New York lawmakers are set to crack down on unregulated marijuana shops as fears grow that they are a front for money laundering to Middle East terrorist organizations, such as Hamas.
Concerned politicians are also seeking legislation to help root out the back-door operations, the New York Post reported.
However, such stores have remained relatively under the radar in part thanks to local laws that govern so-called LLCs, or limited-liability companies.
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal told the Post that terrorists may be benefitting from the flaws in the system.
New York lawmakers are set to crack down on unregulated marijuana shops after fears they are a front for money laundering to Middle East terrorist organizations, such as Hamas
Concerned politicians are also seeking legislation to help root out the potential back-door operations
‘We know LLCs are used to hide and funnel money to unsavory causes and could be used to fund terrorist activities,’ said Hoylman-Sigal, who is the lead sponsor of the LLC Transparency Act.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if there were individuals or groups of individuals who are financing these shops in a comprehensive manner, but we won’t know until we get to the heart of their ownership,’ he added.
The LLC Transparency Act would require LLCs to report…
Former President Donald Trump briefly took the stand to testify in his civil fraud trial Wednesday after he made a comment earlier in the day about the judge’s clerk. Trump was then fined another $10,000 for violating a gag order. Robert Costa has more.
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On the second day of Michael Cohen’s testimony against former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud trial, a lawyer with the New York attorney general’s office objected to a question from Trump attorney Alina Habba.
The prosecutor, Colleen Faherty, said Habba’s questions appeared to be “bleeding into” issues related to a criminal case against the president, for which Cohen is also a key witness.
Cohen is a former Trump Organization executive who was for years among Trump’s closest confidants. Now he’s at the center of two cases, a criminal one brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and a civil one brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Michael Cohen gives a thumbs-up at New York State Supreme Court, where he testified in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial on Oct. 25, 2023.
Bloomberg
In the courtroom for Cohen’s testimony Wednesday were Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, two lawyers who represent Trump in his criminal case, in which he has entered a not guilty plea to 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. Several rows behind them was Susan Hoffinger, one of the lead prosecutors in that case, along with four others.
Cohen’s 2019 congressional testimony, in which he said that Trump artificially inflated his wealth, spurred both of the New York investigations. In the civil case, James’ office is seeking $250 million in what it calls “ill-gotten gains” and sanctions that would hamper Trump’s ability to do business in the state.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases.
On Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys repeatedly attacked Cohen’s credibility, continuing an effort that began Tuesday when Cohen acknowledged he lied when he entered a guilty plea to tax evasion in 2018.
Habba said Cohen has “interjected himself into many cases involving my client.”
Former President Donald Trump sits in court with attorneys Alina Habba and Christopher Kise during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on Oct. 25, 2023.
Seth Wenig / Getty Images
Not long after, she asked if Cohen was ever represented by Robert Costello, an attorney who appeared, at Trump’s request, before the New York criminal grand jury that indicted Trump in March. Cohen said no.
Costello has claimed that Cohen confided in him, and sought to discredit Cohen to the grand jury, saying Cohen was on a “revenge tour” against Trump.
Habba asked if Cohen ever told Costello, “I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.”
Cohen said he didn’t recall saying that.
Did Cohen ever tell Costello that he would do whatever it takes to avoid jail time, Habba asked.
Cohen said he didn’t recall saying that.
Attorney general and Manhattan D.A. “working in tandem”
A few minutes later, Cohen testified that members of both James’ and Bragg’s offices were in some meetings with him. Both offices have acknowledged previously that members of James’ office were assigned to work with Bragg’s office.
“So the A.G’s office and the D.A.’s office were working in tandem?” Habba asked.
“That is correct,” Cohen says.
Soon after that, Faherty told Judge Arthur Engoron that she was worried the questioning was “bleeding into” the other case.
Habba was allowed to continue. She brought up a book by Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who previously led the D.A. office’s investigation into Trump. The book describes some of what would ultimately be nearly two dozen meetings between Cohen and investigators for the Manhattan district attorney before Trump’s indictment.
Pomerantz wrote that Cohen’s criminal history raised potential credibility issues. Not mentioned during the testimony, Pomerantz also wrote that he “thought [Cohen] was telling the truth.”
A light moment came soon after Habba brought up that Cohen testified under oath that he assisted in falsifying valuations, but has neither been named as a defendant in the attorney general’s case nor the district attorney’s.
Habba asked if that might be because James’ office didn’t find him credible.
“You’re drawing a conclusion that I don’t know, you can ask Ms. James,” Cohen replied.
From the front row of the gallery, James loudly said, “objection,” eliciting laughter.
New York Attorney General Letitia James watches proceedings in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial on Oct. 25, 2023, as Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified for a second day.
Seth Wenig/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Habba also attacked Cohen’s credibility by highlighting what the defense has argued are his motivations for testifying against Trump.
Habba showed text messages entered into evidence in Cohen’s federal criminal case. In the texts from early 2017, an unidentified person asks Cohen who will be White House chief of staff.
The unidentified person guessed Trump’s daughter Ivanka, Jared Kushner and others.
“Keep guessing dopey,” Cohen wrote.
“Stop!!! You???” the person replied.
“I will give you a hint….yes,” Cohen texted.
“omg,” the person replied.
Cohen was not named chief of staff, but he testified that he didn’t ask for that job.
“I was given the position that I asked for. There’s no shame to being personal attorney to the president,” Cohen said.
From adoration to animosity
Habba later brought up Cohen’s many media appearances criticizing Trump, contrasting his public animosity to Trump in recent years with his statements of adoration before Trump’s election and during his first year in office — when Cohen famously once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump.
Habba showed a 2015 television interview in which Cohen said $10 billion could be an underestimate of Trump’s wealth, and an article from that same year in which he was quoted saying Trump had “all the qualifications of a great president.” In another article, Cohen was quoted speaking glowingly of “Mr. Trump’s character and capabilities.” In a tweet, Cohen wrote he believed “whole heartedly that only #Trump will #MakeAmericaGreatAgain.”
