Trump’s March 4 Trial Date Removed From Docket

The case is now stalled in the district court as President Trump pursues a presidential immunity defense to dismiss the case in an appeals court.

By Catherine Yang 2/2/20241/2

Former President Donald Trump’s March 4 trial date had been heavily spotlighted as it would put the former president on trial for his actions during his last days in office, just one day before more than a dozen states hold their Republican primaries, also known as Super Tuesday. But now that date has been knocked off the court calendar.

The date had originally been set by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who held fast to March 4 amid several attempts by Trump attorneys to push back the court schedule and ultimately the trial. Judge Chutkan had granted several modest delays for pre-trial deadlines without moving the trial date, thus tightening the case schedule.

But this trial delay was expected, as the case is now stalled in the district court as President Trump pursues a presidential immunity defense to dismiss the case in an appeals court. Both prosecutors and Judge Chutkan had suggested a March 4 trial was impossible in recent court filings, with prosecutors still pushing to try the case in the current term and arguing that a speedy trial was in the public’s interest.

Court Schedule Stalled as Elections Progress

The paused case, in which President Trump pleaded not guilty to four counts of obstruction and conspiracy related to his actions on Jan. 6, has been stalled for almost two months now, and other case schedules are also in flux.

Last year, President Trump was charged in four criminal cases in separate jurisdictions, suggesting a busy 2024 schedule as he campaigns for the presidency again. Already in January, two civil trials brought against the former president wrapped up, with one verdict still to come.(Engeron Trial)

He previously faced another March trial brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, accusing President Trump of falsifying business records, but the trial was set to be delayed in light of the several other court dates on the calendar. President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts.

In May, President Trump was originally scheduled to go to trial in the Southern District of Florida, but this trial has also been delayed with the judge ruling that the discovery process has been more complicated and time-consuming than originally expected. This case arose after an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago, and President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 counts related to mishandling classified documents. A new trial date has not yet been set.

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, have requested an August trial date in a large-scale racketeering case naming President Trump and 14 others, expecting to need three to five months to present their case. The indictment lists 41 counts, including 13 for President Trump to which he has pleaded not guilty.

This trial date has not been set by a judge yet, and attorneys for President Trump have argued that a trial that takes place through the general elections in November can only be seen as election interference, complicating matters for jurors who may be required to judge the candidate as they weigh whether or not they will vote for him.

President Trump’s attorneys and several other legal experts have predicted that if the cases do not go to trial before the general election, they may not go to trial at all if he wins reelection…

https://api.theepochtimes.com/us/trumps-march-4-trial-date-removed-from-docket-5579167?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=lead-special-2024-election-medium-0

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Presidential Immunity

President Trump had filed four motions to dismiss his case in Washington, one of which argued he had presidential immunity that shielded him from such prosecution. After the motion was denied in the district court, President Trump brought the motion to the appeals court.

Because the appeal deals with whether the case can continue at all, the district court ordered a stay on all proceedings during the appeals process. Since Dec. 13, the case has been on pause. The appeals court heard oral arguments in early January, but it is unclear when a decision will be forthcoming.

If the appeals court does not dismiss the case, President Trump’s attorneys are expected to pursue additional delays, including by appealing the other three motions to dismiss the case. The defense has argued the case should be thrown out based on statutory grounds, constitutional grounds, and due to selective and vindictive prosecution.

Several other factors are complicating the timeline, as the defense can further appeal decisions the appellate court issues if they find them unfavorable, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, which if accepted would pause the case again.

The defense has also argued that the discovery process requires more time while accusing the prosecutors of not turning over required materials, but the district court judge has already rejected multiple requests to delay deadlines for discovery.

https://api.theepochtimes.com/us/trumps-march-4-trial-date-removed-from-docket-5579167?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=lead-special-2024-election-medium-0

Verdict Delayed in Trump Civil Fraud Trial as Judge Engoron Weighs Lifetime Business Ban

The verdict in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial has been delayed as the judge weighs whether to ban the former president from doing business.

By Tom Ozimek Updated: 2/2/20241/2

The verdict in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in Manhattan that could see him banned for life from doing business in New York has been delayed until mid-February, according to a court spokesperson.

Justice Arthur Engoron said during the trial’s closing arguments on Jan. 11 that he hoped to make his final decision by Jan. 31 in a much-anticipated verdict that could, in addition to hitting the former president with a lifetime business ban, see him fined $370 million.

After the tentative Jan. 31 deadline came and went without a verdict, the spokesperson for the New York State Office of Court Administration, Alfred Baker, said that the judge is now expected to deliver his decision in early to mid-February. “That’s the working plan now,” Mr. Baker told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement on Feb. 1. The spokesperson added that the new timeline for a verdict is a “rough estimate” that could still change, and that the verdict would be a written decision, with no news conference.

