flowing; never criticize tech out loud. Shade your language & thoughts.
"The auditor for former president Donald Trump’s media company was charged with “massive fraud” Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the firm of being a “sham audit mill” whose failures put investors at risk."
I love that this is about an Instagram-based fraudster, and the presiding judge's name is Block.
"INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER KNOWN AS “JAY MAZINI” SENTENCED TO
84 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR OVERLAPPING FRAUD SCHEMES
Defendant Capitalized on His Social Media Persona to Commit Fraud, Including a Scheme That Bilked the Muslim Community Out of Over $8 Million
"Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jebara Igbara, also known as “Jay Mazini,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Frederic Block to 84 months in prison for wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering arising out of multiple schemes that resulted in millions of dollars in loss to trusting investors. Igbara pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2022. As set forth in the information, up until March 2021, Igbara maintained a popular Instagram account under the name “Jay Mazini,” where he would post videos depicting, among other things, occasions during which he would hand out large amounts of cash to various individuals as gifts. In reality, Igbara was perpetrating overlapping fraud schemes, scamming investors out of at least $8 million. As part of his sentence, Igbara was ordered to pay $10 million in forfeiture. The amount of restitution will be determined at a later date."
the #civil#fraud finding that he misstated his assets; his 2 violations of a #GagOrder stemming from that case; 2 separate court findings of #defamation of #EJeanCarroll; & the dissolution of the #Trump foundation as part of a settlement w/the NYAG. The judge said he would not allow prosecutors to discuss in detail the underlying facts of those matters — but added a warning that could change.
#Merchan has explained the concept of #ReasonableDoubt, instructed the jurors that statements made by the various attorneys are not to be accepted as fact, & #jurors are listening intently, a reminder that jurors take many cues from judges - as the impartial arbiter & why #Trump's attacks on judges are stupid.
Besides this case, today there's a hearing to determine the sufficiency of Trump’s #civil#fraud#bond for the $454M penalty, & Thurs, #SCOTUS hears arguments on his bs #immunity defense.
#Blanche said #Trump put up "a wall" between himself & his company when he became president. We know from the civil #fraud ruling that isn’t true.
Trump always seems to get his lawyers to basically testify about how successful the #TrumpOrganization, has been. - Blanche went off on this success narrative for a while.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist takes us inside the world revealed by the Panama Papers, a landscape of illicit money, political corruption, and fraud on a global scale.
@DemocracyMattersALot When he's not facing a crowd of equally sociopathic soulmates cheering him, but sincere folks not withholding their disgust with his abhorrent antisocially disordered personality Trump folds like a wet napkin.
"State lawyers said in court filings Friday that the former president and his co-defendants — the Trump Organization and its top executives, including his two eldest sons — failed to prove the surety Trump used to obtain the bond actually has the money to back it."
@rbreich when I was a child I asked my father "why are big bosses paid so much".
He told me they work a lot and have lots of responsibility.
Okay.
I'd be happy to "work" by playing golf and eating in expensive restaurants, while getting 45 millions for not taking any responsibility and putting air passengers at risk.
Truong My Lan, a Vietnamese billionaire property developer, was sentenced to death for a massive fraud scheme that funneled $44 billion from the country’s largest bank. She, along with 85 other people, were found guilty in the sprawling trial that was conducted by 10 state prosecutors and about 200 lawyers who summoned 2,700 to testify. Only Truong My Lan received the death penalty. Read more about the case from the BBC.