But in recent years, Cohen has made a career out of criticizing Trump, he acknowledged on the stand Wednesday.
Habba asked if Cohen talks about Trump during every episode of his podcast. He said he does.
“Mr. Cohen, you have financial incentive to criticize Mr. Trump, correct?” Habba asked.
“Yes,” Cohen said.
She finished her questioning by asking, “Did you ever ask President Trump to pardon you while he was in the White House?”
“No,” Cohen replied.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress.
Cohen was also repeatedly asked about 2019 Senate testimony in which he said Trump never asked him to inflate numbers for “his personal statement.” On the stand Wednesday, Cohen initially called that a lie, before saying he was mistaken in calling it that. He said Trump never directly asked him.
His apparent uncertainty caused Clifford Robert, an attorney for Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to ask Judge Engoron to summarily end the case.
Engoron denied the request. Trump immediately stood up and walked out, his Secret Service detail in tow.
Motion to dismiss “absolutely denied”
During redirect questioning by the state, Cohen was asked to explain further the issue with his Senate testimony.
“He did not specifically state, ‘Michael, go inflate the numbers,” Cohen said. “Donald Trump speaks like a mob boss. He tells you what he wants without explicitly telling you. We understood what he wanted.”
Before Cohen was excused, Robert moved again to dismiss the case on the grounds that Cohen, whom he called a key witness, had lied several times. “End this once and for all,” he asked the judge just before court was adjourned for the day.
“Absolutely denied,” Judge Engoron said, adding that there is plenty of evidence in the case, credible or not, and that he doesn’t consider Cohen to be a key witness. “No way, no how… there is enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom.”
Cohen alleged in his first day of testimony Tuesday that Trump told him to adjust statements of financial conditions — documents at the core of the fraud case — to arrive at a net worth that Trump assigned himself “arbitrarily.”
Cohen’s testimony under cross-examination both days was often combative. Cohen several times replied to Habba’s questions with the phrase, “asked and answered” — an objection lawyers sometimes raise, but witnesses cannot.
At one point Tuesday, Trump attorney Christopher Kise jumped out of his chair. He protested to the judge, saying, “this witness is out of control.”
Trump questioned on gag order, fined $10,000
While Cohen was the focus of lawyers in the courtroom Wednesday, a statement made just outside the doors during a break brought the focus back to Trump.
During a mid-morning break, Trump made a reference to reporters about “a person who is very partisan sitting alongside” the judge. The judge’s clerk, Allison Greenfield, typically sits right next to the judge, and during pretrial hearings often questioned attorneys for the two sides herself.
Earlier in the month, the judge imposed a limited gag order barring Trump from making inflammatory comments about court staff after he posted about Greenfield on social media.
During the court’s lunch break, after reporters were led from the room, lawyers from both sides and Trump remained inside for nearly an hour.
Trump acknowledged making the statement, but said it was about “you and Cohen.”
“You didn’t mean the person on the other side of me?” Engoron asked, referring to Greenfield.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Trump said.
Soon after, Trump was allowed off the stand. Engoron issued him a $10,000 fine.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media moments after he was fined $10,000 by a New York judge for his second violation of a partial gag order on Oct. 25, 2023.
/ Getty Images
Attorneys for Trump protested, saying Greenfield’s behavior was unusual for a law clerk.
Trump attorney Alina Habba said she “does not like being yelled at by law clerks who did not earn the robe,” and said Greenfield’s ” influence on the bench is completely inappropriate and it should stop.”
Engoron countered that his practice is to consult with his law clerks.
“I value input from both my law clerks,” Engoron said. “Every judge does things differently. I don’t know if others have them sit on the bench, that’s how I do things. I make the final decisions.”
This is the second time Trump has been fined since the gag order was put in place. He was fined $5,000 on Oct. 20, because a replication of the since-deleted social media post that sparked the order had never been taken down from a campaign site.
Engoron implied Trump will be fined more if he breaks the gag order again.
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen testified at Trump’s civil fraud trial Tuesday. Cohen worked for the former president for several years and said Trump told him to inflate his net worth and property values. CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa has more.
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Former President Donald Trump is set to confront one of his most prominent accusers Tuesday, when his former attorney Michael Cohen takes the stand in Trump’s New York fraud trial.
Cohen, who was Trump’s “fixer” for years, is a key witness against Trump in the New York civil case, as well as a separate Manhattan criminal case. In the civil case, Cohen is expected to testify about alleged communications with Trump and others about so-called statements of financial conditions.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump, his adult sons and their company of using the statements to falsify the values of Trump properties, and ultimately Trump’s overall wealth, in order to gain undeserved loan terms that in fact did increase Trump’s wealth by hundreds of millions.
The state is demanding $250 million from the Trumps and their company — a clawback of what it calls “ill-gotten gains” — and asking a judge to order sanctions designed to limit their ability to do business in the state. Judge Arthur Engoron has already found Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud. The trial is continuing over other allegations, including falsification of records, conspiracy and insurance fraud.
Cohen was originally expected to take the stand on Oct. 17, but his testimony was delayed due to illness. Trump, who is not required to attend the trial, did so that day and mocked Cohen, telling reporters Cohen “didn’t have the guts” to face him.
Cohen shot back at Trump in a text message to CBS News that day.
“If I was afraid of Donald, I wouldn’t have written 2 NYT bestsellers, testified before the Mueller team, seven congressional committees, 23 appearances before the Manhattan DA, and provided information to the NYAG that is the basis of this trial. Looking forward to seeing you in court very soon!” Cohen said.
Cohen testified to Congress in 2019 that Trump artificially inflated his wealth. The testimony spurred both this civil investigation and a criminal investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The criminal probe resulted in the first indictment of a former president in American history. Trump entered a not guilty plea in April in that case, in which he’s charged with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in both cases, as well as three others in which he is charged, claiming a coordinated effort by prosecutors aligned with his political foes to prevent him from being president again. Trump is seeking a return to the White House in the 2024 election.
