Republicans push back against New York bank’s anti-firearm stance
U.S. Senate Republicans are threatening to hold hearings on what they call an anti-firearms policy by one New York-based bank. The Senators, led by Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee, accused Amalgamated Bank of manipulating Switzerland’s International Organization for Standardization to require U.S. banks to categorize gun purchases. “Whether it is choosing to debank firearms manufacturers, forcing all commercial clients to adopt anti-gun control codes, or divesting customer assets from lawful businesses, these decisions demonstrate your attempt to force your political views on law-abiding Americans,” the 26 senators wrote in their letter. “If you want to change gun policy, you should run for office and make yourself accountable to voters. What’s worse, these actions weren’t enough for you, so you set your sights on forcing these radical and discriminatory policies on the entire financial system.” Amalgamated Bank lists ten social causes on its website, which include gun safety and anti-violence. The bank does not loan money to “gun, nuclear weapon or ammunition manufacturers or distributors,” according to the website. The banks should “expect Congressional oversight of your actions,” the Senators wrote. “Let us be clear: weaponizing the financial system to enact far-left political goals is inexcusable,” the letter said. “You should consider this notice to retain all communications involving your role in ISO’s categorization scheme, and you should anticipate testifying before Congress in the near future.” Amalgamated Bank did not respond to a request from The Center Square for comment Tuesday. President and CEO Priscilla Sims Brown called categorizing credit card gun purchases a “victory” in a statement last month. “This action answers the call of millions of Americans who want safety from gun violence, and we are proud to lead a broad coalition of advocates, shareholders, and elected officials to achieve this historic outcome,” Brown said. The attorneys general of New York and California also backed the decision for a separate category for credit card gun purchases. “Categorizing gun sales can help us work with our partners in police departments to combat gun violence and save lives,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Court won’t pause Donald Trump’s $10K-a-day fine while he appeals
A New York appellate court judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to halt his $10,000-a-day fine, keeping the former president’s meter running for now as he fights a lower-court decision penalizing him for failing to turn over documents in a state civil investigation. Judge Tanya Kennedy of the appellate division of the state’s trial court denied Trump’s interim application to pause the fine pending his appeal. The court’s full bench will weigh in on Trump’s motion to stay the fine later this month, Kennedy said. Trump’s attorney Alina Habba requested the stay Monday, a week after Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron fined Trump for failing to comply with a subpoena issued in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ probe of his business dealings. Habba wrote in a court filing that Engoron’s ruling was “unconscionable and indefensible.” The judge found that Trump, who is appealing the ruling, and his lawyers had failed to show they conducted a proper search for subpoenaed records. In asking the appellate court to pause his fine, Trump sought to stop it from accruing while he seeks to overturn Engoron’s ruling — potentially saving him hundreds of thousands of dollars if the appellate court ultimately upholds the contempt finding. Trump is also appealing Engoron’s February 17 ruling requiring him to answer questions under oath. Oral arguments in that appeal are scheduled for May 11. No arguments have been scheduled in Trump’s contempt challenge. In a written statement Tuesday, Trump, a Republican, lashed out at James and the state’s court system. He called the attorney general, who is a Black Democrat, “racist,” said the courts were “biased, unyielding, and totally unfair,” and claimed to have turned over “millions of pages of documents, perhaps more than any person or entity has ever given before.” “This is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in history, and it should not be allowed to continue,” Trump said. “The good news is, I have done nothing wrong!” A message seeking comment was left with Habba. James, a Democrat, asked Engoron to hold Trump in contempt after he failed to produce any documents to satisfy a March 31 deadline to meet the terms of the subpoena. She has said her investigation has found evidence that Trump may have misstated the value of assets like skyscrapers and golf courses on financial statements for over a decade. Habba told Engoron that she met with Trump to ensure he had no records, and there were none to be found. On Friday, she submitted additional documents explaining the document search, including an affidavit in which Trump claimed he has no documents. Engoron criticized the affidavit as lacking in detail. In seeking to halt the fine, Habba said Trump and his representatives had performed a “diligent, thorough and comprehensive search” for everything sought in the subpoena and provided complete and accurate responses to the attorney general. She said the additional submissions last week amounted to “extraordinary efforts to comply.” “Given these circumstances, it is unconscionable and indefensible for Appellant to be held in contempt in any manner, must less at the inordinate expense of $10,000 per day,” she said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Trump Organization, CFO indicted on tax fraud charges
Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments, and school tuition. Trump himself was not charged with any wrongdoing, but prosecutors noted he signed some of the checks at the center of the case. And one top prosecutor said the 15-year scheme was “orchestrated by the most senior executives” at the Trump Organization. It is the first criminal case to come out of New York authorities’ two-year investigation into the former president’s business dealings. According to the indictment, from 2005 through this year, the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg cheated tax authorities by conspiring to pay senior executives off the books by way of lucrative fringe benefits and other means. Weisselberg alone was accused of defrauding the federal government, state, and city out of more than $900,000 in unpaid taxes and undeserved tax refunds. The most serious charge against Weisselberg, grand larceny, carries five to 15 years in prison. The tax fraud charges against the company are punishable by a fine of double the amount of unpaid taxes, or $250,000, whichever is larger. The 73-year-old Weisselberg has intimate knowledge of the Trump Organization’s financial dealings from nearly five decades at the company. The charges against him could enable prosecutors to pressure him to cooperate with the investigation and tell them what he knows. Both Weisselberg and lawyers for the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty. Weisselberg was ordered to surrender his passport and was released without bail, leaving the courthouse without comment. In a statement, Trump condemned the case as a “political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats.” Weisselberg’s lawyers said he will “fight these charges.” The case is being led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats. Vance has been investigating a wide range of matters involving Trump and the Trump Organization, such as hush-money payments made to women on Trump’s behalf and whether the company falsified the value of its properties to obtain loans or reduce its tax bills. The news comes as Trump has been more seriously discussing a possible comeback run for president in 2024. He has ramped up his public appearances, including holding his first rallies since leaving the White House. In announcing the grand jury indictment, Carey Dunne, the top prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, said: “Politics has no role in the jury chamber, and I can assure you it had no role here.” The Trump Organization is the entity through which the former president manages his many ventures, including his investments in office towers, hotels and golf courses, his many marketing deals and his TV pursuits. Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been in charge of day-to-day operations since he became president. In addition to exposing the Trump Organizations to fines, the criminal case could make it more difficult for the business to secure bank loans or strike deals — a hit that comes at a particularly bad time, with the company already reeling from lost business because of the coronavirus and the backlash over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. “Companies that are being indicted, whether they are private or public, big or small, face serious collateral consequences,” said Daniel Horwitz, a white-collar defense attorney. “Companies in the financial services industry are reluctant to do business with them. Their access to capital is limited or cut off.” Weisselberg came under scrutiny in part because of questions about his son’s use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost. Weisselberg’s son Barry Weisselberg — who managed a Trump-operated ice rink in Central Park — paid no reported rent while living in a Trump-owned apartment in 2018, and he was charged just $1,000 per month — far below typical Manhattan prices — while living in a Trump apartment from 2005 to 2012, the indictment said. Allen Weisselberg himself, an intensely private man who lived for years in a modest home on Long Island, continued to claim residency there despite living in a company-paid Manhattan apartment, prosecutors said. By doing so, Weisselberg concealed that he was a New York City resident, and he avoided paying hundreds of thousands in federal, state, and city income taxes while collecting about $133,000 in refunds to which he was not entitled, prosecutors said. According to the indictment, Weisselberg paid rent on his Manhattan apartment with company checks and directed the company to pay for his utility bills and parking, too. The company also paid for private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren with checks bearing Trump’s signature, as well as for Mercedes cars driven by Weisselberg and his wife, and gave him cash to hand out tips around Christmas. Such perks were listed on internal Trump company documents as being part of Weisselberg’s compensation but were not included on his W-2 forms or otherwise reported, and the company did not withhold taxes on their value, prosecutors said. Trump’s company also issued checks, at Weisselberg’s request, to pay for personal expenses and upgrades to his homes and an apartment used by one of his sons, such as new beds, flat-screen TVs, carpeting, and furniture prosecutors said. Barry Weisselberg’s ex-wife has been cooperating with investigators and given them reams of tax records and other documents. Two other Trump executives who were not identified by name also received substantial under-the-table compensation, including lodging and the payment of automobile leases, the indictment said. Weisselberg has a reputation as a workaholic utterly devoted to Trump’s interests. So far, there is no sign that he is about to turn on the former president. “I think it’s possible that Weisselberg would reconsider. Seeing the charges spelled out in this much detail, and seeing that the alleged federal tax loss is included, could, in theory, change his mind,” said Daniel R. Alonso, former chief assistant district attorney. “On the other hand, he is a loyal Trump soldier, which obviously argues
