Trump

New York civil lawsuit accusing Trump family of 'staggering' fraud could derail presidential bid, experts say. Plus, the case for a 'marriage sabbatical'

Abortion rights drove voters to the polls in [deep-red Kansas](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/03/kansas-abortion-vote-state-constitution). The Democrats have passed [major legislation.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/16/biden-signs-inflation-reduction-act-landmark-healthcare-climate-bill) There has been a sharp increase in women registering to vote after the supreme court [overturned Roe v Wade](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/24/roe-v-wade-overturned-abortion-summary-supreme-court). While previous studies have suggested our food preferences may begin before birth, the team says the research is the first to look directly at the response of unborn babies to different flavors. Only two companies control 40% of the global commercial seed market, compared with 10 companies controlling the same proportion of the market 25 years ago, according to the ETC Group, an eco-justice organisation. The international Meanwhile, Biden said on Monday the pandemic was ending – a message that [polling suggests](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3650684-why-biden-is-seeing-a-rise-in-the-polls/) Joe Biden is [on a roll](https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/president-biden-s-approval-numbers-on-the-rise-nbc-news-poll-shows-148840517702), reclaiming some of the ground he lost earlier in his presidency. The UK’s defense ministry says Russia needs the manpower to continue its fight. These are the largest protests since Putin launched his invasion in February. Could the New York civil fraud suit bring down the Trump Organization? “He’s got too many burdens, too much baggage to be able to run again even presuming he escapes jail, he escapes bankruptcy. But the cascade of criminal, civil and congressional investigations could yet derail that bid.

Ex-president tells Sean Hannity: 'Because you're sending it to Mar-a-Lago or wherever … There doesn't have to be a process'

There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. There doesn’t have to be a process. Does that change its status?’ are so speculative that their practical meaning is negligible. Trump also told Hannity “there was nothing that was hiding” when boxes were packed to be taken to Mar-a-Lago from the White House in Washington. Some were labeled top secret. [Speaking](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/trump-i-could-declassify-documents-by-thinking-about-it-00058212) to Sean Hannity of Fox News in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, the former US president said: “Different people say different things but as I understand it, if you’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.

During an appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, Donald Trump provided no evidence that he had declassified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago ...

[Trump issued a “standing order”](https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1558261235883311106) while in office that documents taken to his residence would instantly be declassified. His lawyers have resisted doing so in front of [special master](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/09/06/special-master-trump-documents/?itid=lk_inline_manual_18) Raymond Dearie, the U.S. A GSA spokesperson disputed that, saying while the office assisted with shipping boxes to Florida, it did not pack any. The task was mostly performed by General Services Administration employees, he said, referring to the office that plays a prominent role in presidential transitions. On Hannity’s program, Trump called the lawsuit part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” that has been brewing since he first ran for office. His appearance also followed an announcement earlier in the day that New York Attorney General Letitia James was filing a lawsuit accusing him and his three children of manipulating property values to deceive lenders, insurance brokers and tax officials.

Donald Trump now claims he has the power to declassify secrets "by thinking about it." It'd be funnier if this weren't such a serious mess.

There can be a process, but there doesn’t have to be. He said he “declassified everything,” but his own team said he didn’t, his lawyers refuse to argue it, and even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. “That question, according to specialists in the law of government secrecy, is borderline incoherent,” the Times concluded. So even if we assumed that Plaintiff did declassify some or all of the documents, that would not explain why he has a personal interest in them.” He said he can declassify “by thinking about it,” but he can’t. And there doesn’t have to be a process. “There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it.... Trump is no longer denying that he took classified materials to his glorified country club. The New York Times recently published The Republican’s own lawyers [carefully avoided](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-lawyers-still-refuse-echo-claims-mar-lago-case-rcna47257) repeating their client’s assertions — in large part because they knew he was lying. [a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-setback-mar-lago-case-happens-now-rcna48898), Donald Trump introduced a new claim neither he nor anyone on his team had ever floated before. Indeed, people probably should laugh because this is deeply foolish, even by Trump standards.

In the lawsuit announced on Wednesday, the attorney general alleges that Trump and the Trump Organization violated New York Executive Law, which bans persistent ...

