ReportWire

Tag: New York City

  • Donald Trump Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    Donald Trump Fast Facts | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at the life of Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States.

    Birth date: June 14, 1946

    Birth place: New York, New York

    Birth name: Donald John Trump

    Father: Fred Trump, real estate developer

    Mother: Mary (Macleod) Trump

    Marriages: Melania (Knauss) Trump (January 22, 2005-present); Marla (Maples) Trump (December 1993-June 1999, divorced); Ivana (Zelnicek) Trump (1977-1990, divorced)

    Children: with Melania Trump: Barron, March 20, 2006; with Marla Maples: Tiffany, October 13, 1993; with Ivana Trump: Eric, 1984; Ivanka, October 30, 1981; Donald Jr., December 31, 1977

    Education: Attended Fordham University; University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance, B.S. in Economics, 1968

    As Trump evolved from real estate developer to reality television star, he turned his name into a brand. Licensed Trump products have included board games, steaks, cologne, vodka, furniture and menswear.

    He has portrayed himself in cameo appearances in movies and on television, including “Zoolander,” “Sex and the City” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”

    Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again,” was first used by Ronald Reagan while he was running against President Jimmy Carter.

    For details on investigations into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, visit 2016 Presidential Election Investigation Fast Facts.

    1970s – After college, works with his father on apartment complexes in Queens and Brooklyn.

    1973 – Trump and his father are named in a Justice Department lawsuit alleging Trump property managers violated the Fair Housing Act by turning away potential African American tenants. The Trumps deny the company discriminates and file a $100 million countersuit, which is later dismissed. The case is settled in 1975, and the Trumps agree to provide weekly lists of vacancies to Black community organizations.

    1976 – Trump and his father partner with the Hyatt Corporation, purchasing the Commodore Hotel, an aging midtown Manhattan property. The building is revamped and opens four years later as the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The project kickstarts Trump’s career as a Manhattan developer.

    1983-1990 – He builds/purchases multiple properties in New York City, including Trump Tower and the Plaza Hotel, and also opens casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including the Trump Taj Mahal and the Trump Plaza. Trump buys the New Jersey Generals football team, part of the United States Football League, which folds after three seasons.

    1985 – Purchases Mar-a-Lago, an oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It is renovated and opens as a private club in 1995.

    1987 – Trump’s first book, “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” is published, and becomes a bestseller. The Donald J. Trump Foundation is established in order to donate a portion of profits from book sales to charities.

    1990 – Nearly $1 billion in personal debt, Trump reaches an agreement with bankers allowing him to avoid declaring personal bankruptcy.

    1991 – The Trump Taj Mahal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

    1992 – The Trump Plaza and the Trump Castle casinos file for bankruptcy.

    1996 – Buys out and becomes executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.

    October 7, 1999 – Tells CNN’s Larry King that he is going to form a presidential exploratory committee and wants to challenge Pat Buchanan for the Reform Party nomination.

    February 14, 2000 – Says that he is abandoning his bid for the presidency, blaming discord within the Reform Party.

    January 2004 – “The Apprentice,” a reality show featuring aspiring entrepreneurs competing for Trump’s approval, premieres on NBC.

    November 21, 2004 – Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

    2005 – Establishes Trump University, which offers seminars in real estate investment.

    February 13, 2009 – Announces his resignation from his position as chairman of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Days later, the company files for bankruptcy protection.

    March 17, 2011 – During an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Trump questions whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States.

    June 16, 2015 – Announces that he is running for president during a speech at Trump Tower. He pledges to implement policies that will boost the economy and says he will get tough on immigration. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re sending people who have lots of problems,” Trump says. “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”

    June 28, 2015 – Says he’s giving up the TV show “The Apprentice” to run for president.

    June 29, 2015 – NBCUniversal says it is cutting its business ties to Trump and won’t air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants because of “derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants.”

    July 8, 2015 – In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Trump says he “can’t guarantee” all of his employees have legal status in the United States. This is in response to questions about a Washington Post report about undocumented immigrants working at the Old Post Office construction site in Washington, DC, which Trump is converting into a hotel.

    July 22, 2015 – Trump’s financial disclosure report is made public by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

    August 6, 2015 – During the first 2016 Republican debate, Trump is questioned about a third party candidacy, his attitude towards women and his history of donating money to Democratic politicians. He tells moderator Megyn Kelly of Fox News he feels he is being mistreated. The following day, Trump tells CNN’s Don Lemon that Kelly was singling him out for attack, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”

    September 11, 2015 – Trump announces he has purchased NBC’s half of the Miss Universe Organization, which organizes the annual Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.

    December 7, 2015 – Trump’s campaign puts out a press release calling for a “complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

    May 26, 2016 – Secures enough delegates to clinch the Republican Party nomination.

    July 16, 2016 – Introduces Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate.

    July 19, 2016 – Becomes the Republican Party nominee for president.

    September 13, 2016 – During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says his office is investigating Trump’s charitable foundation “to make sure it’s complying with the laws governing charities in New York.”

    October 1, 2016 – The New York Times reports Trump declared a $916 million loss in 1995 which could have allowed him to legally skip paying federal income taxes for years. The report is based on a financial document mailed to the newspaper by an anonymous source.

    October 7, 2016 – Unaired footage from 2005 surfaces of Trump talking about trying to have sex with a married woman and being able to grope women. In footage obtained by The Washington Post, Trump is heard off-camera discussing women in vulgar terms during the taping of a segment for “Access Hollywood.” In a taped response, Trump declares, “I said it, I was wrong and I apologize.”

    October 9, 2016 – During the second presidential debate, CNN’s Cooper asks Trump about his descriptions of groping and kissing women without their consent in the “Access Hollywood” footage. Trump denies that he has ever engaged in such behavior and declares the comments were “locker room talk.” After the debate, 11 women step forward to claim that they were sexually harassed or sexually assaulted by the real estate developer. Trump says the stories aren’t true.

    November 8, 2016 – Elected president of the United States. Trump will be the first president who has never held elected office, a top government post or a military rank.

    November 18, 2016 – Trump agrees to pay $25 million to settle three lawsuits against Trump University. About 6,000 former students are covered by the settlement.

    December 24, 2016 – Trump says he will dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation “to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role as President.” A spokeswoman for the New York Attorney General’s Office says that the foundation cannot legally close until investigators conclude their probe of the charity.

    January 10, 2017 – CNN reports that intelligence officials briefed Trump on a dossier that contains allegations about his campaign’s ties to Russia and unverified claims about his personal life. The author of the dossier is a former British spy who was hired by a research firm that had been funded by both political parties to conduct opposition research on Trump.

    January 20, 2017 – Takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts during an inauguration ceremony at the Capitol.

    January 23, 2017 – Trump signs an executive action withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration and awaiting congressional approval.

    January 27, 2017 – Trump signs an executive order halting all refugee arrivals for 120 days and banning travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. Additionally, refugees from Syria are barred indefinitely from entering the United States. The order is challenged in court.

    February 13, 2017 – Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigns amid accusations he lied about his communications with Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Flynn later pleads guilty to lying to the FBI.

    May 3, 2017 – FBI Director James Comey confirms that there is an ongoing investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during a hearing on Capitol Hill. Less than a week later, Trump fires Comey, citing a DOJ memo critical of the way he handled the investigation into Clinton’s emails.

    May 2017 – Shortly after Trump fires Comey, the FBI opens an investigation into whether Trump “had been working on behalf of Russia against American interests,” citing former law enforcement officials and others the paper said were familiar with the probe.

    May 17, 2017 – Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is appointed as special counsel to lead the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein makes the appointment because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from investigations into Trump’s campaign.

    May 19, 2017 – Departs on his first foreign trip as president. The nine-day, five-country trip includes stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican, a NATO summit in Brussels and a G7 summit in Sicily.

    June 1, 2017 – Trump proclaims that the United States is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord but adds that he is open to renegotiating aspects of the environmental agreement, which was signed by 175 countries in 2016.

    July 7, 2017 – Meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in person for the first time, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

    August 8, 2017 – In response to nuclear threats from North Korea, Trump warns that Pyongyang will “face fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Soon after Trump’s comments, North Korea issues a statement saying it is “examining the operational plan” to strike areas around the US territory of Guam.

    August 15, 2017 – After a violent clash between neo-Nazi activists and counterprotesters leaves one dead in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump holds an impromptu press conference in the lobby of Trump Tower and declares that there were “fine people” on both sides.

    August 25, 2017 – Trump’s first pardon is granted to former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt for disregarding a court order in a racial-profiling case. Trump did not consult with lawyers at the Justice Department before announcing his decision.

    September 5, 2017 – The Trump administration announces that it is ending the DACA program, introduced by Obama to protect nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. Trump calls on Congress to introduce legislation that will prevent DACA recipients from being deported. Multiple lawsuits are filed opposing the policy in federal courts and judges delay the end of the program, asking the government to submit filings justifying the cancellation of DACA.

    September 19, 2017 – In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump refers to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man” and warns that the United States will “totally destroy North Korea” if forced to defend itself or its allies.

    September 24, 2017 – The Trump administration unveils a third version of the travel ban, placing restrictions on travel by certain foreigners from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. (Chad is later removed after meeting security requirements.) One day before the revised ban is set to take effect, it is blocked nationwide by a federal judge in Hawaii. A judge in Maryland issues a similar ruling.

    December 4, 2017 – The Supreme Court rules that the revised travel ban can take effect pending appeals.

    December 6, 2017 – Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announces plans to relocate the US Embassy there.

    January 11, 2018 – During a White House meeting on immigration reform, Trump reportedly refers to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.”

    January 12, 2018 – The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump allegedly had an affair with a porn star named Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels. The newspaper states that Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 payment for a nondisclosure agreement weeks before Election Day in 2016. Trump denies the affair occurred. In March, Clifford sues Trump seeking to be released from the NDA. In response, Trump and his legal team agree outside of court not to sue or otherwise enforce the NDA. The suit is dismissed. A California Superior Court judge orders Trump to pay $44,100 to Clifford, to reimburse her attorneys’ fees in the legal battle surrounding her nondisclosure agreement.

    March 13, 2018 – Trump announces in a tweet that he has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Tillerson’s replacement.

    March 20, 2018 – A New York Supreme Court judge rules that a defamation lawsuit against Trump can move forward, ruling against a July 2017 motion to dismiss filed by Trump’s lawyers. The lawsuit, filed by Summer Zervos, a former “Apprentice” contestant, is related to sexual assault allegations. In November 2021, attorneys for Zervos announce she is dropping the lawsuit.

    March 23, 2018 – The White House announces that it is adopting a policy, first proposed by Trump via tweet in July 2017, banning most transgender individuals from serving in the military.

    April 9, 2018 – The FBI raids Cohen’s office, home and a hotel room where he’d been staying while his house was renovated. The raid is related to a federal investigation of possible fraud and campaign finance violations.

    April 13, 2018 – Trump authorizes joint military strikes in Syria with the UK and France after reports the government used chemical weapons on civilians in Douma.

    May 7, 2018 – The Trump administration announces a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal border crossings. Sessions says that individuals who violate immigration law will be criminally prosecuted and warns that parents could be separated from children.

    May 8, 2018 – Trump announces that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.

    May 31, 2018 – The Trump administration announces it is imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union.

    June 8-9, 2018 – Before leaving for the G7 summit in Quebec City, Trump tells reporters that Russia should be reinstated in the group. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 led to Russia’s suspension. After leaving the summit, Trump tweets that he will not endorse the traditional G7 communique issued at the end of the meeting. The President singles out Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for making “false statements” at a news conference.

    June 12, 2018 – Trump meets Kim in person for the first time during a summit in Singapore. They sign a four-point statement that broadly outlines the countries’ commitment to a peace process. The statement contains a pledge by North Korea to “work towards” complete denuclearization but the agreement does not detail how the international community will verify that Kim is ending his nuclear program.

    June 14, 2018 – The New York attorney general sues the Trump Foundation, alleging that the nonprofit run by Trump and his three eldest children violated state and federal charity law.

    June 26, 2018 – The Supreme Court upholds the Trump administration’s travel ban in a 5-4 ruling along party lines.

    July 16, 2018 – During a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Trump declines to endorse the US government’s assessment that Russia interfered in the election, saying he doesn’t “see any reason why” Russia would be responsible. The next day, Trump clarifies his remark, “The sentence should have been, ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.” He says he accepts the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia meddled in the election but adds, “It could be other people also.”

    August 21, 2018 – Cohen pleads guilty to eight federal charges, including two campaign finance violations. In court, he says that he orchestrated payments to silence women “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.” On the same day, Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort is convicted on eight counts of federal financial crimes. On December 12, Cohen is sentenced to three years in prison.

    October 2, 2018 – The New York Times details numerous tax avoidance schemes allegedly carried out by Trump and his siblings. In a tweet, Trump dismisses the article as a “very old, boring and often told hit piece.”