Charges expected Thursday for Donald Trump’s company, top executive
Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged Thursday with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The charges against the Trump Organization and the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, appear to involve non-monetary benefits the company gave to top executives, possibly including the use of apartments, cars, and school tuition. The people were not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and did so on condition of anonymity. The Wall Street Journal was first to report that charges were expected Thursday. The charges against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization would be the first criminal cases to arise from the two-year probe led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., a Democrat who leaves office at the end of the year. Prosecutors have been scrutinizing Trump’s tax records, subpoenaing documents, and interviewing witnesses, including Trump insiders and company executives. A grand jury was recently empaneled to weigh evidence and New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was assigning two of her lawyers to work with Vance on the criminal probe while she continues a civil investigation of Trump. Messages seeking comment were left with a spokesperson and lawyers for the Trump Organization. Weisselberg’s lawyer, Mary Mulligan, declined to comment. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment. Trump’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Jason Miller, a longtime former senior adviser to the Republican, spun the looming charges as “politically terrible for the Democrats.” “They told their crazies and their supplicants in the mainstream media this was about President Trump. Instead, their Witch Hunt is persecuting an innocent 80-year-old man for maybe taking free parking!” Miller tweeted, apparently referring to Weisselberg, who is 73. Trump, who’s been critical of President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, was in Texas visiting the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday. He did not respond to shouted questions about the charges as he participated in a briefing with state officials. Trump had blasted the investigation in a statement Monday, deriding Vance’s office as “rude, nasty, and totally biased” in their treatment of Trump company lawyers, representatives, and long-term employees. Trump, in the statement, said the company’s actions were “things that are standard practice throughout the U.S. business community, and in no way a crime” and that Vance’s probe was an investigation was “in search of a crime.” Trump Organization lawyers met virtually with Manhattan prosecutors last week in a last-ditch attempt to dissuade them from charging the company. Prosecutors gave the lawyers a Monday deadline to make the case that criminal charges shouldn’t be filed. Ron Fischetti, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told the AP this week that there was no indication Trump himself was included in the first batch of charges. “There is no indictment coming down this week against the former president,” Fischetti said. “I can’t say he’s out of the woods yet completely.” Weisselberg, a loyal lieutenant to Trump and his real estate-developer father, Fred, came under scrutiny, in part, because of questions about his son’s use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost. Barry Weisselberg managed a Trump-operated ice rink in Central Park. Barry’s ex-wife, Jen Weisselberg, has been cooperating with the investigation and turned over reams of tax records and other documents to investigators. “We have been working with prosecutors for many months now as part of this tax and financial investigation and have provided a large volume of evidence that allowed them to bring these charges,” Jen Weisselberg’s lawyer, Duncan Levin, said Wednesday. “We are gratified to hear that the DA’s office is moving forward with a criminal case.” Allen Weisselberg has worked for the Trump Organization since 1973. The case against him could give prosecutors the means to pressure the executive into cooperating and telling them what he knows about Trump’s business dealings. Prosecutors subpoenaed another long-time Trump finance executive, senior vice president and controller Jeffrey McConney, to testify in front of the grand jury in the spring. Under New York law, grand jury witnesses are granted immunity and can not be charged for conduct they testify about. Prosecutors probing untaxed benefits to Trump executives have also been looking at Matthew Calamari, a former Trump bodyguard turned chief operating officer, and his son, the company’s corporate director of security. However, a lawyer for the Calamaris said Wednesday that he didn’t expect them to be charged. “Although the DA’s investigation obviously is ongoing, I do not expect charges to be filed against either of my clients at this time,” said the lawyer, Nicholas Gravante. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
NRA fleeing New York for Texas using voluntary bankruptcy to restructure
