Trump lashes out at Gov. Doug Ducey following certification

[admin]

Jim Jordan's Request for Production of Documents to Mark F. Pomerantz, Former NY County Special Asst. District Attorney
by Jim Jordan
3/22/23

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
2138 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6216
(202)225-6906
judiciary.house.gov

March 22, 2023

Mr. Mark F. Pomerantz
Former New York County Special Assistant District Attorney
Free & Fair Litigation Group
128 E. Broadway, Unit 793
New York, NY 10002

Dear Mr. Pomerantz:

New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reportedly about to engage in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority: the indictment of a former President of the United States and current declared candidate for that office. This indictment comes after years of the District Attorney’s office aggressively pursuing charges, including by appointing you as an unpaid “special assistant district attorney” to lead the investigation into every facet of President Trump’s finances.1 Last year, you resigned from the office over Bragg’s initial reluctance to move forward with charges, shaming Bragg in your resignation letter—which was subsequently leaked—into bringing charges.2 Based on your unique role in this matter, and your subsequent public statements prejudicing the impartiality of any prosecution, we request your cooperation with our oversight of this politically motivated prosecutorial decision.

The New York County District Attorney’s Office has been investigating President Trump since at least 2018, looking for some legal theory on which to bring charges.3 The facts surrounding the impending indictment have “been known for years.”4 Michael Cohen, President Trump’s disgraced former lawyer, pleaded guilty over four years ago to charges based on the same facts at issue in the impending indictment.5 By July 2019, however, federal prosecutors determined that no additional people would be charged alongside Cohen.6

In January 2022, soon after Bragg took office, he expressed doubts about President Trump’s case and suspended the investigation.7 This decision caused you and your colleague, Carey Dunne, to resign in protest.8 You penned a scathing resignation letter in which you baselessly accused President Trump of “numerous felony violations,” and asserted it would be “a grave failure of justice” if Bragg did not pursue charges.9 You urged Bragg to hold President Trump “fully accountable for his crimes,” asserting that Bragg’s decision “will doom any future prospects” for prosecution.10 Your resignation letter found its way into the New York Times, word-for-word, and your criticisms of Bragg’s investigation were widely reported by news outlets.11 Your unrelenting pursuit of President Trump followed you into the private sector as you and Dunne started a law firm dedicated to “weighing ways” to bar President Trump from holding future office.12 Just this month, you published a book excoriating Bragg for not aggressively prosecuting President Trump, laying bare the office’s internal deliberations about the investigation and your personal animus toward President Trump.13

It now appears that your efforts to shame Bragg have worked as he is reportedly resurrecting a so-called “zombie” case against President Trump using a tenuous and untested legal theory. 14 Even the Washington Post quoted “legal experts” as calling Bragg’s actions “unusual” because “prosecutors have repeatedly examined the long-established details but decided not to pursue charges.”15 In addition, Bragg’s star witness—Michael Cohen—has a serious credibility problem as a convicted perjurer and serial fabricator with demonstrable prejudice against President Trump.16 Under these circumstances, there is no scenario in which Cohen could fairly be considered an unbiased and credible witness.

The inference from the totality of these facts is that Bragg’s impending indictment is motivated by political calculations. The facts of this matter have not changed since 2018 and no new witnesses have emerged.17 The Justice Department examined the facts in 2019 and opted not to pursue further prosecutions at that time. Even still, according to reporting, the investigation “gained some momentum this year,” and Bragg’s office “convened a new grand jury in January to evaluate the issue.”18 The only intervening factor, it appears, was President Trump’s announcement that he would be a candidate for President in 2024.19

Your actions, both as a special prosecutor and since leaving the District Attorney’s office, cast serious doubt on the administration of fair and impartial justice in this matter. Your words in the New York Times have unfairly disparaged President Trump, an innocent and uncharged man, as a felon to millions of Times readers. Your book again unfairly disparaged President Trump, and now opens the door to examination about the District Attorney’s office commitment to evenhanded justice. In light of this unprecedented and overzealous partisan investigation, Congress has a keen interest in these facts to inform potential legislation to improve the functioning and fairness of our criminal justice system, and to better delineate prosecutorial authority between federal and local officials. In addition, because the circumstances of this matter stem, in part, from Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation,20 Congress may consider legislative reforms to the authorities of special counsels and their relationships with other prosecuting entities.

Accordingly, to advance our oversight, please produce the following documents and information in your personal possession for the period January 1, 2017, to the present:

1. All documents and communications between or among the New York County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice, its component entities, or other federal law enforcement agencies referring or relating to New York County District Attorney’s investigation of President Donald Trump;

2. All documents and communications between or among you and representatives of the New York County District Attorney’s Office referring or relating to President Donald Trump; and

3. All documents and communications between or among you and representatives of the New York County District Attorney’s Office referring or relating to your appointment and role as a Special Assistant District Attorney for New York County.

In addition, your testimony is necessary to advance our oversight and to inform potential legislative reforms. We therefore ask that you testify in a transcribed interview about these matters as soon as possible. Please provide this information and contact Committee staff to schedule your transcribed interview as soon as possible but not later than 10:00 a.m. on March 27, 2023.

Further, this letter serves as a formal request to preserve all existing and future records and materials relating to the topics addressed in this letter. You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry. This instruction includes all electronic messages sent using your official and personal accounts or devices, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software.

The Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over criminal justice matters in the United States and matters involving threats to civil liberties pursuant to Rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives.21 If you have any questions about this request, please contact Committee staff at (202) 225-6906. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jim Jordan
Chairman

cc: The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member
_______________

Notes:

1 William K. Rashbaum et al., A former federal prosecutor has joined the Manhattan D.A.’s team investigating the Trump family business, N.Y. TIMES (Feb. 19, 2021); Ben Protess et al., How the Manhattan DA’s investigation into President Donald Trump unraveled, N.Y. TIMES (March 5, 2022).

2 Read the Full Text of Mark Pomerantz’s Resignation Letter, N.Y. TIMES (Mar. 23, 2022) [hereinafter “Pomerantz Letter].

3 Andrew Feinberg, New York prosecutors warn Trump of possible indictment, report says, THE INDEPENDENT (Mar. 10, 2023).

4 Mark Berman et al., The prosecutor, the ex-president and the ‘zombie’ case that came back to life, WASH. POST (Mar. 17, 2023).

5 Shawna Chen, Timeline: The probe into Trump’s alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, AXIOS (Mar. 18, 2023).

6 Id.; see Berman et al., supra note 4.

7 Shayna Jacobs et al., Prosecutor who resigned over stalled Trump probe says ex-president committed felonies, WASH. POST (Mar. 23, 2022).

8 Id.

9 Pomerantz Letter, supra note 2.

10 Id.

11 Id.

12 Shayna Jacobs, Lawyers who investigated Trump form group to oppose anti-democratic policies, WASH. POST (Jan. 11, 2023).

13 MARK POMERANTZ, PEOPLE VS. DONALD TRUMP: AN INSIDE ACCOUNT (2023).

14 Berman et al., supra note 4.

15 Id.

16 Christopher Lopez, Progressive DA Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump hinges on witnesses with ‘credibility problems’: Andy McCarthy, FOX NEWS (Mar. 19, 2023); Marisa Schultz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows ask Justice Department to probe Cohen for perjury, N.Y. POST (Feb. 28, 2019); Michael Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress, ASSOC. PRESS (Nov. 29, 2018).

17 Berman et al., supra note 4.

18 Id.

19 Max Greenwood, Trump announces 2024 run for president, THE HILL (Nov. 15, 2022).

20 Ben Protess et al., How Michael Cohen turned against President Trump, N.Y. TIMES (Apr. 21, 2019).

21 Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, R. X (2023).

[admin]

Judge says several Trump aides [Mark Meadows, John Ratcliffe, Robert O'Brien, and Ken Cuccinelli], sources told CNN, including former chief of staff, must testify to Jan. 6 grand jury
by Zachary Cohen, Kristen Holmes and Katelyn Polantz
CNN
Mar 24, 2023 Updated 8 hrs ago 0

A federal judge has ordered several former Donald Trump aides, including Mark Meadows, to testify before a grand jury as part of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, rejecting the former president's claims of executive privilege, multiple sources confirmed to CNN.