    November 20, 2018 – Releases a statement backing Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Virginia resident, killed in October at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Khashoggi was a frequent critic of the Saudi regime. The Saudis initially denied any knowledge of his death, but then later said a group of rogue operators were responsible for his killing. US officials have speculated that such a mission, including the 15 men sent from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to murder him, could not have been carried out without the authorization of Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In the statement, Trump writes, “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event, maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

    December 18, 2018 – The Donald J. Trump Foundation agrees to dissolve according to a document filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. The agreement allows the New York attorney general’s office to review the recipients of the charity’s assets.

    December 22, 2018 – The longest partial government shutdown in US history begins after Trump demands lawmakers allocate $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall before agreeing to sign a federal funding package.

    January 16, 2019 – After nearly two years of Trump administration officials denying that anyone involved in his campaign colluded with the Russians to help his candidacy, Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, says “I never said there was no collusion between the campaign, or people in the campaign. I said the President of the United States.

    January 25, 2019 – The government shutdown ends when Trump signs a short-term spending measure, providing three weeks of stopgap funding while lawmakers work on a border security compromise. The bill does not include any wall funding.

    February 15, 2019 – Trump declares a national emergency to allocate funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico. During the announcement, the President says he expects the declaration to be challenged in court. The same day, Trump signs a border security measure negotiated by Congress, with $1.375 billion set aside for barriers, averting another government shutdown.

    February 18, 2019 – Attorneys general from 16 states file a lawsuit in federal court challenging Trump’s emergency declaration.

    March 22, 2019 – Mueller ends his investigation and delivers his report to Attorney General William Barr. A senior Justice Department official tells CNN that there will be no further indictments.

    March 24, 2019 – Barr releases a letter summarizing the principal conclusions from Mueller’s investigation. According to Barr’s four-page letter, the evidence was not sufficient to establish that members Trump’s campaign tacitly engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the Russian government to interfere with the election.

    April 18, 2019 – A redacted version of the Mueller report is released. The first part of the 448-page document details the evidence gathered by Mueller’s team on potential conspiracy crimes and explains their decisions not to charge individuals associated with the campaign. The second part of the report outlines ten episodes involving possible obstruction of justice by the President. According to the report, Mueller’s decision not to charge Trump was rooted in Justice Department guidelines prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller writes that he would have cleared Trump if the evidence warranted exoneration.

    May 1, 2019 – The New York Times publishes a report that details how Giuliani, in his role as Trump’s personal attorney, is investigating allegations related to former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential Trump opponent in the 2020 presidential race. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma Holdings. In 2016, the elder Biden pressured Ukraine to oust a prosecutor who had investigated Burisma for corruption. Giuliani suggests that Biden’s move was motivated by a desire to protect his son from criminal charges. Giuliani’s claims are undermined after Bloomberg reports that the Burisma investigation was “dormant” when Biden pressed the prosecutor to resign.

    June 12, 2019 – Trump says he may be willing to accept information about political rivals from a foreign government during an interview on ABC News, declaring that he’s willing to listen and wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI.

    June 16, 2019 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveils a sign at the proposed site of a Golan Heights settlement to be named Trump Heights.

    June 18, 2019 – Trump holds a rally in Orlando to publicize the formal launch of his reelection campaign.

    June 28, 2019 – During a breakfast meeting at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman reportedly discuss tensions with Iran, trade and human rights.

    June 30, 2019 – Trump becomes the first sitting US president to enter North Korea. He takes 20 steps beyond the border and shakes hands with Kim.

    July 14, 2019 – Via Twitter, Trump tells Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Illhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley to “go back” to their home countries. Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley are natural-born US citizens; Omar was born in Somalia, immigrated to the United States and became a citizen.

    July 16, 2019 – The House votes, 240-187, to condemn the racist language Trump used in his tweets about Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar and Pressley.

    July 24, 2019 – Mueller testifies before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.

    July 25, 2019 – Trump speaks on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Trump asks Zelensky for a “favor,” encouraging him to speak with Giuliani about investigating Biden. In the days before the call, Trump blocked nearly $400 million in military and security aid to Ukraine.

    August 12, 2019 – A whistleblower files a complaint pertaining to Trump’s conduct on the Zelensky call.

    September 11, 2019 – The Trump administration lifts its hold on military aid for Ukraine.

    September 24, 2019 – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces the beginning of an impeachment inquiry related to the whistleblower complaint.

    September 25, 2019 – The White House releases notes from the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky. The readout contains multiple references to Giuliani and Barr. In response, the Justice Department issues a statement that says Barr didn’t know about Trump’s conversation until weeks after the call. Further, the attorney general didn’t talk to the President about having Ukraine investigate the Bidens, according to the Justice Department. On the same day as the notes are released, Trump and Zelensky meet in person for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. During a joint press conference after the meeting, both men deny that Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate Biden in exchange for aid.

    September 26, 2019 – The House releases a declassified version of the whistleblower complaint. According to the complaint, officials at the White House tried to “lock down” records of Trump’s phone conversation with Zelensky. The complaint also alleges that Barr played a role in the campaign to convince Zelensky that Biden should be investigated. Trump describes the complaint as “fake news” and “a witch hunt” on Twitter.

    September 27, 2019 – Pompeo is subpoenaed by House committees over his failure to provide documents related to Ukraine. Kurt Volker, US special envoy to Ukraine, resigns. He was named in the whistleblower complaint as one of the State Department officials who helped Giuliani connect with sources in Ukraine.

    October 3, 2019 – Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump says both Ukraine and China should investigate alleged corruption involving Biden and his son. CNN reports that the President had brought up Biden and his family during a June phone call with Xi Jinping. In that call, Trump discussed the political prospects of Biden as well as Elizabeth Warren. He also told Xi that he would remain quiet on the matter of Hong Kong protests. Notes documenting the conversation were placed on a highly secured server where the transcript from the Ukraine call was also stored.

    October 6, 2019 – After Trump speaks on the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House announces that US troops will move out of northern Syria to make way for a planned Turkish military operation. The move marks a major shift in American foreign policy and effectively gives Turkey the green light to attack US-backed Kurdish forces, a partner in the fight against ISIS.

    October 9, 2019 – Turkey launches a military offensive in northern Syria.

    October 31, 2019 – Trump says via Twitter that he is changing his legal residency from New York to Florida, explaining that he feels he is treated badly by political leaders from the city and state.

    November 7, 2019 – A judge orders Trump to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit against his charity filed by the New York state attorney general. According to the suit, Trump breached his fiduciary duty by allowing his presidential campaign to direct the distribution of donations. In a statement, Trump accuses the attorney general of mischaracterizing the settlement for political purposes.

    November 13, 2019 – Public impeachment hearings begin and Trump meets Erdogan at the White House.

    November 20, 2019 – During a public hearing, US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland says he worked with Giuliani on matters related to Ukraine at the “express direction of the President of the United States” and he says “everyone was in the loop.” Sondland recounts several conversations between himself and Trump about Ukraine opening two investigations: one into Burisma and another into conspiracies about Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 US election.

    December 10, 2019 – House Democrats unveil two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and one for obstruction of Congress.

    December 11, 2019 – Trump signs an executive order to include discrimination against Jewish people as a violation of law in certain cases, with an eye toward fighting antisemitism on college campuses.

    December 13, 2019 – The House Judiciary Committee approves the two articles of impeachment in a party line vote.

    December 18, 2019 – The House of Representatives votes to impeach Trump, charging a president with high crimes and misdemeanors for just the third time in American history.

    January 3, 2020 – Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Trump announces that a US airstrike in Iraq has killed Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force.

    January 8, 2020 – Iran fires a number of missiles at two Iraqi bases housing US troops in retaliation for the American strike that killed Soleimani. No US or Iraqi lives are reported lost, but the Pentagon later releases a statement confirming that 109 US service members had been diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injuries in the wake of the attack.

    January 24, 2020 – Makes history as the first President to attend the annual March for Life rally in Washington, DC, since it began nearly a half-century ago. Trump reiterates his support for tighter abortion restrictions.

    January 29, 2020 – Trump signs the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement into law, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement.

    January 31, 2020 – The Trump administration announces an expansion of the travel ban to include six new countries. Immigration restrictions will be imposed on: Nigeria, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar (known as Burma), with exceptions for immigrants who have helped the United States.

    February 5, 2020 – The Senate votes to acquit Trump on two articles of impeachment. Sen. Mitt Romney is the sole Republican to vote to convict on the charge of abuse of power, joining with all Senate Democrats in a 52-48 not guilty vote. On the obstruction of Congress charge, the vote falls along straight party lines, 53-47 for acquittal.

    May 29, 2020 – Trump announces that the United States will terminate its relationship with the World Health Organization.

    July 10, 2020 – Trump commutes the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone, who was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part, prosecutors said, to protect the President. The announcement came just days before Stone was set to report to a federal prison in Georgia.

    October 2, 2020 – Trump announces that he has tested positive for coronavirus. Later in the day, Trump is transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and returns to the White House on October 5.

    November 7, 2020 – Days after the presidential election on November 3, CNN projects Trump loses his bid for reelection to Biden.

    November 25, 2020 – Trump announces in a tweet that he has granted Michael Flynn a “full pardon,” wiping away the guilty plea of the intelligence official for lying to the FBI.

    December 23, 2020 – Announces 26 new pardons, including for Stone, Manafort and son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charles.

    January 6, 2021 Following Trump’s rally and speech at the White House Ellipse, pro-Trump rioters storm the US Capitol as members of Congress meet to certify the Electoral College results of the 2020 presidential election. A total of five people die, including a Capitol Police officer the next day.

    January 7-8, 2021 Instagram and Facebook place a ban on Trump’s account from posting through the remainder of his presidency and perhaps “indefinitely.” Twitter permanently bans Trump from the platform, explaining that “after close review of recent Tweets…and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

    January 13, 2021 – The House votes to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” He is the only president to be impeached twice.

    January 20, 2021 – Trump issues a total of 143 pardons and commutations that include his onetime political strategist, Steve Bannon, a former top fundraiser and two well-known rappers but not himself or his family. He then receives a military-style send-off from Joint Base Andrews on Inauguration morning, before heading home to Florida.

    February 13, 2021 – The US Senate acquits Trump in his second impeachment trial, voting that Trump is not guilty of inciting the deadly January 6 riots at the US Capitol. The vote is 43 not guilty to 57 guilty, short of the 67 guilty votes needed to convict.

    May 5, 2021 – Facebook’s Oversight Board upholds Trump’s suspension from using its platform. The decision also applies to Facebook-owned Instagram.

    June 4, 2021 Facebook announces Trump will be suspended from its platform until at least January 7th, 2023 – two years from when he was initially suspended.

    July 1, 2021 – New York prosecutors charge the Trump Organization and Trump Payroll Corporation with 10 felony counts and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg with 15 felony counts in connection with an alleged tax scheme stretching back to 2005. Trump himself is not charged. On December 6, 2022, both companies are found guilty on all charges.

    February 14, 2022 – Accounting firm Mazars announces it will no longer act as Trump’s accountant, citing a conflict of interest. In a letter to the Trump Organization chief legal officer, the firm informs the Trump Organization to no longer rely on financial statements ending June 2011 through June 2020.

    May 3, 2022 – The Trump Organization and the Presidential Inaugural Committee agree to pay a total of $750,000 to settle with the Washington, DC, attorney general’s office over allegations they misspent money raised for former President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

    June 9-July 21, 2022 – The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol holds eight hearings, where it hears from witnesses including top ex-Trump officials, election workers, those who took part in the attack and many others. Through live testimony, video depositions, and never-before-seen material, the committee attempts to paint the picture of the former president’s plan to stay in power and the role he played on January 6.

    August 8, 2022 – The FBI executes a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought there.

    August 12, 2022 – A federal judge unseals the search warrant and property receipt from the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. The unsealed documents indicate the FBI recovered 11 sets of classified documents from its search, including some materials marked as “top secret/SCI” – one of the highest levels of classification, and identify three federal crimes that the Justice Department is looking at as part of its investigation: violations of the Espionage Act, obstruction of justice and criminal handling of government records.

    September 21, 2022 – The New York state attorney general files a lawsuit against Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former President used to enrich himself. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.

    October 3, 2022 – Trump files a lawsuit against CNN for defamation, seeking $475 million in punitive damages.

    November 15, 2022 – Announces that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

    November 19, 2022 – Trump’s Twitter account, which was banned following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, is reinstated after users respond to an online poll posted by Twitter CEO and new owner Elon Musk.

    December 19, 2022 – The Jan. 6 insurrection committee votes to refer Trump to the Department of Justice on at least four criminal charges. Four days later the panel releases its final report recommending Trump be barred from holding office again.

