White House slams Trump for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’ - live

Donald Trump made a series of wild claims about President Joe Biden and the violence in the Middle East as he gave a speech in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday night, baselessly accusing his successor of taking drugs.

Mr Trump claimed again that the attack on “best friend” Israel by Hamas would not have happened under his watch and then praised Hezbollah as “very smart” earning a stern rebuke from the White House and an Israeli minister.

The same day, a New York court at his $250m civil fraud trial heard how Mr Trump’s claims about his net worth became a crucial factor in securing loans from Deutsche Bank.

Former risk management specialist Nicholas Haigh testified that given the niche market for some assets used as collateral — such as golf courses — the backing of a “financially strong person” was vital.

Financial statements provided to the bank were believed to be “broadly accurate” by the bank but the New York attorney general’s office maintains they were inflated.

According to media reports, Mr Trump will attend the trial for three days next week, coinciding with the testimony of his former fixer Michael Cohen.

Key Points

• Trump slammed by White House and DeSantis for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’

• Trump to return to New York court next week, report says

• RECAP — Trump on trial: Day Seven — New York fraud trial hears from Deutsche Bank risk manager

• Mary Trump unloads on ‘maniac’ uncle for allegedly leaking Israel security secrets

• Trump claims Hamas attack on Israel wouldn’t have happened if he were president

• Special counsel asks for jury protections in DC election interference case

Trump plans showdown with Cohen in New York court

10:08 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump is planning to make a return to his New York civil fraud trial for a showdown with his former fixer turned sworn enemy Michael Cohen.

A source told The Associated Press that the former president will be back in court on Tuesday when Cohen is expected to take the stand to testify.

Cohen, who was jailed for lying to Congress, welcomed the reunion.

“It’s been 5 years since we have seen one another. I look forward to the reunion. I hope Donald does as well,” he said in a text message to AP.

Watch: Are Trump’s remarks about Israel ‘constructive behaviour’?

09:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Forbes accuses former Trump Organization CFO of lying under oath at fraud trial

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has been slammed by Forbes for his testimony in court from earlier this week, at Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial.

In an article published on Thursday (12 October), the ex-Trump employee is accused by the magazine of lying under oath when he took the stand this week.

The publication was referred to several times during Weisselberg’s testimony as part of the $250m civil fraud lawsuit brought against Donald Trump, his sons, his associates — including Weisselberg — and his company by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The defendants are charged with inflating Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get favourable financing terms from banks. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Judge Arthur Engoron made a pre-trial ruling that this was the case and ordered the cancellation of their business certificates — effectively putting an end to their real estate empire in New York (though this is now being appealed).

To arrive at the inflated figures that they presented to financial institutions, the court heard from the prosecution how the Trump Organization would allegedly in some cases use incorrect data.

Forbes accuses Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg of lying under oath at fraud trial

Ronna McDaniel criticised for saying Israel attack is ‘great opportunity’ for GOP candidates to slam Biden

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, is facing criticism after she appeared on Fox News to comment on the response of the Republican presidential candidates to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Ms McDaniel said that it’s a “great opportunity for our candidates to contrast where Republicans have stood with Israel time and time again and Joe Biden has been weak”.

She quickly faced criticism following her comments on Saturday.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

RNC chair criticised for calling Israel attack a ‘great opportunity’ for GOP

Jim Jordan’s ‘ignorant’ request for info on Trump charges refused by Fulton County DA

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis came in swinging in her latest response to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, this time concerning a request for more information regarding her criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

“A charitable explanation of your correspondence is that you are ignorant of the United States and Georgia Constitutions and codes,” Ms Willis wrote on 11 October.

She continued, “A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution.”

She was replying to Mr Jordan’s 27 September demands for more information on the Trump case, calling the district attorney’s prosecution of the former president “politically motivated.”

Read the full story

GOP House speaker race: Conservative holdouts dig in their heels against Scalise

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Republican opponents of making Steve Scalise speaker of the House dug their heels in on Thursday before the House was set to vote for a new leader.

The House Republican Conference met in the basement of the US Capitol on Thursday to continue their deliberations after they had spent most of Wednesday morning in the Longworth House Office Building nominating Mr Scalise.

But many Republicans who supported Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), a hardline conservative and chairman of the House Judiciary Chairman, remain dissatisfied with Mr Scalise as the nominee for speaker.

Eric Garcia filed this report from Capitol Hill.

Conservative holdouts dig in their heels against Scalise for House speaker

Trump criticises former ally Netanyahu over attack on Israel

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has criticised his former ally Benjamin Netanyahu and called the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “smart” as the Israel-Palestinian conflict reached its worst point in 50 years.