Trump's legal team had challenged subpoenas issued by special counsel Jack Smith demanding testimony and documents from Meadows, the former president's White House chief of staff, as well as several others by asserting executive privilege.

In a sealed decision last week, then-Chief Judge Beryl Howell rejected the Trump team's claims of privilege for Meadows and other top Trump administration officials who were subpoenaed by Smith, including former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, former national security adviser Robert O'Brien and former Department of Homeland Security official Ken Cuccinelli, sources told CNN.

Trump's privilege claims for other former White House aides, including Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino, also were rejected, the sources said.

Trump's legal team is expected to appeal the decision, one source familiar with the matter said.

ABC News first reported the ruling.

Some of the witnesses who have already appeared before the grand jury but refused to answer some questions related to their interactions with Trump will now likely have to return.

A Trump spokesperson slammed the decision in a statement, accusing the Justice Department of "continuously stepping far outside the standard norms in attempting to destroy the long accepted, long held, Constitutionally based standards of attorney-client privilege and executive privilege."

"There is no factual or legal basis or substance to any case against President Trump. The deranged Democrats and their comrades in the mainstream media are corrupting the legal process and weaponizing the justice system in order to manipulate public opinion, because they are clearly losing the political battle."

O'Brien and Cuccinelli recently appeared before the grand jury after receiving subpoenas as part of Smith's probe.

The investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election ahead of the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol is one of two ongoing probes overseen by special counsel Smith.

It is separate from the state-level criminal investigation in Georgia related to efforts by Trump and his allies to upend the 2020 election results there and another in New York centered around the former president's alleged role in hush money payments to an adult film star.

Smith also oversees the criminal probe stemming from the discovery of classified documents recovered from Trump's Mar-a-lago residence.

This story has been updated with additional details.

The-CNN-Wire

™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

[admin]

Ari Melber Covers All the Issues re Donald Trump's Indictment: (1) The "Unprecedented" nature of indicting a former President (The Constitution says no one is above the law, but for two centuries we have treated Presidents as Kings; finally, we have "Restoration of the Republic"); (2) The "Unprecedented" nature of this indictment (Many high-level people in the Trump org have already been indicted on similar and same charges, including Allen Weisselberg and Michael Cohen); (3) A person cannot be indicted if he/she is running for office (Running for office does not stop the criminal-judicial system); (4) Can an indicted person run for office? (Many indicted persons have previously run for office, including Eugene Debs, who got 1 million votes); (5) Indictment will help Trump get re-elected (it has not helped previously indicted candidates for office, but Michael Steele says "things have changed," since nobody believes any longer that paying a porn star hush money is a big deal, although that is not really the point of this indictment, but rather interference in an election), (6) Is Trump shocked on hearing of the indictment? (Tony Schwartz, author of "Art of the Deal" says Trump knows himself to be a life-long conman, and is always afraid, angry and outraged that he would be caught, that a cat has 9 lives, but not 900 lives, and now that he's been caught, prosecutors can see a life full of committing crimes; that his grasp on reality is delusional and thin, that he probably has not imagined himself in a jail cell), (7) Is this going to cause another insurrection? (Trump already asked people to come "take their country back" on a specific day to protest his indictment, and only 3-6 people showed up, so the answer is perhaps "no".)
by Ari Melber
MSNBC
March 31, 2023

[admin]

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000187 ... f7d0920000

DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
ONE HOGAN PLACE
New York, N. Y. 10013
(212) 335-9000
ALVIN L. BRAGG, JR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY
March 31, 2023
By email
The Honorable Jim Jordan
Chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Bryan Steil
Chairman, House Committee on House Administration
The Honorable James Comer
Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability
Dear Chairman Jordan, Chairman Steil, and Chairman Comer:
Yesterday, the District Attorney of New York County filed charges against Donald Trump for
violations of New York law.1
The charges filed yesterday were brought by citizens of New
York, doing their civic duty as members of a grand jury, who found probable cause to accuse
Mr. Trump of having committed crimes in New York.
Like any other defendant, Mr. Trump is entitled to challenge these charges in court and avail
himself of all processes and protections that New York State’s robust criminal procedure
affords. What neither Mr. Trump nor Congress may do is interfere with the ordinary course
of proceedings in New York State. Your first letter made an unprecedented request to the
District Attorney for confidential information about the status of the state grand jury
investigation—now indictment— of Mr. Trump. Your second letter asserts that, by failing to
provide it, the District Attorney somehow failed to dispute your baseless and inflammatory
allegations that our investigation is politically motivated. That conclusion is misleading and
meritless. We did not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of your letter because our Office is
legally constrained in how it publicly discusses pending criminal proceedings, as prosecutorial
offices are across the country and as you well know. That secrecy is critical to protecting the
privacy of the target of any criminal investigation as well as the integrity of the independent
grand jury’s proceedings.2

1
The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
2 See, e.g., McKeever v. Barr, 920 F.3d 842, 844 (D.C. Cir. 2019) (“The Supreme Court has long maintained that the proper
functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. That secrecy safeguards vital
interests in (1) preserving the willingness and candor of witnesses called before the grand jury; (2) not alerting the target
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 2 of 6
The Committees Lack Jurisdiction to Oversee a State Criminal Prosecution
Your recent letter states that the purpose of your inquiry is to conduct “an examination of the
facts” relating to the investigation of Mr. Trump.3
But Congress has no warrant for interfering
with individual criminal investigations—much less investigations conducted by a separate
sovereign. See United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 561 (1995) (“Under our federal system, the
States possess primary authority for defining and enforcing the criminal law.”); Younger v.
Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 44 (1971) (“This underlying reason for restraining courts of equity from
interfering with criminal prosecutions is reinforced by an even more vital consideration, the
notion of ‘comity,’ that is, a proper respect for state functions.”); cf. Gamble v. United States, 139
S. Ct. 1960 (2019) (recognizing state sovereign interests in the criminal justice context). The
Committees’ attempted interference with an ongoing state criminal investigation—and now
prosecution—is an unprecedented and illegitimate incursion on New York’s sovereign
interests.
Moreover, your examination of the facts of a single criminal investigation, for the supposed
purpose of determining whether any charges against Mr. Trump are warranted, is an improper
and dangerous usurpation of the executive and judicial functions. See Trump v. Mazars USA,
LLP, 140 S. Ct. 2019, 2032 (2020) (“Congress may not issue a subpoena for the purposes of
‘law enforcement’ because “those powers are assigned under our Constitution to the Executive
and the Judiciary.”); Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211, 219, 224 (1995) (“The Framers
of our Constitution lived among the ruins of a system of intermingled legislative and judicial
powers” and accordingly created a system that separated “the legislative power to make general
law from the judicial power to apply that law in particular cases.”). Even worse, based on your
reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury
process,4
it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence
for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective.
The Committees’ Vague and Shifting Legislative Purpose is Insufficient
You suggest that your request has a valid legislative purpose because Congress may consider
legislation to shield former presidents from state criminal investigations for “personal acts”
that do not involve their conduct in office. You did not identify any such legislative purpose
in your initial letter, suggesting that your proposal to “insulate current and former presidents”
of an investigation who might otherwise flee or interfere with the grand jury; and (3) preserving the rights of a suspect
who might later be exonerated.” (citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted)); People v. DiNapoli, 27 N.Y.2d 229,
235 (1970) (identifying five policy reasons for maintaining the secrecy of grand jury proceedings).
3 See also The Lead with Jake Tapper, CNN, Mar. 26, 2023 (https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/202 ... r-full.cnn) (Comer: “[Bragg] should come explain to us exactly what he’s investigating”).
4
Annie Grayer et al., Inside the backchannel communications keeping Donald Trump in the loop on Republican investigations, CNN.com
(March 28, 2023), https://tinyurl.com/mr3n675p.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 3 of 6
from state criminal investigations is a baseless pretext to interfere with our Office’s work.5