Monitor’s Report

While it’s unclear why Justice Engoron is taking more time to deliver the verdict, reports suggest that it could have something to do with a 12-page letter issued by a court-appointed monitor claiming that parts of President Trump’s financial disclosure appeared incomplete or inconsistent.

Attorneys for President Trump, who maintains his innocence and has called the case a political witch hunt, have disputed the monitor’s characterization of the financial disclosures.

The letter from the monitor, former judge Barbara Jones, pointed out errors on seven disclosure forms, three inconsistencies, and five clerical errors.

President Trump’s attorneys have said the issues flagged by Ms. Jones are immaterial amid the thousands of pages of financial data she has received, which include Trump Organization financial disclosures to third parties, documents related to transactions, bank statements, and all manner of paperwork related to taxes.

Trump attorney Clifford Robert alleged in a letter to Justice Engoron that Ms. Jones’s report, which was issued just days before the expected Jan. 31 verdict, had two basic objectives: one to ensure that the monitor continues to receive “exorbitant” fees (over $2.6 million and counting), and the other to justify continued oversight of President Trump’s business empire.

Mr. Robert also questioned the monitor’s competency, alleging “numerous factual inaccuracies” in her report, which he characterized as “misleading and disingenuous.” He argued that the errors cited by the monitor have been blown out of proportion and that 'every item she identified had been fully resolved.

“The Monitor now twists immaterial accounting items into a narrative favoring her continued appointment, and thereby the continued receipt of millions of dollars in excessive fees,” Mr. Robert argued. Ms. Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Trump attorney’s claims.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/verdict-delayed-in-trump-civil-fraud-trial-as-judge-engeron-weighs-lifetime-business-ban-5578910?_gl=15j5byj_gaMTAwNjc3ODg5Ni4xNzA2ODg4OTIw_ga_RD0QM5H02QMTcwNjg4ODkxOS4xLjEuMTcwNjg4OTEwMi4zMy4wLjA._gcl_au*OTM0MzUyNzg1LjE3MDY4ODg5MjA.

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The Trial

The trial centers on allegations that the former president and his company, The Trump Organization, defrauded banks, insurers, and others by allegedly overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth in documents used in deals and to secure loans.

The case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who initially wanted to fine the former president $250 million but later increased this to $370 million.

Justice Engoron has already issued a summary judgment, finding President Trump and his company liable for fraud. The trial was to decide the remaining claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsifying business records.

Ms. James, a Democrat, has requested a broad range of penalties against President Trump, including a $370 million disgorgement and a permanent ban on his doing business in New York state and with any New York-based financial institution. Recently, Ms. James’s office provided Justice Engoron with a “notice of supplemental authority,” basically a newfound legal precedent, to bolster her call for a Trump business ban.

Colleen Faherty, Ms. James’s assistant, provided Justice Engoron with the notice to draw his attention to a verdict in an unrelated case that banned the defendant from participation in the pharmaceutical industry for life. This is the same type of ban that Ms. James is asking Justice Engoron to impose on President Trump.

While it’s unclear how the judge will weigh the notice, even before the start of the trial he ordered the immediate cancellation of President Trump’s business certificates and the dissolution of his LLCs.

However, that order was paused by an appeals court for at least the duration of the trialafter the defense argued it would suddenly cast hundreds of Trump Organization employees’ livelihoods into disarray.

The former president has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the case is a politically motivated plot to undermine his 2024 White House run. He is the front-runner by far for the Republican presidential nomination.

President Trump has also said that if he loses the case, it will have a deeply chilling effect on businesses in New York City and could even prompt others to pack up and leave.

*This article has been updated to reflect receipt of a statement from the spokesperson for the New York State Office of Court Administration.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/verdict-delayed-in-trump-civil-fraud-trial-as-judge-engeron-weighs-lifetime-business-ban-5578910?_gl=15j5byj_gaMTAwNjc3ODg5Ni4xNzA2ODg4OTIw_ga_RD0QM5H02QMTcwNjg4ODkxOS4xLjEuMTcwNjg4OTEwMi4zMy4wLjA._gcl_au*OTM0MzUyNzg1LjE3MDY4ODg5MjA.

Letitia James Wields New Weapon in Demand to Ban Trump for Life From New York Deals

The state attorney general provided a judge with a new legal precedent related to the case of former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli

By Tom Ozimek 1/24/2024

Wielding a newfound legal precedent that could bolster her case against former President Donald Trump, New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday renewed her call for the former president to be banned for life from doing business in New York.