The former US president and the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told Fox News that Israel prime minister Netanyahu failed to prepare against Hamas’ deadliest offensive and was caught unprepared.

“He has been hurt very badly because of what’s happened here,” Mr Trump said of Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday night. “He was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared.”

Shweta Sharma has the story.

Trump criticises former ally Netanyahu as unprepared for Hamas attack on Israel

Trump’s financial statements were key to getting loans, ex-bank official tells fraud trial

01:30 , AP

Donald Trump obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans using financial statements that a court has since deemed fraudulent, a retired bank official testified Wednesday at the former president’s New York civil fraud trial.

Trump’s statements of financial condition were key to his approval for a $125 million loan in 2011 for his Doral, Florida, golf resort and a $107 million loan in 2012 for his Chicago hotel and condo skyscraper, former Deutsche Bank risk management officer Nicholas Haigh testified.

They also helped Trump secure bigger loans and lower interest rates, said Haigh, who headed the risk group for the bank’s private wealth management unit from 2008 to 2018.

A judge last month ruled that Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, committed years of fraud by exaggerating the value of Trump’s assets and net worth on the financial statements he gave to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.

Trump’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, acknowledged in testimony Tuesday that information in the financial statements wasn’t always accurate.

Read more...

Donald Trump’s financial statements were key to getting loans, ex-bank official tells fraud trial

At Romney-Ryan donor summit disaffected Republicans seek alternatives to Trump

Friday 13 October 2023 00:30 , Andrew Feinberg

The last Republicans to top a presidential ticket before Donald Trump’s takeover of the GOP are still holding out hope that a more palatable alternative to the ex-president will present itself before nominating contests for next year’s election are complete.

On Tuesday, Utah Senator Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan convened a high-level confab in Park City, Utah to discuss foreign policy, technology and business matters at this year’s edition of the annual E2 summit.

Among the attendees will be four of the candidates who’ve been vying — thus far unsuccessfully — to gain traction against Mr Trump in next year’s GOP primary: ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former vice president Mike Pence, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Continued...

Who is the mystery Trump family member accused of withholding information from Jan 6 case?

Thursday 12 October 2023 23:30 , Kelly Rissman

In a new motion filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the January 6 case against Donald Trump, the prosecutor accused a “a family member of the defendant” of withholding information.

The Tuesday filing states that during the course of the government’s investigation, “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications, and documents based on assertions of the attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the privilege holder appears to be the defendant or his 2020 presidential campaign.”

“These included co-conspirators, former campaign employees, the campaign itself, outside attorneys, a non-attorney intermediary, and even a family member of the defendant,” the filing said.

However, Mr Smith never named the Trump family member.

Mystery Trump family member accused of withholding information from Jan 6 case

Trump paying attention to New York trial ahead of reported return to courtroom

Thursday 12 October 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

He may be at home at Mar-a-Lago and not sitting in court in Lower Manhattan (for now!), but Donald Trump is keeping up with testimony in his civil fraud trial regarding the inflation of his net worth to secure better financing terms.

After yesterday’s testimony about the financing of the development of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC by Deutsche Bank, he posted this on Truth Social today:

This Trophy was given to me by Deutsche Bank because they were so proud of the Loan they made. They had the best Lawyers, the smartest Loan Officers, and were thrilled to do business with “TRUMP.” Interest was fully paid every month (no payment ever missed!), never received a default notice, and if Interest came due on a weekend, I paid it on a Friday. THE LOAN WAS PAID OFF FAR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! Except for me, because of the Corrupt DOJ, FBI, and Racist New York State Attorney General, there were no Victims, there were only happy Bankers! But despite a PERFECT LOAN, I was sued by the Incompetent, Radical Left New York State AG, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, under a Statute that was never used for this before, and where I am not even entitled to a Jury. A Liberal Democrat Judge, with all Trump Haters surrounding him, is going to make this very important decision. If I had a Jury, I would win easily, but regardless, this is a case that should never have been brought. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Not long after the former president made that post, The Messenger reported that he would be making a return to the New York Supreme Court next week.

The outlet reports:

The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner plans to fly from Iowa after a Monday rally and head to New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, according to a source familiar with his travel plans.

“He wants to be there. This is his personal business, his family business. So it cuts a little closer,” said the source, who was not authorized to publicly speak about Trump’s frame of mind. “He wants to be there to take a stand and show people he’s not backing down.”

Trump’s ex-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to testify on Tuesday, following testimony by Trump Organization’s accounting department.

"It’s been 5 years since we have seen one another," Cohen told The Messenger. "I look forward to the reunion."

Trump would disparage MAGA fans in private, claims Pence aide

Thursday 12 October 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

“Well, I think it speaks to an unfortunate state of the Republican Party,” Olivia Troye told the hosts of The View. “It is certainly not the party that I want it to be and not the party that I believe it has been in the past.”