Indeed, we doubt that Congress would have authority to place a single private citizen—
including a former president or candidate for president—above the law or to grant him unique
protections, such as removal to federal court, that are unavailable to every other criminal
defendant. “[E]very President takes office knowing that he will be subject to the same laws as
all other citizens upon leaving office. This is a feature of our democratic republic, not a bug.”
Comm. on Ways and Means v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 45 F.4th 324, 338 (D.C. Cir. 2022).
Even if you were seriously considering such legislation and had the constitutional authority to
enact it (which you do not), your request for information from the District Attorney and his
former attorneys concerning an ongoing criminal probe is unnecessary and unjustified.
Congress has many sources from which it could seek information on the wisdom of this
legislation, including from former federal or state prosecutors not involved in this pending
matter. The “unique constitutional position” our Constitution affords the states with respect
to the criminal law “means that Congress may not look” to active state investigations “as a
‘case study’ for general legislation.” Trump, 140 S. Ct. at 2035-36 (2020). Likewise, it is unclear
what pertinence the requested documents have to Congress’s evaluation of whether to grant
a former president or presidential candidate with immunity from prosecution for state crimes.
The documents and information relating to the pending criminal case would be relevant only
if Congress is intending to specifically prevent this prosecution—an intent that you purport
to disclaim.6
The DA’s Office Uses Limited Federal Funds to Effectively Fight Crime & Help
Victims
The Committees’ initial rationale for its inquiry related to this Office’s use of federal funds.
Over the last decade and a half, this Office has contributed to the federal fisc. Indeed, the DA’s
Office has helped the Federal Government secure more than one billion dollars in asset
forfeiture funds in the past 15 years. The DA’s Office receives only a small fraction of those
forfeited funds.
5
This concern is heightened given that some committee members have explicitly stated an intent to interfere with the state
proceeding. For example, responding to Trump’s statement that he would be arrested, Representative Marjorie Taylor
Greene stated that “Republicans in Congress MUST subpoena these communists and END this! We have the power to
do it and we also have the power to DEFUND their salaries and departments!”, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@
RepMTG), Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 8:59 AM), https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1637076244708614144, and that
Republicans who “do nothing to stop” the prosecution “will be exposed to the people and will be remembered, scorned,
and punished by the base”, Rep. Marjorie Tylor Greene (@mtgreenee), Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 7:57 AM)
https://twitter.com/mtgreenee/status/16 ... 4314917888. See also Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina),
Twitter (Mar. 18, 2023, 3:42 PM), https://twitter.com/realannapaulina/sta ... 6225501191 (“Pay attention to
who is being silent on what is currently happening to Trump.”).
6
Letter from Rep. Jim Jordan, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, et al. to Hon. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York
County (March 23, 2023) at 7 (asserting that “the Committees’ oversight will in no way ‘stop [the] prosecution or set limits
on the management of a particular case”).
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 4 of 6

Our review of the Office’s records reflect that, of the federal forfeiture money that the Office
helped collect, approximately $5,000 was spent on expenses incurred relating to the
investigation of Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization. These expenses were incurred
between October 2019 and August 2021. Most of those costs are attributed to the Supreme
Court case, Trump v. Vance—subpoena-related litigation in which the DA’s Office prevailed
and which led to the indictment and conviction of Trump Organization CFO Allen
Weisselberg and two Trump organizations. No expenses incurred relating to this matter have
been paid from funds that the Office receives through federal grant programs.
Federal Grant Programs
Currently, the DA’s Office participates in three federal grant programs relating to our
casework.7
Award letters relating to these programs are attached. The Office can provide
additional documentation regarding these grants on a rolling basis to be agreed upon in the
previously requested meet and confer.
Stop Violence Against Women Act Program. The DA’s Office receives $50,000 in federal grant
money yearly via New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Services during our current
award period, which runs from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2025, for work to hold
accountable those who commit acts of violence against women. These funds are used to help
pay a portion of the salaries for senior positions in the Special Victims Division of the Office,
including those who prosecute the most serious acts of violence and who directly interface
and help victims of crime through the process. We note that, according to the National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, New York has the third lowest rate of domestic violence
victimization for women of all 50 states.8
Victims of Crime Act, Victim and Witness Assistance Grant Program. The DA’s Office receives
$583,111.04 in federal grant money yearly during our current award period, which runs from
October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2025, from the Victims of Crime Act Victim and Witness
Assistance Grant Program, which is sub-granted from the federal government through the
New York State Office of Victim Services to our Office. All these funds are used by our
Witness Aid Services Unit (WASU). WASU provides a variety of court-related services, social
services, and counseling services designed to meet the needs of crime victims, witnesses, and
their families. The Unit also provides information related to the prosecution of the case, assists
victims in understanding the criminal justice system, and provides information regarding crime
victims’ rights. WASU ensures that crime victims, witnesses, and their families can access the
7
In addition, to support the Federal Government’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, the DA’s
Office receives funds and acts as the financial fiduciary recipient for grant funding for the New York/New Jersey HIDTA.
Expenditure of these funds is directed by an executive board of law enforcement partners; the DA’s Office does not
control decision-making on the use of these funds.
8
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, State-By-State Statistics, available at: https://ncadv.org/state-by-state.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 5 of 6
services they need to address their trauma and rebuild their lives, while also helping them
navigate New York’s complex court system. All these efforts help make our city safer; by
ensuring victims participate in court processes, they help hold those who commit crimes
accountable for their actions, and by addressing trauma they help prevent future criminality.
Our Office’s focus on public safety in every aspect of our work, including WASU, is one thing
that helps explain why an expert analysis of the overall impact of the cost of crime per resident,
taking into account the cost of both violent and property crime, found New York City the
fifth safest large city in America.9
Department of Justice, Justice Assistance Grant. The DA’s Office receives $204,730 in federal grant
money during our current award period, which runs from October 1, 2020, to September 30,
2024, from the Department of Justice’s Justice Assistance Grant program which is sub-granted
from the City of New York. These funds go towards addressing violent and other felony
crimes in our jurisdiction. With the help of these funds, New York City has the fifth lowest
rate of homicides of the top 50 most populated cities in the United States.10
* * *
Finally, as you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective
against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in
New York may unleash “death & destruction.” As Committee Chairmen, you could use the
stature of your office to denounce these attacks and urge respect for the fairness of our justice
system and for the work of the impartial grand jury. Instead, you and many of your colleagues
have chosen to collaborate with Mr. Trump’s efforts to vilify and denigrate the integrity of
elected state prosecutors and trial judges and made unfounded allegations that the Office’s
investigation, conducted via an independent grand jury of average citizens serving New York
State, is politically motivated. See, e.g., Annie Grayer et al., Inside the backchannel communications
keeping Donald Trump in the loop on Republican investigations, CNN.com (March 28, 2023),
https://tinyurl.com/mr3n675p (“House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik . . . and
Trump spoke several times last week alone, where she walked him through the GOP’s plans
for an aggressive response to Bragg.”). We urge you to refrain from these inflammatory
accusations, withdraw your demand for information, and let the criminal justice process
proceed without unlawful political interference.
9
Deb Gordon, Safest Cities In America 2023: Violent Crime Rate Increases Drive Per Capita Cost of Crime, available at
https://www.moneygeek.com/living/safest-cities/, analyzing 263 cities with populations of over 100,000 using FBI data
and relying on academic measurement of the cost of crime to society.
10 Bloomberg News analysis of murder rates in the top 50 most populated cities in America, using data from the Major
Cities Chiefs Association, Federal Bureau of Investigation, local police departments, media reports, and the US Census
Bureau, available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/artic ... postmortem.
The Honorable Jim Jordan, et al.
March 31, 2023
Page 6 of 6
If you will not withdraw your request, we reiterate our willingness to meet and confer with
you or your staff about how we can accommodate your request without violating our
obligations as prosecutors to protect the integrity of an ongoing criminal prosecution. We
respectfully request that you provide us with a list of questions you wish to ask District
Attorney Bragg and to describe the type of documents you think we could produce that would
be relevant to your inquiry without violating New York grand jury secrecy rules or interfering
with the criminal case now before a court. We trust you will make a good-faith effort to reach
a negotiated resolution before taking the unprecedented and unconstitutional step of serving
a subpoena on a district attorney for information related to an ongoing state criminal
prosecution.
Respectfully Submitted,
Leslie B. Dubeck
General Counsel
cc: Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
Honorable Joseph Morelle, Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration
Honorable Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and
Accountability
Majority Staff, Committee on the Judiciary
Minority Staff, Committee on the Judiciary

[admin]

"They asked us to stand down": Ex-Manhattan DA says Trump DOJ intervened in Stormy Daniels probe: Legal expert says it was an "odd request" because DOJ "did not indict Trump or anyone else after that point"
by Gabriella Ferrigine
Salon
PUBLISHED APRIL 3, 2023 11:36AM (EDT)


Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. arrives at his office on July 01, 2021 in Lower Manhattan New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said that the Justice Department [under Donald Trump] asked his office to "stand down" in its investigation of the 2016 hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Vance faced questions about why he failed to file charges against former President Donald Trump in the probe after a grand jury indicted him in connection to the payment last week.