In a letter to New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over President Trump’s civil fraud trial and is expected to issue a ruling by the end of January, Ms. James’ assistant, Colleen Faherty, provided a “notice of supplemental authority” meant to encourage the judge to ban President Trump from ever doing business in New York.

A notice of supplemental authority is a document filed by a party in a legal case—in this instance provided by Ms. James’ office in context of the case against President Trump—to draw the court’s attention to new legal authorities that have arisen that may impact the case.

“In its appellate review, the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed in full the district court’s order enjoining Martin Shkreli from participation in the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordering him to disgorge $64.6 million,” Ms. Faherty wrote in the letter, referring to a verdict in an unrelated case against Mr. Shkreli, which stems from an antitrust lawsuit over his efforts to thwart competition when he hiked the price of a drug overnight by over 4,000 percent some years ago.

Ms. Faherty wrote that the court’s decision to impose a lifetime ban on Mr. Shkreli should serve as “case law support” for the punishment Ms. James wants Justice Engoron to apply to the former president. Ms. James, a Democrat, has requested a broad range of penalties against President Trump, including a $370 million disgorgement and a permanent ban on his doing business in New York state and with any New York-based financial institution.

President Trump has called the case a “political witch hunt.”

With her assistant’s letter to Justice Engoron, Ms. James is now arguing that the decision in the Shkreli case supports her call to impose the Trump business ban. (It’s obvious James was never sure about this boondoggle, and in order to try to say this is proof, attorney’s would have to compare all the elements of both of the supposed “crimes”, of theShkeli case does prove that no one lost money due to his businessWatch the recent Tucker interview with him.“Tucker Carlson Martin Shkreli full interview”https://youtu.be/s8yP_YnajQs?si=WnIk5963Y7zqzSXc)

The Trial

The trial, which began on Oct. 2, 2023, and concluded on Jan. 11, 2024, centers on allegations that the former president and his company, The Trump Organization, defrauded banks, insurers, and others by allegedly overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth in documents used in deals and to secure loans.

President Trump and his sons said in testimony during the trial that no bank was victimized by the stated asset valuations and that lenders—including Deutsche Bank—made considerable amounts of money in interest by extending the loans. Deutsche Bank is the lender that provided hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to President Trump for properties in Miami, Chicago, and Washington.

‘Perfect’ Financial Statements

In a courtroom speech during closing arguments on Jan. 11, President Trump insisted that the financial statements he provided to banks were “perfect” and the financial institutions “got all their money back.” “The banks are happy as can be,” he said. President Trump’s attorneys argued that Ms. James was using a consumer fraud statute in an unprecedented way in a bid to confiscate the former president’s property.

“The attorney general wants you to turn standard loan transactions into fraud,” defense attorney Chris Kise told the judge. “It’s just a substitution of the attorney general’s political judgment for that of sophisticated financial professionals conducting risk analysis.”

Even before the trial started, Justice Engoron had also ordered the immediate cancellation of President Trump’s business certificates at the dissolution of his LLCs before the trial, but the order was paused by an appeals court for at least the duration of the trial after the defense argued it would upend hundreds of Trump Organization employees’ livelihoods overnight.

The former president has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that the case is a politically motivated plot to undermine his 2024 White House run.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/letitia-james-wields-new-weapon-in-demand-to-ban-trump-for-life-from-new-york-deals-5573268

2 Feb, 2024 13:52

Ukrainian military a terrorist organization – Putin

The Russian president condemned Kiev’s forces for firing at ambulances in Donetsk

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have turned into a terrorist organization that intentionally attacks ambulances, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while speaking at the ‘Everything for Victory’ forum in Tula on Friday.

He was commenting on attacks carried out by the Ukrainian military on residential areas of Russian cities in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which have led to a number of civilian casualties.

In one such attack on January 20, a paramedic working in the city of Gorlovka was wounded while trying to provide assistance to victims following a previous round of shelling. On January 12, another paramedic was also killed during a Ukrainian attack on an ambulance brigade in the same city.

”What is called the Armed Forces of Ukraine has turned into a terrorist organization that attacks ambulances,”Putin said.

The president recalled a story he heard last year about how Russian forces intercepted communications between two Ukrainian tank operators who were trying to enter Donetsk. One of the servicemen had just killed a man who had stepped out of his house, Putin said, when the other officer asked him “Why did you do that? He was just some guy wearing a tracksuit. He had a family, you can hear his children running around in the house.” The response, according to Putin, was“They’re all terrorists here.”

“What is this if not neo-Nazism?That’s not to mention the rounds of applause for actual SS officers in the Canadian parliament and the blatant attacks on medical workers and ambulance vehicles,” added the president.