    February 9, 2023 – Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are restored following a two-year ban in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, a Meta spokesperson confirms to CNN. On March 17, 2023, YouTube restores Trump’s channel.

    March 30, 2023 – A grand jury in New York votes to indict Trump, the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.

    April 4, 2023 – Surrenders and is placed under arrest before pleading not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records in Manhattan criminal court. Prosecutors allege that Trump sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election through a hush money scheme with payments made to women who claimed they had extramarital affairs with Trump. He has denied the affairs. Hours after his arraignment, Trump rails against the Manhattan district attorney and the indictment during a speech at his Florida resort at Mar-a-Lago.

    May 9, 2023 – A Manhattan federal jury finds Trump sexually abused former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996 and awards her $5 million for battery and defamation.

    May 15, 2023 – A report by special counsel John Durham is released. In it he concludes that the FBI should never have launched a full investigation into connections between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. The report does not recommend any new charges against individuals or “wholesale changes” about how the FBI handles politically charged investigations, despite strongly criticizing the agency’s behavior.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Trump on tape: Here’s what it means and what’s next | CNN Politics

    Trump on tape: Here’s what it means and what’s next | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Former President Donald Trump’s history of making inappropriate or questionable comments on tape got another chapter on Wednesday with fresh revelations from his post-White House life.

    The latest example emerged from CNN’s exclusive reporting that federal prosecutors have an audio recording of Trump acknowledging he held onto a classified Pentagon document after leaving office. The tape seems unlikely to dent his political position as the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2024. But it could have real consequences in the legal limbo where he lives.

    Most people recall the “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump using vulgar language to argue that “stars” can grab women. The emergence of that tape just before the 2016 election didn’t hurt him politically. But he later defended that statement as true, “unfortunately or fortunately,” in a video deposition, and jurors in New York recently found him liable for sexual abuse after the deposition was played back to them.

    And then there’s the recording of him asking election officials in Georgia to “find” votes to help him change the results of the 2020 presidential election. Those efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the Peach State are part of an ongoing investigation.

    This latest tape could also end up as part of a criminal case. The recording is in the possession of the Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, who’s investigating the retention of national defense information. Smith’s investigation has shown signs of nearing its end, although it hasn’t resulted in any criminal charges.

    So why is this revelation so significant?

    “First of all, prosecutors love tapes,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor, told Jake Tapper on “The Lead” Wednesday.

    “If you have a subject on tape, that’s his own words, that’s his own voice. The defense can’t say, well, some witness is fudging the truth.”

    The recording of the July 2021 meeting, which CNN has not listened to but was described by multiple sources, seriously undercuts Trump’s longstanding argument that he mentally declassified material he took with him from the White House. It also adds his Bedminster club to the potential locations where Trump had classified documents after leaving office.

    The recording of the meeting captures the sound of paper rustling, sources said, though it is not clear if it was the actual document in question. That raises questions about exposure of the document since attendees at the meeting included people who did not have security clearances that would have allowed them to access classified information, sources said.

    Smith has focused on the meeting as part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of national security secrets, and prosecutors have asked witnesses about the recording and the document before a federal grand jury, CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Paula Reid and Kaitlan Collins reported.

    In response to the report, a Trump campaign spokesman said “leaks” are meant to “inflame tensions” around Trump.

    The recording also recalls the chaos at the end of his presidency. On the tape, sources tell CNN, Trump points to a classified Pentagon document to try to refute the idea that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley had been trying to stop him from starting a war with Iran.

    In July 2021, journalist Susan Glasser had reported that, near the end of Trump’s presidency, Milley had raised concerns about Trump trying to strike Iran and had told the Joint Chiefs to ensure Trump issued no illegal orders and that he be informed if there was any concern.

    That New Yorker story outraged Trump. On the tape, he mentions the document, which he said came from Milley, in response to that story – arguing that if others could see it, it would discredit Milley, sources said. (The document Trump references was not produced by Milley, CNN was told.)

    The document’s existence is hardly unusual. The Joint Chiefs of Staff has a directorate focused on developing and proposing strategies and plans for the chairman, and another that provides guidance about current plans and operations to commanders throughout the force.

    “You could pick any country and scenario and there is likely a contingency plan,” a US official told CNN’s Haley Britzky.

    It is even less unusual for Milley to have briefed Trump on those plans, the official added. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Milley’s job is to advise and brief the president on his military options as commander in chief.

    “That does not mean that Gen. Milley is a warmonger,” Beth Sanner, a former deputy director of National Intelligence who was involved with intelligence briefings during her career, said on CNN. “Quite the opposite. I spoke to him many times during my role as an intelligence official, and he absolutely did not want to go to war with Iran.”

    CNN’s report on the recording also includes the incredible development that investigators have questioned Milley, who is still the nation’s top general.

    The most important thing here could be Trump’s acknowledgment that the document is classified, contradicting his argument that he had the unilateral power to declassify things and take them from the White House.

    During a CNN town hall in New Hampshire earlier this month, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Trump if he had shown anyone classified documents to anyone.

    “Not really,” he told her, adding, “Let me just tell you, I have the absolute right to do whatever I want with them.”

    He had said that any classified documents he had were declassified, which is apparently contradicted by the audio recording.

    As CNN reported, Trump’s comments on the tape suggested he wanted to share the information but was aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records, two of the sources said.

    The documents case is hardly the only legal matter hanging over Trump.

    The former president, and the country he wants to lead again, needs a color-coded calendar to keep track of all the legal developments involving him – and help separate potential trials and appeals from upcoming debate and primary dates.

    Besides the ongoing investigations into the aftermath of the 2020 election, here’s what else is looming over Trump.

    • His criminal trial in New York, which stems from the investigation into his alleged role in a hush money scheme, will coincide with March primary contests.
    • More immediately, there’s an October 2023 trial for the New York attorney general’s $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his eldest children and the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization was already convicted of criminal tax fraud in December.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Inside the long and winding road to Trump’s historic indictment | CNN Politics

    Inside the long and winding road to Trump’s historic indictment | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    The New York grand jury hearing the case against Donald Trump was set to break for several weeks. The former president’s lawyers believed on Wednesday afternoon they had at least a small reprieve from a possible indictment. Trump praised the perceived delay.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had other plans.

    Thursday afternoon, Bragg asked the grand jury to return an historic indictment against Trump, the first time that a current or former US president has been indicted. The surprise move was the final twist in an investigation that’s taken a long and winding road to the history-making charges that were returned this week.

    An indictment had been anticipated early last week – including by Trump himself, who promoted a theory he would be “arrested” – as law enforcement agencies prepared for the logistics of arraigning a former president. But after the testimony of Robert Costello – a lawyer who appeared on Trump’s behalf seeking to undercut the credibility of Trump’s former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen – Bragg appeared to hit the pause button.

    Costello’s testimony caused the district attorney’s office to reassess whether Costello should be the last witness the grand jury heard before prosecutors asked them to vote on an indictment, multiple sources told CNN.

    So they waited. The next day the grand jury was scheduled to meet, jurors were told not to come in. Bragg and his top prosecutors huddled the rest of the week and over the weekend to determine a strategy that would effectively counter Costello’s testimony in the grand jury.

    They called two additional witnesses. David Pecker, the former head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, appeared on Monday. The other witness, who has still not been identified, testified on Thursday for 35 minutes in front of the grand jury – just before prosecutors asked them to vote on the indictment of more than 30 counts, the sources said.

    Trump and his attorneys, thinking Bragg might be reconsidering a potential indictment, were all caught off-guard, sources said. Some of Trump’s advisers had even left Palm Beach on Wednesday following news reports that the grand jury was taking a break, the sources added.

    After the indictment, Trump ate dinner with his wife, Melania, Thursday evening and smiled while he greeted guests at his Mar-a-Lago club, according to a source familiar with the event.

    The Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into Trump has been ongoing for years, dating back to Bragg’s predecessor, Cy Vance. Its focus shifted by mid-2020 to the accuracy of the Trump Org.’s financial statements. At the time, prosecutors debated legal theories around the hush money payments and thought they were a long shot. At several points, the wide-ranging investigation seemed to have been winding down – to the point that prosecutors resigned in protest last year. One even wrote a book critical of Bragg for not pursuing charges against Trump released just last month.

    The specific charges against Trump still remain under seal and are expected to be unveiled Tuesday when Trump is set to be arraigned.

    There are questions swirling even among Trump critics over whether the Manhattan district attorney’s case is the strongest against the former president amid additional investigations in Washington, DC, and Georgia over both his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at his Florida resort.

    Trump could still face charges in those probes, too, which are separate from the New York indictment.

    But it’s the Manhattan indictment, dating back to a payment made before the 2016 presidential election, that now sees Trump facing down criminal charges for the first time as he runs again for the White House in 2024.

    It was just weeks before the 2016 election when Cohen, Trump’s then-lawyer, paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep silent about an alleged affair with Trump. (Trump has denied the affair.) Cohen was later reimbursed $420,000 by the Trump Organization to cover the original payment and tax liabilities and to reward him with a bonus.

    That payment and reimbursement are keys at issue in the investigation.

    Cohen also helped arrange a $150,000 payment from the publisher of the National Enquirer to Karen McDougal to kill her story claiming a 10-month affair with Trump. Trump also denies an affair with McDougal. During the grand jury proceedings, the district attorney’s office has asked questions about the “catch and kill” deal with McDougal.

    When Cohen was charged by federal prosecutors in New York in 2018 and pleaded guilty, he said he was acting at the direction of Trump when he made the payment.

    At the time, federal prosecutors had determined they could not seek to indict Trump in the scheme because of US Justice Department regulations against charging a sitting president. In 2021, after Trump left the White House, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York decided not to pursue a case against Trump, according to a recent book from CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

    But then-Manhattan District Attorney Vance’s team had already picked up the investigation into the hush money payments and begun looking at potential state law violations. By summer 2019, they sent subpoenas to the Trump Org., other witnesses, and met with Cohen, who was serving a three-year prison sentence.

    Vance’s investigation broadened to the Trump Org.’s finances. New York prosecutors went to the Supreme Court twice to enforce a subpoena for Trump’s tax records from his long-time accounting firm Mazars USA. The Trump Org. and its long-time chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg were indicted on tax fraud and other charges in June 2021 for allegedly running an off-the-books compensation scheme for more than a decade.

    Weisselberg pleaded guilty to the charges last year and is currently serving a five-month sentence at Rikers Island. Prosecutors had hoped to flip Weisselberg to cooperate against Trump, but he would not tie Trump to any wrongdoing.

    Disagreements about the pace of the investigation had caused at least three career prosecutors to move off the investigation. They were concerned that the investigation was moving too quickly, without clear evidence to support possible charges, CNN and others reported last year.

    Vance authorized the attorneys on the team to present evidence to the grand jury near the end of 2021, but he did not seek an indictment. Those close to Vance say he wanted to leave the decision to Bragg, the newly elected district attorney.

    Bragg, a Democrat, took office in January 2022. Less than two months into his tenure, two top prosecutors who had worked on the Trump case under Vance abruptly resigned amid a disagreement in the office over the strength of the case against Trump.

    On February 22, 2022, Bragg informed the prosecution team that he was not prepared to authorize charges against Trump, CNN reported. The prosecutors, Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, resigned the next day.

    In his resignation letter, Pomerantz said he believed Trump was guilty of numerous felonies and said that Bragg’s decision to not move forward with an indictment at the time was “wrong” and a “grave failure of justice.”

    “I and others believe that your decision not to authorize prosecution now will doom any future prospects that Mr. Trump will be prosecuted for the criminal conduct we have been investigating,” Pomerantz wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by CNN.

    At that point, the investigation was focused on Trump’s financial statements and whether he knowingly misled lenders, insurers, and others by providing them false or misleading information about the value of his properties.

    Prosecutors were building a wide-ranging falsified business records case to include years of financial statements and the hush money payments, people with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN. But at the time, those prosecutors believed there was a good chance a felony charge related to the hush money payment would be dismissed by a judge because it was a novel legal theory.

    Dunne and Pomerantz pushed to seek an indictment of Trump tied to the sweeping falsified business records case, but others, including some career prosecutors, were skeptical that they could win a conviction at trial, in part because of the difficulty in proving Trump’s criminal intent.

    Despite the resignations of the prosecutors on the Trump case, Bragg’s office reiterated at the time that the investigation was ongoing.

    “Investigations are not linear so we are following the leads in front of us. That’s what we’re doing,” Bragg told CNN in April 2022. “The investigation is very much ongoing.”

    At the same time that Bragg’s criminal investigation into Trump lingered last year, another prosecution against the Trump Org. moved forward. In December, two Trump Org. entities were convicted at trial on 17 counts and were ordered to pay $1.6 million, the maximum penalty, the following month.

    Trump was not personally charged in that case. But it appeared to embolden Bragg’s team to sharpen their focus back to Trump and the hush money payment.