"Why didn't you charge the hush money case? Why didn't you ever charge it in 2018, 2019, 2020?" NBC News' Chuck Todd asked Vance on "Meet the Press."

"I don't want to get into the deliberations that might be covered by grand jury material. But... I was asked by the U.S. attorney's office of the Southern District to stand down on our investigation, which had commenced involving the Trump Organization," Vance replied. "And as you know, as someone who respects that office a great deal and believing that they may have perhaps the best laws to investigate, I did so."

Todd pressed Vance on the details of the probe.

"Did your office conclude that a stand alone felony charge for these hush money payments wasn't worth it because of so many of the uncertainties around the legal theory?" Todd asked. "And that's why you were pursuing this larger issue, that this was just one part of sort of how the Trump Organization lied on their on their business records."

"Again, I don't want to get into our deliberations," Vance said. "But we have historically filed cases of false documentation, elevating them to felonies when federal statutes were involved. It's never been done that I know of with regard to federal election law, which is a quite a specific area of law. But I think the question is not so much why didn't I do it or we did it, but why this district attorney is doing it. And that really requires us to be patient and to wait. This process isn't going to be accelerated by us talking about it."

Vance also spoke with former White House Press Secretary and MSNBC host Jen Psaki about the once-seemingly deadened hush-money case.

"We learned from the Southern District of New York that they asked us to stand down … they had this ongoing investigation and they wished that we put our efforts on hold while they completed their investigation," Vance said. "I felt it was appropriate for me to hit the pause button."

"I was surprised, after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty, that the investigation from the Southern District on that issue did not go forward. By that time we had moved on to other matters," Vance continued.

Inside with Jen Psaki
@InsideWithPsaki
“We learned from the Southern District of New York that they asked us to stand down... they wished that we put our efforts on hold.”
Fmr. Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance to @jrpsaki on SDNY's request to pause their investigation of Donald Trump & the hush money to Stormy Daniels
12:14 PM · Apr 2, 2023

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti described the DOJ intervention as an "odd request" given that the "SDNY did not indict Trump or anyone else after that point."

"Did then-Attorney General Barr play any role in that request? Did Trump?" Mariotti wondered

Renato Mariotti
@renato_mariotti
Cy Vance stated today that the SDNY, while Trump was President, asked him to hold off on the hush money investigation.
Did then-Attorney General Barr play any role in that request? Did Trump?
It's an odd request because SDNY did not indict Trump or anyone else after that point.
Inside with Jen Psaki

@InsideWithPsaki
“Ultimately Mr. Bragg decided that the case Mark [Pomerantz] was presenting him after I left in January 2022 was not a case he felt comfortable going forward on at that time."

Former Manhattan DA Vance talks to @jrpsaki about the hand off to DA Bragg.

1:15 PM · Apr 2, 2023

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin explained that it is "not atypical" for federal and local prosecutors to have a "turf war" over a case.

"What is unusual, however, is for the feds to both insist that they're all over the investigation, only to have it watered down at the insistence of political appointees and then drop it entirely, as SDNY did in summer 2019," she tweeted.

Lisa Rubin · Apr 2, 2023
@lawofruby
I too thought this was big (& told @AlexWitt as much today.) But what I wish I had had more time to say is this: It’s not atypical for the feds and the Manhattan DA to have a turf war about a case—and for the feds to prevail. 1/

Mueller, She Wrote
@MuellerSheWrote
NEW: Cy Vance tells @jrpsaki the SDNY under Barr told the Manhattan DA to STAND DOWN on the hush money investigation.

Lisa Rubin
@lawofruby
What is unusual, however, is for the feds to both insist that they’re all over the investigation, only to have it watered down at the insistence of political appointees and then drop it entirely, as SDNY did in summer 2019. 2/
2:21 PM · Apr 2, 2023

Lisa Rubin · Apr 2, 2023
@lawofruby
Replying to @lawofruby
And as Vance further explained to @jrpsaki today, not only did DANY lose a year and change due to SDNY’s power play but soon after, its own investigation was frustrated by a complete shut down of NY grand juries occasioned by COVID. 3/

Lisa Rubin
@lawofruby
That’s not to let either Manhattan DA fully off the hook for the failure to indict Trump for a years-old scandal until last week, but the combination of DOJ’s interference both with SDNY and DANY and COVID’s impact on courts account for a healthy chunk of that time. FIN
2:26 PM · Apr 2, 2023

Gabriella Ferrigine is a news fellow at Salon. She began writing at a young age, inspired by the many books she read as well as the world around her. Originally from the Jersey Shore, she moved to New York City in 2016 to attend Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in American Studies. Currently, Gabriella is pursuing an M.A. in Magazine Journalism at NYU. Prior to working at Salon, she was a staff writer at NowThis News.

***************************

Rep. Lofgren: Trump’s rhetoric is more over the top than pre Jan. 6
MSNBC
Apr 3, 2023 #msnbc #trump #january6

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) discusses the ex-president’s dangerous rhetoric ahead of his arraignment



Transcript

>>> [NICOLLE WALLACE] AS ALL OF US WATCHING
TODAY'S COVERAGE KNOW AND AS WE
GIRD OURSELVES FOR THE DAYS AND
WEEKS TO COME, IT'S WORTH
REMEMBERING THAT THE WHEELS OF
JUSTICE GRIND VERY SLOWLY, AND
THIS IS LIKELY THE BEGINNING OF
THE BEGINNING IN WHAT IS SURE TO
BE A LONG PROCESS IN EFFORTS TO
HOLD THE TWICE IMPEACHED
DISGRACED, NOW INDICTED
CRIMINALLY EX-PRESIDENT
ACCOUNTABLE, KNOWING WE'RE ONLY
AT THE START OF THIS
THERE ALSO COMES THE REALIZATION
THAT THERE'S STILL A LOT WE
DON'T KNOW,
INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF THE
EX-PRESIDENT ALSO BECOMING THE
FIRST PRESIDENT EVER TO FACE
MULTIPLE INDICTMENTS.
IT'S POSSIBLE.
AS WE AWAIT THE RESULT OF
INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, HE
SQUIRRELLED AWAY AT HIS
MAR-A-LAGO HOME, AND HIS
ATTEMPTS TO OVERTURN THE 2020
ELECTION RESULTS BECAUSE HE
LOST.
AS WELL AS POTENTIAL
INTERFERENCE IN THE FULTON
COUNTY GEORGIA ELECTION RESULT.
WITH ALL THE UNKNOWNS, THERE ARE
THINGS ABOUT TRUMP WE DO KNOW.
THINGS THAT FOR YEARS HE'S DONE,
AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO DESPITE
THE LEGAL WOES HE FACES.
ONE OF THEM IS SOMETHING THAT OUR
NEXT GUEST ONCE COINED THE BIG
GRIFT.
AFTER NEWS OF HIS INDICTMENT
BROKE, THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S
CAMPAIGN CLAIMS THEY RAISED
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN THE FIRST
24 HOURS FROM HIS SUPPORTERS.
THEY'RE NOW SAYING THAT NUMBER
IS UP TO 7 MILLION.
JOINING US, DEMOCRATIC
CONGRESSWOMAN, ZOE LOFGREN OF
CALIFORNIA, SHE SERVED AS AN
IMPEACHMENT MANAGER DURING TRUMP'S FIRST IMPEACHMENT TRIAL, AND OF
COURSE HAS MADE REGULAR APPEARANCES
ON THIS PROGRAM TO KEEP US
ABREAST OF THE WORK OF THE
JANUARY 6th SELECT COMMITTEE.
I THOUGHT OF YOUR PUBLIC
PRESENTATION IN THE JANUARY 6th
SELECT COMMITTEE'S PUBLIC
HEARINGS AND THE BIG GRIFT
BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN,
BATESED ON GARRETT HAAKE'S
REPORTING FROM ABOARD THE SKIES BETWEEN
PALM BEACH AND MANHATTAN.
IS THERE ANY RECOURSE FOR
RAISING MONEY FROM SOMEONE'S
POLITICAL SUPPORTERS TO PAY YOUR
PERSONAL LEGAL BILLS?