The National Rifle Association announced Friday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will seek to incorporate the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group in Texas instead of New York. The announcement made on the NRA’s website comes months after New York’s attorney general sued the organization over claims that top executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates, and other questionable expenditures. The coronavirus pandemic has also upended the NRA, which last year laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention, and scuttled fundraising. The NRA’s bankruptcy filing listed between $100 million and $500 million in assets and between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. Still, the NRA claimed in announcing the move that the organization was “in its strongest financial condition in years.” The NRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court in Dallas and said it planned to incorporate in Texas, where records show it formed a limited liability corporation, Sea Girt LLC, in November 2020. Sea Girt LLC made a separate bankruptcy filing Friday, listing fewer than $100,000 in liabilities. “The move will enable long-term, sustainable growth and ensure the NRA’s continued success as the nation’s leading advocate for constitutional freedom – free from the toxic political environment of New York,” the NRA said in a statement. A message seeking comment was left with a Dallas lawyer who made the bankruptcy filings on behalf of the NRA and Sea Girt LLC. Shortly after the announcement, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she would not allow the NRA to “evade accountability” or oversight. Her office’s lawsuit last year highlighted misspending and self-dealing claims that have roiled the NRA and its longtime leader, Wayne LaPierre, in recent years — from hair and makeup for his wife to a $17 million post-employment contract for himself. “The NRA’s claimed financial status has finally met its moral status: bankrupt,” James said. The gun-rights group boasts about 5 million members. Though headquartered in Virginia, the NRA was chartered as a nonprofit in New York in 1871 and is incorporated in the state. Going forward, the NRA said a committee will study opportunities to relocate segments of its operations to Texas and elsewhere. The NRA’s largest creditor, owed $1.2 million, is Ackerman McQueen, which is the group’s former advertising agency that was behind the now-shuttered NRA TV service. The NRA sued the Oklahoma-based company in 2019, alleging it was being overbilled, and said in Friday’s bankruptcy filing that the debt it is owed is disputed. The lawsuit is pending. A message seeking comment was left with Ackerman McQueen. In the New York lawsuit, Ackerman McQueen was accused of aiding lavish spending by LaPierre and other NRA executives by picking up the tab and then sending a lump sum bill to the organization for “out-of-pocket expenses.” Court records also show more than $960,000 owed to Membership Marketing Partners LLC, a firm that lists its headquarters at the same address as the NRA. Another $200,000 is owed to Speedway Motorsports, the North Carolina-based company that owns and operates NASCAR tracks, according to the records. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly welcomed the news, tweeting: “Welcome to Texas — a state that safeguards the 2nd Amendment.” The NRA said it has more than 400,000 members in Texas and plans to hold its annual convention in Houston later this year. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
States can fight lawsuit to exclude migrants in census
A federal judge on Monday allowed a coalition of 15 states and several major cities to oppose Alabama’s fight to count only citizens and legal residents in U.S. Census numbers used for apportioning congressional seats. U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor granted the coalition’s motions to intervene as defendants in the lawsuit filed by Alabama against the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Commerce. The coalition, that includes New York, California, Virginia, the District of Columbia and others, will defend the longstanding practice of counting all U.S. residents. New York Attorney General Letitia James said they are intervening because the lawsuit deserves a “robust defense” and questioned the Trump administration’s commitment to providing it. President Donald Trump had pushed to add a citizenship question to the Census. “We will continue to fight to ensure that every person residing in this country is counted — just as the framers intended. Despite the Trump Administration’s attempts to tip the balance of power in the nation and Alabama’s endeavor to continue down that path, we will never stop fighting for a full and accurate count,” James said in a Friday statement after the judge first indicated he would let the states and cities join the suit. Mike Lewis, a spokesman for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state opposed letting the others join the suit “on the grounds that their interests would be adequately represented by the parties who are already in the case and who are opposing Alabama’s position.” Marshall and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks of Huntsville filed the 2018 lawsuit that says the practice of counting everyone unfairly shifts political power and electoral votes from “states with low numbers of illegal aliens to states with high numbers of illegal aliens.” Alabama has said it is in danger of losing a congressional vote. The U.S. Constitution says there should be “actual enumeration” of the population counting “the whole number of persons in each State.” The intervening states say that language is clear. Alabama argues that was supposed to be limited to people lawfully admitted to the body politic. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against two Texas residents who argued their votes were diluted by the practice of using the whole population to draw legislative district lines. “As the Framers of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment comprehended, representatives serve all residents, not just those eligible or registered to vote,” the court ruled. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