Trump and attorneys for him and his co-defendants, who all deny wrongdoing in the case, have derided Cohen as a flawed witness, who shouldn’t be trusted, due to his criminal history. Cohen entered a guilty plea in 2018 to federal campaign finance violations and tax evasion.
For years, prior to that case, Cohen was among Trump’s most trusted employees and advisers — a “fixer” relied on to solve pressing issues both in and out of the public eye.
Cohen is now a fierce adversary of Trump. He hosts a podcast that frequently focuses on Trump’s legal troubles, laced with biting, derogatory criticism of the former president.
On Tuesday, he’ll be asked by lawyers for the state whether he has personal knowledge of Trump’s alleged involvement with fraud.
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
The political fight over whether workers on strike should be allowed to collect unemployment benefits is reigniting in Washington.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is running for Senate, is planning to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would provide unemployment benefits nationwide to workers on strike. Most states don’t allow striking workers to collect unemployment with the exception of New York and New Jersey. Eligibility requirements and the amount of weekly unemployment pay also varies by state.
Under the Empowering Striking Workers Act of 2023, workers would be able to collect unemployment pay after two weeks on strike, according to a draft of the bill viewed by The Times. Workers would also be eligible for unemployment benefits starting on the date a lockout begins, when the employer hired permanent replacement workers or if the worker becomes unemployed after a strike or lock-out ends, whichever is earlier.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Donald Norcross of New Jersey and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York also are sponsoring the bill. Labor unions SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America, the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO are supporting the legislation as well, according to Schiff’s office.
But with Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, the odds that the bill will pass are slim. Businesses have strongly opposed the idea because they said it would lead to higher employer taxes. Employers pay state and federal payroll taxes to fund the unemployment insurance program.
The expected introduction of a federal bill comes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed state legislation in September to provide unemployment for striking workers. Newsom said he did so because of financial concerns, a move highly criticized by labor leaders.
California borrowed billions of dollars from the federal government to cover unemployment benefits, and the state’s unemployment fund debt was projected to be nearly $20 billion by the end of the year. California’s unemployment pay is $450 a week for a maximum of 26 weeks. Business fought the bill because they said they would pay additional taxes annually to repay California’s loan from the federal government.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA lobbied for the expanded benefits, saying that they would help workers pay their bills. While members rely on side jobs and strike funds to stay afloat, that income dwindles the longer a strike goes on. The 148-day Hollywood writers strike ended after WGA members ratified a new contract. Actors and crew members represented by SAG-AFTRA have been on strike for more than 100 days.
Democrats have expressed support for labor unions ahead of the 2024 elections. Labor unions including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Communication Workers of America and the Amalgamated Transit Union have endorsed Schiff for Senate, while other unions have endorsed his main Democratic rivals in the race.
During an October debate in Los Angeles, Schiff, along with California Democratic Senate candidates Barbara Lee and Katie Porter, disagreed with Newsom’s decision to veto the bill to provide striking workers unemployment benefits. He mentioned during that event he was working on federal legislation.
“When they go and strike for better work and better wages for themselves and others, they need to have unemployment compensation, because they’re striking for all workers,” Schiff said at the debate.
Dozens of people are believed to have been arrested following an intense day of pro-Palestine protests in New York on Saturday.
Demonstrators demanding an end to attacks by the Isarael Defense Forces that have killed civilians in Palestine took to the streets in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn and as the protest continued into the night several people were arrested by the New York Police Department (NYPD), according to clips from the scene.
The demonstrations came as Israel announced it would intensify its strikes on the Gaza Strip and that it continues to prepare for a ground assault. Saturday marked two weeks of fighting between Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants and Israeli forces following surprise attacks on Israel on October 7 in which hundreds were killed and taken hostage. Strikes by Israel have rained down on the Gaza Strip since. As of Thursday, October 19, 3,785 civilians have been killed in Gaza, according to a report by Reuters.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, the Palestinian-led community organization Within Our Lifetime advertised the rally on what it called the National Day of Action for Gaza. It urged people to take to the streets to collectively demand “an end to U.S.-sponsored genocide in Gaza.” Thousands of people turned out to show their support.
People rally in support of Palestinians in Brooklyn, New York, on October 21, 2023, amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The war is now entering its third week with thousands of civilians killed. Kena Betancur/GETTY
Videos taken by ABC7 Eyewitness News show tensions ramping up between police officers and demonstrators, with officers pushing back protesters and “ordering them out of the roadway.”
The clips show all manner of people, including Orthodox Jews, coming together to demand an end to the bloodshed in the Middle East. While the day appears to have started off peacefully, by nightfall relations between marchers and police broke down with a number of people being detained.
According to ABC7 Eyewitness News, more than a dozen people have been arrested in this particular wave of demonstrations. Charges brought against protesters, if any, are not known by Newsweek at this time.
A video posted on X by pro-Palestine group the Flame of Liberation shows a demonstrator being taken into a police van. The woman is lifted from the ground and taken into an NYPD vehicle by several officers. Onlookers can be heard disagreeing with the police, booing and shouting at the NYPD presence.
Another clip posted from the same account shows a different woman being hauled by two officers toward a police van. She can be heard screaming while onlookers again call for the woman to be released. A man is also taken to the same van by officers without resisting.
Vicious police just arrested about 20 protesters at the Palestine protest in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.
— The Flame of Liberation ⭐️🔥 (@FOL_Liberation) October 22, 2023
Elsewhere in the city, more than 130 anti-war protesters were arrested after blocking traffic on 5th Avenue in Manhattan on Friday night. Demonstrators called on New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to endorse a ceasefire, chanting outside her office and denouncing the deaths of innocent civilians.
A video posted by the New York branch of the Democratic Socialists of America shows a line of people surrounded by officers. Many of them seem to be handcuffed with their hands behind their back. They did not appear to be resisting arrest, and the reason for them being detained is unclear.
Newsweek has contacted the NYPD for clarification and comment via email.