>> [REP. ZOE LOFGREN] WELL, THERE ARE FEC ISSUES.
THERE ARE SOME RULES THAT YOU
CAN RAISE FUNDS IN A POLITICAL
CAMPAIGN AND LEGALLY USE THEM
FOR -- TO DEFEND YOURSELF.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT
REPRESENTATIONS HE'S MADE IN HIS
E-MAILS TO HIS FOLLOWERS, NOR
WHETHER HE HAS TAKEN THE STEPS
NECESSARY TO LEGITIMIZE THE
EXPENDITURE ON LEGAL FEES, BUT,
YOU KNOW, THE EX-PRESIDENT TAKES
ANY OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE MONEY
FROM HIS CORE SUPPORTERS, AND
HE'S DOING THAT AGAIN.

>> [NICOLLE WALLACE] WELL, RAISING MONEY FROM HIS
CORE SUPPORTERS AND COZYING UP
TO IMAGES OF VIOLENCE AT THE PEOPLE WHO THREATEN HIM, IS THE STORY THAT THE
SELECT COMMITTEE INVESTIGATED AND TOLD IN ITS PUBLIC
HEARINGS AND FINAL REPORT.
WHEN YOU SEE HIM REPOSTING AND
DISSEMINATING IMAGES OF THE
BASEBALL BAT AND ALVIN BRAGG'S
FACE, AND RAISING HOWEVER MUCH
HE'S RAISED FROM HIS SUPPORTERS
AT A TIME WHEN HE FACES CRIMINAL
EXPOSURE BECAUSE OF MONEY HE
ILLEGALLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN
SILENCING ALLEGEDLY A PORN STAR,
WHERE DO YOUR THOUGHTS GO?

>> [REP. ZOE LOFGREN] WELL, I'M VERY CONCERNED
ABOUT HIS RHETORIC, WHICH IS
ACTUALLY EVEN MORE OVER THE TOP
THAN IN THE DAYS AND WEEKS AND
MONTHS PRECEDING JANUARY 6th.
WHETHER OR NOT HIS CORE
SUPPORTERS WILL RESPOND WITH THE
SAME KIND OF MOB VIOLENCE THAT
WE SAW ON JANUARY 6th, I
CERTAINLY HOPE NOT, AND FROM THE
PRESS REPORTS, IT LOOKS LIKE THE
SOCIAL MEDIA DOES NOT INDICATE
THE KIND OF MOB VIOLENCE THAT
WAS PLANNED AND EXECUTED ON
JANUARY 6th.
HOWEVER, WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE
ARE UNHINGED PEOPLE IN OUR
COUNTRY WHO DO RESPOND TO
REQUESTS TO ENGAGE IN VIOLENCE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE EVERY
PERSON WHO'S A SUPPORTER OF A
POLITICAL CANDIDATE TO RESPOND
IT'S JUST THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE
ON THE EDGE WHO MIGHT BE FEELING
THAT THE PRESIDENT IS ASKING
THEM TO TAKE IA BAT TO THE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S HEAD.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE MUCH
PREFERABLE FOR OUR COUNTRY
NOT TO INCITE VIOLENCE, TO TREAT
THIS AS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE
TREATED.
CHARGES WILL BE UNVEILED
TOMORROW.
THE EX-PRESIDENT IS ENTITLED TO
DUE PROCESS.
A PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE,
UNLESS CONVICTED. AND WE'LL SEE
THIS PLAY OUT.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL
OF US TO STAND UP AND SUPPORT
OUR GOVERNMENT, OUR SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT, THE CONSTITUTION.
AND UNFORTUNATELY, ONCE AGAIN, IT
DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE
EX-PRESIDENT IS IN THAT SPOT

>> [NICOLLE WALLACE] I MEAN, ALVIN BRAGG IS A
PARTICULARLY INTENSE FOCUS FOR
TRUMP AND HIS SUPPORTERS BECAUSE
HE'S GONE FIRST.
WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT WHERE DOJ WAS. I GUESS, IF WE'RE BEING FAIR,
MERRICK GARLAND WASN'T THERE
UNTIL MARCH AFTER THE
INSURRECTION. BUT FROM MARCH UNTIL THE APPOINTMENT OF JACK SMITH, IT IS CLEAR FROM
THE OUTSIDE THAT THE EVENTS AND ACTS THAT YOU AND YOUR COMMITTEE INVESTIGATED WERE
NOT UNDER CLOSE SCRUTINY BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING CY VANCE SAID ABOUT WHY HE DIDN'T BRING CHARGES IN
THE
HUSH MONEY CASE?

[CHUCK TODD] WHY DIDN'T YOU CHARGE THE HUSH MONEY CASE? WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER CHARGE IT IN
2018, 2019, 2020?

>> [FORMER D.A. CYRUS VANCE] CHUCK, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THE
DELIBERATIONS THAT MIGHT BE
COVERED BY GRAND JURY MATERIAL,
BUT AS I BELIEVE YOU KNOW, I WAS
ASKED BY THE U.S. ATTORNEYS'
OFFICE IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT
TO STAND DOWN ON OUR
INVESTIGATION.
AS SOMEONE WHO RESPECTS THAT
OFFICE A GREAT DEAL AND
BELIEVING THAT THEY MAY HAVE PERHAPS
THE BEST LAWS TO INVESTIGATE, I
DID SO.
BUT I THINK THE QUESTION WAS NOT
SO MUCH WHY DIDN'T I DO IT, OR
WE DID IT, BUT WHY THIS DISTRICT
ATTORNEY IS DOING IT, AND THAT
REALLY REQUIRES US TO BE
PATIENT, AND TO WAIT.
THIS PROCESS ISN'T GOING TO BE
ACCELERATED BY US TALKING ABOUT
IT.
IT'S GOING TO BE MOVED BY THE
COURT AT THE PACE THE COURT SEES
FIT, AND I GUARANTEE THE COURT
WILL WANT THIS TO MOVE QUICKLY.

>>> [NICOLLE WALLACE] HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK OR ANY FEDERAL U.S.
ATTORNEYS' OFFICE TELLING A LOCAL
PROSECUTOR TO QUOTE STAND DOWN
ON SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T BRING?

>> [REP. ZOE LOFGREN] WELL, I WAS VERY ALARMED BY
THE TESTIMONY OR THE INTERVIEW
THAT YOU JUST PLAYED.
YOU KNOW, I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED
IN CASES, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I
CHAIRED THE HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE
WHERE WE WOULD BE INVESTIGATING A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS, AND THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WOULD ASK
US TO BACK OF,F BECAUSE THEY WERE
BRINGING AN ACTION, AND WE
ALWAYS DID BECAUSE WE DIDN'T
WANT TO RUIN THEIR INVESTIGATION
AND POTENTIAL CRIMINAL
INDICTMENT.
I'VE NEVER BEEN A U.S.
ATTORNEY OR IN THEIR OFFICE.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PATTERN
IS, BUT CERTAINLY IF THE DOJ HAS
A CLEARER PATH FORWARD AND ASKS
A PROSECUTOR TO STAND PAT WHILE
THEY PURSUE IT, THAT WOULD NOT
BE A SURPRISE, BUT WHAT IS A
SURPRISE IS THAT THEY DIDN'T
ACTUALLY PURSUE THAT. AND THEN
THE QUESTION IS WAS IT DONE
BASICALLY TO PROTECT THE
PRESIDENT?
WAS IT EVER THEIR INTENT TO
BRING THIS CASE? AND DID THEY
INTERFERE WITH THE DISTRICT
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE JUST TO
PROTECT THE PRESIDENT?
THAT'S WHAT CAME TO MY MIND WHEN
I SAW THAT IT WAS A CONCERN.