Russia knows of the tremendous strain put on medical personnel working in the territory of the DPR and other regions, he added, vowing to continue support for them. Work would be done to provide hazard pay to ambulance drivers, the president said.

Earlier this week, Putin claimed there is a need to create a larger “demilitarized zone” in Ukraine that would ensure that peaceful Russian cities would no longer be targeted by Kiev’s foreign-made, long-range weapons.

https://www.rt.com/russia/591719-ukraine-military-terrorists-putin/

2 Feb, 2024 16:45

France admits deaths of its citizens in Ukraine conflict

At least two “humanitarian workers” were killed and three others injured, French authorities have admitted

Two French nationals were killed and three others injured this week in the hostilities between Kiev and Moscow, the French government said on Friday. Paris insists they were doing humanitarian work on the Ukrainian side.

The announcement was made by French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, who denounced the incident as an example of “Russian barbarity.”

“Two French humanitarian workers paid with their lives for their commitment to the Ukrainians. Three were injured,” Sejourne wrote on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). A similar message came from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said people he described as volunteers had been killed in a Russian strike. He condemned the attack as a “cowardly and unworthy act.” (France has changed it’s story a couple of times now, they should prove to Russia they were Humanitarian Workers, if they really want anyone to believe them. Why do you think France has been thoroughly kicked out of 3 or more African Countries?)

While France’s government did not reveal any further details of the affair, the strike that killed the French citizens apparently took place earlier this week in Kherson. According to Aleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Russian region, a number of French “volunteers” were hit in Berislav, a town located some 70km east of Kherson city.

Earlier this month,Russia claimed it killed scores of French mercenaries in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov. The Russian military said it conducted “a high-precision strike on the temporary assembly point of foreign fighters,” killing over 60 of them and injuring some 20 more.

In the wake of the deadly strike on the French nationals, Paris officially denied having any mercenaries fighting for Ukraine. At the same time, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu insisted that France, being a “democratic country,” could not actually forbid its citizens from voluntarily joining Kiev’s ranks, should they desire to do so.

According to Moscow’s latest estimates, more than 5,900 foreign mercenaries have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the conflict in February 2022.

https://www.rt.com/russia/591712-french-killed-ukraine-conflict/

2 Feb, 2024 16:01

Ukraine seeks $1 trn from Russia – Zelensky aide

The sum should compensate damage sustained by the country, the Ukrainian president’s top economic adviser has said

Russia’s assets frozen by the West won’t be enough to cover the damage Ukrainehas sustained due to Russia’s military operation, the Ukrainian president’s top economic adviser, Oleg Ustenko, said on Friday during a national telethon, as cited by RBK news outlet.

“We are not talking about the figure of $300–350 billion of their gold and foreign exchange reserves. According to estimates made inKiev, we are talking about $750 billion in direct losses. If we add indirect losses, this could raise the figure to $1 trillion,”Ustenko was cited as saying.

In mid-2022, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal already named the amount that would be required to restore Ukraine, estimating it at $750 billion and saying at the time that the key source for the funds should come from the “confiscated assets that belong to Russia and Russian oligarchs.”

President Vladimir Zelensky later noted that the necessary reparations were estimated at $600–$800 billion. In late 2023, theUkrainian Ministry of Justice ruled out the possibility of concluding a peace deal with Russia without receiving reparations for the damages sustained from the conflict.

Kiev and its Western allies have long been mulling ways to use Russian assets blocked abroad to restore Ukraine. On January 30, EU member states reached an agreement allowing Brussels to transfer the income generated by Russia’s frozen central bank reserves to Kiev, but have so far stopped short of tapping the assets themselves.

It’s estimated that Belgium’s Euroclear, the bloc’s central security depository, holds €196.6 billion (nearly $220 billion) worth of Russian assets, thevast majority of which belong to the country’s central bank. In its financial results for 2023 published on Thursday, Euroclear revealed that it accrued almost $5 billion in profit from frozen Russian assets last year. It is assumed that Euroclear’s profits will not be paid to the owners of the assets but will later be transferred to a special EU fund to support Ukraine.

In total, the EU has frozen €207 billion (just over $231 billion) of Russian assets and reserves since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that any actions related to its assets by the US and its allies would amount to “theft,” stressing that seizure of the funds or any similar move would violate international law and lead to a tit-for-tat response from Russia. Several Western officials, including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, have also warned that tapping frozen Russian funds would undermine trust in Western currencies and the economic system.

https://www.rt.com/business/591704-ukraine-russia-damage-compensation/

(Enabling the EU & Ukraine to steal money from Russia, the closer that Russia gets rid of all the leaders of Ukraine)