Silva said the burden of proof is higher in a criminal case compared to a civil one so this case may not lead to criminal charges for the former president, his children, or the other people named in the lawsuit. In the lawsuit announced on Wednesday, the attorney general alleges that Trump and the Trump Organization violated New York Executive Law, which bans persistent and repeated business fraud. A permanent ban on the former president and his adult children from holding an officer or director role in a New York corporation is also included.

The civil complaint filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) seeks to recover $250 million and prohibit Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and ...

[Ask Eugene Robinson your questions.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/eugene-robinson/?itid=lb_reader-qas_4) [Or join Jennifer Rubin on Fridays.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jennifer-rubin/?itid=sf_https%3A-%2Fwashingtonpost.com%2Flive-chats&itid=lb_reader-qas_6) [](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/alexandra-petri/?itid=lb_reader-qas_5) [here.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/live-chats/?itid=lb_reader-qas_8) [Send Barry Svrluga your questions on the latest headlines in sports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/barry-svrluga/?itid=lb_reader-qas_7). Send us your question below. The Trump family and their lawyers have accused James of coming after them as part of a political witch hunt. The question box includes a space for your name, but this is optional. [Get parenting advice from Meghan Leahy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/meghan-leahy/?itid=lb_reader-qas_3). [Jonathan O’Connell](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/jonathan-oconnell/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) and [Shayna Jacobs](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/shayna-jacobs/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5) will answer your questions on Friday at 10 a.m. [Chat with restaurant critic Tom Sietsema.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/tom-sietsema/?itid=lb_reader-qas_2) and Ivanka Trump from serving as executives at any company in New York. It also would bar the Trump Organization from acquiring any commercial real estate or receiving loans from any New York-registered financial institution for five years. [slapped with a sweeping new lawsuit on Wednesday](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/21/trump-sued-new-york-letitia-james/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2), alleging that they flagrantly misrepresented the value of some of their properties and other assets to get tax breaks and better terms on bank loans and insurance policies.

A U.S. judge reviewing records seized from Donald Trump's Florida home asked the former president's lawyers on Thursday to provide any evidence casting ...

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. The Justice Department has said more than 11,000 documents were seized, including about 100 documents marked as classified. District Judge Aileen Cannon appointed Dearie to vet the materials. Trump has called the investigation politically motivated. 30 a list of specific items in that inventory "that plaintiff asserts were not seized from the premises." 8 search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach.

Letitia James, the New York attorney general, claims that the Trump Organization illegally obtained hundreds of millions of dollars by systematically ...

In 2013, for example, it valued its leasehold at 40 Wall Street, an office and retail-space building, at $530 million, despite a bank-ordered appraisal the prior year that valued it at $220 million. The complaint also alleges that, in 2016, the Trump Organization misled an outside appraiser that prepared a valuation of the Seven Springs property, which it then submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in support of an application for a conservation easement “that ultimately, and fraudulently, reduced Mr. Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and we believe that the prosecution would prevail if charges were brought.” It also doesn’t contain any suggestion that the government has any coöperating witness inside the Trump Organization who could testify about Trump’s personal culpability. “Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system,” James said, in a statement. In 2014, the complaint says, Ivanka was granted an option to buy a penthouse at Trump Park Avenue for $14.3 million, but the apartment was valued in the Trump Organization’s 2014 “Statement of Financial Condition” at $45 million. The Wall Street Journal quoted Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, as saying that the lawsuit’s claims were meritless. One of them, Mark Pomerantz, said, in a resignation letter to Bragg that was made public, “I and others have advised you that we have evidence sufficient to establish Mr. It also says that Trump’s alleged deceptions reaped him and his co-defendants financial benefits worth up to an estimated $250 million, and asked the court to force him to repay these gains, plus interest. “In fact, the very foundation of his purported net worth is rooted in incredible fraud and illegality.” (Trump, whom Greenberg believes made the calls himself, wanted to be higher on the rich list.) According to the lawsuit, Trump’s son Eric was “taking the lead” on Seven Springs estate, a large property in Westchester County, New York—which Trump bought for $7.5 million, in 1995, but between 2011 and 2021 valued at up to $291 million.

The special master overseeing the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation has ordered former President Donald Trump's lawyers to back up out-of-court assertions ...