>> [NICOLLE WALLACE] YEAH, I MEAN, IN THE TIME
FRAME HE GIVES US IS '17 AND
'18, OBVIOUSLY DONALD TRUMP WAS
PRESIDENT, BILL BARR WAS THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL. BUT THAT OFFICE
FOUND THAT DONALD TRUMP
COORDINATED AND DIRECTED THE
HUSH MONEY SCHEME TO TWO WOMEN,
KAREN McDOUGAL AND STORMY
DANIELS AND THEN TOLD CY VANCE IN
THAT TWO-YEAR PERIOD TO STAND
DOWN.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER
OR NOT MERRICK GARLAND LOOKED AT
THE EVIDENCE WHEN HE BECAME
ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THAT OFFICE
WAS NO LONGER UNDER THE THUMB OF
BILL BARR?

]>> [REP. ZOE LOFGREN] WELL, IF HE HASN'T YET, I
IMAGINE THE INTERVIEW YESTERDAY
WILL CAUSE SOME PEOPLE TO TAKE A
LOOK
IT'S INTERESTING THAT THE
DEPARTMENT TOOK THE POSITION
BASED ON OFFICE OF LEGAL
COUNSEL PAPER THAT A SITTING
PRESIDENT COULDN'T BE INDICTED,
AND YET ASKED THE LOCAL PROSECUTOR TO WITHHOLD ON THEIR INVESTIGATION. SO I DON'T KNOW ANY MORE THAN WHAT'S BEEN PUT IN THE PUBLIC ARENA, BUT THIS DOESN'T SMELL SO GOOD. AND I THINK SOMEBODY OUGHT TO LOOK INTO IT.

[admin]

Trump says 'I would do that' after Sean Hannity says he 'can't imagine' Trump taking classified records from the White House
by Sonam Sheth
Business Insider
Mar 28, 2023, 1:53 PM
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-s ... fox-2023-3

** Sean Hannity told Trump he couldn't imagine Trump taking documents from the White House.
** "I know you," Hannity said. "I don't think you would do it."
** Trump corrected Hannity, saying, "I would do that" and adding that he has the right to "take stuff."

The Fox News host Sean Hannity said Monday he could not imagine Donald Trump taking sensitive documents with him upon leaving the White House. But in a telling interview, Trump quickly corrected him and said that he had the right to "take stuff" as he saw fit.

"I can't imagine you ever saying, um, 'Bring me some of the boxes that we brought back from the White House, I'd like to look at them,'" Hannity told Trump during the interview that aired Monday night. "Did you ever do that?"

"I would have the right to do that, there's nothing wrong with it," Trump claimed.

"I know you," Hannity cut in. "I don't think you would do it."

Trump replied that he doesn't "have a lot of time," but "I would have the right to do that."

"I would do that," the former president added.

According to the Justice Department, Trump did exactly that, and refused to return the records for months after leaving the White House.

In the end, the FBI was forced to execute a search warrant at Trump's Mar-a-Lago golf club in Florida to recover the documents, some of which bore the highest classified markings. Trump's retention of the records is now at the center of a federal criminal investigation into his handling of national security information.

After Trump said during his Monday interview that he would take documents from the White House, Hannity, who has long been one of the former president's closest confidants, attempted to cut him off.

"Let me move on," Hannity said. But Trump had a few other points he wanted to make.

He falsely claimed that the Presidential Records Act gives him "the right to take stuff" and "the right to look at stuff."

"But they have the right to talk, and we have the right to talk," Trump added. "This would have all been worked out. All of a sudden, they raided Mar-a-Lago — viciously raided Mar-a-Lago."

The former president went on to claim that he has some "tapes" in his possession that the feds don't want him to show the public, including one of the FBI executing its warrant.

"I'll take that tape, and I'll air that tape," Hannity said.

"I know you would," Trump replied. "Everybody would take that tape."

[x]
nikki mccann ramírez
@NikkiMcR
Trump says the Presidential Records Act gives him the right to "take stuff" as he sees fit.
7:36 PM · Mar 27, 2023

Trump's lawyers have repeatedly invoked the Presidential Records Act when arguing that he was justified in moving records from the White House after leaving office.

They've said, among other things, that he could have reasonably viewed the roughly 100 documents marked classified that were recovered from Mar-a-Lago as his personal property, and that the courts have "very limited judicial oversight over such categorization." But legal experts say they appear to have taken an expansive view of the PRA that gives the government control of all but a small portion of records, which were created or received by the president or his staff.

Federal prosecutors have largely dismissed that argument, as well as Trump's public claim that he had declassified all the government records that were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago.

Trump "principally seeks to raise questions about the classification status of the records and their categorization under the Presidential Records Act ('PRA')," the DOJ said in one filing last year. "But Plaintiff does not actually assert—much less provide any evidence—that any of the seized records bearing classification markings have been declassified."

Moreover, although the former president has frequently claimed he had a "standing order" to declassify all the records that were moved to Mar-a-Lago, more than a dozen of his former aides told CNN in September that they had no knowledge of such an order.

***********************

WaPo: DOJ has ‘significant’ evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar-a-Lago
by Chris Hayes
MSNBC
Apr 3, 2023 #msnbc #trump #DOJ

The Washington Post reports that federal investigators have uncovered “new and significant evidence” of possible obstruction of justice by Trump in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Veteran prosecutor Mary McCord joins Chris Hayes to discuss.



Transcript

>> AS DONALD TRUMP AWAITS HI
FINGERPRINTING TOMORROW, THE
LOWER MANHATTAN COURTHOUSE
THERE'S SOME REALLY BI
DEVELOPMENTS IN ANOTHE
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO TH
EX PRESIDENT
THE FEDERAL PROBE INTO HIS
HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS.
FOX HOST BRETT BEXAR REPORTS
QUOTE, MULTIPLE SECRET SERVICE
AGENTS CONNECTED TO TRUMP HAVE
BEEN SUBPOENAED AND AR
EXPECTED TO TESTIFY BEFORE A
WASHINGTON D.C. GRAND JURY
LIKELY ON FRIDAY
THE CAMPAIGN INDEPENDENTLY
CONFIRMED THAT
NOW, THAT GRAND JURY IS PART O
THE INVESTIGATION ONE BY
SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH
AND NOW THE WASHINGTON POS
REPORTS THAT, QUOTE, FEDERAL
INVESTIGATORS HAVE GATHERED NE
AND SIGNIFICANT EVIDENCE THA
AFTER THE DOCUMENTS SUBPOENA
WAS DELIVERED, TRUMP LOOKE
THROUGH THE CONTENTS OF SOME O
THE BOXES, APPARENTLY OUT OF A
DESIRE TO KEEP CERTAIN THING
IN HIS POSSESSION, THE PEOPL
FAMILIAR WITH THE INVESTIGATIO
SAID
A TRUMP SPOKESMAN CLAIM TH
REPORTING IS PART OF, QUOTE,
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT B
ILLEGALLY LEAKING INFORMATION.
BUT HERE'S THE THING, TRUM
BASICALLY ADMITTED TO LOOKIN
THROUGH THE DOCUMENTS LAST WEEK.

>> [DONALD TRUMP] I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU
QUESTION -

>> [SEAN HANNITY] I CAN'T IMAGINE YOU EVER SAYING, UM,
BRING ME SOME OF THE BOXES THAT
WE BROUGHT BACK FROM THE WHITE
HOUSE, I'D LIKE TO LOOK AT
THEM
DID YOU EVER DO THAT?