A group from NKUSA (Neturei Karta—Orthodox Jews United Against Zionism) stand in support of Palestinians in Brooklyn, New York, on October 21, 2023. Marchers from a variety of communities gathered in the borough for the march. Kena Betancur/GETTY/AFP
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Traders work during the IPO for Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) floor in New York City, U.S., June 30, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
There is strong appetite among Chinese companies to list on U.S. stock exchanges, but these IPOs have become a more complicated process, according to Kobe Ge, the head of China at the New York Stock Exchange.
Despite the negative impact last year from Covid-19 restrictions and U.S. regulatory uncertainty, many of those issues are now resolved and “we still see very strong interest from Chinese businesses for listing in the U.S.,” he told CNBC’s East Tech West conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China, on Tuesday.
But they’re not so familiar with the procedures, which have proved to be more challenging of late, he added. That’s according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
“Previously, listing in the U.S. was relatively easy,” Ge said, noting it would take just four-and-a-half or five months for Chinese firms to complete a U.S. IPO.
“Given some new procedures, a company may need to spend more time, a 12-month preparation period,” he said, pointing to new rules from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
The new measures, effective since March 31, lay out a filing process for domestic companies wanting to list in the U.S. or Hong Kong, and require them to comply with national security measures and the personal data protection law before going public overseas.
Amid a tepid U.S. IPO market, the handful of Chinese names that have been able to list this year have mostly been smaller companies.
Rising political tensions between Washington and Beijing have also led to uncertainty among Chinese companies and investors, said Ge.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in August aimed at regulating new U.S. investments and expertise that supports China’s development of sensitive tech. The new measures, which is expected to be implemented next year, targets investment in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum computing and certain artificial intelligence capabilities.
“Of course, specifics haven’t been released yet, everyone may be watching and waiting, so it may cause investors to wait and see regarding these changes,” Ge said.
Still, Ge remained bullish that Chinese listings in overseas markets will rebound so long as domestic firms focus on building a strong business.
He likened the situation to a ship at sea. “Of course, everyone must pay attention to the weather, and at the same time they should pay more attention to whether the ship has been built well,” he said.
Today, that means investors are looking more for mature business models and predictable profits, rather than just high growth, he said. “So you need to build a very good ship.”
The overall U.S. IPO market should also improve in the April to October period next year, Ge said.
Robert H. McCooey, Jr., a vice chairman at Nasdaq, shared a similar view underlining there’s a strong pipeline of Chinese companies that intend to list on the exchange soon.
“I think it is 116 right now, that are on file or that we know will be filing soon,” he told a separate session at CNBC’s East Tech West event.
“And the much more interesting aspect of it is now with the new process by CSRC … everyone in China, everyone around the world gets to see the companies that are in the process, because the way that the regulations have come through,” he added, referring to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
This is a marked increase from the 65 Chinese companies, McCooey highlighted in an earlier CNBC interview in June.
As of January 2023, there were 252 Chinese companies listed on the U.S. exchanges — including NYSE, Nasdaq, and NYSE American, — with a total market capitalization of $1.03 trillion, according to official data.
“We’re delighted that we’ve had a couple of listings that have gone through the CSRC process … there’s three or four that should be approved in the near future,” he added. “I think that gives confidence to companies that are interested in listing outside of China.”
The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 8% for the first time since 2000, putting housing financing costs at historically high levels.
Given high prices and high interest rates, homebuyers must earn $114,627 to afford a median-priced house in the U.S., according to a recent report by Redfin, a real estate firm, which analyzed median monthly mortgage payments in August 2023 and August 2022.
The firm considers a monthly mortgage payment to be affordable if the homebuyer spends no more than 30% of their income on housing. At the time of the analysis, the average 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.07%.
The median U.S. household income was $75,000 in 2022, Redfin found. While hourly wages in the U.S. grew 5% over the past year, according to the real estate firm, that has not outpaced rising housing costs.
Those current market trends have left homeownership out of reach for many people, experts say.
“Housing affordability is incredibly difficult for potential homebuyers,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors.
In August 2020, the typical monthly mortgage payment was $1,581, based on an average interest rate of 2.94%, Redfin found. At the time, the typical house cost roughly $329,000, and homebuyers would have needed an annual income of $75,000 to afford it.
However, those record-low levels were the result of “highly unusual events, like a pandemic and a nearly catastrophic financial crisis,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com.
Nowadays, the typical U.S. homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment is $2,866, according to Redfin — an all-time high.
Phiromya Intawongpan | Istock | Getty Images
While the economy and the housing markets move through cycles, it’s unlikely for mortgage rates to decline substantially in the near term, especially as the Federal Reserve is expected to keep the benchmark rate high for longer, added Hamrick.
Additionally, the constrained supply of homes for sale is a “direct result of the lock-in effect,” said Hamrick. The low supply pressures prices upward as current homeowners are less compelled to move or put their houses on the market as they don’t want to trade their low-rate mortgage for one that is significantly higher.
“Higher rates are also increasing the cost and availability of builder development and construction loans, which harms supply and contributes to lower housing affordability,” Alicia Huey, NAHB’s chairman and a homebuilder and developer from Birmingham, Alabama, previously told CNBC.
“People should know that this pain shall pass,” said Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage in New York. “In the next year or two years, interest rates will be lower, and people will have the ability to refinance.”
That said, competition for homes on the market is likely to be worse in a few years as interest rates cool, she said. There are many buyers who remain on the sidelines because of current high rates.
“When interest rates come down, everyone’s going to come back to the marketplace,” said Cohn.
The decision of purchasing a home is intensely personal and prospective homebuyers should tread with caution, experts say.
“When deciding to purchase a home, it comes down to personal finances, stability and the length of time they plan on owning,” said Lautz.
In addition to mortgage costs, prospective homebuyers should keep their other financial goals in mind, as well as maintenance costs, said Hamrick. The biggest regret among recent homebuyers was not being prepared for maintenance and other costs, according to a Bankrate survey.
However, “homeownership is the primary means of wealth creation in this country,” said Hamrick.
The typical homeowner has $396,200 in wealth compared to the average renter at $10,400, added Lautz.
First-time homebuyers may consider tapping retirement funds or taking advantage of first-time homebuyer programs that may offer down payment assistance.Buyers can also consider temporary buydowns, which are paid by either the real estate broker or seller, to help lower the monthly payment, said Cohn.