“I think he has done a great job of sort of marketing himself as the champion for all of these people who are behind him in this movement,” she continued. “But, like, we’ve sat in these meetings. What is so frustrating and angering to me is he has nothing in common with any of his supporters and I detest the way he speaks about them.”

The way he spoke “was so disparaging to them,” she described.

Kelly Rissman has the full story.

Former Pence aide says Trump would disparage MAGA fans in private

Voices: ‘Dysfunctional, disorganised, broken’ — The GOP’s speaker race is a total mess

Thursday 12 October 2023 22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

At least Steve Scalise didn’t start measuring the drapes in the speaker’s office.

As of Thursday afternoon, the House Republican conference appears far from picking a speaker of the House, nine days after the motion to vacate that deposed Kevin McCarthy.

Republicans spent much of the first part of Thursday in the basement of the Capitol once again deliberating about whether to promote Mr Scalise from House majority leader to speaker. If that sounds familiar, it’s because they spent much of Wednesday in the Longworth House Office Building before they nominated Mr Scalise.

That did little to assuage frustration, particularly from many supporters of Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH). But all of the discontent – both from opponents and supporters – seems to betray the fact that nobody really knows why they are doing what they are doing or how exactly how to do it. Rather, conversations with members gives the impression that Republicans are winging it.

Read more...

‘Dysfunctional, disorganised, broken’: The GOP’s speaker race is a total mess

Trump on trial: Day eight of New York fraud case wraps

Thursday 12 October 2023 21:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Questioning of Patrick Birney closed out day eight of the New York civil fraud trial of Donald Trump on the topic of the former president’s residences.

The court again hears about the change in reported square footage fo the triplex penthouse at Trump Tower with another reference to the Forbes article that revealed the lie about its size.

Prosecutors then turn from the size of the apartment to its value per square foot prompting the defence team to ask what the relevance of this pricing is. The response is that it is another key variable in the calculation.

Discussion then turns to Mar-a-Lago and the implication that it is valued by the Trump Organization as a private home when in fact it is only allowed to be used as a members club under rules set by Palm Beach authorities. It is under significant restrictions, unlike a private home — how would you assign a value to that?

The case continues at 10am ET tomorrow.

Full story: Forbes accuses former Trump Organization CFO of lying under oath at fraud trial

Thursday 12 October 2023 21:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has been slammed by Forbes for his testimony in court from earlier this week, at Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial.

In an article published on Thursday (12 October), the ex-Trump employee is accused by the magazine of lying under oath when he took the stand this week.

The publication was referred to several times during Weisselberg’s testimony as part of the $250m civil fraud lawsuit brought against Donald Trump, his sons, his associates — including Weisselberg — and his company by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The defendants are charged with inflating Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get favourable financing terms from banks. They have all pleaded not guilty.

Judge Arthur Engoron made a pre-trial ruling that this was the case and ordered the cancellation of their business certificates — effectively putting an end to their real estate empire in New York (though this is now being appealed).

To arrive at the inflated figures that they presented to financial institutions, the court heard from the prosecution how the Trump Organization would allegedly in some cases use incorrect data.

Continued...

Forbes accuses Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg of lying under oath at fraud trial

Judge Aileen Cannon postpones Walt Nauta conflicts hearing

Thursday 12 October 2023 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Aileen Cannon has postponed the hearing for Donald Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta over potential conflicts of interest with his lawyer Stan Woodward.

Mr Woodward previously represented the individual identified in Jack Smith's superseding indictment as “Trump Employee 4”, who has been identified in the media as Yuscil Taveras, Mar-a-Lago's former director of IT. Two other potential witnesses are also represented by Mr Woodward.

Reportedly unamused, Judge Cannon said she was postponing the hearing because the government had introduced new arguments related to the matter.

She admonished prosecutors for “wasting the court’s time” and said a new hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

Earlier, Mar-a-Lago aide Carlos De Oliveira waived conflict concerns regarding his lawyer and previous conflicts at an earlier hearing,

Trump to return to New York court next week, report says

Thursday 12 October 2023 21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump will make another appearance in court in Lower Manhattan next week for his civil fraud trial according to reporting by The Messenger.

The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner plans to fly from Iowa after a Monday rally and head to New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, according to a source familiar with his travel plans.

“He wants to be there. This is his personal business, his family business. So it cuts a little closer,” said the source, who was not authorized to publicly speak about Trump’s frame of mind. “He wants to be there to take a stand and show people he’s not backing down.”

Trump's ex-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to testify on Tuesday, following testimony by Trump Organization’s accounting department.

"It’s been 5 years since we have seen one another," Cohen told The Messenger. "I look forward to the reunion."