>> [DONALD TRUMP] I DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO
THAT.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH
THAT.

>> [SEAN HANNITY] BUT I KNOW YOU, I DON'T
THINK YOU WOULD DO IT.

>> [DONALD TRUMP] WELL, I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME.
BUT I WOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO
DO THAT, I WOULD DO THAT -

>> [SEAN HANNITY] LET ME MOVE ON --

>> [DONALD TRUMP] REMEMBER THIS, THIS IS THE
PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT.
I HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE STUFF.
DO YOU KNOW THAT THEY ENDED UP
PAYING RICHARD NIXON, I THINK
$18 MILLION FOR WHAT HE HAD?
THEY DID. THE PRESIDENTIAL
RECORDS ACT.
I HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE STUFF.
I HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOOK AT
STUFF.

>> MARY MARY MCCORD SERVED A
THE ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNE
GENERAL IN NEW YORK CITY, AS
PART OF 20 YEARS AS ASSISTAN
U.S. ATTORNEY IN WASHINGTON,
D.C.
SHE IS ALSO THE CAUSE OF THE
NEW PODCAST FOR MSNBC, TITLE
PROSECUTING DONALD TRUMP
AND SHE JOINS ME NOW
LET US START ON THAT, NOT QUIT
ADMISSION, BECAUSE HE STUC
TALKING HYPOTHETICALLY
WELL, HE WOULDN'T HAVE THE
BRING YOU THE BOX AND GO
THROUGH IT
HE SAID, OF COURSE I WILL DO
THAT
OF COURSE, IT IS MY.
I HAVE A RIGHT TO THAT STUFF
THIS DOES SEEM TO BE THE NOT O
THE ISSUE, RIGHT
DID THE EX PRESIDENT PERSONALL
INSPECT, AND THEN, SHOES T
RETAIN INFORMATION THAT WA
LATER FOUND IN THE SEARCH?
YES, I MEAN, YOU KNOW USED T
CALL THAT KIND OF QUESTION WHE
I WAS A PROSECUTOR, A SOFTBALL
MEANING THERE'S AN EASY REALLY
ANSWER HERE, BUT HE DECLINED T
GIVE THAT EASY ON SIR.
YOU'RE RIGHT, THOUGH
IT LOOKS LIKE JACK SMITH I
FOCUSING ON THIS KEY TIM
PERIOD BETWEEN THE SERVICE O
THE SUBPOENA ON MAY 11TH AND
THEN JUNE 3RD, THE DAY THAT TH
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICIAL
AND THE FBI VISITED MAR-A-LAGO
AND THEY WERE PROVIDED WITH
PACKAGE OF 38 CLASSIFIED
DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING 17 WITH
TOP SECRET MARKINGS.
AND THEY WERE PROVIDED WITH
LETTER SIGNED, WE KNOW NOW, BY
CHRISTINA BOBB, ONE OF THE
PRESIDENTS ATTORNEYS AT TH
TIME, THE FORMER PRESIDENT
ATTORNEYS, CERTIFYING TO HAVIN
CONDUCTED A DILIGENT SEARCH AN
THEY'RE BEING NO EDITION ALL
CLASSIFIED RECORDS A
MAR-A-LAGO
SO, THAT TIME PERIOD NOW, THIS
BREAKING NEWS WE'VE SEEN WIT
THE WASHINGTON POST AND OTHE
REPORTING, IS I THINK FOCUSE
ON, DID THE PRESIDENT BETWEE
THAT SUBPOENA AND JUNE 3RD, AN
PERHAPS EVEN AFTER THAT, BUT
PARTICULARLY IN THAT TIMEFRAME
DID HE LOOK THROUGH THOS
DOCUMENTS AND SELF, AND MAYB
MADE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT
HE DID NOT WANT TO TURN OVER
BECAUSE A KEY CRIME HERE THAT'
BEING INVESTIGATED A
OBSTRUCTION OF AN OFFICIAL
PROCEEDING, AND THAT INCLUDE
NOT ONLY CONCEALING AND BAILING,
FAILING TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW
DOCUMENTS TO THE FBI DURIN
OFFICIAL PROCEEDING BUT ALSO
FALSIFYING ANY RECORD.
SO, THAT LETTER, IF HE WAS
INVOLVED IN THAT LETTER, I
COULD ALSO BE KEY EVIDENCE O
OBSTRUCTION.
>> YES, I MEAN, SO, THE FACT
AS PUBLICLY REPORTED AND
ESTABLISHED ARE BAD ENOUGH
RIGHT?
YOU'VE GOT A SUBPOENA.
YOU'VE GOT HIM TURNING OVE
DOCUMENTS WITH THE
CERTIFICATION OF HIS LAWYE
SAYING THERE IS NOTHING LEFT
THEN A SEARCH WHICH FINDS THAT
THAT DOCUMENT WAS FALSE, RIGHT
SO THAT IS ESTABLISH BEYON
REASONABLE DOUBT, RIGHT?
WE KNOW THAT
THERE WERE CLASSIFIE
DOCUMENTS.
SO, THEN THE QUESTION BECOMES,
WAS IT SLOPPY, OVERSIGHT, OR
WAS THEIR INTENT HERE?
THIS EVIDENCE, JUST TO READ YO
A FEW MORE PARTS, BECAUSE
WANT TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON
THE LEGAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS
SO, THE REPORT IN OCTOBER,
TRUMP'S VALET HAS TOLD
INVESTIGATORS THAT HE MOVE
BOXES AT THE FORMER PRESIDENTS
OBSTRUCTION, AFTER THE SUBPOEN
WAS ISSUED
SMITH STEAMS VIDEO SURVEILLANC
FOOTAGE CORROBORATING TH
ACCOUNT.
THEY HAVE ALSO EVIDENC
INDICATING TRUMP TOLD OTHERS T
MISLEAD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS I
EARLY 2022, BEFORE THE
SUBPOENA
WITH THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND
RECORDS ADMINISTRATION WAS
WORKING WITH THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT TRYING TO RECOVER A
WHITEWASH OF PAPERS, MANY OF
THEM NOT CLASSIFIED FROM
TRUMP'S TIME AS PRESIDENT.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF
EVIDENCE HERE OF MOTIVE AN
KNOWLEDGE AND INTENT
>> THAT'S RIGHT, AND THAT IS
KEY, BECAUSE A MISTAKE, YO
KNOW, CAN'T BE OBSTRUCTION O
JUSTICE.
THE CONCEALING, THE FALS
DOCUMENTS HAS TO BE DONE WIT
INTENT TO OBSTRUCT OR INFLUENC
AND OFFICIAL PROCEEDING.
AND AN FBI INVESTIGATION IS BY
LAW AND OFFICIAL PROCEEDING.
AND I WILL TELL YOU ANOTHE
THING ABOUT IT, INTENT, ALL OF
THAT INFORMATION THAT WE'R
SEEING, AND EVIDENCE THAT WE
ARE HEARING ABOUT BEIN
ACCUMULATED, SOME OF IT GOES
YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY POTENTIALLY
TO HIS INTENT DURING THAT TIME
PERIOD, POST SUBPOENA, FRE
JUNE 4TH
AND SOME OF THOSE GO EVE
BEFORE THAT, INCLUDING EVE
SOME EVIDENCE I'M SEEING IN TH
REPORTING, SOME INFORMATIO
THAT HE INTENDED TO SORT OF,
YOU KNOW, OBSTRUCT THE ARCHIVES,
EVEN GETTING THINGS THAT WER
NOT CLASSIFIED, BECAUSE HE
FEELS THAT HE SHOULD B
ENTITLED TO THAT
HE'S WRONG ABOUT THAT.
THAT INTENT, THAT KIND O
EVIDENCE CAN COME IN A TRIAL
NOT TO PROVE ACTION AN
CONFORMITY WITH THE PREVIOUS
INTENT, BUT TO ACTUALLY PROV
INTENT
IT IS CALLED OTHER BAD ACT
EVIDENCE, AND EVEN THOUG
THAT'S NORMALLY EXCLUDED
BECAUSE A JURY NEEDS TO, YOU
KNOW, IN ANY CASE DECI THA
THE INTENT WAS THERE FOR THA
CASE, YOU CAN PUT IN OTHER BAD
ACTS AS EVIDENCE TO PROV
INTENT
>> WHAT YOU JUST REFERENCED,
WHICH WE JUST SAW THAT CLIP, H
CLEARLY HAS A THEORY OF THE LA
HERE, WHICH IS THAT IT'S ALL
HIS.
I MEAN, HE'S NOT BEEN SHY ABOU
THAT -
HE SAID IT TO HANNITY, O
COURSE ALTHOUGH IT, IT'S ALL
MINE
THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ALL MADE
UP
HE AND OTHERS HAVE SAID, I CAN
DECLASSIFY THINGS WITH THE
POWER OF MY MIND
I COULD TELEPATHICALLY TUR
THEM OVER.
THERE IS EVIDENCE HERE ALS
AMASSED BY THE REPORTING OF TH
WASHINGTON POST THAT HE SOUGHT
ADVICE FROM OTHER LAWYERS.
AND ADVISERS ON HOW HE COULD
KEEP DOCUMENTS, AFTER BEIN
TOLD BY SOME IN HIS TEAM H
COULD NOT, PEOPLE FAMILIAR WIT
THE INVESTIGATION SAID
THEY HAVE COLLECTED EVIDENCE O
MULTIPLE ADVISERS WHO WARNED
TRUMP, TRYING TO KEEP TH
DOCUMENTS COULD BE LEGALLY
PERILOUS
DOES IT HELP HIM, IF HE HAS
COMPLETELY ERRONEOUS, SINCEREL
HELD THEORY OF THE LAW, THAT
EVERYTHING IS HIS?
>> SO YOU, KNOW, AGAIN, IF W
DIDN'T HAVE ALL THIS KIND OF
INFORMATION WE'RE GETTING ABOU
LEGAL ADVISERS, TELLING HIM,
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE LAW IS, AND
THAT PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL
RECORDS ARE NOT YOURS, THEY'RE
PUBLIC, THEY'RE NOT PRIVAT
RECORDS.
THAT'S WHAT THE PRESIDENTIAL
RECORDS ACT WAS ALL ABOUT,
AFTER NIXON HIMSELF TRIED TO
DESTROY PRESIDENTIAL TAPES
RIGHT?
AND SO, WHAT HE'S TRYING TO DO
NOW IS I THINK TRYING TO CREAT
THIS FACADE THAT HE ACTUALLY
INNOCENTLY DID THIS.
BUT WE KNOW, AND WE EXPECT THA
THE EVIDENCE THAT WILL B
PRESENTED, IF THERE EVER IS AN
INDICTMENT TRIAL, WE'LL SHOW
THAT HE WAS ADVISED TIME AND
TIME AGAIN, AND THAT THESE WER
NOT HIS RECORDS.
>> I HAVE TO SAY THIS, THE
REPORTING SUGGESTS