    Cohen was brought back in to meet with Manhattan prosecutors. Cohen had previously met with prosecutors in the district attorney’s office 13 times over the course of the investigation. But the January meeting was the first in more than a year – and a clear sign of the direction prosecutors were taking.

    As investigators inched closer to a charging decision, Bragg was faced with more public pressure to indict Trump: Pomerantz, the prosecutor who had resigned a year prior, released a book about the investigation that argued Trump should be charged and criticized Bragg for failing to do so.

    “Every single member of the prosecution team thought that his guilt was established,” Pomerantz said in a February interview on “CNN This Morning.”

    Asked about Bragg’s hesitance, Pomerantz said: “I can’t speak in detail about what went through his mind. I can surmise from what happened at the time and statements that he’s made since that he had misgivings about the strength of the case.”

    Bragg responded in a statement saying that more work was needed on the case. “Mr. Pomerantz’s plane wasn’t ready for takeoff,” Bragg said.

    Prosecutors continued bringing in witnesses, including Pecker, the former head of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer. In February, Trump Org. controller Jeffrey McConney testified before the grand jury. Members of Trump’s 2016 campaign, including Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks, also appeared. In March, Daniels met with prosecutors, her attorney said.

    And Cohen, after his numerous meetings with prosecutors, finally testified before the grand jury in March.

    The second week of March, prosecutors gave the clearest sign to date that the investigation was nearing its conclusion – they invited Trump to appear before the grand jury.

    Potential defendants in New York are required by law to be notified and invited to appear before a grand jury weighing charges.

    Behind the scenes, Trump attorney Susan Necheles told CNN she met with New York prosecutors to argue why Trump shouldn’t be indicted and that prosecutors didn’t articulate the specific charges they are considering.

    Trump, meanwhile, took to his social media to predict his impending indictment. In a post attacking Bragg on March 18, Trump said the “leading Republican candidate and former president of the United States will be arrested on Tuesday of next week.”

    “Protest, take our nation back,” Trump added, echoing the calls he made while he tried to overturn the 2020 election.

    Trump’s prediction would turn out to be premature.

    Trump’s call for protests after a potential indictment led to meetings between senior staff members from the district attorney’s office, the New York Police Department and the New York State Court Officers – who provide security at the criminal court building in lower Manhattan.

    Trump’s lawyers also made a last-ditch effort to fend off an indictment. At the behest of Trump’s team, Costello, who advised Cohen in 2018, provided emails and testified to the grand jury on Monday, March 20, alleging that Cohen had said in 2018 that he had decided on his own to make the payment to Daniels.

    Costello’s testimony appeared to delay a possible indictment – for a brief time at least.

    During the void, Trump continued to launch verbal insults against Bragg, calling him a “degenerate psychopath.” And four Republican chairmen of the most powerful House committees wrote to Bragg asking him to testify, which Bragg’s office said was unprecedented interference in a local investigation. An envelope containing a suspicious white powder and a death threat to Bragg was to delivered to the building where the grand jury meets – the powder was deemed nonhazardous.

    The grand jury would not meet again until Monday, March 27, when Pecker was ushered back to the grand jury in a government vehicle with tinted windows in a failed effort to evade detection by the media camped outside of the building where the grand jury meets.

    Pecker, a longtime friend of Trump’s who had a history of orchestrating so-called “catch and kill” deals while at the National Enquirer, was involved with the Daniels’ deal from the beginning.

    Two days after Pecker’s testimony, there were multiple reports that the grand jury was going into a pre-planned break in April. The grand jury was set to meet Thursday but it was not expected to hear the Trump case.

    Instead, the grand jury heard from one last witness in the Trump case on Thursday, whose identity is still unknown. And then the grand jury shook up the American political system by voting to indict a former president and 2024 candidate for the White House.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Who is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA leading the historic criminal case against Trump? | CNN Politics

    Who is Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan DA leading the historic criminal case against Trump? | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Alvin Bragg, a former New York state and federal prosecutor, drew national attention when he made history as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s first Black district attorney. Now, he is back in the spotlight after a grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump following a yearslong investigation into the former president’s alleged role in a hush money scheme.

    The indictment was unsealed Tuesday as Trump was arraigned in a Manhattan criminal court, unveiling the 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records made against the former president.

    In Bragg’s first comments following the arraignment, he called the charges the “bread and butter” of his office’s work.

    “At its core, this case today is one with allegations like so many of our white collar cases,” he said.

    Bragg inherited the probe from his predecessor, Cy Vance, who began the investigation when Trump was still in the White House.

    Trump, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, cast Bragg’s case as political and called for his resignation in a speech Tuesday evening.

    “I never thought anything like this could happen in America, never thought it could happen,” Trump said. “The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”

    In March, Trump announced on social media, ahead of any details from Bragg’s office, that he anticipated he would be arrested within days in connection with the investigation. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined at the time to comment on the former president’s remarks.

    The high-profile case relates to a $130,000 payment made by Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with Trump a decade prior. Trump has continuously denied having an affair with Daniels.

    The indictment is historic, marking the first time a former US president and major presidential candidate has ever been criminally charged.

    In the lead-up to Bragg’s decision, sources told CNN that city, state and federal law enforcement agencies in New York City had been discussing how to prepare for a possible Trump indictment, with the former president having called on his supporters to protest if he were to be arrested.

    Discussions between the New York Police Department and the FBI also have focused on the possibility of increased threats against Bragg and his staff from Trump’s supporters in wake of an indictment, sources told CNN. Bragg said in an email to staff earlier in March that his office will “not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”

    Bragg has aggressively pursued Trump and other progressive priorities so far in his tenure, including not prosecuting some low-level crimes and finding alternatives to incarceration.

    Before Bragg’s swearing-in last year, he had already worked on cases related to Trump and other notable names in his role as a New York state chief deputy attorney general.

    He said he had helped sue the Trump administration more than 100 times, as well as led a team that sued the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which resulted in the former president paying $2 million to a number of charities and the foundation’s dissolution.

    Bragg also led the suit against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein and his company, which alleged a hostile work environment.

    The Harvard-educated attorney previously served as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York, worked as a civil rights lawyer and as a professor and co-director of the New York Law School Racial Justice Project, where he represented family members of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after being placed in an unauthorized chokehold by a then-police officer, in a lawsuit against the City of New York seeking information.

    Bragg emerged the winner in a crowded Democratic primary in the summer of 2021 to lead the coveted Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, for which Vance had announced earlier that year he would not seek reelection. While campaigning, he often spoke about his experience growing up in Harlem, saying he was once a 15-year-old stopped “numerous times at gunpoint by police.”

    “In addition to being the first Black district attorney, I think I’ll probably be the first district attorney who’s had police point a gun at him,” he said during a victory speech, following his historic election to the office. “I think I’ll be the first district attorney who’s had a homicide victim on his doorstop. I think I’ll be the first district attorney in Manhattan who’s had a semi-automatic weapon pointed at him. I think I’ll be the first district attorney in Manhattan who’s had a loved one reenter from incarceration and stay with him. And I’m going to govern from that perspective.”

    Bragg ran as a reformer, releasing a memo just days after taking office detailing new charging, bail, plea and sentencing policies – a plan that drew criticism from police union leaders. He said his office would not prosecute marijuana misdemeanors, fare evading and prostitution, among other crimes.

    This story has been updated with additional developments.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • New York Democrat has ‘a lot of questions’ for Biden administration about Pentagon leak | CNN Politics

    New York Democrat has ‘a lot of questions’ for Biden administration about Pentagon leak | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Sunday she has “a lot of questions” for the Biden administration about the circumstances around the leak of highly classified Pentagon documents.

    “I have a lot of questions about: Why were these documents lying around? Why did this particular person have access to them? Where was the custody of the documents and who were they for?” Gillibrand said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

    The Biden administration spent much of the past week scrambling to rectify damages after Jack Teixeira, an airman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard who held top-secret security clearance, posted documents online that revealed blunt details on the US intelligence assessment of the war in Ukraine as well as the extent of US eavesdropping on key allies.

    Teixeira, who worked as a low-ranking IT official, was arrested and federally charged last week for facilitating the leak. He allegedly began posting information about the documents online around December and photos of the documents in January, court records show.

    Gillibrand, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, sidestepped criticizing the military’s vetting process for security clearances but said questions needed to be answered at a Senate briefing this week.

    “It sounds like he was extremely immature and someone who did not understand the weight and the importance of these documents. And so we need to figure it out and put proper protections in place,” she said.

    The Pentagon breach has left looming questions about national security implications. In a statement acknowledging the extent of the problem the leaks exposed, President Joe Biden said Friday that he had directed both the military and intelligence community to “take steps to further secure and limit distribution of sensitive information.”

    Pentagon officials have said the Defense Department has moved to tighten the flow of highly sensitive documents, limiting who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs. Those briefs are normally available on any given day to hundreds, if not thousands, of people across the government.

    Congress is also vowing to investigate what happened and why the US intelligence community failed to discover its secrets were on a public internet forum for weeks.

    “We need to know the facts. We need to know who this airman was, why he felt he had the authority or ability to show off confidential documents, secret documents to his friends,” Gillibrand said.

    Meanwhile, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday that there was “no justification” for Republicans who have appeared to defend the leaking of classified information.

    “Those who are trying to sugarcoat this on the right, you cannot allow a single individual of the military intelligence community to leak classified information because they disagree with policy,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

    House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner echoed that message Sunday in an interview with “Face the Nation” on CBS.

    Teixeira, the Ohio Republican said, “is someone who has compromised his country and has certainly compromised our allies. That’s not the oath that he took. That’s not the job that he took.”

    “If he’s brought through this process, and he’s found guilty, it will be of espionage. It’s of being a traitor to your country. That’s not someone … to look up to,” Turner said.

    Their comments come after Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tweeted a defense of Teixeira’s actions last week.

    “For any member of Congress to suggest it’s OK to leak classified information because you agree with the cause is terribly irresponsible and puts America in serious danger,” Graham said.

    This story has been updated with additional information.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • What to know about the Trump indictment on the eve of his court appearance | CNN Politics

    What to know about the Trump indictment on the eve of his court appearance | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Donald Trump, the first former president in history to face criminal charges, is heading to New York Monday for an expected arraignment on Tuesday after being indicted last week by a Manhattan grand jury.

    The expected voluntary surrender of a former president and 2024 White House candidate will be a unique affair in more ways than one – both for the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the New York courthouse where he’ll be arraigned and for a nation watching to see how it’ll shake up the GOP presidential primary.

    The former president has remained “surprisingly calm,” spending the weekend in Florida playing golf and mulling how to use it to boost his campaign, CNN reported Sunday night, after an indictment that caught him and his advisers “off guard.”

    Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud, CNN has reported, but the indictment remains under seal.

    The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election. Trump and his allies have already attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – and an advertised Tuesday night speech back at Mar-a-Lago will likely given Trump more opportunity to claim he’s being political persecuted.

    Here is what we know about the expected arraignment.

    Trump left Florida shortly after noon ET on Monday, and is scheduled to land at New York’s LaGuardia airport around 3 p.m. ET, according to a source familiar with his plans. The former president will stay at Trump Tower Monday night and is expected to depart New York immediately after Tuesday’s arraignment to head back to Florida, the source said.

    But even before Trump’s appearance, his presence will be felt in the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday, as all trials and most other court activity is being halted before he is slated to arrive.

    The Secret Service, the New York Police Department and the court officers are coordinating security for Trump’s expected appearance. The Secret Service is scheduled to accompany Trump in the early afternoon to the district attorney’s office, which is in the same building as the courthouse.

    Trump will be booked by the investigators, which includes taking his fingerprints. Ordinarily, a mug shot would be taken. But sources familiar with the preparations were uncertain as to whether there would be a mugshot – because Trump’s appearance is widely known and authorities were concerned about the improper leaking of the photo, which would be a violation of state law.

    Typically, after defendants are arrested, they are booked and held in cells near the courtroom before they are arraigned. But that won’t happen with Trump. Once the former president is finished being processed, he’ll be taken through a back set of hallways and elevators to the floor where the courtroom is located. He’ll then come out to a public hallway to walk into the courtroom.

    Trump is not expected to be handcuffed, as he will be surrounded by armed federal agents for his protection.

    “Obviously, this is different. This has never happened before. I have never had Secret Service involved in an arraignment before at 100 Centre Street,” Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “All the Tuesday stuff is still very much up in the air, other than the fact that we will very loudly and proudly say not guilty.”

    By the afternoon, Trump is expected to be brought to the courtroom, where the indictment will be unsealed and he will formally face the charges. After he is arraigned, Trump will almost certainly be released on his own recognizance. It is possible, though perhaps unlikely, that conditions could be set on his travel.