However, it will be important for prospective buyers to work with professionals in the long run, experts say. Buyers should examine all options, consult with realtors about overlook areas and talk with mortgage brokers to consider all the possible loan options, said Lautz.
“This is potentially the most expensive transaction somebody will be associated with in their lifetimes,” said Hamrick. “It should be done as well as possible to the benefit of the buyer.”
New York City has outlined draft rules for its new outdoor dining regime, launching a public comment period and putting the program on track for a spring 2024 rollout.
Permitted New York City restaurants can serve food in sidewalk seating year-round, and on city roads for eight months starting April 1 and lasting until Nov. 29, according to the new law.
The newly proposed rules for the program, which were created by the city Transportation Department, will be under review in a 30-day public comment period ahead of a public hearing, according to Adams’ office.
Under the proposed rules, street dining cafés cannot be fully enclosed, must be accessible for disabled New Yorkers and meet certain dimension parameters, based on their location.
Roadbed structures cannot be longer than 40 feet or wider than 8 feet, under the draft rules.
Courtesy of the City of New York
New York City has written its outdoor dining rules.
Roadbed structures — which the city permitted for free during COVID — have drawn rats, annexed space where cars once parked and forced waiters to wrestle with bike traffic. But they also saved restaurants during the pandemic.
The new program has been cast as a compromise to boost restaurants’ business and preserve popular outdoor dining that flourished during COVID while limiting the presence of unsightly and disruptive sheds.
A four-year license for sidewalk seating would cost $1,050. Roadbed seating fees would vary by location.
The restaurant industry has hailed the new program.
Omer Neutra loves the Knicks. Growing up on Long Island, he was the captain of his high school basketball team, his volleyball team, “and when the soccer team needed a captain, he was captain of the soccer team,” his father Ronen says. “That’s the kind of guy he is.”
Now, Omer’s loved ones are fighting for their son and friend, an American who has dual citizenship and serves with the Israeli military.
Anguish for the family set in after representatives from the Israeli consulate in New York rushed to their home on Sunday, Oct. 8.
“They said that he’s been taken captive,” says his mother, Orna Neutra. “So many have died that it’s just insane that you feel relief, to think that your son is not dead, you know?”
Last weekend, the family celebrated Omer’s 22nd birthday without him.
“We had a cake with 23 candles,” his mother said. “According to our tradition, you put an extra candle. They weren’t blown out. We just let them melt into the cake. We said prayers together. It’s just devastating.”
Omer is believed to be one of the about 200 hostages currently held by Hamas. Israeli officials say Hamas’ attack killed some 1,400 people and wounded 3,500 others. Biden administration officials say that at least 31 Americans have been killed and another 13 U.S. nationals remain unaccounted for.
The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Omer Neutra put off his plans for attending college at Binghamton University to study in Israel. He eventually joined the Israel Defense Forces.
Omer’s brother Daniel describes him as a “a natural born leader” and “an amazing role model.”
“Omer is an American-born kid that wanted to help his grandparents’ homeland and defend it,” his father, Ronan Neutra, said.
For Omer, joining the Israeli military was not an easy decision, his mother said. “He was crying over this. We were sitting on the floor in his room. And he was crying. He said, ‘I don’t know what to do. I really don’t.’”
When the news broke of the attack nearly two weeks ago, Omer was serving as tank commander near Gaza.
His father scrambled to contact his son.
“Immediately I texted him,” Ronen Neutra says. “Nothing. We called him. Nothing.”
Omer’s parents told CBS News the representatives from the Israeli consulate shared details with them.
“We know that the Army did an investigation,” Orna Neutra said. “From what they’ve shared and the videos that were shown, their conclusion is that him and his team have been taken.”
Now the Neutras remain focused on getting Omer and other hostages back.
“This is not a time for tears,” Orna Neutra said. “I need strong people around me to work together and put the influence on the American government, the Israeli government to do everything, and we mean everything, to bring them back as soon as possible.”
In Tel Aviv on Wednesday, President Biden said there was “no higher priority” for him than securing the release of the hostages held by Hamas.
For now, the Neutras are holding tight to hope and positive thoughts, focusing on bringing Omer home.
“They’ve done nothing wrong,” Ronen Neutra says. “Let them go home, it’s not that hard. We are all humans.”
Jim Axelrod is the chief investigative correspondent and senior national correspondent for CBS News, reporting for “CBS This Morning,” “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Sunday Morning” and other CBS News broadcasts.
Posters with photos of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas – including a young child – appear to have been torn down in Melbourne, as tensions continue to rise over the conflict.
Remains of the posters, which feature missing Israelis under the heading KIDNAPPED and ask passers-by to “please help bring them home alive”, were visible outside Flinders Street Station underpass on Wednesday morning.
The posters appeared to have been torn so none of the victim’s faces were visible, and most of their names — except five-year-old Amelia Alony — also ripped off the wall.
The images are part of the Kidnapped From Israel project, which was started by a group of Israeli artists in New York and features images of real hostages, used with their families’ permission.
The Flinders Street Station posters were not the first ones to be damaged, with people captured on video in London and New York tearing them down.
“On October 7th, 2023 nearly 200 innocent civilians were abducted from Israel into the Gaza Strip by Hamas,” the Kidnapped from Israel project website says.
“With the clear goal of returning these hostages back home safely and immediately, thousands of people have been hanging photos of the hostages in dozens of cities around the world.”
The project has asked people to “place as many posters as possible in the public space” to “create maximise awareness among the global community”.
Relative Raquel Zichik told a United Nations event and CBS news in the US…
Hundreds of Americans have returned to the United States from Israel in recent days in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war. Some U.S. citizens and their family members boarded charter flights from Tel Aviv arranged by federal and even state officials, while others booked commercial trips that brought them home.
Many U.S. citizens were traveling in Israel when the militant group Hamas carried out a horrific terror attack on the country, which responded with retaliatory airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and is expected to invade the Palestinian territory in a ground offensive. Leaving became difficult for many as dozens of major airlines suspended or canceled flights out of the country.
