Trump bashes ‘weak and ineffective’ rivals as Ivanka gives evidence in New York: Live updates

Ivanka Trump spent Wednesday in a Lower Manhattan courtroom testifying in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, becoming the fourth member of the family to do so following her father’s chaotic appearance on Monday, and testimony from her brothers Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump last week.

Across more than four hours of testimony, Ms Trump spoke softly and deliberately and flashed polite smiles from the witness stand, a stark contrast to her father’s meandering half-finished thoughts in his turbulent time on the stand.

Ms Trump distanced herself from the financial statements at the heart of the case, denying any involvement despite her apparent integral role in the Trump Organization’s real estate projects.

Following her testimony, and a brief cross-examination by Mr Trump’s defence attorney, the New York Attorney General’s office rested their case.

On Monday, the former president lashed out at both Judge Arthur Engoron and Attorney General Letitia James, calling her a “political hack”. He also fumed on Truth Social about each of his adult children being made to testify and still claims that there is no case to be answered.

Alex Woodward reported from inside the courtroom for The Independent.

Key Points

• ‘I don’t recall’: Key moments from Ivanka Trump’s testimony

• What happened in court today? Smiling Ivanka grilled on Donald Trump’s net worth

• ‘Heir apparent’ Ivanka Trump to give testimony in her father’s fraud trial

• Voices: Whinging into the void on the Day of the Don

• Seven key takeaways from Donald Trump’s fraud trial testimony

• Red-faced Trump rages at judge during historic fraud trial testimony

How does Trump feel about his daughter being on witness stand?

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

In case you missed his Truth Social rant on Tuesday night, Rachel Sharp has you covered:

Donald Trump has fumed about his “beautiful daughter” Ivanka Trump being forced to give testimony at his civil fraud trial, as the former first daughter heads to New York for her day in court.

Taking to Truth Social on Tuesday night, Mr Trump once again lashed out at “corrupt” New York Attorney General Letitia James and “Trump hating” Judge Arthur Engoron as he said that calling his daughter to the stand is “sad”.

“Tomorrow my wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James, the Corrupt and Racist New York State Attorney General, who has allowed Murder and Violent Crime in New York to flourish, and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started, wouldn’t even consider a Jury, and said that Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, is worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount,” he said.

“Other properties likewise. Based on this information, which is so ridiculous, he said that I was a Fraud, when in fact it is Letitia James and the Judge who are Fraudulent for setting such LOW VALUATIONS in order to undermine and discredit my Financial Statements, thereby making me look bad - Election Interference!

“Now they are trying to bring Ivanka into the case, despite the Court of Appeals ruling that she cannot be charged. Sad!”

Full story...

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump arrives to take stand in fraud trial as protesters chant ‘crime family’

NY fraud trial: Smiling Ivanka grilled on Donald Trump’s net worth

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump is on the witness stand inside a lower Manhattan courtroom after exhausting her attempts to avoid testifying in a trial that threatens her family’s business and vast real-estate empire.

Donald Trump’s oldest daughter walked briskly into New York Supreme Court on Wednesday morning in a dark suit and smiled as she entered a third-floor courtroom.

She is the final witness presented by New York Attorney General Letitia James in the sixth week of a trial that could last until Christmas.

Her appearance comes a week after testimony from her brothers and two days after testimony from her father, who was scheduled to be the headlining final act for the attorney general’s case.

But Ivanka Trump’s failed appeals to block her testimony shifted the attorney general’s witness schedule, making her Ms James’s last chance to put a Trump family member on the stand.

Alex Woodward reports from the courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

Ivanka grilled on Donald Trump’s net worth in fraud trial testimony

Roseanne Barr attacks ‘Deep State b******t’ at Trump rally

03:18 , Graeme Massie

Trump crowd boos congressman

03:05 , Graeme Massie

The former president introduced Rep Carlos Gimenez to the crowd at his rally, who loudly booed the Republican lawmaker.

“Oh, you don’t like him? Whats going on Carlos? We gotta get that straightened out. Really? Wos,” said Mr Trump as the boos continued.

Trump slams ‘weak and ineffective’ rivals at rally during GOP debate

02:53 , Graeme Massie

Former president held rally in Florida at same time as latest GOP debate.

Trump slams ‘weak and ineffective’ rivals at rally during GOP debate

Trump says he will go after Biden

02:40 , Graeme Massie

“Now that he indicted me, we’re allowed to look at him. But he did real bad things,” said Mr Trump at his rally.

Christie blames Trump ‘poison’ for GOP election losses

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former New Jersey governor and 2024 GOP hopeful Chris Christie has blamed Donald Trump’s “poison” for the Republican party’s disappointing results in the off-year elections.

Mr Christie, Mr Trump’s onetime staunch ally turned sworn nemesis, pointed out that the former president had endorsed Daniel Cameron in the Kentucky’s gubernatorial race – and that Mr Cameron then landed a major defeat in the red state.

“Cameron was a rising star in the Republican party until he decided to throw his lot in with Donald Trump,” he told CNN on Tuesday night.

“Let’s face it, Donald Trump is political and electoral poison down ballot.”

Rachel Sharp reports.

Chris Christie blames Trump ‘poison’ for GOP election losses

Trump bashes Republican rivals at debate

02:09 , Graeme Massie

“You have about 7 or 8 candidates left. I think they are at a debate tonight no one is talking about it, everyone is watching…it’s 61 per cent for your favourite president - me- 10 per cent for Ron DeSanctimonious and 7 per cent for bird brain (Haley),” said Mr Trump.

“Our nation is in very serious trouble and it is time for the Republican establishment to stop wasting time and resources trying to push weak and ineffective RINOs and Never Trumpers that nobody wants and nobody is going to vote for.

“I watched these guys coming in and they are not watchable. The last debate was the lowest-rated debate in the history of politics, so do you think we did the right thing by not participating? “

And he added: “I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people and it’s on television, that’s a hell of a lot harder to do than a debate.”

‘Insurrection’ lawsuit to keep Trump from primary tossed by Minnesota court

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to bar former president Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential primary ballot.

The challenge, from a bipartisan group of state voters, sought to block Mr Trump’s campaign under a 14th Amendment provision forbidding candidates who “engaged in insurrection.”

The state appellate court held in a brief ruling that the Civil War-era measure did not apply to the Minnesota primary process, which it argued was a fundamentally local process outside the purview of the US Constitution.

“There is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination primary ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible to hold office,” the ruling reads.

Josh Marcus reports on how the Trump campaign responded.

Minnesota court tosses ‘insurrection’ lawsuit to keep Trump from primary

Trump claims ‘strong, young men’ flooding into US from Middle East

01:56 , Graeme Massie

“They have something in mind, something in mind. In many cases, these are the same people that did the attack on Israel a few weeks ago, the same people,” said Mr Trump.

Trump says ‘Hannibal Lecter’ allowed into the US

01:46 , Graeme Massie

“Hannibal Lecter, he was a nice fellow, but that’s what is coming into our country right now,” Trump says to a seemingly confused crowd at the event in Hialeah, Florida.

Trump mocks Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar

01:45 , Graeme Massie

“In times like these, you cannot have an administration that takes foreign policy advice from Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib. AOC plus three right?” said Mr Trump.

Trump will introduce ‘ideological screening’ to enter the US

01:41 , Graeme Massie

“On day one we will restore the Trump travel ban and implement strict vetting and ideological screening for new entrants to our country, we don’t do that now…anyone can come in,” said Mr Trump

Trump calls 2024 the ‘final battle'

01:35 , Graeme Massie

“2024 is our final battle, stand with me and we will finish the job we so brilliantly started seven years ago,” he told the crowd in Hialeah, Florida.

Trump reminisces about 2016 election victory

01:30 , Graeme Massie

Trump reminisced about his 2016 victory over “beautiful Hilary” exactly seven years ago, and said he now only used the “crooked” nickname for Joe Biden.

House GOP demands testimony from Biden’s son and brother

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

House Republicans are escalating their effort to use their oversight authority to effect political damage on President Joe Biden by issuing subpoenas to compel testimony from his son and brother and demanding testimony from a host of his other family members.