    Ordinarily, a defendant who is released would walk out the front doors, but Secret Service will want to limit the time and space where Trump is in public. So instead, once the court hearing is over, Trump is expected to walk again through the public hallway and into the back corridors to the district attorney’s office, back to where his motorcade will be waiting.

    Then he’ll head to the airport so he can get back to Mar-a-Lago, where he’s scheduled an event that evening to speak publicly.

    Several media outlets, including CNN, have asked a New York judge to unseal the indictment and for permission to broadcast Trump’s expected appearance in the courtroom on Tuesday.

    The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal are among the outlets making the request.

    The news organizations are asking for a “limited number of photographers, videographers, and radio journalists to be present at the arraignment,” and said in the letter that they are making “this limited request for audio-visual coverage in order to ensure that the operations of the Court will not be disrupted in any way.”

    If the judge does not grant the media outlets’ unsealing request, it is expected that the indictment will be made public when Trump appears in court.

    Judge Juan Merchan is no stranger to Trump’s orbit.

    Merchan, an acting New York Supreme Court justice, has sentenced Trump’s close confidant Allen Weisselberg to prison, presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial and overseen former adviser Steve Bannon’s criminal fraud case.

    Merchan does not stand for disruptions or delays, attorneys who have appeared before him told CNN, and he’s known to maintain control of his courtroom even when his cases draw considerable attention.

    Trump attorney Timothy Parlatore said during an interview Friday on CNN that Merchan was “not easy” on him when he tried a case before him but that he will likely be fair.

    “I’ve tried a case in front of him before. He could be tough. I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be something that’s going to change his ability to evaluate the facts and the law in this case,” Parlatore said.

    Tacopina told CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday that the former president will plead not guilty. His team “will look at every potential issue that we will be able to challenge, and we will challenge,” Tacopina said.

    The Trump team’s court strategy could center around challenging the case because it may rely on business record entries that prosecutors tie to hush money payments to Daniels seven years ago, beyond the statute of limitations for a criminal case. Tacopina suggested in TV interviews Sunday the statute of limitations may have passed, and said the Trump businesses didn’t make false entries.

    Trump’s legal team isn’t currently considering asking to move the case to a different New York City borough, Tacopina said. “There’s been no discussion of that whatsoever,” he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in another interview Sunday. “It’s way too premature to start worrying about venue changes until we really see the indictment and grapple with the legal issues.”

    Trump’s political advisers over the weekend were actively discussing how to best campaign off the indictment they have portrayed as a political hoax and witch hunt, according to sources close to Trump.

    His team has spent the last several days presenting the former president with polls showing him with a growing lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently considered Trump’s biggest 2024 rival, in a head-to-head match up. And his team says it has raised more than $5 million dollars since he was indicted Thursday.

    Despite the initial shock of the indictment, Trump has remained surprisingly calm and focused in the days ahead of his court appearance, CNN’s Kristen Holmes reported.

    The former president has seemingly saved his rage for his social media site, escalating his attacks on Bragg and leveling threats.

    Many of Trump’s allies, critics and likely opponents in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race have similarly attacked Bragg before and after the indictment.

    But former Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who announced his presidential campaign on Sunday, doubled down on his call for Trump to drop out of the race now that he is facing criminal charges.

    “The office is more important than any individual person. So for the sake of the office of the presidency, I do think that’s too much of a sideshow and distraction,” Hutchinson said in an interview on ABC News. “He needs to be able to concentrate on his due process.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Rep. George Santos’ lawyer asks to keep bond cosigners’ names sealed | CNN Politics

    Rep. George Santos’ lawyer asks to keep bond cosigners’ names sealed | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Indicted Rep. George Santos’ attorney has filed a letter asking the judge overseeing the New York Republican’s case to keep the names of the people who put up his $500,000 bond sealed.

    Attorney Joseph Murray objected to a motion by news organizations, including CNN, for the judge to make public the names of the cosigners following Santos’ indictment on campaign finance and fraud charges in New York in early May. If their names are released, the attorney said, they “are likely to suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury.”

    In the letter, Murray wrote that “there is little doubt that the suretors will suffer some unnecessary form of retaliation if their identities and employment are revealed” and claimed that Santos “would rather surrender to pre trial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come” if their names are made public.

    Murray also blamed CNN – which first reported that Santos had been charged by the Department of Justice – for the media being present at the congressman’s arraignment, saying it caused a “frenzy” which he claimed led to one of the suretors backing out.

    “Unfortunately, on May 9, 2023, shortly after the defense was notified of the indictment and arrest warrant, this information was apparently leaked to the Cable News Network (‘CNN’), resulting in an immediate media frenzy. Also, at this time, defense counsel had been in the process of engaging our suretors and presenting their documentation and contact information to the government, in preparation for the arraignment on May 10, 2023,” the filing states. “As the media frenzy progressively got worse our suretors tors [sic] grew very fearful and concerned. As of the morning of May 10, 2023, we only had two confirmed suretors, while our third suretor had a change of heart and backed out.”

    Last month, Santos pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges: seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.

    Santos was released on a $500,000 bond, but was ordered to surrender his passport and will need permission to travel outside of Washington, DC, New York City and Long Island.

    After his arraignment, Santos told reporters that he has been “compliant throughout this entire process” but blasted the indictment as a “witch hunt” and said he will “fight my battle.”

    The freshman congressman, whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos and led top Democrats and some New York Republicans to call for his resignation earlier this year, has said he will not resign from his seat and that he plans to seek reelection next year.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Top House Democrats rebuke Jayapal comments that Israel is a ‘racist state’ as she tries to walk them back | CNN Politics

    Top House Democrats rebuke Jayapal comments that Israel is a ‘racist state’ as she tries to walk them back | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Top House Democrats are rebuking Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal’s comments from earlier this weekend that “Israel is a racist state,” which she sought to walk back on Sunday.

    “Israel is not a racist state,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu said in a statement that did not mention the progressive leader by name.

    A draft statement signed by a handful of other House Democrats and circulating among lawmakers’ offices on Sunday expresses “deep concern” over what it calls Jayapal’s “unacceptable” comments, adding, “We will never allow anti-Zionist voices that embolden antisemitism to hijack the Democratic Party and country.”

    Their pushback comes ahead of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s address to a joint meeting of Congress later this week, which some progressives have said they’ll skip, citing concerns about human rights. House progressives have been vocal about their opposition to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the US sponsorship of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

    Jayapal, a Washington State Democrat, said “Israel is a racist state” on Saturday while addressing pro-Palestine protesters who interrupted a panel discussion at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago.

    “As somebody who’s been in the streets and participated in a lot of demonstrations, I want you to know that we have been fighting to make it clear that Israel is a racist state, that the Palestinian people deserve self-determination and autonomy, that the dream of a two-state solution is slipping away from us, that it does not even feel possible,” she told protesters chanting “Free Palestine.”

    Jayapal sought to clarify her remarks in a Sunday afternoon statement, saying that she does “not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist,” while offering an apology “to those who I have hurt with my words.”

    She went on to call out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extreme right-wing government,” which she said she believes “has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies.”

    But her initial remark – made after protesters yelled “Israel is a racist state” during a panel she was participating in with Illinois progressive Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jesús “Chuy” García – struck a nerve with some members of her own party.

    Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has signed the statement circulating among Democratic lawmakers, told CNN’s Jim Acosta on Sunday that not only was Jayapal’s statement “hurtful and harmful, it was wholly inaccurate and insensitive. I’m thankful that she retracted it.”

    The Florida Democrat added that Jayapal had spoken to a number of Jewish members of Congress on Sunday “and that is in part, I think, what resulted in the retraction and apology.”

    “We need to make sure we continue to work together,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But we all have to be careful about what we say in the heat of the moment, and I think she learned that the hard way.”

    CNN reached out to Jayapal earlier Sunday before she released her statement.

    In her statement, the congressman reiterated her commitment to “a two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live freely, safely, and with self-determination alongside each other.”

    And she explained her earlier comment by saying, in part, “On a very human level, I was also responding to the deep pain and hopelessness that exists for Palestinians and their diaspora communities when it comes to this debate, but I in no way intended to deny the deep pain and hurt of Israelis and their Jewish diaspora community that still reels from the trauma of pogroms and persecution, the Holocaust, and continuing anti-semitism and hate violence that is rampant today.”

    The draft statement from some Democrats nodded to antisemitism and also invoked American national security.

    “Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people and efforts to delegitimize and demonize it are not only dangerous and antisemitic, but they also undermine Americas’s national security,” the lawmakers write.

    House Democratic leadership also touted Israel as “an invaluable partner.”

    “Our commitment to a safe and secure Israel as an invaluable partner, ally and beacon of democracy in the Middle East is ironclad,” the leaders wrote in their own statement. “We look forward to welcoming Israeli President Isaac Herzog to the United States House of Representatives this week.”

    Jayapal said Friday she doesn’t believe she will attend Herzog’s speech Wednesday on Capitol Hill. “I don’t think I am. I haven’t fully decided.”

    “I think this is not a good time for that to happen,” Jayapal told CNN’s Manu Raju when asked if Speaker Kevin McCarthy had made a mistake in inviting Herzog.

    Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri have all said they will not attend.

    Democratic leadership has been supportive of Herzog’s visit, with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York extending the invitation last year. “I look forward to welcoming him with open arms,” Jeffries, a New York Democrat, said at a news conference last week, calling Herzog “a force for good in Israeli society.”

    Herzog will visit the White House on Tuesday. “As Israel celebrates its 75th anniversary, the visit will highlight our enduring partnership and friendship. President (Joe) Biden will reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security,” the White House said in a statement.

    “President Biden will stress the importance of our shared democratic values, and discuss ways to advance equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and security for Palestinians and Israelis,” the statement continued.

    Netanyahu has not been invited to Washington by the Biden administration since taking office again in December last year, amid a raft of policy differences between the two governments.

    This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Former Rep. Mondaire Jones announces new election bid in New York | CNN Politics

    Former Rep. Mondaire Jones announces new election bid in New York | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones announced Wednesday that he is running for Congress in New York’s 17th District, the seat he previously represented before redistricting thwarted his reelection plans last year.

    “I’ve never been Washington’s choice. It’s because I stand up to corruption. I battle with Republicans trying to overthrow our democracy and ban abortion, even as I push my party to fight harder for working people. I’m running to finish the work I began,” Jones said in a tweet accompanying his campaign launch video.

    “Most people in Washington didn’t grow up like me. They have no idea what it’s like to struggle. We got to get Washington back on the side of working people. I know we can do better. For me, this is personal,” he said.

    Jones’ bid will pit him against Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of Rockland County and sets up a potentially brutal Democratic primary in the swing district.

    Westchester residents Liz Whitmer Gereghty, the sister of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who previously served on the district’s school board, and MaryAnn Carr have also declared their candidacies for the 17th District. Gereghty is planning to run as a more moderate candidate in her bid to flip the seat.

    Jones became one of the first two openly gay Black men elected to Congress when he first won the race to succeed former Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey in 2020. He served as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and was elected unanimously by his colleagues to serve as the freshman representative to House Democratic Leadership.

    Jones was seen as a rising star in the party for his positions on expanding the size of the Supreme Court and supporting the “Green New Deal” while also voting for the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure deal and increased police funding.

    Jones chose not to run for reelection for his old seat after redistricting placed him in the same district as former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the then-chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He instead ran in New York’s 10th District, and ultimately lost to Dan Goldman in the Democratic primary. Goldman went on to win the race, but Maloney ultimately lost his election to Lawler.

    Democrats are now eager to flip the 17th District seat and ensure a Democrat succeeds in the 2024 congressional race.

    Jones was an on-air CNN political commentator for several months earlier this year before leaving the network.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The US immigration story extends well beyond the border | CNN Politics

    The US immigration story extends well beyond the border | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]

    A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.



    CNN
     — 

    There is a tendency to view the different elements of the immigration landscape in isolation.

    • Texas is being sued by the US Department of Justice for acting on its own to put obstructions along the border.
    • New York and other cities complain they are overwhelmed by buses of migrants being sent from the border.
    • In the absence of action by Congress, court decisions are setting US border policy.

    But the elements are all interrelated.

    I talked to CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez to get her perspective as a White House reporter with a deep background in reporting on all aspects of the larger immigration story. Our conversation, conducted by email, is below. And don’t miss her story that published Tuesday: Federal judge blocks Biden’s controversial asylum policy in a major blow to administration.

    WOLF: The US government is suing Texas to remove floating barriers from the Rio Grande. But it’s just the latest in a series of escalating measures Texas has undertaken on its own to keep migrants out of the country. What is the state of play at the border?

    ALVAREZ: The handling of the US-Mexico border has long been a point of contention between President (Joe) Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who’s argued that the administration hasn’t done enough to enforce the border.

    As an affront to Biden’s border policies, Abbott has transported migrants to Democratic-led cities without coordinating with city officials, deployed more personnel to the Texas-Mexico border, and earlier this month, installed buoys in the Rio Grande.