The U.S. State Department started arranging charter flights late last week which are continuing Monday and Tuesday. Some commercial flights are also still operating.
Here’s a look at some of the flights that have carried Americans back to the U.S.
Tampa, Florida
Nearly 300 Americans evacuated from Israel on a flight organized by the state of Florida.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his wife welcomed a flight that arrived Sunday night at Tampa International Airport, carrying about 270 Americans, including 91 children, CBS Miami reported. Their charter flight traveled from Tel Aviv to Portugal before making its way to Florida.
“Once the plane landed in Tampa, evacuees were able to access resources from multiple state agencies. Additionally, the governor is sending medical supplies, hygiene products, clothing and children’s toys to Israel to help impacted Israelis,” the governor’s office said in a news release.
Seven other evacuees arrived Sunday from Israel on flights to Orlando.
DeSantis signed an executive order last week allowing the Florida Division of Emergency Management to direct resources toward bringing Americans home and transporting supplies back to Israel.
Newark, New Jersey
Multiple flights carrying Americans from Israel landed at airports across New York and New Jersey over the weekend, CBS New York reported. Americans who had traveled to Israel for Sukkot, the Jewish holiday being celebrated when Hamas launched a devastating terror attack on the country Oct. 7, were among the passengers returning home to the U.S.
Esther Hamilton, an Indiana resident who arrived on a flight from Israel to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday, described some of the violence that has erupted in Israel and Gaza since that initial attack two weekends ago.
“We’ve seen rockets going off in the air, smoke rising. But there’s lots of hurting people over there, lots of refugees,” Hamilton told CBS New York.
Other families recalled hiding in bomb shelters and trying frantically to book flights that were ultimately canceled before they were eventually able to return home.
Three additional flights landed in Newark on Monday. One passenger traveling from Israel, Batya Daken, was reunited with her grandparents when she arrived.
“My heart is with my family,” Daken told CBS New York. “I have seven other siblings in Israel and I have people that I know, friends that I know that are in the army, friends that I know that got killed.”
New York City
CBS New York reporter Kristie Keleshian talked to a family of nine that boarded a U.S.-government facilitated charter flight from Israel after a month-long trip, landing in London before returning to John F. Kennedy International Airport. They live in Monsey, which is upstate along the Hudson River.
“We were scared to get out, and we couldn’t get back to New York,” one woman in the group said.
Eliya Bivas, a young Long Island resident who traveled to Tel Aviv with her grandmother and roommate, told CBS New York they were able to leave by boarding a U.S. charter flight to Cyprus because securing a trip back to the U.S. on a commercial airline was difficult.
“Everything was either extremely expensive or not soon enough. Like, it would be in like two weeks or like in a week and a half, and by then, it’s not safe to stay there that long,” Bivas said.
Chicago, Illinois
Some Midwesterners who were in Israel at the start of the war landed Saturday at O’Hare International Airport, CBS Chicago reported. Scott Forester, a resident of Madison, Wisconsin, arrived in Chicago after finding a flight from Israel to Berlin. He traveled from the German capital to Washington, D.C., before landing in Chicago.
“I’m very grateful to be here, but I’m also … my heart is just heavy and sad, because of the people that I left behind,” Forrester told CBS Chicago. Another group of Wisconsin residents, including some parishioners from Kenosha, returned home over the weekend after taking a direct flight from Jordan, according to the news station.
A New York appeals court denied former President Donald Trump’s request to halt proceedings as the second week of his fraud trial gets underway. CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa reports on what to expect this week in court.
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has reiterated his calls for federal support as communities in his state, and others across the U.S., struggle to manage the influx of migrants arriving on buses from the southern border.
After writing a letter to President Joe Biden last week that laid out a list of requests and recommendations for how Biden’s administration should address the asylum crisis, Pritzker said that “we need help from the White House” in an appearance on “Face the Nation” Sunday.
Sanctuary cities in a number of Democratic states over the last year have had to grapple with a record surge in asylum seekers being bussed in from southern states like Texas and Florida. At the same time, the Biden administration faces the broader challenge of addressing a historic increase in border crossings. The influx of asylum seekers has put significant strain on Chicago and New York City, which have borne the brunt of the crisis.
Pritzker told “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan that he hopes the White House will assemble one office and a specific department head that Illinois leaders can coordinate with as they work to meet the needs of asylum seekers in their state.
“Because, look, we’re providing shelter as best we can and providing for the needs of these folks arriving in Chicago. And as I say, we’re a welcoming state and we understand the humanitarian crisis that we’re addressing,” Pritzker said. “But we can’t address this all by ourselves, and we need help from the White House.”
The governor asked for more communication with the Biden administration “so that we can understand who’s arriving, and when they’re arriving, and whether they have relatives already in the United States who might be able to help care for them.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on “Face the Nation,” Oct. 8. 2023.
CBS News
“On top of the 15,000 that have arrived in Chicago and Illinois over the last 13 months, we are now seeing busloads [of] more migrants at increasingly higher rates being sent specifically to Chicago each day,” Pritzker wrote in his letter to Mr. Biden, adding, “Most critically, the federal government’s lack of intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable situation for Illinois.”
Pritzker said he felt as though the administration “heard” him.
“We were very clear in our communication with the White House that what we need is logistical support, that is help deciding where these folks are to go, because they can’t all go to Chicago and New York, and D.C.,” he said. “They need to go in places where there’s even more help to offer. We, of course, are a welcoming state and have been caring for the people who’ve arrived. But we can’t bear the burden only ourselves.”
The governor said the asylum crisis “needs to be a federal, national problem that gets handled at the national level,” and suggested the Biden administration coordinate with politicians in border communities in Texas to regulate how and where people are dispersed in the country after crossing the border.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Mexico and Central America last week to meet with lawmakers and try to address the asylum crisis. Adams’ trip also intended to deliver a message to migrants that New York City has reached capacity, and asylum seekers are being misinformed about the availability of jobs and shelter in New York, which have run out, CBS New York reported.