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer on Wednesday posted video to X (formerly known as Twitter) showing him signing documents which were purportedly subpoenas addressed to Mr Biden’s youngest and only surviving son, Hunter Biden, as well as his brother James Biden and a former business associate of Hunter’s called Rob Walker.

Mr Comer’s panel is also requesting that other Biden family members appear for interviews, including Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen, the widow of his older brother Beau, Hallie Biden, Ms Biden’s sister Elizabeth Secundy and James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden.

Read more...

Lee Greenwood is playing...

01:26 , Graeme Massie

Donald Trump taking the stage at his latest rally in Florida which is counter-programming to the official GOP debate taking place in the state.

Key moments from Ivanka Trump’s testimony

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

On Wednesday, the former first daughter became the fourth and final member of the Trump family to give testimony in her father’s high profile civil fraud case.

Ivanka Trump attended the lower Manhattan courtroom after exhausting her attempts to avoid testifying in the trial, that threatens her family’s business and vast real-estate empire.

However, unlike her father – who gave evidence two days earlier – Ms Trump’s remarks on the stand were not infused with fiery rhetoric, grandiose statements or back-chat to Judge Arthur Engoron.

In many ways, her testimony was unremarkable. But she repeatedly said she “could not recall” the details or documents about her involvement with major projects she later said she was “proud” to work on, or whether she was involved with her father’s financial statements that Judge Engoron has already determined were fraudulent.

Here are some of the stand-out moments from her evidence:

‘I don’t recall’: Key moments from Ivanka Trump’s testimony

As her star rises, can Haley catch up to Trump?

00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Nikki Haley is known for a lot of firsts — the first Asian American woman to serve as governor in US history, the first Indian American member of a presidential Cabinet, the first woman of colour to run for the GOP nomination — but will she become the first woman to serve as US president?

Few think so.

On paper, Ms Haley is arguably the ideal GOP candidate. She boasts impressive foreign policy experience amid the bloody conflict in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. She is the only woman in the race, giving her a sophisticated position to discuss reproductive rights as Republicans struggle to appeal to voters following the demise of Roe v Wade. Still, the 51-year-old can’t seem to catch up to Mr Trump. Ms Haley’s candidacy demonstrates a larger problem with the 2024 Republican race — no one can touch him.

However, some have argued that her path to the White House isn’t as far a reach as it once was, as her star has risen in recent weeks. At the beginning of November, she is tied with rival candidate Florida Gov Ron DeSantis for the spot trailing the prominent frontrunner.

Continue reading Kelly Rissman’s article...

Trump blames the ‘stench of McConnell’ for GOP Kentucky loss

Wednesday 8 November 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump insisted Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was to blame for Republican gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron losing to his opponent on Tuesday night, claiming the relationship was “too much to bear” for voters.

“Daniel Cameron lost because he couldn’t alleviate the stench of Mitch McConnell,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I told him early that’s a big burden to overcome,” the ex-president said while adding that Mr McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader is “kryptonite” for GOP candidates.

Mr McConnell and Mr Cameron are close colleagues and allies. Many Republicans believed Mr Cameron’s campaign would be successful because he had the backing of Mr McConnell.

However, Mr Cameron lost to the Democrat incumbent Governor Andy Beshear.

Ariana Baio has the story.

Trump blames the ‘stench of McConnell’ for Republican candidate’s defeat

2024 election: What off-year election wins mean for Democrats and Biden

Wednesday 8 November 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Democrats breathed a collective sigh of relief as last night’s election results rolled in.

In nearly every one of the states that hold their electoral contests in odd-numbered years — Virginia, Kentucky, and a handful of others — Democrats came up winners by impressive margins.

Andrew Feinberg takes a look at the results and what they might mean going into the 2024 election season.

What off-year election wins mean for Democrats and Biden heading into 2024

How are the defendants faring in the civil fraud trial?

Wednesday 8 November 2023 22:10 , Oliver O'Connell

...according to a former Watergate prosecutor, not great.

Watch what Nick Akerman told CNN this morning:

Coming up later: Trump aims to upstage another GOP debate with Miami rally speech

Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s rally in Hialeah, Florida, will begin just an hour before the third Republican primary debate is set to take place in nearby Miami.

Supporters of the former president began queueing before dawn on Wednesday, more than 12 hours before Mr Trump was set to take the stage at around 7pm at the Ted Hendricks Stadium in Henry Milander Park.

Considering the average lengths of Mr Trump’s meandering campaign speeches, it’s possible he’s still talking as his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination take the stage at 8pm at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

Parking and the lines to enter the rally venue were set to open at 8am with doors to the stadium opening up at 2pm and guest speakers beginning to appear on stage at about 6pm, CBS News notes.

Gustaf Kilander has the full story.

Trump aims to upstage another GOP debate with Miami rally speech

What happened in court today? Smiling Ivanka grilled on Donald Trump’s net worth

Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Documents capturing Donald Trump’s allegedly grossly inflated net worth and assets in his real-estate empire are at the heart of a case that threatens to collapse the family business.

Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump said they had nothing to do with them. The former president downplayed their existence entirely but said he would “look at them” and maybe offer “suggestions.” They blame the accountants, and the accountants blame the Trumps. Michael Cohen also said he was “tasked” with coming up with “whatever number Mr Trump told us to.”

As for Ivanka Trump, the former president’s oldest daughter who stepped away from the family business to join him at the White House, she can’t recall much of anything about emails and documents surrounding allegedly fraudulent business deals under scrutiny from New York’s attorney general.

Ms Trump walked briskly into New York Supreme Court on Wednesday morning in a dark suit and smiled as she entered Judge Arthur Engoron’s third-floor courtroom.

Across more than four hours of testimony, Ms Trump spoke softly and deliberately and flashed polite smiles from the witness stand, a stark contrast to her father’s meandering half-finished thoughts in his turbulent courtroom appearance.

Alex Woodward filed this report from the courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

Ivanka grilled on Donald Trump’s net worth in fraud trial testimony

NY fraud trial: Court adjourns

Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:22 , Oliver O'Connell

There is some further fond praise of the company’s work from Ivanka Trump: “As I testified earlier, they were complicated projects and I believe that we over-delivered on every metric.”

And then Suarez says: “Nothing further your honour.”

There is no redirect from the prosecution and Judge Engoron adjourns the court for the day.

Ivanka was the state’s final witness.

Alex Woodward adds:

Kevin Wallace with the attorney general’s office confirms that they do not have any further witnesses – but they reserve a right to call Allen Weisselberg back to the stand after some unresolved matters with his testimony.

The attorney general is resting its case, on that one condition.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:20 , Alex Woodward

Suarez asks Ivanka Trump about meetings with two Democratic members of the House in her work.

Suarez then asks her to confirm that they are “members of the United States House of Representatives”.

There’s laughter in the courtroom and at the New York Attorney General’s table, because… yes… that’s what a House member is...

Suarez flips out, and points at the NY AG’s attorneys.

“They’re laughing. They’re sitting back here and they’re laughing,” he says.

The Trumps have done “great work” for America, “and they’re laughing”.

He adds: “They’re trying to destroy thousands of jobs in this state!”

Wednesday 8 November 2023 21:09 , Alex Woodward

The Attorney General’s office objects to an internal General Services Administration document listing the “notable weaknesses” in the Old Post Office deal.

“Financial statements provided by Mr Trump were qualified by his accountants as not complying with GAAP,” the document states.

Saurez seems to be arguing that the GSA knew what it was getting into, and that the Trumps weren’t being misleading.

For the NYAG, Solomon argues that there’s no way for Ms Trump to have known if the GSA’s “own internal documents are accurate, inaccurate, not relevant” as she has never seen it before.

Trump attorney Christopher Kise melts down, saying the judge has “two sets of standards” when it comes to the attorney general and the defence.

Judge Engoron takes issue with that: "Your constant insinuations that I have a different set of standards. It's just not true ... You can keep saying it if it makes you happy, that I'm favouring one side over the other ... I just make the rulings as I see them."

Suarez asks a very densely worded question, basically asking whether Ivanka would have any reason to believe the GSA was inaccurate.

Ivanka asks him to rephrase it. The judge then asked for the court reporter to read it back.