Trump on trial: Company employee says net worth statements could go through 30 drafts

Thursday 12 October 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Patrick Birney, Vice President of Financial Operations at the Trump Organization testifies that there could be twenty to thirty drafts of Donald Trump’s net worth statements.

In collating data for these statements each building had to be valued using a “cap rate”. These figures are important as a small change in the rate could result in a huge change in the estimated value of a property.

Dan Alexander of Forbes explains: “You take a profitability figure (net operating income) and divide it by a cap rate. The result is the estimated value. So a building that throws off, say, $7M of profit would be worth $7M/.05 = $140M with a ‘5 cap’.”

He continues: “Let's say you want to make your building look more valuable. If you applied a "3 cap" to $7M of profitability, then suddenly, the building's estimated value would fly up to $7M / .03 = $233M. A small tweak to an arcane number and--poof--your building looks $93M more valuable.”

These small changes could not only change the value of assets but ultimately the total net worth of Donald Trump.

Birney testifies that the process for preparing the statements of financial condition was different in 2020 than in previous years, with more people involved, including lawyers.

The New York Attorney General’s Office launched its civil investigation into the valuation process and Trump’s wealth in March 2019.

Trump baselessly claims Biden may be on drugs in rambling speech

Thursday 12 October 2023 20:30 , Mike Bedigan

Donald Trump hit out at a “groggy” Joe Biden in yet another rambling speech, during which he appeared to accuse the president of taking drugs to stay awake while giving press conferences.

The former president once again compared his own mental capacity to that of Mr Biden, telling a crowd in Palm Beach, Florida, that he had no problem exiting the stage at his own events.

Speaking about upcoming presidential candidate nominations, Mr Trump said: “We’re inches away and we have a man that literally can’t speak. He can’t get off the stage.

“The other day he tried to get off the stage and look, I’m up here and there’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of television going crazy. There’s so much.

“I’m up here, but you know when I’m finished I’m gonna look over there. I’m gonna see the exit. I’m gonna look over. I can take that one. What I can’t do is walk through the back wall…”

Read more...

Trump wildly claims Biden may be on drugs in rambling speech

What’s the latest with the GOP speaker vote?

Thursday 12 October 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

It’s going about as smoothly as you’d expect as Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.

Republican opponents of making Steve Scalise speaker of the House dug their heels in on Thursday before the House was set to vote for a new leader.

The House Republican Conference met in the basement of the US Capitol on Thursday to continue their deliberations after they had spent most of Wednesday morning in the Longworth House Office Building nominating Mr Scalise.

But many Republicans who supported Rep Jim Jordan (R-OH), a hardline conservative and chairman of the House Judiciary Chairman, remain dissatisfied with Mr Scalise as the nominee for speaker.

Read more...

Conservative holdouts dig in their heels against Scalise for House speaker

Here’s a quick guide to who opposes Steve Scalise and why as compiled by Haley Talbot of CNN:

Court resumes but Weisselberg not retaking stand

Thursday 12 October 2023 19:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumed in Lower Manhattan after lunch in the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump et al with the news that former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg will not be retaking the stand today, but either side may recall him for testimony at some point in the future.

The next witness is called: Patrick Birney, Vice President of Financial Operations at the Trump Organization.

He is being questioned by Eric Haren of the New York Attorney General’s Office.

Birney’s direct superiors at the Trump Organization were Weisselberg and former controller Jeff McConney and he was intimately involved with working on the assessments of Donald Trump's net worth.

Birney confirms on the stand that he started helping to prepare Trump’s statements of financial condition around 2016, and continued to do so through until 2021.

After responding to a series of questions regarding appraisal and accounting technicalities with “I don’t think so” and “no”, he then says: “I was not the final decisionmaker.”

Asked who was, he replies: “Allen Weisselberg.”

Fani Willis comes out swinging against Jim Jordan’s ‘ignorant’ request

Thursday 12 October 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis came in swinging in her latest response to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, this time concerning a request for more information regarding her criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

“A charitable explanation of your correspondence is that you are ignorant of the United States and Georgia Constitutions and codes,” Ms Willis wrote on 11 October.

She continued, “A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution.”

Kelly Rissman has the full story.

Fulton County DA refuses Jim Jordan’s ‘ignorant’ request for info on Trump charges

Shock new poll places Trump nine points ahead of Biden in Pennsylvania

Thursday 12 October 2023 19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

A new poll of Pennsylvania voters has put former president Donald Trump nine points ahead of President Joe Biden in the state.

The Emerson College 11 October poll revealed the former president had 45 per cent of the vote compared to Mr Biden’s 36 per cent. Eleven per cent of the participants said they would vote for “someone else” while eight per cent remained undecided.