    Border agents have historically worked closely with the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety. But the latest steps taken by the state have made day-to-day operations more difficult.

    DPS made certain portions of the Texas-Mexico border more difficult to access, marking a departure from the coordination that previously existed between law enforcement. Agents on the ground have also sent regular reports to US Customs and Border Protection headquarters about what they’ve observed as Abbott’s operation has been underway, a Homeland Security official told me.

    But disturbing images of migrants with injuries and troubling reports of Texas troops pushing migrants back to Mexico forced the Biden’s administration hands.

    Last week, the Justice Department said it’s assessing the situation along the Texas-Mexico border and on Monday, the DOJ filed a lawsuit on a separate, though related matter: the installation of a floating barrier. The lawsuit says Texas didn’t seek authorization before placing the floating barrier in the Rio Grande and poses a threat to navigation.

    That court battle could take months to play out. But in the interim, it could fuel tensions between agents and troops on the ground and further escalate the feud between Biden and Abbott.

    WOLF: You’ve written about how an expected surge of migrants after the end of a Covid-era policy known as Title 42 never materialized. What happened?

    ALVAREZ: Let’s provide some context first. Migration often ebbs and flows.

    But the Biden administration has had to grapple with unprecedented mass movement of people in the Western hemisphere, which is in part the outcome of the coronavirus pandemic decimating conditions in the region.

    The administration relied on a public health authority, known as Title 42, to quickly expel migrants back to Mexico or their origin countries. That authority had been invoked under former President (Donald) Trump and used to turn away migrants, including asylum-seekers, at the US-Mexico border on public health grounds.

    In the days leading up to the expiration of Title 42, thousands of migrants tried to cross the US southern border, knowing that they could face tougher penalties after the end of the authority including bans on reentry to the United States.

    And that’s indeed been the case. Increased deportations and tougher policies, paired with other, new legal pathways to the United States, appear to have driven down the number of people attempting to unlawfully cross the US-Mexico border.

    In June, for example, US Border Patrol arrested nearly 100,000 migrants along the US southern border, marking a decrease from May and marking the lowest monthly border encounters since February 2021, according to US Customs and Border Protection data.

    WOLF: Far from the border in Texas, New York Mayor Eric Adams, after earlier welcoming migrants bused to his city, has said with increasing urgency that the city is full. Migrants are now also being bused to Los Angeles. What’s the latest on the busing angle?

    ALVAREZ: The busing is still happening. Since last year, Texas has bused more than 27,000 migrants to six cities, according to Abbott’s office. The cities include Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.

    One of the main issues with the transport of migrants to these cities that officials often raise alarm about is the lack of coordination. The governor’s office doesn’t generally notify cities that migrants are being sent there, leaving border NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) to try to fill the information void.

    It’s important to note, though, that migrants who are released from government custody have been vetted and processed by federal authorities and are released as they go through their immigration court proceedings. An immigration judge ultimately decides whether a migrant has grounds to stay in the United States or be ordered removed.

    WOLF: All of these things are related – the efforts by Texas to create its own border policy, the difficulty New York and cities are facing as they deal with an influx of migrants … everything feeds from the lack of more comprehensive immigration reform. Is there any movement in Congress toward dealing with all of this in a comprehensive way?

    ALVAREZ: Bills addressing the immigration system have been introduced by both parties. Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, for example, has introduced legislation that addresses work visa programs, among other parts of the system. But it’s such a divisive issue that legislation struggles to move forward.

    Both parties are so far apart on the issue that even though Democrats and Republicans acknowledge the US immigration system is broken, they can’t agree on how to fix it.

    Without comprehensive reform, the federal government is left to implementing a patchwork of policies and then playing defense when lawsuits are filed against them, often resulting in policy whiplash.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Largest Digital Psychedelic Conference to Date: Psyched 2020 Hosted by Tabula Rasa Ventures

    Largest Digital Psychedelic Conference to Date: Psyched 2020 Hosted by Tabula Rasa Ventures

    [ad_1]

    Startups, Researchers, Artists, Non-profits, Activists and Influencers to Define the Future of the Psychedelic Ecosystem

    Press Release



    updated: Jun 5, 2020

    As psychedelics continue to reach mainstream consciousness, nearly 1,000 people from around the world will gather digitally for Psyched 2020, the largest, free digital psychedelic conference to date, hosted by Tabula Rasa Ventures. The conference will be held online from Sunday, June 7 to Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

    Psyched 2020 includes conversations with some of the most significant names in the psychedelic space, including Rick Strassman, Christian Angermayer, Matthew Johnson and JR Rahn, among the more than 100 speakers across the globe. Additionally, the event includes a day for psychedelic art creation, which will be voted on amongst the community for a $1,000 cash prize to the winner.

    The conference looks to answer: what does the psychedelics ecosystem look like today; how will it change over the coming decade; what does a healthy future look like; What steps can we take today to make it happen, and what current models can we use if any to develop an impact-driven psychedelic industry?

    “Building a strong, intentional, thoughtful and impact-driven psychedelic ecosystem is now more important than ever,” said Tabula Rasa Ventures Founder Marik Hazan. “This conference is part business, part festival and part education. As leaders, we need to keep lines of communication open for all contributors and learn from one another, thinking critically about what 2020 and the future will look like. With so many attendees and speakers, there is a clear interest, want and need for more psychedelic information and community building, and we couldn’t be more excited to host this unprecedented event.”

    To register for the free conference, visit https://bit.ly/2MqiLLF.

    About Tabula Rasa Ventures

    Tabula Rasa Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to building an impact-focused, community-led psychedelic industry by responsibly investing across the psychedelic ecosystem. 

    Contact

    Leland Radovanovic

    Conscious Communications Collective

    Leland@ConsciousComs.com

    845-200-5249

    Source: Tabula Rasa Ventures

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • South Bronx Classical Charter School II Recognized as 2019 National Blue Ribbon School in First Year of Eligibility

    South Bronx Classical Charter School II Recognized as 2019 National Blue Ribbon School in First Year of Eligibility

    [ad_1]

    Classical Charter Schools prepares students from the South Bronx to become liberated scholars of impeccable character

    Press Release



    updated: Oct 29, 2019

    ​​South Bronx Classical Charter School II was one of 362 outstanding public and non-public schools recognized as 2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools. The prestigious national program and annual award celebrate school excellence, turnaround stories, and the closing of achievement gaps.

    “I’m thrilled that South Bronx Classical Charter School II won the Blue Ribbon in its first year of eligibility,” said Classical Charter Schools Executive Director Lester Long. “Particularly gratifying is that we are listed as an Exemplary High Performing School, which indicates that our scholars are going beyond simply matching their more advantaged peers, but exceeding them.”

    Particularly gratifying is that we are listed as an Exemplary High Performing School, which indicates that our scholars are going beyond simply matching their more advantaged peers, but exceeding them.

    Lester Long, Executive Director

    Minority students from impoverished families benefit most from New York City’s charter schools, which offer strong academics and the prospect of upward mobility. Over 89% of Classical Charter School’s students live below the poverty line, and 98% are African-American or Hispanic.

    There is a palpable urgency and passion behind Classical’s mission to prepare scholars in the South Bronx to excel in college preparatory high schools. Benjamin Arabia, who sits on Classical’s Board of Trustees, noted, “We’re constantly striving to get better in every way. Our aim is to create replicable systems in all our schools that give our scholars the best opportunity to succeed.”

    South Bronx Classical Charter School II opened in August 2013 and prepares K-8th-grade students in the South Bronx to excel in college-preparatory high schools. Through a rigorous, classical curriculum and highly structured approach, students become liberated scholars and citizens of impeccable character who achieve proficiency in and advanced mastery of New York State Performance Standards. School II Director Leena Gyftopoulos stated, “I’m so proud for our school to be recognized. This honor highlights the hard work and dedication that our entire team has demonstrated over the past six years.”

    Gyftopoulos went on to say, “I attribute this achievement to the tireless work of our teachers, the constant leadership of our administrative team, and the tenacity of our scholars.” Charter schools like Classical provide a local high-quality public-school option to New York City’s students and put students first by leveraging the flexibility and autonomy of their charters to establish schools and create school cultures that are designed to serve the needs of the community.

    The U.S. Department of Education will honor the 312 public and 50 private schools at a formal recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C., this November.

    About Classical Charter Schools

    Classical Charter Schools is an award-winning charter school network founded in 2006 in our nation’s poorest congressional district to address the South Bronx’s stark inequality of access to education. For more information on Classical, visit classicalcharterschools.org.

    Media Contact: Amber Roussel, +1 (713) 530-0106

    Source: Classical Charter Schools

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • CDFA® Ivy Menchel Celebrates Second Anniversary of Leading NADP New York City Chapter

    CDFA® Ivy Menchel Celebrates Second Anniversary of Leading NADP New York City Chapter

    [ad_1]

    Menchel serves as director of one of the NADP’s first New York City chapters, one of over 30 NADP chapters nationwide.

    Press Release



    updated: Oct 15, 2019

    ​​​Ivy Menchel, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) and the president and founder of Family Wealth Planning Partners, is celebrating her second anniversary as director of one of the National Association of Divorce Professionals (NADP)’s first New York City chapters. Menchel was chosen by the NADP because of her numerous career accomplishments, industry and community involvement, and leadership abilities.

    “It has been inspiring and motivating to regularly meet with these talented professionals who are committed to improving the divorce experience for clients going through this emotional process,” Menchel said. “It’s an honor to have had a positive impact on the members of our chapter.”

    The NADP is an invitation-only networking and educational organization for professionals whose work involves helping clients going through a divorce. The NADP thoroughly vets professionals before offering membership. Only select members are chosen for leadership positions in one of the organizations more than 30 chapters nationwide. Chapters meet monthly to network and learn more about topics that affect members’ divorcing clients.

    “We are proud to have such highly regarded professionals like Ivy in the NADP,” said Vicky Townsend, CEO and co-founder of the NADP. “Under her leadership and commitment, her chapter is making a very positive impact on divorcing families in New York City and beyond. We couldn’t ask for a more qualified and dedicated leader.”

    With over 25 years of experience in financial services, Menchel focuses her practice on helping divorcing clients, along with their attorneys and mediators, make sound financial decisions as they transition into the next phase of their lives. In addition to her work as a CDFA, she is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and Certified Business Exit Consultant (CBEC®), making her one of the few professionals in her field to hold all three certifications.

    Beyond her private practice, Menchel is widely regarded as a thought leader in her field. Among other works, she authored the workbook “Define Your Wealth” and co-authored the e-book “Navigating Your Divorce: Legal, Financial and Emotional Basics.” Menchel is also a prominent member of several professional organizations including the Association of Divorce Financial Planners, the Family Divorce and Mediation Council of Greater New York, and many others. 

    After two successful years leading her chapter, Menchel looks forward to making her third even better. “I’m looking forward to continuing to grow our practices, educate one another, and improve the divorce process to better support our clients,” she said.

    ###

    To learn more about Ivy Menchel visit her NADP profile or her website at http://www.familywealthpp.com/.

    About the NADP: The National Association of Divorce Professionals is an invitation-only organization that unifies highly vetted professionals who serve clients going through all stages of divorce. The NADP is committed to making a positive impact on the divorce process through strategic alliances, divorce-centered education, and comprehensive professional development. Please visit www.thenadp.com for more information.

    Media Contact:
    ​Vicky Townsend
    ​vicky@thenadp.com
    888-624-7365

    Source: The NADP

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Robert A. Creo, Esquire, Has a Passion for Resolving Disputes

    Robert A. Creo, Esquire, Has a Passion for Resolving Disputes

    [ad_1]

    Press Release



    updated: Apr 9, 2018

    Robert A. Creo has over 40 years of practical experience in the dispute resolution field as an attorney, arbitrator, mediator and educator. He has served as a neutral in thousands of cases since 1979. He is an adjunct professor at Duquesne University School of Law. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and has authored numerous publications including “Alternative Dispute Resolution: Law Procedure and Commentary for the Pennsylvania Practitioner” (George T. Bisel Company Inc., October 2006). Mr. Creo graduated from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis in 1977 and Brandeis University in 1974. You can read Mr. Creo’s full bio here: https://www.robertcreo.com.

    He is a principal of a new website The Happy! Effective Lawyer, www.happy.lawyer, focusing on lawyer contentment and peak performance through online courses. The courses teach eight core competencies that scientific research has proven enhances both performance and contentment.

    I so very much enjoyed your most recent article in ‘The Effective Lawyer’ series on emailing and texting. Indeed, I’ve enjoyed all of the series, but this one in particular should be required reading for all attorneys, especially the younger ones. Thank you for taking the time to contribute a great column to The Pennsylvania Lawyer.