“That’s a ridiculous question,” Judge Engoron says.

Ivanka, eventually, after a lot of back and forth with attorneys and the judge, says: “They were very professional. I have no reason to doubt it.”

Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:59 , Oliver O'Connell

After a trip down memory lane concerning the Doral resort near Miami, questioning of Ivanka Trump by her father’s defence team turns to the Washington, DC hotel project.

Ivanka says she spearheaded the redevelopment of the Old Post Office building and that there was a lot of red tape.

“Since it's a historic building, there are many many different agencies ... I think there were 20-plus agencies from which we had to get approval,” Ivanka said

“It was a labour of love, it was a lot of work to bring that [to fruition].”

She adds: “It was a very special iconic building that I’m really proud to have had the opportunity to work on.”

Alex Woodward notes:

Ivanka is getting most of her speaking time on the stand today under this cross-examination, hyping up her role ushering through and developing her family’s properties.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward writes:

Ivanka’s testimony under cross-examination is sort of Trumpworld propaganda. She talked at length about her father’s “nostalgia” for the Doral resort, the stories he told the kids about it, and his “strong feeling that it was not living up to its potential.”

She described the division of labour as Trump focusing on golf while Ivanka would “focus on the resort itself.”

We also see Deutsche Bank emails showering the Trumps with praise for their business and how nice the resort is.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump arrives to take stand in fraud trial as protesters chant ‘crime family’

Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump is asked about the Doral Golf Resort that the company developed in Florida and says that her father had a “deep and nostalgic love for that particular property” as his father has taken him there on a golf trip.

“He had a lot of sentimental affection for the property and a strong feeling that it wasn’t living up to its potential, physically.”

In its redevelopment, she says her father focused on the golf aspects and she focused on the resort.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 20:14 , Alex Woodward

The focus of Suarez’s questioning of Ivanka is to try and argue that Deutsche Bank had a good relationship with the Trumps, building off Trump’s argument that there was never any “fraud” because everyone got paid and there was never any default.

A letter is displayed from 14 March 2013 from the bank’s former CEO Anshu Jain to Donald Trump saying it was great to meet him at lunch and a “pleasure to see your delight in the buildout of your family holdings and your justified pride in having your children in the business".

Emails are also shown between Rosemary Vrablic from Deutsche Bank and Ivanka, who says they got along well.

“I was constantly told by Rosemary and the members of her team how much they appreciated the relationship,” Ivanka says.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t really matter if there were no “victims” in this kind of case. The fraud was already there. Judge Engoron found the defendants liable for it.

Further, the NY AG’s office says banks and lenders lost out on tens of millions of dollars because the loan rates were more favourable for Trump than they should’ve been based on his actual net worth.

NY fraud trial: Defence begins cross-examination of Ivanka Trump

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:57 , Alex Woodward

Trump attorney Francis Suarez is up for the defence to cross-examine Ivanka Trump.

This is the first time that any of the Trumps has been under cross-examination with the defence not questioning Don Jr, Eric, nor their father.

He asks her a string of yes-or-no questions about her involvement, if any, concerning the statements of financial condition. She answers no.

Judge Engoron steps in to state the obvious — that if she’s saying she had nothing to do with them you don’t really need to ask her again.

Trump attorney Christopher Kise rises.

“We’re already getting a hurry up,” he says. “That is grossly unfair.”

Judge Engoron, kind of quietly but into the mic: “I disagree.”

NY fraud trial: Prosecution concludes Ivanka Trump’s direct examination

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:54 , Alex Woodward

Deutsche Bank's Tom Sullivan sent Ivanka Trump an email on 2 December 2013, with the subject line and attachment reading: “Term Sheet - Old Post Office”.

The attachment contained the terms of the $160m loan for the development of the project.

Ivanka reviews a document titled "Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement" on the Trump Old Post Office deal from 31 December 2013.

Signatures are shown including those of her father, Donald Jr and Eric Trump on behalf of their respective LLCs engaged with the Trump Old Post Office LLC.

Is it her understanding that, by entering into this agreement, she had a financial interest in it?

“I think it was a profit participation,” she said. “I don’t recall exactly how it was structured.”

There is a return to last week’s discussion about how to pronounce “revocable” — Ivanka said she would pronounce it (wrongly) as “re-VOKE-able”.

Ivanka identifies her signature on the Ivanka Trump Revocable Trust from 2016.

The court sees a 2022 email from Patrick Birney regarding Old Post Office proceeds among the various interests involved with the sale. Ivanka isn’t copied on the email.

She received approximately $4m from the sale, according to the Trump Organization’s accountants.

“I’m not, as you noted copied on this chain,” she says.

The prosecution concludes its direct examination.

NY AG moves to bar four defence witnesses

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Stewart Bishop of Law360 reports that the New York Attorney General’s office has moved to bar four of the expert witnesses that the defence team wants to call to the stand when presenting their case.

They argue that as Judge Engoron has already ruled that Mr Trump and the other defendants are liable for fraud, three of the experts are no longer relevant.

Their testimonies “are no longer relevant” in light of the judge’s summary judgment, the filing says. Two of them “were designated solely in rebuttal” to experts that the NY AG’s office didn’t end up using, “so there is nothing for either of them to rebut,” according to the filing.

Read the full filing here.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:33 , Alex Woodward

Another email is displayed. This time it is a conversation between David Orowitz and Allen Weisselberg. It dates from 16 December 2011.

“Ivanka wanted me to change the language around the GAAP section. She asked that I review with you,” Orowitz writes.

Earlier today, Ivanka said she didn’t know much at all about GAAP.

Asked if she had any reason to believe Orowitz was inaccurate, Ivanka replies: "No."

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:31 , Alex Woodward

Ivanka Trump returns to the stand and is still under oath.

The court is shown the June 2013 email from Jared Kushner we have been hearing about: “You can get better pricing for such LTV. Natixis will give you 140MM at that rate most likely. Should I show it to them?” [“LTV” is the loan-to-value ratio]

Ivanka is asked why she sent the email to Kushner?

There’s a pause. Engoron asks her to answer.

“My husband was also in real estate,” she said. “Periodically we would discuss what we were working on.”

She said she doesn’t recall the “exact exchange, but it was not uncommon” for them to talk about work.

Engoron returns to spousal privilege issue for Jared and Ivanka work emails

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:19 , Oliver O'Connell

As court resumes after lunch, Judge Arthur Engoron returns to the spousal privilege issue that was raised when an email between Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner was brought up.

Alex Woodward reports from the courtroom:

Ivanka’s not back in the court. We left on a cliffhanger, with Trump’s attorneys objecting to the questions about an email from Jared to Ivanka about a loan proposal. Team Trump argued they are protected under spousal privilege.

Judge Engoron argues that using a work email that can ostensibly be seen by other people waives that confidentiality.

“I’ll let the defendants make a statement or argue this if they want,” Judge Engoron said.

So we get a little hearing now with micro arguments from the attorney general’s office and the defence.

Court resumes after lunch

Wednesday 8 November 2023 19:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Why are the Trump ‘children’ testifying at the civil fraud trial?

Wednesday 8 November 2023 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The main focus on Donald Trump’s myriad of legal woes shifted to Lower Manhattan in October as his civil fraud case came to trial at New York state’s Supreme Court.

New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the case against the Trump Organization and maintains that between 2011 and 2021 the company falsified financial statements regarding the development of several real estate projects and artificially inflated Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get better financing terms from banks and insurance companies.

This was done by over-stating valuations of the former president’s most prestigious holdings including his triplex penthouse at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and his current home at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Their entire New York real estate empire is already in peril after a pre-trial ruling included the cancellation of their business licences in the state.

As the prosecution’s case draws to a close, three of his adult children are taking the stand to testify under oath, which begs the question: how are they wrapped up in all this and why is their testimony important at the trial?

Why are Trump’s children testifying at New York civil fraud trial?

Analysis: Ivanka pulled back into Trump orbit as she testifies at civil fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

When she sat for a taped deposition in front of members of Congress investigating her father’s attempts to overturn election results, Ivanka Trump revealed that she “accepted” that his false claims were, in fact, false.