Mr Biden won the state in 2020 by a slim margin, which prompted Mr Trump to challenge his loss, which ultimately was rejected in the courts.

Kelly Rissman has the details.

New poll places Trump nine points ahead of Biden in Pennsylvania

NY AG introduces Weisselberg’s severance agreement in court

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Israeli minister brands Trump ‘shameful’ over ‘nonsense’ comments

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has responded to the comments made by former president Donald Trump about Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

In remarks at an event in Florida, Mr Trump appeared to mock Israel for failing to anticipate the attack by Hamas in the south on Saturday and for not going on the offensive against Hezbollah in the north after clashes on that border.

He also attacked Mr Netanyahu for “letting him down” and Mr Gallant, whom he called a “jerk”.

Speaking to Israel’s Channel 13, Mr Karhi said it is “shameful that a man like that, a former US president, abets propaganda and disseminates things that wound the spirit of Israel’s fighters and its citizens.”

“We don’t have to bother with him and the nonsense he spouts,” Karhi says. Asked if Trump’s comments make it clear that he can’t be relied on, Karhi replies, “Obviously.”

Watch: Trump will ‘never forget’ Israel ‘let us down’ by not participating in Soleimani operation

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:35 , Oliver O'Connell

If you thought Trump wasn’t paying attention to his New York trial, you’d be wrong...

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

He may be at home at Mar-a-Lago and not sitting in court in Lower Manhattan, but Donald Trump is keeping up with testimony in his civil fraud trial regarding the inflation of his net worth to secure better financing terms.

After yesterday’s testimony about the financing of the development of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC by Deutsche Bank, he posted this on Truth Social today:

This Trophy was given to me by Deutsche Bank because they were so proud of the Loan they made. They had the best Lawyers, the smartest Loan Officers, and were thrilled to do business with “TRUMP.” Interest was fully paid every month (no payment ever missed!), never received a default notice, and if Interest came due on a weekend, I paid it on a Friday. THE LOAN WAS PAID OFF FAR AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! Except for me, because of the Corrupt DOJ, FBI, and Racist New York State Attorney General, there were no Victims, there were only happy Bankers! But despite a PERFECT LOAN, I was sued by the Incompetent, Radical Left New York State AG, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, under a Statute that was never used for this before, and where I am not even entitled to a Jury. A Liberal Democrat Judge, with all Trump Haters surrounding him, is going to make this very important decision. If I had a Jury, I would win easily, but regardless, this is a case that should never have been brought. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Weisselberg is asked about the Trump partnership with real estate company Vornado in which they hold a 30 per cent stake in two office buildings in New York and San Francisco. Specifically, the prosecution wants to know how cash is distributed from that partnership as it will affect the company’s liquidity profile.

There is also mention of an email exchange with Eric Trump in which they discuss holding off on a paying back a small loan to keep the cash balance healthier on financial statements.

Solomon then brings up Weisselberg’s 2022 guilty plea to several counts of falsifying business records and tax fraud. He served a little over 3 months in jail and had to pay back taxes and other penalties that came out to be about $2m. Weisselberg parted ways with the company and signed a severance agreement that states in part that unless he’s subpoenaed, he won’t voluntarily cooperate or communicate with anyone with adverse claims against the company.

“Is it just a coincidence that under this separation agreement that your being paid two million dollars, almost the exact amount you had to pay [in the criminal case]?” Solomon asks.

“Pure coincidence,” Weisselberg says.

The court breaks for lunch.

Weisselberg returns to stand for more direct examination

Thursday 12 October 2023 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Nicholas Haigh’s testimony has concluded.

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg has now returned to the witness stand for the resumption of his direct examination by Louis Solomon of the New York Attorney General’s Office.

This comes just an hour after the explosive allegations published by Forbes about his earlier testimony.

Forbes accuses Trump Org CFO of lying under oath about Trump Tower penthouse

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Forbes has slammed former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg’s testimony from earlier this week, accusing him of lying under oath.

The publication was referred to multiple times during Weisselberg’s time on the stand as part of the $250m civil fraud lawsuit brought against Donald Trump, his sons, his associates — including Weisselberg — and his company. They are charged with inflating Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get favourable financing terms from banks.

In order to arrive at the inflated figures, the company would in some cases use incorrect facts such as tripling the square footage of Mr Trump’s triplex penthouse apartment at Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, claiming it was 30,000sq ft and not 10,996sq ft as it actually is.

Weisselberg argued in court that he had little to do with the calculation of the penthouse’s value, repeating the claim several times and saying it was not a concern and a de minimus asset in relation to the overall financial condition of Mr Trump.

Dan Alexander, senior editor for Forbes, who has been reporting on the former president and his business for years, says that that is not true.