    Jacob Fisher, Esq., Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C., St. Davids, PA, Sept. 2017

    How will this help lawyers? Core competencies have been scientifically shown to enhance critical thinking, emotional intelligence, decision making, peak performance, and contentment.

    “I so very much enjoyed your most recent article in ‘The Effective Lawyer’ series on emailing and texting. Indeed, I’ve enjoyed all of the series, but this one in particular should be required reading for all attorneys, especially the younger ones. Thank you for taking the time to contribute a great column to The Pennsylvania Lawyer.” – Jacob Fisher, Esq., Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, P.C., St. Davids, PA, Sept. 2017

    Visit https://www.robertcreo.com/testimonials–honors.html for more testimonials and Robert A. Creo’s awards and honors. Mr. Creo is active in the Fox Chapel Rotary Club and has been supporting its charitable and humanitarian activities. 

    To interview Robert A. Creo, please contact his publicist Margaret Caccioppoli, Email: margaret@caccioppolianderson.com, Mobile: 347.426.7879

    Source: Robert A. Creo, Esquire

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Central Park Biking Company Gives Tourists Alternatives to Walking Around the City

    Central Park Biking Company Gives Tourists Alternatives to Walking Around the City

    [ad_1]

    Bike Rental Central Park, a tourism company, offers bicycle rentals to tourists visiting NY.

    Press Release



    updated: Jan 22, 2018

    ​​People often say that New York City is a walker’s paradise, and while that’s true, walking is far from the only way to see the city. Another option that is gaining popularity is biking, where tourists can still get fresh air while covering far more ground. Bike Rental Central Park gives tourists a way to see the city on bikes through guided tours of the most popular areas.

    Blair Nicole, the PR Director for Bike Rental Central Park says, “Exploring New York City is a big item on every tourist’s to-do list, and you don’t need to do it all on foot. A guided bike tour is a fun way to cover an entire area in a couple hours and get the lowdown on all the coolest spots along the way.”

    Exploring New York City is a big item on every tourist’s to-do list, and you don’t need to do it all on foot. A guided bike tour is a fun way to cover an entire area in a couple hours and get the lowdown on all the coolest spots along the way.

    Spokesperson, Bike Rental Central Park

    For tourists visiting New York City soon or for locals who would like to see more of it, a bike tour may be worth a try. Bike Rental Central Park says that its customers point out a few particular bike tour benefits that they appreciate the most.

    • See More of the City in Less Time

    There are many ways to see New York City. Taking the bus or the subway to get around are good transportation methods, but then tourists are stuck in a vehicle and not truly experiencing the city. While walking gets visitors out and about, it’s only possible to walk so far.

    Bike Rental Central Park lists how long each tour lasts in terms of miles and time on its site, with most taking two to three hours and covering seven to 10 miles. It’s a relaxed pace with plenty of designated stops along the way, but bicyclists still get to cover an entire area of their choosing, such as Central Park or Harlem.

    • Trained and Experienced Staff Guide Each Tour

    Another challenge when someone sets out to see the city on their own is deciding where to go. Even if the route is planned in advance, there will still be some trial and error involved, and tourists won’t know all the parts of the city like a local would.

    Each Bike Rental Central Park tour has experienced staff to guide visitors along the way, which means they don’t need to worry about the navigation aspect. They can show visitors the movie sites, celebrity apartments and other points of interest along the way that they may have missed otherwise.

    • There Are Plenty of Photo Opportunities

    On a tour, there will be several designated stops where tourists can give their legs a break. While stopped, it’s a great opportunity to get some pictures and talk more with the tour guide about the area.

    These designated stops often coincide with famous landmarks or other points of interest. If you want to learn more about the city, a bike tour gives visitors the ideal opportunity to do so.

    For more information on the bike tour options, please visit Bike Rental Central Park. Interview requests and press inquiries should be directed to Media Moguls PR at Blair@Blair-Nicole.com.

    About Bike Rental Central Park:

    Bike Rental Central Park is a bike rental and tour company based in New York. The company has day and evening tours in various parts of New York City.

    Source: Bike Rental Central Park

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • KAFFNY Infinite Cinema 2017 Returns to Willamsburg Brooklyn for 11th Year on Saturday October 14th *Featuring Free Fashion Film Screening*

    KAFFNY Infinite Cinema 2017 Returns to Willamsburg Brooklyn for 11th Year on Saturday October 14th *Featuring Free Fashion Film Screening*

    [ad_1]

    ‘Korean American Film Festival New York’ explores the infinite connections between cultures through food, fashion, migration and cinema

    KAFFNY Infinite Cinema will return to New York City for the 11th year on Saturday, Oct. 14. Held at the Brooklyn hotspot The Wythe Hotel Cinema from 1:00 p.m. until Midnight 12:00 a.m., the annual event will celebrate some of the most promising indie filmmakers of different cultures from around the world.

    This year, five distinct blocks of programming will approach the topic of Infinite Culture through specific lenses: INFINITE FOOD CONNECTIONINFINITE FASHION CONNECTIONWORLDWIDE KOREAN CONNECTIONINFINITE MIGRATION CONNECTION, and CRAZY, RICH ASIAN AMERICANS. Alongside the screening of 25 short films and two feature-length films, the audience will also get the opportunities to engage in meaningful discussions with the filmmakers during the moderated panel discussions.

    The past ten years of experience in telling Korean American stories helped KAFFNY to identify and find commonality with other stories at the intersection of all cultures. We are ready to evolve, with a new mission to identify unifying commonalities and bust cultural stereotypes by connecting voices through our shared experiences.

    Chung Tsang, President of KAFFNY

    “We are very excited about returning to New York and continue to celebrate the connection of cultures through films,” says Chung Tsang, the President of KAFFNY. “The past ten years of experience in telling Korean American stories helped KAFFNY to identify and find commonality with other stories at the intersection of all cultures. We are ready to evolve, with a new mission to identify unifying commonalities and bust cultural stereotypes by connecting voices through our shared experiences.”

    Previously named KAFFNY (Korean American Film Festival New York, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit), the group has recently rebranded as KAFFNY Infinite Cinema. For 11 years, it has explored cultural fusion through the medium of film. KAFFNY Infinite Cinema’s mission is to allow the audience to connect stories that are often missing from the mainstream narrative, allow the audience to engage in dialogue with the content makers to fuse a new understanding of our world, and hopefully inspire our audience to repeat this process by seeking out new ways to connect to a culture outside their own. Which is KAFFNY’s motto: CONNECT. FUSE. REPEAT.

    EVENT DETAILS

    The 11th Annual KAFFNY INFINITE CINEMA 2017

    • Venue: Wythe Hotel Cinema (80 Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11249)
    • Date: Saturday, Oct. 14
    • Time: 1:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
    • Official event site – kaffny.org
    • Tickets Online – $7-$15 per screening (3PM Fashion Film Screening FREE)
    • kaffny.eventbrite.com

    Sponsors:

    • viddsee.com (Asian shorts platform, Singapore)
    • Post Fin (DCP Services, Seoul)
    • Wythe Hotel Cinema (venue sponsor)
    • Karaoke City (venue sponsor)
    • 88rising (music partner)
    • Re/make (content partner)
    • Munchies (content partner)
    • Godmode music (content partner)

    A Complete list of films:

    On Saturday, Oct. 14 KAFFNY Infinite Cinema invites filmgoers to a one-day cinematic passport experience. Embracing the motto of CONNECT. FUSE. REPEAT. KAFFNY Infinite Cinema challenges its audience to discard notions of cultures as separate, discrete and insular, instead exploring the infinite possibilities of contact, fusion, and creation born from the mixing of different backgrounds. Let the screen transport your mind to new places, new practices, and new perspectives, leaving you entertained, challenged and confident to forge new relationships with those outside of your bubble.

    Five distinct blocks of programming will approach the topic of Infinite Culture through specific lenses with thematic panel discussions to follow.

    INFINITE FOOD CONNECTION – 1:00 p.m.

    On the menu of this program is a group of short fiction and documentary films highlighting the bonding power of food as a centerpiece of human nourishment. After the screening, we’ll have a panel to discuss the many different stories behind the people who make the food that we eat.

    Films include The Last Tip by Patrick Chen (4:36), Cooking With Granny by Caroline Shin (10:00), Shield by Yijie Mei (20:00), Kimchi Taco by Seran Kim (14:16), Migrant Kitchen by Sarah K. Khan (10:00), Refugee Chef by Ben Ferguson for Munchies (10:00).

    **FREE** INFINITE FASHION CONNECTION – 3:00 p.m. **FREE with RSVP**

    Go behind the glamour of the runway, exploring the lives of those who create the clothes and the nuanced relationship between self-expression and fashion. Stay woke on world fashion with this selection of short films. After the screening, we will have a panel to discuss ethical fashion and how the clothes we choose impacts people who make them.

    Films include Prince’s Test by Amy Park (5:20), Euna by Seung-Hyun Chong (18:24), Perception by Minu Park (2:13), Factory Man by Jihye Ku (4:33), En Route by Anman Cao (10:04), Made In Cambodia by Asad Faruqi for Re/make (9:33)

    WORLDWIDE KOREAN CONNECTION – 5:00 p.m.

    Shorts. Embracing KAFFNY’s legacy as a platform for narratives of the Korean and Korean Diaspora community, this is our 11th annual selection of both English and Korean language films. A few films focus on mental health & domestic abuse which we seek to discuss and explore after the screening.

    Films include I’m Here, Too by Eunsoo Jeong (5:00), Mom by Mingi Kim (8:00), Fractured by Arnold Chun (13:51), Angeltown by Nancy Liu (20:30), Tetsu Kono’s Crazy Routine by Sébastien Simon (16:30), Fault by Daniel Lee (10:17), Family by Seung-Hyun Chong (22:34)

    INFINITE MIGRATION CONNECTION – 7:30 P.M.

    U.S. Premiere for our centerpiece documentary screening of “Amsterdam Stories: West.” Join a modern day Lewis and Clark as they traverse American communities in various towns and cities named Amsterdam, reflecting on local history, individual struggles, and a poignant examination from the eyes of foreigners of the enduring legacy of the American Dream.

    Along with the short film Dear Mother, these stories that deal with issues of home, migration, and adoption. After the screening, we’ll have an interactive experience led by Kayla Tange, a performance artist and the subject of Dear Mother.

    Films include Dear Mother by Matthew Kaundart (3:45), Amsterdam Stories USA – West by Rob Rombout & Rogier van Eck (90:00)

    CRAZY, RICH, ASIAN AMERICANS? – 10:00 p.m.

    These two films tell two very different stories set around characters who are part of rich Asian American families. Is being rich and Asian American a blessing or a curse? Come to the screening and discussion afterwards as we try to find the answer to that question.

    Films include Lola by Isabella Tan (25:00), The Last Tour by Ryun Yu (71:00)

    About KAFFNY

    KAFFNY Infinite Cinema is a new international cinema festival platform dedicated to the exploring the infinite cultural connections that intersect in our world. Embracing the motto of CONNECT. FUSE. REPEAT. KAFFNY Infinite Cinema challenges its audience to discard notions of cultures as separate, discrete and insular, instead exploring the infinite possibilities of contact, fusion, and creation born from the mixing of different backgrounds. Let the screen transport your mind to new places, new practices, and new perspectives, leaving you entertained, challenged and confident to forge new relationships with those outside of your bubble. For more information, please visit: http://kaffny.org

    For media requests, please contact:

    Chung Tsang
    KAFFNY Infinite Cinema
    Tel: 201-496-4723
    Email: chung@kaffny.com

    Source: KAFFNY Infinite Cinema

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • The Future is Unwritten – Finding Hope in the Face of Global Uncertainty

    The Future is Unwritten – Finding Hope in the Face of Global Uncertainty

    [ad_1]

    A RIOT original short film, shot in New York City that highlights the grim realities of changing times.

    Press Release



    updated: Dec 20, 2016

    2016 has been a year of heavy emotion for everyone. We’ve had to cope with the loss of some of the world’s brightest talents whilst also enduring what has been some of humanity’s most painful and personal struggles ever witnessed.  Many are ready to put 2016 behind them already, left wondering what the future may hold for the world and humanity in general in 2017.

    Shot on a freezing cold day on the streets of New York City, “The Future Is Unwritten” is a short film that was carefully crafted by Chris “MUG5” Maguire and Zach Jopling for pioneering NYC creative agency RIOT. Jopling and Maguire pose one question to their subjects asking them about their individual hopes for the world in 2017. While the answers are as diverse as the people themselves, ranging from understanding, unity, and peace, to love and finding common ground, one word repeatedly surfaces and serves as a common thread, connecting each and every individual: hope.

    “The Future Is Unwritten” is a short film we created to showcase real peoples feelings and hopes for the world moving in to 2017. It is a project we are very passionate about and one we hope gets to be seen across the world.