Clips from her eight-hour-long testimony to the House select committee, replayed on large screens filling a crowded room inside the Capitol, directly undermined Donald Trump’s persistent lie, one that continues to fuel his ambitions for his return to the White House in 2024.

Now, she is testifying in an open courtroom in another case, one that could land a significant blow against her family’s business and vast real-estate empire as part of a trial stemming from a lawsuit targeting her father and brothers.

Her testimony inside a lower Manhattan courtroom arrives two days after Mr Trump’s, whose verbal outbursts from the witness stand this week unloaded on the case, the presiding judge and the attorney general suing him for fraud.

After she failed to block a subpoena for her appearance on the witness stand, Ms Trump will testify as the final witness for the prosecution, which has called on more than a dozen witnesses over six weeks to build on a case alleging widespread fraud within the Trump Organization and the former president at the helm.

Alex Woodward reports.

Ivanka Trump back in Donald’s orbit as she testifies at fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:58 , Alex Woodward

An email between Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner is shown sparking an objection from Christopher Kise that it falls under spousal privilege.

Kushner tells her in the email from June 2013 that she could get a better loan rate from French bank Natixis.

Another email from 2013 is shown, this time from Ivanka to Allen Weisselberg and Jason Greenblatt.

It’s a review of the loan terms with Capital One for the Old Post Office project. In the email, she outlines the principal loan amount, terms and rates.

She says she only has a “vague recollection” of the email because she was previously shown the document, but when asked what her outline means she says “I wouldn’t speculate today as I don’t recall this.”

The court goes on its lunch break with Judge Engoron saying he will consider the spousal privilege issue during recess.

Stay tuned!

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:49 , Alex Woodward

Regarding the statements of financial condition, Ivanka Trump said she doesn’t recall anything “specifically”. But what about generally? Not getting much from that one either.

We see an email from former Trump Organization executive David Orowitz, about responding to the federal government’s deficiency letter regarding the Old Post Office in Washington, DC.

Orowitz said their response could “potentially fill in holes on some of their more vague comments”.

Solomon with the NYAG’s office turns questioning to a meeting Donald Trump, Ivanka and others had with the GSA concerning the project. Solomon asks if she recalls the government raising questions about Trump's financial statements.

He is getting frustrated, raising his voice over objections from Trump’s attorneys.

“She just spent three minutes describing the Plaza Hotel, how people spoke about this, how people spoke about that – so the witness does have a recollection, your honour,” he said.

“The question was just simply, Did you at that meeting discuss Donald J Trump’s financial statements in any way shape or form?”

Ms Trump was smiling over the cross-talk with attorneys, looking at the judge and trying to jump in with an answer.

She said that the “caveat” of her answer is that the meeting was about the Old Post Office development, which she said she was proud of because she “worked hard” on it. But she said she didn’t recall any discussions about her father’s financial statements.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:33 , Alex Woodward

Returning to the subject of the Old Post Office project in Washington, DC, the court is shown a letter from the General Services Administration from December 2011 raising questions about Trump’s financial statements.

They “appear to have multiple GAAP departures.”

[GAAP, or generally accepted accounting principles, are the guidelines for the statements of financial condition shared with lenders etc. Ivanka and Don Jr have both said they don’t really know what they are – outside of what they learned in some of the nation’s top universities.]

Ivanka says: “We spent years working on a response to requests for proposals … Many emails, many conversations … I don’t have a recollection sitting here years later about this in particular.”

Louis Solomon, who has been questioning her for roughly two hours, fires back: “This isn’t a response to a proposal, it’s a deficiency letter.”

“That’s what it appears to be,” she said. “I generally remember GSA came back to us and asked for clarification … we endeavoured to get them answers.”

NY fraud trial: Praise for court technicians

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:26 , Oliver O'Connell

What we can’t see, because of the lack of cameras to broadcast proceedings, is how much this trial relies heavily on documentation, and how that is presented in court.

Judge Engoron takes a moment to praise the technicians putting the evidence on the screen and highlighting the appropriate sections.

Ivanka Trump adds, genially: “I compliment them as well. Very impressive.”

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:21 , Alex Woodward

Trump attorney Christopher Kise has a tendency to go to Trumpian lengths to defend his arguments. This time he called the Old Post Office a “hulking relic” and a “world-class facility”.

“You’re starting to sound like your client,” Judge Engoron says.

In an amusing moment, the judge also corrected Kise when he said: “The ship has gone.”

He jumped in: “The ship has sailed.”

Returning to the objection, Judge Engoron clicks his tongue: “I disagree. Overruled. Let’s get the witness back in.”

“Sorry to have kept you in the dark,” he tells Ivanka Trump.

Court sketch: Ivanka Trump testifies

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:10 , Alex Woodward

Ivanka Trump is excused from the court while attorneys debate the repeat objections from the defence over the statute of limitations.

Judge Arthur Engoron is overruling objections to evidence from before 2016 and 2014 “because these deals … at least some of them, had requirements for updated financials for year after year after year.”

“To me, they’re very much part of this case,” he said.

Trump attorney Christopher Kise counters: “I would respectfully disagree.”

He said it is “theoretically impossible” and “beyond implausible” that individuals in 2011, 2012 and up to 2014 “could not possibly have been impacted by certifications” in subsequent years.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports from the courtroom:

In 2013, the Trump Organization obtained a ground lease from the Federal General Services Administration to redevelop the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC into a hotel. The New York AG’s office had previously stated that Ivanka “captained” that project.

The Trumps obtained a $170m loan for construction through Deutsche Bank, which required Mr Trump to certify the accuracy of the statements of financial condition he used to secure the loan.

In May 2022, the Trump Organization sold the property for $375m, at a $100m profit, “the result of the loan he was able to obtain by using his false and misleading statements,” according to the attorney general’s complaint.

The NYAG’s office hands Ivanka Trump a copy of the proposal.

“You’re bringing back a lot of memories,” she says, laughing.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump’s email correspondence with Deutsche Bank and her colleagues in the Trump Organization are a big part of the evidence today.

NY fraud trial: Court resumes after morning break

Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Court resumes after the morning break with Ivanka Trump back on the witness stand.

Alex Woodward reports:

Court is shown a 2012 email from Deutsche Bank concerning the Trump International Hotel & Condominiums in Chicago.

Sent by David Goodman to Ivanka it included the “agreed upon summary of term for the financing of the Trump International Tower in Chicago.”

Also copied in were Deutsche Bank’s Rosemary Vrablic and the Trump Organization’s David Orowitz.

Ivanka is asked if she recognises the document.

“I don’t.”

Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:30 , Alex Woodward

There is a series of questions about the statements of financial condition, the Trump Organization documents at the heart of the case.

Ivanka Trump replies: “As we discussed roughly a year and a half ago, I would assume he [Donald Trump] would have personal financial statements … You showed me a few documents and emails and correspondence which reference financial statements broadly but that was not something I was involved in.”

She is asked if she knew he had them.

“I’m not involved with his personal financial statements,” Ivanka says. “I didn’t know about his personal statements, per se, other than what you showed me.”

Counsel rephrases to dial in with a more specific and targeted question: “Did you have any role preparing Donald J Trump’s statements of financial condition?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

“Did you ever provide valuations for assets in them?”

“Not that I recall.”

“Did you ever review statements before they were finalised?”

“I don’t recall that, no.”

Court takes a short break.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:19 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump’s lawyers really do not want this evidence in the trial. It largely falls outside what’s in the subpoena and the lawsuit, but it gives valuable insight into how the Trumps conducted business and spoke with financial institutions they allegedly defrauded.

Trump attorney Christopher Kise claimed that the AG’s office “dragged” Ivanka to this testimony.

As questions about the loan from Deutsche Bank continue, Ivanka says she doesn’t remember asking to increase the loan five years later in 2016, which would’ve been in the middle of her father’s first presidential campaign.

Ms Vrablic wrote to Ivanka on 11 February 2016: “I spoke to the credit team on the $50m request and we are thrilled to consider it for you.”

Deutsche Bank denied her the loan in April 2016.

“We are disappointed that the bank couldn’t make the exception in this case,” they wrote to her.