Adams said on “Face the Nation” Sunday that more than 3,700 asylum seekers arrived in New York City in the last week of September alone.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on “Face the Nation,” Oct. 8, 2023.
CBS News
“That’s an increase. We were getting 600 a week, which was unsustainable. And now we’re up to … getting anywhere from eight- almost 800 a week,” he told Brennan. “These numbers are not sustainable. And it’s not sustainable in Chicago when people are living in police precincts, Los Angeles, Houston, Washington. This is just not right, what is taking place.”
The mayor recently asked a court to temporarily pause New York City’s right to shelter mandate, arguing that the city does not have enough resources to handle the number of migrants arriving there. The move came under some scrutiny as critics questioned how lifting the mandate could contribute to New York City’s homelessness problem, which is already severe.
“Our legal team is not asking for a suspension. We want clarification,” Adams said on “Face the Nation.”
“This is a humanitarian crisis that we are facing,” he continued. “This is not what the architects of right to shelter thought about when you were dealing with those New Yorkers who needed shelter. We can’t have a rule that one can come from anywhere on the globe and come to New York City and remain in New York City as long as they want and taxpayers must pick up the cause. … It is unfair to the migrant seekers and asylum seekers. And it’s also unfair to … New Yorkers.”
Donald Trump is doing a brilliant job of promoting Letitia James. The former president had been punching at New York State’s attorney general sporadically for more than a year, calling James a “racist” and a “disgrace” as her office investigated whether Trump and his company had committed fraud by manipulating the value of his businesses. But now, as Trump is on trial, he has taken to attacking James on a daily basis, raging to reporters outside the lower Manhattan courtroom while calling her “grossly incompetent,” a “monster,” and even a “deranged lunatic” on social media.
The publicity offensive is certainly ugly and perverse, but it is elevating James’s profile. The attorney general has already won one enormous victory against the former president: Last month, state judge Arthur Engoron ruled that James had proven that Trump and his companies committed long-running fraud in their financial statements. “This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud,” James said on Wednesday. “And I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law.” Upon the former president’s departure, James told reporters that “the Donald Trump show is over” and suggested his voluntary appearance in court “was nothing more than a political stunt, a fundraising stop.”
The current legal proceedings, which could last until December, are to determine what penalty Trump will pay, from a monetary fine to being barred from doing business in New York State. Perhaps Engoron will allow Trump to walk away with an anticlimactic slap on the wrist. But the odds that James will earn a large legal triumph and accumulate a sizable stockpile of political capital look far better.
Political capital that she will cash in to go…well, probably nowhere. The earnest, consensus view is that James will stay put because she loves her current job. “Tish is not interested in publicity or what drives most elected officials,” says Roberto Ramirez, a former New York Democratic state assemblyman who knows James well from his work as a strategist on several of her campaigns. “She is the unicorn of New York politics. She is obsessed with the substantive nature of being a lawyer for the state.”
There is also the hard political reality that James is boxed in. New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand aren’t departing anytime soon. Two years ago James mounted a brief, half-hearted run for governor (“The people around her wanted it far more than she did,” a state Democratic insider says), and the incumbent, Kathy Hochul, won’t be on the ballot again until 2026. In the past, James has talked far more enthusiastically about running for mayor of New York City—but it is very hard to see her giving up a powerful statewide office for a bloody 2025 primary challenge to fellow Democrat and fellow Brooklynite Eric Adams.
And then there’s the more intriguing constraint on James’s enhanced prestige: She would undermine a defeat of Trump by trying to capitalize on it. Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is highly worried about turning out crucial Black voters, particularly women, in battleground states. James would be an energetic, effective surrogate—except that making her a prominent part of the president’s campaign would hand Trump ammunition. “This case adds a lot of value to her political future, and it inoculates her from what a lot of women in her position have to deal with, being more credentialed and validated in ways that men don’t,” says Cornell Belcher, a Democratic strategist who worked on both of Barack Obama’s White House runs. “But the Biden campaign couldn’t and wouldn’t use her, because it would feed into the narrative that Trump wants, that this case is about politics.”
James certainly doesn’t lack ambition. She maneuvered through the treacherous, corruption-prone ranks of the Brooklyn Democratic Party to be elected a city councilwoman, before winning one of New York’s three citywide offices, as public advocate. James had entered politics as a candidate of the left-wing Working Families Party—but ditched the WFP to make a useful alliance with its mortal enemy, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, in her successful 2018 run for AG. In 2021, after conducting an investigation requested by Cuomo, James delivered a 165-page report detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against him. One week later the governor announced his resignation.
One year into her second term as New York’s top prosecutor James, 64, looks as if she’s settling in for at least the medium haul. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, when too many pols are fixated on the next rung of the ladder. Yet unpredictable things have a way of happening in politics. “It’s natural for a person to feel maybe I should consider other options,” Ramirez says. “Her future is only limited by what she wishes to do.” For the moment, though, James is the rare politician whose future is paradoxically restricted by the nature of her imminent triumph.
Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom for the third day of his civil fraud trial in New York, Oct. 4, 2023.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
Lawyers for Donald Trump may ask a New York appeals court to pause his ongoing $250 million business fraud trial and stay a judge’s order that could gut the former president’s company, lawyers said Thursday afternoon.
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise told Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron that as of Thursday he plans to seek a stay of the trial Engoron is presiding over, as well as a stay of the judge’s order related to dissolving Trump corporate entities.
But Kise said he did not want to reveal the scope of the appeal planned for Friday morning, upsetting a lawyer from the New York Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General’s lawyer, Andrew Amer, told Engoron that his office is entitled to 24-hour advance notice of such an appeal.
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Attorney General Letitia James in a lawsuit alleges that Trump, his adult sons, the Trump Organization, and company executives misstated the values of real estate properties to get better loan terms and tax advantages, grossly exaggerating Trump’s net worth as disclosed on financial statements.
The trial is dealing with six remaining claims in that suit.
Engoron last month issued a summary judgment finding that James had proven her top claim, that the defendants engaged in business fraud.