“A review of old emails and notes, some of which the attorney general’s office does not possess, show that Weisselberg absolutely thought about Trump’s apartment—and played a key role in trying to convince Forbes over the course of several years that it was worth more than it really was,” he writes.

“Given the fact that these discussions continued for years, and that Weisselberg took a very detailed approach in reviewing Trump’s assets with Forbes, it defies all logic to think he truly believes what he is now saying in court.”

Alexander then gives a detailed breakdown of communications about the size of the penthouse between journalists at Forbes and Weisselberg beginning in 2009, culminating in the publication in 2017 exposing the lie about the square footage.

The company then changed the size of the penthouse on internal documents.

Weisselberg was demoted after being criminally charged in a separate tax case in 2021 and left the Trump Organization in January when was sentenced to five months in jail.

Full story: White House slams ‘unhinged’ Trump for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House has condemned former president Donald Trump for calling the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “very smart” in remarks on Thursday night in Florida.

His comments came less than a week after militant group Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement that, although the Biden administration doesn’t typically comment on the 2024 presidential race, Mr Trump’s remarks were “dangerous and unhinged”.

“It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart.’ Or have any objection to the United States warning terrorists not to attack Israel,” Mr Bates said.

“Especially now as Israel is fighting back against one of the worst acts of mass murder in the country’s history.”

Read more...

White House slams ‘unhinged’ Trump for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’

Asa Hutchinson rips Trump for Israel comments

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Asa Hutchinson

Trump on trial: Cross examination of Deutsche Bank risk manager continues

Thursday 12 October 2023 17:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Cross-examination of Deutsche Bank risk manager Nicholas Haigh continued this morning with Trump attorney Jesus Suarez questioning him about a 2012 loan of $107m secured by a Trump luxury hotel and condominium building in Chicago and a personal guarantee by Donald Trump.

Suarez keeps making the point that the bank would lowball its valuations of Mr Trump’s net worth and assets after its own valuations and analysis of Trump properties and lend in accordance with those figures.

The implication Suarez is trying to get across to Judge Arthur Engoron (as there is no jury) is that Deutsche Bank knew the Trump Organization figures were inflated but still did business with them and therefore was not defrauded.

“Increasing the relationship to President Trump was important to Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management business, wasn’t it?” Suarez asks.

“Yes it was one of the aims of the private wealth management business to increase its relationships with all of its clients,” Haigh says.

Deutsche Bank was by far the biggest creditor to Trump and as of May 2022 the company owed the bank approximately $340m and spent tens of millions of dollars servicing the debt, according to the New York attorney general’s office.

As Suarez continues to go through loan after loan, Judge Engoron gets bored and says this examination is redundant and obvious, and the document says what it says.

“We can all read,” he says.

Returning to evidence heard yesterday, Suarez points to the reasoning the bank gives for extending credit to Trump other than his alleged net worth — his experience as a developer, hi relationship with the bank etc.

He goes on to note that there were no issues with repayments or refinancing, and Judge Engoron says that that is not in dispute and points to his September summary judgment finding the defendants did defraud lenders but everything was paid on time.

Read Judge Engoron’s judgement here:

Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers by grossly inflating assets, judge rules

ICYMI: Laura Ingraham uses Hamas terror attack to argue charges should be dropped against Trump

Thursday 12 October 2023 16:45 , Mike Bedigan

Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham has used the Biden administration’s response to the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel to argue that charges should be dropped against Donald Trump.

Reacting to remarks made by Mr Biden on the current state of affairs in the Middle-East, the right-wing anchor called for a “prosecutorial ceasefire” on the former president.

It comes as Mr Biden announced on Tuesday that at least 14 American civilians had been killed in the brutal attacks on Israel, condemning the “unadulterated evil” unleashed by Hamas.

Read the full story.

At Romney-Ryan donor summit, disaffected Republicans seek alternatives to Trump

Thursday 12 October 2023 16:16 , Oliver O'Connell

The last Republicans to top a presidential ticket before Donald Trump’s takeover of the GOP are still holding out hope that a more palatable alternative to the ex-president will present itself before nominating contests for next year’s election are complete.

On Tuesday, Utah Senator Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan convened a high-level confab in Park City, Utah to discuss foreign policy, technology and business matters at this year’s edition of the annual E2 summit.

Among the attendees will be four of the candidates who’ve been vying — thus far unsuccessfully — to gain traction against Mr Trump in next year’s GOP primary: ex-UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former vice president Mike Pence, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

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Disaffected Republicans seek alternatives to Trump at Romney-Ryan donor summit

Trump says Netannyahy ‘unprepared’ for Hamas attack

Thursday 12 October 2023 15:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has criticised his former ally Benjamin Netanyahu and called the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “smart” as the Israel-Palestinian conflict reached its worst point in 50 years.