She doesn’t recall that one either.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 16:08 , Alex Woodward

Trump Organization executive Jason Greenblatt responded to Ivanka’s email about the Deutsche Bank term sheet just minutes later with some concerns...

“The net worth covenants and DJT indebtedness limitations would seem to be a problem?” he wrote.

The New York attorney general’s case revolved around Donald Trump inflating his net worth in order to get better terms on loans. While Trump maintains his net worth at the time was in excess of $3bn, the NYAG says it was not.

This email exchange appears to show that executives were aware of the true state of the Trump finances.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:59 , Alex Woodward

Deutsche Bank’s term sheet says that Donald Trump “shall maintain a Minimum Net Worth of $3bn excluding any value related to the Guarantor’s brand value.”

Trump has repeatedly said that statements of financial condition were actually lower than what was reported, not inflated, because his “brand” was excluded.

Ivanka’s December 2011 emailed Trump Organization executives Allen Weisselberg, Jason Greenblatt and David Orowitz about the term sheet: “It doesn’t get any better than this. Let’s discuss asap.”

Trump attorney Alina Habba stands up to object to the evidence, saying that there was never a “to” according to the email she has, apparently arguing that the email was manipulated in some way or was never sent.

“This was produced to us by the Trump Organization. It’s a Trump Organization document,” Kevin Wallace, counsel with the New York attorney general fires back.

Judge Engoron allows the evidence.

Ivanka says she doesn’t recall the net worth covenant, but she admits that’s what it says on the term sheet she is looking at today.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:52 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump’s defence attorneys have repeatedly objected to evidence over the statute of limitations.

Ivanka was able to have herself removed from the lawsuit as a defendant over the issue, but the judge has overruled them, and counsel with the attorney general’s office has pointed out that the evidence is based on things she has already admitted to.

“She has stated she has received term sheets,” counsel said. “This is one of the term sheets.”

Trump attorney Christopher Kise leads the objections over the state of limitations and relevance and asks: “I hope that the court, when we start our case next week, offers us this extraordinary latitude.”

Judge Engoron signals he will: “What’s our favourite saying? ‘Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.’”

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:47 , Alex Woodward

In another email shown to the court from December 2011, Ivanka writes to Deutsche Bank executives, including Rosemary Vrablic, and CCs Jared Kushner.

It includes an “investment memo” for Doral.

“My father and I are very much looking forward to meeting with you to discuss Doral,” she wrote.

The email also included “some basic information on our golf and hotel properties”.

She doesn’t remember the meeting.

Ms Vrablic wrote back to her with a term sheet for “the proposed acquisition of the Doral Resort”.

NYAG's lawsuit says this was the beginning of the Trump Organization and Deutsche Bank relationship.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:43 , Alex Woodward

Ivanka is asked about evidence and emails she was already shown during an earlier deposition. She has framed her answers similarly throughout — I don’t remember, but I remember you asking about them, and I still don’t remember now.

In one exchange, she is asked if Donald Trump had spoken with her about a loan in a conversation with Deutsche Bank’s Richard Byrne about financing Doral.

“I recall you reminding me of that discussion,” she said. “I didn’t recall it prior.”

“Do you recall it now?”

“No,” she says through a laugh.

NY fraud trial: Ivanka Trump questioned about Trump property deals

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports:

Ivanka Trump is questioned about the Doral golf club near Miami, which she said was the family’s goal to “reposition it as a luxury golf resort in south Florida.”

She is shown an email about Doral to Andrew Beal, founder of Beal Bank, from 2011.

“My father will also send you his most recent financial statements by hard mail,” she wrote.

Ivanka said she has no recollection of that email.

She also is shown an email from Steve Harvey to Ivanka that same year about Doral. Attached is a draft of a term sheet.

“I don’t recall this email,” she says.

She also says she doesn’t recall the interest rate in the attached term sheet or any other terms of the deal.

Ivanka is fairly soft-spoken. Judge Engoron has asked her twice to move closer to the microphone.

She is smiling through most of her responses, answering deliberately and in full sentences in stark contrast to her father’s meandering half-finished thoughts.

Developing story: Ivanka Trump takes witness stand at father’s New york civil fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump is on the witness stand inside a lower Manhattan courtroom after exhausting her attempts to avoid testifying in a trial that threatens her family’s business and vast real-estate empire.

Donald Trump’s oldest daughter walked briskly into New York Supreme Court on Wednesday morning in a dark suit and smiled as she entered a third-floor courtroom.

She is the final witness presented by New York Attorney General Letitia James in the sixth week of a trial that could last until Christmas.

Her appearance comes a week after testimony from her brothers and two days after testimony from her father, who was scheduled to be the headlining final act for the attorney general’s case.

Alex Woodward is reporting from inside the courtroom.

Ivanka Trump takes witness stand in father’s fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports:

The AG’s office didn’t waste any time getting into questioning about the business.

Ivanka Trump said she was “generally familiar” with generally accepted accounting principles, the guidelines for statements of financial condition — the documents at the centre of the case.

“You had asked me about his when we met a little over a year ago,” she said. “I haven’t thought about GAAP as much since college.”

Donald Jr had a similar answer.

Ivanka is asked if she has performed any work for the Trump Organization since 2017 when she stepped back at the beginning of her father’s presidency.

“I don’t believe so,” she said.

However, she agreed that she has had a financial interest in the Old Post Office project in Washington, DC between Jan 2017 and the present.

“I had a participation in the project,” she said.

She also agreed she had an interest in the Trumps’ TTT Consulting.

Ivanka Trump takes the stand

Wednesday 8 November 2023 15:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Ivanka Trump has taken the stand in the courtroom of the New York State Supreme Court on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan.

Judge Arthur Engoron wasted no time in getting proceedings underway asking the prosecution if they would like to call their next witness.

Alex Woodward will be providing live updates from the courtroom.

In pictures: Ivanka Trump arrives at court for the Trump Organization civil fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:51 , Oliver O'Connell

What does the New York attorney general want from Ivanka Trump?

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward reports from the courtroom in Lower Manhattan as we await the beginning of Day 25 of the Trump civil fraud trial.

Ivanka Trump does not want to be here.

The former president’s oldest daughter exhausted her attempts to dodge a subpoena for her testimony inside a lower Manhattan courtroom in a trial stemming from a lawsuit against her father, her brothers and the family’s business empire.

On Wednesday, she will enter the witness box in the New York State Supreme Court to testify as the final witness presented by New York Attorney General Letitia James in the sixth week of a trial that could last until Christmas.

Her testimony comes a week after her brothers’ and two days after her father’s, who was scheduled to be the headlining final act for the attorney general’s case. But Ivanka Trump’s failed appeals to block her testimony moved the schedule around, accidentally teeing her up as the last chance for Ms James’s team to put a Trump family member on the stand.

Still, the questions from Ms James’s lawyers are likely to focus on several transactions that allegedly involved fraudulent financial statements that are at the heart of the case.

According to the lawsuit, “Ms Trump was aware that the transactions included a personal guaranty from Mr Trump that required him to provide annual statements of financial condition,” documents that were handed over to financial institutions for favourable rates and terms but included grossly inflated values of the former president’s assets and net worth.

Across more than 200 pages, Ms James alleges that Mr Trump and his co-defendants materially overvalued his assets by as much as $2.2bn a year over a decade.

Judge Arthur Engoron has already found the defendants liable for fraud.

Ivanka Trump is not one of them.

She successfully got herself removed from the lawsuit earlier this year, leaving behind her father and brothers Donald Jr and Eric Trump.

The lawsuit, however, targets at least two of her deals.

In 2013, the Trump Organization obtained a ground lease from the federal General Services Administration to redevelop the Old Post Office into a hotel. Ms Trump “captained” the project, according to the attorney general’s office.

The Trumps obtained a $170m loan for construction through Deutsche Bank, which required Mr Trump to certify the accuracy of the statements of financial condition he used to secure the loan.

In May 2022, the Trump Organization sold the property for $375m, a $100m profit, “the result of the loan he was able to obtain by using his false and misleading statements,” according to the complaint.

She also will likely be asked about the penthouse in Trump Park Avenue, which was introduced into evidence and heavily scrutinised by investigators.