As part of that finding, which Trump’s lawyers are expected to ask an appeals court to block Friday, Engoron canceled business certificates held by the defendants.
Engoron in that ruling also ordered the appointment of an independent receiver to manage the dissolution of the canceled business entities.
On Thursday, the judge issued a series of orders to the defendants which appeared to begin clearing the way for a sell-off of the businesses.
Engoron also ordered the defendants to give an independent monitor for the Trump Organization notice of “the creation of a new entity to hold or acquire the assets” of the to-be-dissolved businesses.
Trump was present in court for the first 2½ days of the trial, which began Monday.
He left in the middle of proceedings Wednesday, after complaining that he was being taken away from his Republican presidential primary campaign because he was “stuck” in court.
Trump was not required to attend the trial on those days. But he may have to testify at some point in the trial, which is set to last until late December.
If there’s one aesthetic that I keep coming back to, it’s quiet luxury. I see it all over Manhattan, and I think it really reflects the effortless sophistication of the city’s stylish residents. So it should be no surprise that I’m living for the new AG collab with the iconic and inimitable Emily Ratajkowski, who’s an expert in the quiet-luxury space. She’s an OG New Yorker known for her classic, elevated sense of style, and that’s exactly what this capsule collection embodies. The pieces are made with an array of luxurious fabrics such as wool twill, vegan leather, buttery-soft jersey, and classic denim. (The Alexxis jeans are so good they actually made me want to wear jeans again.) Keep scrolling to see my favorite pieces from this collection.
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried delivered opening statements in his criminal trial Wednesday. Prosecutors have accused the former FTX CEO of misusing billions of dollars in customer funds. Author Michael Lewis joins CBS News to discuss his new book, “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” which takes an in-depth look at the rise and fall of Bankman-Fried.
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in the courtroom with his lawyers for his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on Oct. 3, 2023.
Seth Wenig | Getty Images
New York Attorney General Letitia James declared that “the Donald Trump show is over” after the former president left his $250 million civil business fraud trial in the middle of proceedings Wednesday.
“I will not be bullied,” James said at Manhattan Supreme Court. She accused Trump engaging in a “political stunt,” and a “fundraising stop” by attending the trial for two-and-a-half days.
James, who is Black, also condemned Trump for making “comments that unfortunately fomented violence, or comments that I would describe as race baiting.”
Trump earlier Wednesday called James a “political animal.”
He also claimed her lawsuit against him was designed to hurt his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election.
“Mr. Trump’s comments were offensive. They were baseless,” James told reporters after Trump had left the building. “They were void of any facts and or any evidence.”
“This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud,” James said, “and I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law.”
“So Mr. Trump is no longer here,” James said. “The Donald Trump show is over. This was nothing more than a political stunt.”
Trump, who is seeking the 2024 GOP nomination, flew out of New York after leaving court, where he griped he was “stuck here.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James arrives at a Manhattan courthouse trial in a civil fraud case brought by her against Former U.S. President Donald Trump, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in New York City, U.S., October 4, 2023.
Mike Segar | Reuters
“I’d rather be right now in Iowa, I’d rather be in New Hampshire or South Carolina or Ohio or a lot of other places, but I’m stuck here because I have a corrupt attorney general,” the Queens native said, before hopping into his motorcade.
Trump was not required to attend the trial, which began Monday.
But he told reporters he showed up for three days of it to show “how corrupt it is.”
“Our whole system is corrupt,” said Trump, who claimed the judge in the case is “run by the Democrats” and “already knows what he’s going to do.”
Trump’s son Eric remained in the courtroom until the trial adjourned Wednesday afternoon. Both Eric and his brother Donald Trump Jr., who jointly run the Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the lawsuit.
On Tuesday, Trump was slapped with a limited gag order for criticizing the judge’s law clerk.
The trial resumed Wednesday morning with the continuation of cross-examination of Trump’s former accountant Donald Bender.
Trump’s attorneys grilled Bender about his involvement in preparing financial statements for the Trump Organization.
Bender previously testified that he compiled the statements using information provided by Trump and his company.
Those statements are at the heart of James’ lawsuit.
The suit accuses Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives of misstating the true values of real estate properties in order to obtain better loan and insurance terms, and tax advantages.
In addition to seeking $250 million in damages, James wants the court to permanently bar Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as officers of any New York business.
Bender, a former partner at Mazars USA, is the first witness called in the case, which is expected to last until late December.
Also Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers filed an appeal of a pre-trial ruling by Judge Arthur Engoron that found Trump and other defendants liable for fraud, the top claim in the lawsuit. Engoron in that ruling yanked the business licenses of various Trump corporate entities and ordered their dissolution.
The trial is dealing with the six remaining claims in the suit: falsifying business records, conspiracy to falsify business records, issuing false financial statements, conspiracy to falsify false financial statements, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
Justice Arthur Engoron speaks during the trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump for Trump’s civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 03, 2023 in New York City.
Shannon Stapleton | Getty Images
Before the trial resumed Wednesday, Trump outside the courtroom again called the case a “witch hunt” and a “disgrace,” and claimed James sued solely for political purposes.
Trump also called James, who is Black, a “political animal.”
James is a Democrat. Trump is currently the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
But Trump did not make any comment about Engoron’s law clerk, whom he had attacked Tuesday in statements to reporters and in a social media post. The clerk sits with Engoron during the trial and sometimes speaks with lawyers during the proceedings.
Trump’s post on Truth Social about her included her full name and a photo from her Instagram account of her posing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
Trump accused the clerk of being “Schumer’s girlfriend” and “running this case against me.”
An angry Engoron later Tuesday called the attack on his staffer unacceptable.
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The judge ordered Trump to delete the Truth Social, and barred Trump and others in the case from talking about his aides publicly.
“Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff,” Engoron said.
The trial is being conducted without a jury, meaning Engoron alone will deliver verdicts.
Trump on Wednesday reiterated claims that the New York state statute at issue in the case strips him of his right to a jury trial.
MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin said Trump could have asked for a jury trial, but that he likely would have been denied that request.
