Michael R. Sisak and Tom Hays Associated Press Published 2:46 PM EDT Jun 27, 2019 New York – Paul Manafort, the imprisoned former chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded not guilty Thursday in New York to state mortgage fraud charges that could keep him locked up if Trump pardons him for federal crimes uncovered during the probe of Russian election meddling. Manafort, in a blue jail uniform and handcuffs, walked with a limp as court officers led him down a public hall to and from the courtroom. He had been transferred last week to a federal detention center in New York for his arraignment in the state case. Manafort remained seated as he entered his plea and had to be helped out of his chair when taken out of the courtroom. He used a wheelchair at his last federal sentencing in March because of gout. Manafort, 70, is already serving a 7½-year prison sentence for misleading the U.S. government about his lucrative foreign lobbying work, hiding … [Read more...] about Manafort pleads not guilty in New York mortgage fraud case
New york tax attorney
New York Senate OKs giving U.S. House Trump state tax return
Chris Carola Associated Press Published 5:35 PM EDT May 8, 2019 Albany, N.Y. – New York’s Senate easily approved a bill Wednesday that would allow three congressional committees to get access to President Donald Trump’s state tax returns, giving Democrats a potential end-run around the administration’s refusal to disclose the president’s federal returns. The bill, which now goes to the state Assembly, doesn’t target Trump by name but would authorize state tax officials to release any state returns filed in New York if requested by the leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee or the Joint Committee on Taxation. Both chambers of the state Legislature are controlled by Democrats. The vote fell along party lines, with 39 Democrats in the 63-seat Senate voting for the measure. Republicans said Democrats should be focused on lowering the state’s high taxes and improving the lives of New Yorkers, not going … [Read more...] about New York Senate OKs giving U.S. House Trump state tax return
As New York probes business deals, Trump cries ‘HARASSERS’
Michael R. Sisak Associated Press Published 7:41 PM EDT Mar 12, 2019 New York – New York’s attorney general has opened a civil investigation into President Donald Trump’s business dealings, acting after his former personal lawyer and fixer told Congress that he exaggerated his wealth to obtain loans. Trump tweeted an apparent response Tuesday night, decrying his home state and its governor as “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSERS.” Attorney General Letitia James issued subpoenas Monday to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank seeking records related to four Trump real estate projects and his failed 2014 bid to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, according to a person familiar with the inquiry. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The New York Times first reported the subpoenas. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, told Congress in late February that Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial … [Read more...] about As New York probes business deals, Trump cries ‘HARASSERS’
11 takeaways from The New York Times’s investigation into Trump’s wealth
Donald Trump built a business empire and won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help. “I built what I built myself,” the president has repeatedly said. But an investigation by The New York Times has revealed that Donald Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire. What’s more, much of this money came to Trump through dubious tax schemes he participated in during the 1990s, including instances of outright fraud, The Times found. In all, the president’s parents transferred well over $1 billion in wealth to their children, which could have produced a tax bill of at least $550 million under the 55 percent tax rate on gifts and inheritances that was in place at the time. Helped by a variety of tax dodges, the Trumps paid $52.2 million, or about 5 percent, tax … [Read more...] about 11 takeaways from The New York Times’s investigation into Trump’s wealth
New York attorney general sues Trump Foundation
Associated Press Updated 3:39 p.m. UTC Jun 14, 2018 New York – President Donald Trump’s charitable foundation served as a personal piggy bank for his businesses, legal bills and presidential campaign, New York’s attorney general said Wednesday as she sued the charity, Trump and three of his children. The Donald J. Trump Foundation “was little more than a checkbook for payments from Mr. Trump or his businesses to nonprofits, regardless of their purpose or legality,” Democratic Attorney General Barbara Underwood said as she sued to dissolve the foundation and seek $2.8 million in restitution. The lawsuit says the foundation illegally helped support the Republican’s campaign by raising money at a nationally televised fundraiser in January 2016, then allowing campaign staffers to dictate how the money was spent in grants. Foundation attorney Sheri Dillon and a Trump Organization spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking … [Read more...] about New York attorney general sues Trump Foundation