In 2011, she signed a rental agreement with an option to buy it, writing in her memoir The Trump Card that she paid market value, not an “insider” price.

The lawsuit alleges she had an option to buy it for $8.5m, though the Trump Organization’s financial statements valued the property at $20.82m.

With tonight’s Miami rally, Trump aims to upstage another GOP debate

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:40 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s rally in Hialeah, Florida, will begin just an hour before the third Republican primary debate is set to take place in nearby Miami.

Supporters of the former president began queueing before dawn on Wednesday, more than 12 hours before Mr Trump was set to take the stage at around 7pm at the Ted Hendricks Stadium in Henry Milander Park.

Considering the average lengths of Mr Trump’s meandering campaign speeches, it’s possible he’s still talking as his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination take the stage at 8pm at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

Parking and the lines to enter the rally venue were set to open at 8am with doors to the stadium opening up at 2pm and guest speakers beginning to appear on stage at about 6pm, CBS News notes.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump aims to upstage another GOP debate with Miami rally speech

NYAG: Ivanka Trump ‘inextricapably linked’ to Trump Organization and its dealings

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Stopping to speak with the press outside New York State’s Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that Ivanka Trump, who is not a defendant in the civil fraud case, is nevertheless “inextricably linked” to the Trump Organization and its dealings and therefore her testimony is important.

Ms Trump was originally a defendant in the case but succeeded in getting herself removed. She was however a key player in arranging the company’s loans for the Washington, DC Old Post Office hotel development and the Doral Miami Resort deal. She will also be questioned concerning the valuation of her Manhattan apartment.

Watch the New York AG’s remarks below:

Jack Smith strikes at Trump’s ‘culmination’ of election lies

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal judge in Washington DC to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to strike “inflammatory” descriptions of January 6 from the criminal indictment against him, saying Mr Trump is “responsible for the events at the Capitol” thus the statements are relevant.

In a filing sent to Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday, Mr Smith’s office explicitly attributed the ex-president’s behaviour on the days leading up to January 6 to the violent attack on the Capitol.

“Indeed, that day was the culmination of the defendant’s criminal conspiracies to overturn the legitimate results of the presidential election, when the defendant directed a large and angry crowd—one that he had summoned to Washington, DC, and fueled with knowingly false claims of election fraud—to the Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification proceeding,” the special counsel wrote in the filing.

Mr Smith’s office accused Mr Trump of filing a motion to strike inflammatory allegations from the indictment as a way to “distance himself” from the violent attack on the Capitol in a “meritless effort to evade the indictment’s clear allegations.”

In October, Mr Trump asked the court to remove descriptions of the actions that took place on January 6 from the indictment, claiming it was irrelevant to the case against him because he is not charged with responsibility for the actions.

Read the full article...

Watch: Alex Woodward breaks down Trump’s four-hour testimony in his New York fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Watch: Ivanka Trump to testify in father Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial

While there are no cameras in the courtroom, the Trump family, their lawyers, and New York Attorney General Letitia James have all made remarks in the hallways outside or in front of the New York State Supreme Court Building.

Stay tuned to the live blog for all the latest updates from inside the courtroom, where The Independent’s Alex Woodward is watching the trial unfold.

ICYMI: Red-faced Trump rages at judge during historic fraud trial testimony

Wednesday 8 November 2023 14:05 , Oliver O'Connell

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s trial following years of fraud allegations repeatedly ordered his attorneys to “control” him for his evasive and meandering answers on the witness stand.

Within the first hour of Mr Trump’s testimony on Monday, an increasingly frustrated Judge Arthur Engoron and counsel with the office of New York attorney general Letitia James tried to get him to answer questions about his net worth and assets without giving speeches from the stand.

His answers are not only “nonresponsive, they’re repetitive”, said Judge Engoron, who warned that the former president’s ongoing rants could be negatively used against him in a case that endangers his business empire.

Over the next several hours, he accused Ms James of trying to “demean” and “hurt” him politically, slammed her as a “political hack”, called the case a “disgrace” and told a lawyer with Ms James’s office that he should be “ashamed” of himself.

Gesturing with his hands as he fumed on the witness stand, he turned his complaints towards the judge.

Alex Woodward reports.

Red-faced Trump rages at judge during historic fraud trial testimony

‘Heir apparent’ Ivanka Trump to take witness stand in her father’s fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Former first daughter Ivanka Trump will take the stand on Wednesday, in a case that could land a significant blow against her family’s business and vast real-estate empire.

Ms Trump previously failed to block a subpoena for her appearance on the witness stand, and she will testify as the final witness for the prosecution.

Her testimony inside a lower Manhattan courtroom arrives two days after Mr Trump’s, whose verbal outbursts from the witness stand this week unloaded on the case, the presiding judge and the attorney general suing him for fraud.

Alex Woodward has the full story:

‘Heir apparent’ Ivanka Trump to testify in her father’s fraud trial

Trump fumes about ‘beautiful’ Ivanka having to testify at fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 13:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has fumed about his “beautiful daughter” Ivanka Trump being forced to give testimony at his civil fraud trial, as the former first daughter heads to New York for her day in court.

Taking to Truth Social on Tuesday night, Mr Trump once again lashed out at “corrupt” New York Attorney General Letitia James and “Trump hating” Judge Arthur Engoron as he said that calling his daughter to the stand is “sad”.

“Tomorrow my wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James, the Corrupt and Racist New York State Attorney General, who has allowed Murder and Violent Crime in New York to flourish, and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started, wouldn’t even consider a Jury, and said that Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, is worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount,” he said.

“Other properties likewise. Based on this information, which is so ridiculous, he said that I was a Fraud, when in fact it is Letitia James and the Judge who are Fraudulent for setting such LOW VALUATIONS in order to undermine and discredit my Financial Statements, thereby making me look bad - Election Interference!

“Now they are trying to bring Ivanka into the case, despite the Court of Appeals ruling that she cannot be charged. Sad!”

Read the full story here.

Trump fumes about ‘beautiful’ Ivanka taking stand at civil fraud trial

The Independent Debate: Should Trump abandon his 2024 run for president?

Wednesday 8 November 2023 13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

As Mr Trump’s legal battles grow more complex, many are wondering whether he will win the nomination and campaign for the election as a convicted criminal.

We want to know if you think the time is up for Trump. With the accusations surrounding the former president is it time he threw in the towel and sought a desk job away from the limelight and politics?

Or do you believe there’s still merit in bringing Mr Trump back to the White House?

Here’s how to have your say:

Tell us if Donald Trump should abandon a second run for president

Anlaysis: How Donald Trump’s fraud trial became his presidential campaign

Wednesday 8 November 2023 12:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward writes:

In the middle of his campaign for the Republican nomination for president in 2024, Mr Trump has instead sat with his attorneys at the defence table over several days of the trial, staring at witnesses and the evidence against him or into a middle distance with his shoulders hunched forward. Just outside the doors, he has berated the judge, his chief clerk, the attorney general and reporters covering the case, and cast himself as the victim of a political conspiracy to keep him away from the White House.

What to expect as Trump takes the stand at New York civil fraud trial

Watch: Michael Cohen’s lawyer calls Trump testimony ‘bananas, bonkers, crazytown’

Wednesday 8 November 2023 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

‘Travesty’: Fox News host blasts Trump’s courtroom sketch

Wednesday 8 November 2023 11:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany has said that Donald Trump needed a “better sketch artist” when he took the stand in his $250m New York civil fraud trial – slamming the depiction of the former president as “a travesty”.

During Fox News’ The Five on Monday night, Ms McEnany was asked if she had advice for her former boss amid the court case which threatens to topple his business empire.

Ms McEnany, who worked as White House press secretary in the Trump administration, went on to complain about the courtroom sketch of the former president on the stand.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Fox News host blasts Trump’s courtroom sketch: ‘A travesty’

Voices: Whinging into the void on the Day of the Don

Wednesday 8 November 2023 11:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward was in court on Monday and watched the former President howl and rage on the witness stand:

Former president Donald Trump’s day on the witness stand was always headed this way: belligerence and disdain for everyone and everything around him.

This time, the cameras were steps outside the courtroom. There was no one to impress, no one to cheer him on, and only a roomful of his perceived enemies – lawyers and journalists – staring back at him.