But he proposed that Orenstein get paid $500 an hour, which would be covered by Trump, based on a prior court ruling in the case. This would be a more nuanced view than what Trump's team has offered -- which is essentially that federal prosecutors shouldn't be allowed to look at these privileged documents or to use them as part of the investigation. Dearie also raised the possibility of sending some of the proceedings back to Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who approved the search warrant after finding there was probable cause of multiple crimes taking place at Mar-a-Lago. Attorney General Merrick Garland played a leading role earlier in his career in the Oklahoma City investigation. The FBI has previously declined to comment on allegations of impropriety during its search. The judge set a September 30 deadline for Trump's lawyers to submit this sworn declaration.

Order by Mar-a-Lago special master is the first time Donald Trump's attorneys have been told to confirm or deny his claims that agents planted evidence or ...

They must submit all the documents to Dearie by Oct. The government must also later respond to any factual disputes that Trump’s team raises in its filings. The Justice Department would then note whether it agrees with that assertion, and Dearie would settle any disagreements between the two parties. [said on social media and in television interviews](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/22/trump-hannity-classified-documents/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7) that the FBI planted items when they searched his Mar-a-Lago residence and private club on Aug. His lawyers have not made similar assertions in court, however, instead saying they have not reviewed the seized materials and are unable to confirm whether the government’s inventory list is accurate. He also claimed to have declassified documents found in that search that were marked classified and were highly sensitive.

The lawsuit filed by New York's attorney general is the latest indication of how an array of investigations is affecting the former president's business and ...

[led to the termination](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/business/trump-media-pipe-spac.html) of that $1 billion financing deal. [ improper communications](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/business/trump-spac-digital-world.html) between representatives of Digital World and Trump Media before the special purpose acquisition company’s public offering. 6, he appeared poised to cash in on his appeal in conservative media circles, including through his social media venture — the merger of the parent company of Truth Social, his Twitter-like social media platform, with a special purpose acquisition company called Digital World Acquisition Corp. Mehta said that the plaintiffs could try to prove their case that Mr. But it also will incur a significant sum in legal fees and could face trouble with lenders and the local authorities, who might shy from doing business with a company convicted of a felony. It could take years for the case to play out in the courts, and even then, a judge would have to grant the punishments Ms. Mr. Trump and his family, including Eric Trump, of deliberately and systematically overstating the value of the company’s assets.) James is seeking to bar the Trumps from ever running a business in the state again. The company also continues to collect revenue from some of its commercial real estate projects, while many of Mr. 6 assault on the Capitol by his supporters, a possible wave of litigation that some of his advisers fear could prove extremely costly to him. Should he become a presidential candidate, he could face tight new restrictions on the personal use of money he has kept in his main political action committee and used for legal fees, Trump properties and even Melania Trump’s designer.

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald J. Trump claimed on Wednesday that when he was in the White House, his powers were so broad he could declassify ...

[a search warrant](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/trump-investigation-takeaways.html) for Mar-a-Lago, it listed as the basis of the investigation three other laws for which prosecutors do not need to prove that a document was classified as an element of the offense. In a letter to the Justice Department in May, Mr. Trump’s [request for an independent arbiter](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/05/us/politics/trump-special-master.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-trump-raid&variant=show®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc), known as a special master, to review the documents seized from Mar-a-Lago, [appointing Judge Raymond J. Trump’s choice for a special master](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/us/politics/trump-declassification-documents.html) to review the documents seized last month — undermined a bulwark of his effort to justify his actions: Both suggested that there was no evidence to support the assertion that Mr. It appears to be a strategy that the former president’s legal team is holding in reserve should he ultimately challenge the legality of the Mar-a-Lago search in a suppression motion or file court papers — known as a Rule 41 motion — to get some of the seized materials back from the Justice Department. Trump appointed to the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, had Trump’s lawyers [appeared before Judge Dearie this week](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/us/politics/trump-declassification-documents.html), they too “resisted providing any evidence that he had declassified any of these documents.” After Judge Cannon rules on the disputed files, Judge Dearie said, he will entertain a motion, should Mr. Trump’s legal team that since the classified documents were clearly marked classified, he intended to consider them as classified — unless they offered evidence to the contrary. By the time the Hannity interview aired late Wednesday, a three-judge appellate panel of the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit — which included two jurists appointed by Mr. [a federal appeals court in Atlanta](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/21/us/politics/trump-classified-documents.html) — along with [Mr. That argument — which came as he defended his decision to retain government documents in his Florida home in an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity — underscored a widening gap between the former president and his lawyers.