The former US president and the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination told Fox News that Israel prime minister Netanyahu failed to prepare against Hamas’ deadliest offensive and was caught unprepared.

“He has been hurt very badly because of what’s happened here,” Mr Trump said of Mr Netanyahu on Wednesday night. “He was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared.”

Shweta Sharma reports.

Trump criticises former ally Netanyahu as unprepared for Hamas attack on Israel

Trump slammed by White House and DeSantis for calling Hezbollah ‘very smart’

Thursday 12 October 2023 15:26 , Oliver O'Connell

The White House has condemned former president Donald Trump for calling Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, as “very smart” in remarks on Thursday night in Florida.

Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement that although the administration doesn’t typically comment on the 2024 presidential race, Trump’s remarks were “dangerous and unhinged”.

“It’s completely lost on us why any American would ever praise an Iran-backed terrorist organization as ‘smart.’ Or have any objection to the United States warning terrorists not to attack Israel,” Mr Bates said. “Especially now as Israel is fighting back against one of the worst acts of mass murder in the country’s history.”

“This is a time for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against ‘unadulterated evil,’” he added.

“That’s what the President is doing as commander in chief.”

Mr Trump’s remarks were also slammed by GOP presidential rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who said: “Terrorists have murdered at least 1,200 Israelis and 22 Americans and are holding more hostage, so it is absurd that anyone, much less someone running for President, would choose now to attack our friend and ally, Israel, much less praise Hezbollah terrorists as ‘very smart’.

“As President, I will stand with Israel and treat terrorists like the scum that they are.”

You can see the former president’s remarks below:

Trump on trial: Day Seven — New York fraud trial hears from Deutsche Bank risk manager

Thursday 12 October 2023 15:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Nicholas Haigh testified on day seven of Donald Trump’s civil trial for fraud brought against him, his sons, associates, and his real estate company by New York Attorney General Letitia James. He was questioned by Kevin Wallace of the NY AG’s office.

Mr Haigh was head of risk management at Deutsche Bank from 2008 to 2018 and dealt with high-net-worth individuals. He had the final say over whether to extend credit to such clients.

He described the factors the bank took into account when making decisions on extending loans. Specifically, collateral, as in assets, and how the bank decided whether or not it was enough to justify lending to the owner.

They would consider how liquid an asset was and whether there was a deep market for it or whether there was only a small pool of specialised buyers — for example, in a default the bank would not necessarily want to end up in possession of a difficult to sell asset such as a golf club.

Mr Haigh explained that this shows the importance of a personal guarantee for any debt from Mr Trump.

He gave the example of a 2011 loan from Deutsche Bank to the Trump Organization with collateral on the debt coming in the form of the Trump National Doral Club in Miami as well as a full unconditional guarantee by Donald Trump.

The bank noted that Trump bought the course for $150m and was looking to invest another $50m in it. Mr Haigh notes that the collateral was not typical as: “Golf resorts are relatively uncommon compared to other types of commercial real estate and the number of buyers ... are limited.”

Therefore the personal guarantee from Mr Trump was important and a big factor in deciding whether to extend the loan.

"It was a way of the bank getting repaid that did not rely on the collateral,” Mr Haigh said, adding that the bank would not make a loan only ecured by collateral without a strong personal guarantee.

“Given that this was unusual collateral, a golf resort and spa, we would not want to foreclose on that collateral.”

A loan document shown to the court revealed Mr Trump reported a net worth of $4.26bn at the time, but Deutsche Bank made a conservative estimate that it was more like $2.3bn.

The attorney general’s case says that between 2011 and 2021, Mr Trump overstated his net worth by between $1.9bn and $3.6bn in the statements of financial condition.

Asked what he thought of the financial statements provided by Donald Trump and the Trump Organization, Mr Haigh said: “I assumed that the representations of value of assets and liabilities were broadly accurate.”

The court was then taken through a list of the “trophy properties” of the Trump empire — those deemed most high profile and lucrative — and their values, including Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street, which were valued by the company at $490m and $524m respectively.

Deutsche Bank believed they were worth less, though low-balled assets in general in case of a downturn, the court heard.

Mr Haigh reiterated the importance of a personal guarantee from a borrower for a loan from Deutsche Bank.

“So there’s a given that there would be a guarantee in the first place because [Deutsche Bank] wealth management did not do business without personal guarantees,” Haigh said.

“And the strength of that guarantee will be reflected in the pricing of the loan, also in the terms of the loan, including its size," he added.

Another example was drawn from loan relating to the development of what would become the Trump International Hotel Washington, DC in the Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The $170m financing required not just real estate collateral, but again also a personal guarantee from Mr Trump.