Over the last six weeks, Trump has relied on a courtroom in lower Manhattan as a campaign platform to spin a trial targeting his vast real-estate business into evidence of a political conspiracy against him. For nearly four hours on the witness stand on Monday, he got his biggest stage yet, and he stood on it alone.

Read more...

Donald Trump’s day on the witness stand was a performance for his campaign

Seven key takeaways from Donald Trump’s fraud trial testimony

Wednesday 8 November 2023 10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s testimony in his high profile civil fraud case was, fittingly, not short of confrontation – with proceedings devolving into the typical bouts of name-calling and inflammatory rhetoric favoured by the former president.

On Monday Mr Trump took the stand in the New York trial, in which he is accused of overvaluing the worth of multiple properties in his portfolio.

Until he was called to the stand, he had been under no obligation to attend the trial which he has claimed is affecting his 2024 presidential bid – though he has appeared at court several times previously.

Despite being hit with $15,000 fines for breaching a gag order imposed by judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the case, Mr Trump did not hold back after taking to the stand on Monday.

Here are some of the stand-out moments from his testimony.

Seven key moments from Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial testimony

Alina Habba: New York AG Letitia James ‘just not that bright’

Wednesday 8 November 2023 09:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump‘s attorney, Alina Habba, said the New York attorney general leading the civil case against the former president was “just not that bright.”

She made the comments on Monday.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is spearheading the former president’s civil trial. She has accused Mr Trump and the Trump Organization of inflating the value of his assets in order to secure better loans, and then devaluing his asset cost to avoid paying taxes. A judge already found Mr Trump liable for fraud, which may end with the further dismantling of his businesses in New York.

Ms Habba appeared on Newsmax on Monday to assure the network’s viewers that Ms James does not have a case against Mr Trump.

“She’s just not that bright. I’m sorry, I have to say it,” Ms Habba said. “I’ve seen their case; I’ve seen their lawyers. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Read more...

Jimmy Kimmel jokes about tell-tale sign Trump was rattled

Wednesday 8 November 2023 08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Donald Trump’s appearance on the witness stand at his civil fraud trial, joking that there was one tell-tell sign that the former president was rattled during his courtroom testimony.

Mr Trump is currently on trial in New York on civil fraud charges in a case brought against him by the state’s Attorney General Letitia James.

The former president, the Trump Organizations and its associates are accused of deceiving banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and inflating his net worth on his financial statements.

Mr Trump has denied the allegations, and has instead claimed that his assets were actually undervalued as he took to the stand in court on Monday, giving rambling and chaotic responses to the state’s questions.

His appearance was the talk of the day, with Mr Kimmel poking fun at the former president on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night.

Jimmy Kimmel jokes about tell-tale sign Trump was rattled in trial testimony

Why are the Trump children testifying and how important is their testimony?

Wednesday 8 November 2023 06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The main focus on Donald Trump’s myriad of legal woes shifted to Lower Manhattan in October as his civil fraud case came to trial at New York state’s Supreme Court.

New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the case against the Trump Organization and maintains that between 2011 and 2021 the company falsified financial statements regarding the development of several real estate projects and artificially inflated Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get better financing terms from banks and insurance companies.

This was done by over-stating valuations of the former president’s most prestigious holdings including his triplex penthouse at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and his current home at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Their entire New York real estate empire is already in peril after a pre-trial ruling included the cancellation of their business licences in the state.

As the prosecution’s case draws to a close, three of his adult children are taking the stand to testify under oath, which begs the question: how are they wrapped up in all this and why is their testimony important at the trial?

Why are Trump’s children testifying at New York civil fraud trial?

Zelensky tells Trump to come to Ukraine after he claims he could stop war in a day

Wednesday 8 November 2023 04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ukraine’s president has a message for Donald Trump: Come visit if you think you will be so much help.

Volodymyr Zelensky threw down part challenge, part invitation on Sunday during an interview with Meet the Press on NBC.

“Former President Trump said that [in] about 24 hours, that he can manage it and finish the war,” Mr Zelesnky told NBC’s Kristin Welker, noting that President Joe Biden, his likely 2024 opponent, had already visited. “So he’s very welcome as well... I invite President Trump.”

The Ukrainian leader’s words hold a double-edged meaning. The invitation primarily serves as a response to Mr Trump’s ongoing comments about the Ukraine-Russia war, which he has laid at the feet of the Biden administration to play into the narrative of a “world falling apart” under the Democratic president’s leadership.

Read more...

Wednesday 8 November 2023 03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Trump’s lawyer attacks ‘unhinged’ New York judge in civil fraud trial

Lincoln Project taunts Trump ahead of Ivanka evidence

Wednesday 8 November 2023 02:45 , Mike Bedigan

A new advert from pro-democracy organisation the Lincoln Project throws Ivanka Trump’s distance from her father, former President Donald Trump, in his face ahead of her testimony.

The former first daughter is set to testify on Wednesday, despite her withdrawal from her father’s business empire, from New York, and from the public eye altogether.

Read the full story here:

Lincoln Project taunts Trump ahead of Ivanka evidence in $250m fraud trial

Trump allies planning to invoke Insurrection Act if he wins in 2024

Wednesday 8 November 2023 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump’s conservative allies are crafting a blueprint for a Republican presidency in 2025 which could include the use of US troops to put down protests and acts of civil disobedience across the US resulting from a Trump 2024 election victory.

In an extensive report published on Sunday, The Washington Post detailed the work being done under the umbrella of “Project 2025”, an effort by a coalition of conservative groups to prepare a policy and governing agenda for a GOP president. Though none of its connections to the Trump campaign are official, the Post reports that the coalition has ties to a number of members of Mr Trump’s inner circle, including most prominently Jeffrey Clark, the former assistant US attorney general who is now facing criminal charges in Fulton County, Georgia.

Mr Clark, who is thought to have been one of the key minds behind the development of the Trump campaign’s effort to overturn the 2020 election after court challenges had failed to do so, serves as a fellow at the Center for Renewing America, one of the groups involved in the effort. According to the Post, Mr Clark is now working on a new “legal” effort — a plan to go after Donald Trump’s enemies, prominent and otherwise, beginning on day one of a second Trump presidency.

Trump may invoke Insurrection Act to bar protests if he wins 2024 race, says report

‘Heir apparent’ Ivanka Trump to take witness stand in her father’s fraud trial

Wednesday 8 November 2023 01:45 , Mike Bedigan

Former first daughter Ivanka Trump will take the stand on Wednesday, in a case that could land a significant blow against her family’s business and vast real-estate empire.

Ms Trump previously failed to block a subpoena for her appearance on the witness stand, and she will testify as the final witness for the prosecution.

Her testimony inside a lower Manhattan courtroom arrives two days after Mr Trump’s, whose verbal outbursts from the witness stand this week unloaded on the case, the presiding judge and the attorney general suing him for fraud.

Alex Woodward has the full story:

‘Heir apparent’ Ivanka Trump to testify in her father’s fraud trial

Conservative lawyers look to counter Maga movement with new group

Wednesday 8 November 2023 01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A group of preeminent conservative lawyers who opposed former president Donald Trump’s efforts to manipulate the legal system are launching a new, long-term project aimed at fostering respect for the US Constitution and the rule of law in the legal profession.

The group, which initially began operating in 2018 under the name Checks and Balances, includes preeminent conservative legal figures such as J Michael Luttig, the former Fourth Circuit judge who was shortlisted as a Supreme Court pick during the George W Bush administration, and George Conway, who was former president Donald Trump’s pick to run the Justice Department civil division before he became a prominent critic of the ex-president.

Unlike other groups formed by anti-Trump conservatives during Mr Trump’s presidency, the Checks and Balances group has been a bit of a shoestring operation, until now operating with a small budget raised from its’ members.