    Chris MUG5 Maguire, Filmmaker

    The Future Is Unwritten” is a carefully and lovingly cultivated short film that is beautifully rendered in black and white to capture intimacy and urgency through the eyes of the subjects, with a perception of how even the smallest details matter.  The soundtrack is dramatic and simple, consisting of little more than a stunning piano motif rippling over a flurry of percussion and a New York City streetscape. It’s bold and expressive but also stunningly alluring and further amplifies the dialogue and gorgeously gritty New York scenery, effectively underscoring the collective emotions of peace, love and hope.

    The future is unwritten, but that doesn’t mean we have to blindly accept the potential fate that is lurking in the shadows. As this short film proves, humanity has the power to create a world that it wants to live in – one full of love, acceptance, understanding, and compassion, and the tools needed to create this reality lie in the hands and hearts of everyone.

    About RIOT – A New York City Creative Agency:

    RIOT was founded with one aim: to put a whole new spin on creativity. A New York City based Creative Agency we smash rudimental, old-school, text book thought & creative processes.  We break down creativity blocking walls, and we annihilate the rules & regulations that have stifled the creative world far too long. We mix creation with technology to offer breathtaking results.

    Media Contact: 
    Chris MUG5 Maguire 
    Phone: 646.713.7170 
    Email: chris@riot.nyc

    The Future Is Unwritten” direct link: https://vimeo.com/196228633

    The Future Is Unwritten” hi-resolution imagery: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q2kl380st83xydl/AAD57KZjbYhUU3k-s6K57RsBa?dl=0

    @riotwashere​

    Source: RIOT

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Dance Education Documentary PS DANCE! Is Nominated for a New York Emmy

    Dance Education Documentary PS DANCE! Is Nominated for a New York Emmy

    [ad_1]

    PS DANCE!, an inspirational film about dance education in New York City public schools, has been nominated for a New York Emmy in the Documentary category. The New York Emmy Awards will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2016.

    PS DANCE! showcases the profound effects of consistent and sequential dance education programs in five NYC public schools. It debuted on public television on THIRTEEN/WNET, WLIW21 and NJTV in May 2015 and has been broadcast on public television channels across the nation.

    PS DANCE!, an inspirational film about dance education in New York City public schools, has been nominated for a New York Emmy in the Documentary category. The New York Emmy Awards will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2016.

    PS DANCE! showcases the profound effects of consistent and sequential dance education programs in five NYC public schools. It debuted on public television on THIRTEEN/WNET, WLIW21 and NJTV in May 2015 and has been broadcast on public television channels across the nation including stations in Denver, Tampa, Rochester, Miami, Boston, Albany, Orlando, Detroit, San Francisco, Phoenix, Cleveland, New York and New Jersey.

    After the initial broadcast, the full film became available for online viewing at http://www.thirteen.org/programs/thirteen-specials/ps-dance. PS DANCE! was a featured screening at Dance Films Association’s 2016 Dance on Camera Festival and has been discussed on panels during Dance/NYC’s 2016 Symposium, the 2015 National Dance Education Organization conference, and more.

    Hosted by veteran TV journalist Paula Zahn and filmed in the classrooms of five NYC public school full-time certified dance educators, this film reveals the impact that dance instruction has on students’ aesthetic, artistic and expressive development. While every child is born with the innate inclination to create, imagine and dance, PS DANCE! highlights how the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance, PreK-12, supports dance teachers in developing these qualities. The Blueprint, used by dance teachers citywide, frames this documentary created by Executive Producer Jody Gottfried Arnhold, Director and Producer Nel Shelby, and Dance Education Consultant Joan Finkelstein. The film was developed in collaboration with the NYC Department of Education Office of Arts and Special Projects.

    The documentary captures a typical day in the classrooms of five extraordinary master dance educators: Catherine Gallant (Pre-K-5), Battery Park City’s P.S. 89; Ana Nery Fragoso (K-5), the current NYCDOE Director of Dance, P.S 315 in Midwood; Michael Kerr (6-8), Brooklyn’s New Voices School of Academic & Creative Arts; Patricia Dye (9-12), Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts in Downtown Brooklyn; and Ani Udovicki (9-12), Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, in Long Island City.

    After the film’s release, Arnhold, Shelby and Finkelstein launched an organization with the mission: Dance for Every Child. Dance education enthusiasts can submit their details at psdancenyc.com and join in advocating for more dance in schools. The movement will empower implementation of quality dance programs in schools across the nation.

    PS DANCE! is available on DVD distributed by First Run Features and for rent or purchase on Vimeo. All proceeds from the sale of the film will go to The Fund for Public Schools for dance education programs in NYC Public Schools.

    JOIN THE MOVEMENT: DANCE FOR EVERY CHILD
    Visit psdancenyc.com to join the movement to bring dance to every child and follow the discussion on social media on Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram or by using the hashtags #psdancenyc and #danceforeverychild.

    ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

    Jody Gottfried Arnhold is a passionate dance advocate and educator. She taught dance in NYC public schools for over twenty years, founded Dance Education Laboratory 92Y (DEL), supports the dance program at NYC Dept. of Education, created the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College, and supported and mentored countless dance teachers many of whom now lead the field. She champions and supports NYC dance companies including Ballet Hispanico where she is Honorary Chair. Arnhold serves on the Board at 92Y, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Hunter College, Chairs Hunter’s Dance Advisory Committee, and is on Dance/NYC’s Advisory Committee. She has received the National Dance Education Organization’s Visionary Award, Teachers College Distinguished Alumni Award, the New York State Dance Education Association 2015 Outstanding Leadership Award, Dance Films Association’s 2016 Dance in Focus Award, and was honored by the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable and Lincoln Center Education for her commitment to dance education. She holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and M.A. in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is a Certified Movement Analyst. Arnhold continues these efforts as the Executive Producer of the NY Emmy nominated documentary, PS DANCE!, to raise awareness and advocate for her mission Dance for Every Child. It is not just a movie. It is a movement – and Arnhold leads it!

    Nel Shelby, Director and Producer of PS DANCE! and founder and principal at dance film production company Nel Shelby Productions, is deeply dedicated to the preservation and promotion of dance through documentation of live performance, creative video marketing and original filmmaking. Her NYC-based video production company, Nel Shelby Productions, has grown to encompass a long and diverse list of dance clients, and her team has filmed performances at venues throughout the greater New York area and beyond. Shelby serves as Festival Videographer for the internationally celebrated Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival each summer and is also Resident Videographer at the Vail International Dance Festival. Her longer-form, half-hour documentary on Vail’s festival, The Altitude of Dance, debuted on Rocky Mountain PBS in May 2013. In 2016, she will have a premiere screening of a new half-hour dance documentary featuring Nejla Y. Yatkin that she filmed in Central America in 2010. Shelby created four short films for Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, and she collaborated with Adam Barruch Dance on a short film titled “Folie a Deux,” which was selected and screened at the Dance on Camera Festival in New York City and San Francisco Dance Film Festival. She has a long personal history with movement – in addition to her degree in broadcast video, she holds a B.F.A. in dance and is a certified Pilates instructor.

    Joan Finkelstein, Dance Education Consultant for PS DANCE! and Executive Director of the Harkness Foundation for Dance, performed professionally in modern, ballet and Afro-Caribbean dance companies and in RAGS on Broadway, choreographed for the Atlanta Ballet and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and has taught children and adults across the nation. She directed the 92Y Harkness Dance Center from 1992-2004, overseeing classes, the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) teacher-training program, performances, workshops, lectures, and social dances. As Director of Dance for the New York City Department of Education from 2004-2014, she spearheaded the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Dance PreK-12 and ongoing professional development for dance teachers. A member of the Dance Writing Task Force that created the new National Core Arts Standards in Dance, she received the National Dance Education Organization’s 2009 Leadership Award and the New York State Dance Education Association’s 2014 Outstanding Leadership Award. Finkelstein holds a BFA (Dance Performance) and MFA (Choreography) from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

    Related Media

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Caesars and SL Green join in a new Caesars Rewards partnership for local merchants in greater New York City | Yogonet International

    Caesars and SL Green join in a new Caesars Rewards partnership for local merchants in greater New York City | Yogonet International

    [ad_1]

    Caesars Entertainment and SL Green Realty Corp have announced a new Caesars Rewards partnership for local merchants in greater New York City as a part of their pursuit of a gaming license in Times Square

    If Caesars Palace Times Square in Manhattan is selected among the licensees of New York City’s casino race, Caesars Rewards members will be able to use their Rewards Gift Card Network, including participating hotels, restaurants, retailers, comedy clubs, entertainment venues and more across New York. 

    As part of Caesars and SL Green’s joint bid with Roc Nation to bring casino gaming to Times Square, the companies said they “are committed to supporting local businesses.” 

    Caesars and SL Green have begun signing up new merchants in Times Square and greater New York to join the Coalition for A Better Times Square. Participating merchants’ involvement in Caesars Rewards would be effective upon SL Green and Caesars’ procurement of a New York State gaming license. 

    As part of the program, Caesars Rewards members will be able to use Reward Credits for gift cards valid at participating New York businesses, allowing Caesars to inject millions of new dollars into the local economy. 

    Caesars Rewards members would also be able to earn credits when using their Caesars Rewards credit card at participating businesses. 


    Tom Reeg.

    Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, said: “Caesars Rewards is the largest and most successful gaming loyalty program in the world, and it is a natural fit to bring it to a city like New York.” 

    “We know from experience that investing in cities and neighborhoods benefits everyone involved. By expanding our powerful Rewards program in New York, we can better ensure that our work in Times Square creates good jobs and allows small businesses to grow and thrive.”

    Marc Holliday, CEO of SL Green, said: “Our vision is to build a gaming and entertainment destination that fits into the fabric of New York. Guests at Caesars Palace Times Square might game at our tables, but they are going to eat at area restaurants, stay in neighborhood hotels, see Broadway shows and shop at stores in Times Square and across the city.”


    Marc Holliday.

    “By expanding the Caesars Rewards program in New York City, we can formalize that relationship with local businesses and demonstrate our deep commitment to New York’s economic future,” he added.  

    Jeff Garcia, President NYS Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association and owner of Mon Amour Coffee and Wine Bar in The Bronx, stated: “As a small and minority-owned business owner and a New York State Latino Restaurant and Bar Association member, we are excited to join this coalition as this partnership will provide economic opportunity by attracting visitors and therefore future customers for our members in all five boroughs.”

    Caesars Rewards has more than 60 million members, and is one of the largest loyalty programs in the gaming industry. Members can earn and redeem credits across the network for the experiences they value most.

    Caesars Rewards members also have access to exclusive benefits and member rates at all Caesars Rewards destinations, invitation-only events, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences thanks to an extensive collection of sports, entertainment, celebrity chef, and travel partnerships.

    Caesars, SL Green, and Roc Nation are jointly pursuing a license to convert existing office space at 1515 Broadway and create Caesars Palace Times Square. The venue would include 250,000 square feet of gaming and a 950-room hotel. Caesars Palace Times Square will be 100% privately funded. 

     

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • New York City: Renderings unveiled for light installation at Soloviev Group’s proposed Midtown East casino site | Yogonet International

    New York City: Renderings unveiled for light installation at Soloviev Group’s proposed Midtown East casino site | Yogonet International

    [ad_1]

    Renderings have now been released for the upcoming Field of Light at Freedom Plaza, a sprawling light installation by designer Bruce Munro that is set to grace the site of a proposed casino in Midtown East.

    The project, financed by the Soloviev Group, owner of the vacant land, will feature 17,000 low-light, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that change colors, creating an enchanting landscape across six acres near the United Nations headquarters. The installation will debut this winter, welcoming the public for a free viewing experience, 6sqft reported.

    Field of Light is scheduled to be on display for a duration of 12 monthsThe Soloviev Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Soloviev Group, has allocated approximately $1.5 million to fund the light installation and oversee its maintenance, as reported by the New York Times. Michael Hershman, CEO of the Soloviev Group, characterized the installation as a “gift to New York.”

    The Soloviev Group is among several developers vying for one of up to three casino licenses to be made available in the New York City area. Earlier this year, the group unveiled plans for Freedom Plaza, a mixed-use development anchored by a partially subterranean casino operated by Mohegan.

    The proposed project also includes a 1,200-room hotel, two residential towers featuring condominium and rental units (with some designated as affordable housing), over four acres of public green space, and a human rights museum housing sections of the Berlin Wall.

    It’s worth noting that the initial proposal mentioned a giant Ferris wheel for the site, but this idea has since been abandoned, as reported by the New York Times.

    As many as a dozen casino operators could ultimately vie for the three downstate casino licenses New York state gaming regulators are set to award. The frontrunners for two of the permits are believed to be Genting and MGM Resorts, operators of Resorts World New York City in Queens and Empire City Casino in Yonkers, respectively. The licenses would allow the properties, currently limited to slot machines only, to expand their gaming offerings.

    [ad_2]

    Source link