Under the terms of the deal, the now-former president was also bound by a series of covenants

• He had to maintain $50m in cash to be available at all times

• He couldn’t take out any further loans over $500m (even with Deutsche Bank)

• He had to maintain a net worth of $2.5bn.

New York Attorney General Letitia James states in her case against Mr Trump that due to the overstatement of Mr Trump’s net worth between 2011 and 2021, his actual net worth at the time was between $812m and $2.2bn.

When he applied for the DC hotel loan, Ms James’s office believed his net worth was $1.4bn. Therefore he was in breach of the covenants from day one.

The Trump legal team disputes this figure and argued his true worth was much higher than this, as reflected in the statements prepared by the Trump Organization. For example, in 2017 when the hotel had been completed, Mr Trump told Deutsche Bank his net worth was $5.7bn.

During cross-examination, Trump attorney Jesus Suarez asked about the earlier mentioned $150m 2011 loan to Donald Trump concerning his Doral golf club in Florida and noted there were four points given as the basis for the recommendation to approve lending the money.

• Financial strength of the guarantor ($2.5bn net worth. Good liquidity. $48m in cash flow)

• The nature of the personal guarantee

• Trump’s operating experience

• The expected enhanced value of the Doral golf course

It was also noted that two bank loan officers visited the Trump Organization offices to review financial statements as part of the process.

In another part of the document reviewed by the court, Mr Trump listed the total value of this real estate portfolio as $3.29bn. Deutsche Bank knocked this down to $2.04bn with $302m in debt.

Haigh confirmed that the bank’s valuation services people did their own valuations of the so-called trophy properties: Trump Tower, 40 Wall Street, Niketown on 57th Street, and Trump Park Avenue, all in Manhattan. Other assets he adds would be harder to value, namely the golf courses, which were given ballpark values.

Cross-examination of Mr Haigh will continue today before former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg returns to continue his direct examination.

Trump on trial: Coming up in court today in New York and Florida

Thursday 12 October 2023 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

In New York, Trump’s legal team prepares to begin day eight of his civil fraud trial in Lower Manhattan. They will continue to cross-examine former Deutsche Bank risk manager Nicholas Haigh.

The prosecution has argued through Mr Haigh’s testimony that the Trump Organization duped financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank with false accounts of Mr Trump’s net worth and the value of his trophy properties.

Mr Trump’s defence team has been casting doubt on this by showing that Deutsche Bank always gave a downward adjustment to his stated worth. Was this an admission they were aware of the exaggerations, or was it their own conservative approach to the real estate market based on internal valuations?

While there are no pre-trial hearings scheduled in the Fulton County, Georgia election interference case as on Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be in Florida in the federal classified documents case.

The former president’s Florida co-defendants are expected to appear in court for a hearing on potential lawyer conflicts.

Judge Aileen Cannon has requested both Carlos De Oliveira and Walt Nauta be in attendance for their respective hearings at 1pm and 3 pm ET to examine any potential conflicts involving a lawyer they both share.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s office has alleged a conflict because lawyer Stanley Woodward, who is representing the two men, has also represented several witnesses in the case.

Mr Trump and Nauta were indicted in June in connection with the former president's alleged willful retention of sensitive national security information at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Mr De Oliveira was added as a co-defendant in a superseding indictment in late July related to alleged obstruction efforts when investigators sought out the documents.

All three have pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial is currently scheduled to begin in May 2024.

Trump appears to blame ‘hummus’ for attacks on Israel

Thursday 12 October 2023 14:32 , Martha McHardy

Donald Trump is being mocked for appearing to blame “hummus” for the attacks in Israel over the weekend.

At a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mr Trump mispronounced the name of the terrorist group Hamas several times, appearing to refer to it as “hummus”.

A clip of the speech went viral on social media and the former president was also mocked by TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

In the opening monologue of his show, Mr Kimmel joked that Mr Trump’s speech displayed the “deep well of insight he has into this ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.

“Could you imagine anyone else in the world doing anything even remotely like that?” Mr Kimmel asked.

Read the full story.

Who is the Trump family member accused of withholding information from Jan 6 case?

Thursday 12 October 2023 14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In a new motion filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in the January 6 case against Donald Trump, the prosecutor accused a “a family member of the defendant” of withholding information.

The Tuesday filing states that during the course of the government’s investigation, “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications, and documents based on assertions of the attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the privilege holder appears to be the defendant or his 2020 presidential campaign.”

“These included co-conspirators, former campaign employees, the campaign itself, outside attorneys, a non-attorney intermediary, and even a family member of the defendant,” the filing said.

However, Mr Smith never named the Trump family member.

Kelly Rissman reports...

Mystery Trump family member accused of withholding information from Jan 6 case