But a source familiar with the group’s plans told The Independent that a decision was made by the group’s board to seek outside funding for the purposes of a major relaunch and rebranding operation as the “Society for the Rule of Law,” which has now acquired the proper licenses to operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an affiliated 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organisation that can undertake some political work. The society’s roll-out will include a “Rule of Law summit” taking place on Wednesday evening in Washington.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Watch: Michael Cohen’s lawyer calls Trump testimony ‘bananas, bonkers, crazytown’

Wednesday 8 November 2023 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Special counsel plans to call Jan 6 rioters to testify against Trump

Tuesday 7 November 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Court filings in the federal election subversion case against Donald Trump appear to indicate that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution team plan to call January 6 rioters to testify against the former president.

Per the filings, the government plans to include “testimony, video, and photographic evidence that specific individuals who were at the Ellipse when the defendant exhorted them to ‘fight’ at the Capitol then violently attacked law enforcement and breached the Capitol”.

Alan Feuer of The New York Times notes that it also seems to be the case regarding the targeting of former Vice President Mike Pence.

Judge Chutkan grants Trump small deadline extension to pretrial motions, discovery and subpoenas in DC Jan 6 case

Tuesday 7 November 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

In Donald Trump’s federal election subversion case in Washington, DC, Judge Tanya Chuktan denied the defence team’s request to extend deadlines related to pretrial motions, discovery and subpoenas until 9 February but did permit a two-week extension.

The new timetable is as follows:

Motions to compel shall be filed by November 27, 2023; any oppositions to those motions shall be filed by December 11, 2023; and any replies in support of those motions shall be filed by December 18, 2023.

Motions for Rule 17(c) subpoenas shall be filed by December 13, 2023; any oppositions to those motions shall be filed by December 27, 2023; and any replies in support of those motions shall be filed by January 3, 2024.

Read the judge’s full order here.

Trump falsely claims ‘60 Minutes’ proves Pence could flip election

Tuesday 7 November 2023 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump falsely claimed that an episode of 60 Minutes and a recent federal law clarifying the electoral process backed up his unprecedented theory that former vice-president Mike Pence had the power to stop or overturn the counting of the 2020 election results.

Referring to the December 2022 Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, which was mentioned on a recent 60 Minutes broadcast, Mr Trump argued on Truth Social, “The fact that they had to CLARIFY THE LAW means that there was UNCERTAINTY, which means that it was open to INTERPRETATION. It could have been done!”

Legal scholars dispute this interpretation.

Josh Marcus reports.

Trump falsely claims ‘60 Minutes’ proves Pence could flip election

Watch: Alex Woodward breaks down Trump’s four-hour testimony in his New York fraud trial

Tuesday 7 November 2023 22:15 , Oliver O'Connell

NEW: Special counsel strikes at Trump’s ‘culmination’ of election lies

Tuesday 7 November 2023 22:03 , Oliver O'Connell

Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal judge in Washington DC to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to strike “inflammatory” descriptions of January 6 from the criminal indictment against him, saying Mr Trump is “responsible for the events at the Capitol” thus the statements are relevant.

In a filing sent to Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday, Mr Smith’s office explicitly attributed the ex-president’s behaviour on the days leading up to January 6 to the violent attack on the Capitol.

“Indeed, that day was the culmination of the defendant’s criminal conspiracies to overturn the legitimate results of the presidential election, when the defendant directed a large and angry crowd—one that he had summoned to Washington, DC, and fueled with knowingly false claims of election fraud—to the Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification proceeding,” the special counsel wrote in the filing.

Mr Smith’s office accused Mr Trump of filing a motion to strike inflammatory allegations from the indictment as a way to “distance himself” from the violent attack on the Capitol in a “meritless effort to evade the indictment’s clear allegations.”

In October, Mr Trump asked the court to remove descriptions of the actions that took place on January 6 from the indictment, claiming it was irrelevant to the case against him because he is not charged with responsibility for the actions.

Read the full article...

On this day, three years ago...

Tuesday 7 November 2023 21:45 , Oliver O'Connell

How time flies.

It was on this day, three years ago, that Donald Trump’s presidency came crashing down in the parking lot of a landscaping company next to an adult bookstore.

The Independent’s Richard Hall was there for one of the more bizarre moments of the last presidential election.

Here’s the report he filed from Philadelphia in early November 2020:

I saw Trump’s presidency come crashing down at Four Seasons Total Landscaping

Jack Smith doesn’t want Trump trial to turn into a TV spectacle

Tuesday 7 November 2023 21:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge in Washington DC to prohibit media organisations from televising the criminal trial proceedings in the government’s case against Donald Trump regarding his alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election and January 6.

In a filing sent to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday, special counsel Jack Smith cited a longstanding judicial rule that bars the broadcasting of federal criminal trials and said the rule should be no different for the ex-president.

Under Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a court “must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.”

Mr Smith said that the rule is in place purely “to avoid the risks that policymakers have determined cameras pose to the fair administration of justice” and that it should remain for Mr Trump to be fairly prosecuted.

But several media organisations, including The New York Times, The Associated Press, NBC Universal and more, have said the unprecedented case against the ex-president is clearly in the public interest and would benefit from being broadcast.

Read the full article by Ariana Baio.

It’s election day — here are the top races to watch

Tuesday 7 November 2023 21:00 , John Bowden

While various Republicans jockey for position in their party’s ongoing primary and discontent grows among Democrats who fear that the president’s political future is uncertain, voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday to decide a set of much smaller contests around the country.

But while the stakes may be slightly lower than the presidential race, the relevance of Tuesday’s vote will still be felt in the everyday lives of millions of Americans. Voters in three states are set to make key decisions that will shape the future of their state’s politics — and in a fourth, they ponder the question of whether to reshape their state’s constitution.

Two of Tuesday’s states-to-watch are set to be major battlegrounds next year as well. As such, many will be looking for signs of Joe Biden’s strength — or, perhaps, his weakness — as the races conclude on Tuesday night. With recent polling indicating a fraying of the coalition that drove Mr Biden to the White House in 2020, a win (or wins) for Republicans could be a bad headline for the president at absolutely the worst possible time.

The Independent is here as your source for thoughtful analysis of tonight’s contests, however they end up being decided. Here’s what we are looking at:

Abortion, Elvis and clues to 2024: The top races to watch on Election Day

Why is the testimony of Trump’s children important to his New York civil fraud trial?

Tuesday 7 November 2023 20:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The main focus on Donald Trump’s myriad of legal woes shifted to Lower Manhattan in October as his civil fraud case came to trial at New York state’s Supreme Court.

New York Attorney General Letitia James brought the case against the Trump Organization and maintains that between 2011 and 2021 the company falsified financial statements regarding the development of several real estate projects and artificially inflated Mr Trump’s net worth in order to get better financing terms from banks and insurance companies.

This was done by over-stating valuations of the former president’s most prestigious holdings including his triplex penthouse at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and his current home at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Their entire New York real estate empire is already in peril after a pre-trial ruling included the cancellation of their business licences in the state.

As the prosecution’s case draws to a close, three of his adult children are taking the stand to testify under oath, which begs the question: how are they wrapped up in all this and why is their testimony important at the trial?

Why are Trump’s children testifying at New York civil fraud trial?

Trump continues to rail against civil case

Tuesday 7 November 2023 20:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump continues to complain about the premise of the case against him on his social media platform, first posting a copy of the disclaimer that was included in the Trump Organization’s statements of financial condition.

The disclaimer forms part of the evidence in the case, but nevertheless the former president wanted to give a copy directly to Judge Arthur Engoron.

Here’s what Mr Trump posted today:

This is the Paper that I wanted to submit that the Judge refused to take, because he doesn’t want anybody to know about the Disclaimer Clause at the beginning of each Financial Statement. This is just part of it! That case is a disgrace to the Legal and Judicial System of New York. Hopefully the Appellate Courts will stop this travesty of Justice that everybody is watching and fully understanding!

He then wrote:

I am worth Billions of Dollars more than what is on my financial Statements - they are very conservative (Therefore, NO FRAUD!) - and the CORRUPT & RACIST NEW YORK STATE A.G., Letitia Peekaboo James, working in close coordination with the TRUMP HATING, RADICAL LEFT JUDGE, and the Biden White House, refuses to drop the NO JURY ALLOWED CASE that was brought using a Statute never used for this before. In fact, no such lawsuit has ever been brought by the Attorney General’s Office! It is a mockery of our Judicial and Legal System. Something must be done to stop the Fascists. MAGA!

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website