[admin]

Statement of Facts Re Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsifying New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.
by Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney
The People of the State of NY, County of NY against Donald J. Trump
April 4, 2023

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
-against-
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Defendant.

STATEMENT OF FACTS
IND-71543-23

INTRODUCTION

1. The defendant DONALD J. TRUMP repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.

2. From August 2015 to December 2017, the Defendant orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant’s electoral prospects. In order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York. The participants also took steps that mischaracterized, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme.

3. One component of this scheme was that, at the Defendant’s request, a lawyer who then worked for the Trump Organization as Special Counsel to Defendant (“Lawyer A”), covertly paid $130,000 to an adult film actress shortly before the election to prevent her from publicizing a sexual encounter with the Defendant. Lawyer A made the $130,000 payment through a shell corporation he set up and funded at a bank in Manhattan. This payment was illegal, and Lawyer A has since pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution and served time in prison. Further, false entries were made in New York business records to effectuate this payment, separate and apart from the New York business records used to conceal the payment.

4. After the election, the Defendant reimbursed Lawyer A for the illegal payment through a series of monthly checks, first from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust (the “Defendant’s Trust”)—a Trust created under the laws of New York which held the Trump Organization entity assets after the Defendant was elected President—and then from the Defendant’s bank account. Each check was processed by the Trump Organization, and each check was disguised as a payment for legal services rendered in a given month of 2017 pursuant to a retainer agreement. The payment records, kept and maintained by the Trump Organization, were false New York business records. In truth, there was no retainer agreement, and Lawyer A was not being paid for legal services rendered in 2017. The Defendant caused his entities’ business records to be falsified to disguise his and others’ criminal conduct.

BACKGROUND

5. The Defendant is the beneficial owner of a collection of business entities known by the trade name the Trump Organization. The Trump Organization comprises approximately 500 separate entities that, among other business activities, own and manage hotels, golf courses, commercial real estate, condominium developments, and other properties. The Trump Organization is headquartered at 725 Fifth Avenue in New York County.

6. From approximately June 2015 to November 2016, the Defendant was a candidate for the office of President of the United States. On January 20, 2017, he became President of the United States.

THE SCHEME

I. The Catch and Kill Scheme to Suppress Negative Information

7. During and in furtherance of his candidacy for President, the Defendant and others agreed to identify and suppress negative stories about him. Two parties to this agreement have admitted to committing illegal conduct in connection with the scheme. In August 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty to two federal crimes involving illegal campaign contributions, and subsequently served time in prison. In addition, in August 2018, American Media, Inc. (“AMI”), a media company that owned and published magazines and supermarket tabloids including the National Enquirer, admitted in a non-prosecution agreement that it made a payment to a source of a story to ensure that the source “did not publicize damaging allegations” about the Defendant “before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election.”

A. The 2015 Trump Tower Meeting

8. In June 2015, the Defendant announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

9. Soon after, in August 2015, the Defendant met with Lawyer A and AMI’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (the “AMI CEO”) at Trump Tower in New York County. At the meeting, the AMI CEO agreed to help with the Defendant’s campaign, saying that he would act as the “eyes and ears” for the campaign by looking out for negative stories about the Defendant and alerting Lawyer A before the stories were published. The AMI CEO also agreed to publish negative stories about the Defendant’s competitors for the election.

B. Suppressing the Doorman’s Story

10. A few months later, in or about October or November 2015, the AMI CEO learned that a former Trump Tower doorman (the “Doorman”) was trying to sell information regarding a child that the Defendant had allegedly fathered out of wedlock. At the AMI CEO’s direction, AMI negotiated and signed an agreement to pay the Doorman $30,000 to acquire exclusive rights to the story. AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger. AMI purchased the information from the Doorman without fully investigating his claims, but the AMI CEO directed that the deal take place because of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A. 11. When AMI later concluded that the story was not true, the AMI CEO wanted to release the Doorman from the agreement. However, Lawyer A instructed the AMI CEO not to release the Doorman until after the presidential election, and the AMI CEO complied with that instruction because of his agreement with the Defendant and Lawyer A.

C. Suppressing Woman 1’s Account

12. About five months before the presidential election, in or about June 2016, the editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer and AMI’s Chief Content Officer (the “AMI Editor-in-Chief”) contacted Lawyer A about a woman (“Woman 1”) who alleged she had a sexual relationship with the Defendant while he was married. The AMI Editor-in-Chief updated Lawyer A regularly about the matter over text message and by telephone. The Defendant did not want this information to become public because he was concerned about the effect it could have on his candidacy. Thereafter, the Defendant, the AMI CEO, and Lawyer A had a series of discussions about who should pay off Woman 1 to secure her silence.

13. AMI ultimately paid $150,000 to Woman 1 in exchange for her agreement not to speak out about the alleged sexual relationship, as well as for two magazine cover features of Woman 1 and a series of articles that would be published under her byline. AMI falsely characterized this payment in AMI’s books and records, including in its general ledger. The AMI CEO agreed to the deal after discussing it with both the Defendant and Lawyer A, and on the understanding from Lawyer A that the Defendant or the Trump Organization would reimburse AMI.

14. In a conversation captured in an audio recording in approximately September 2016 concerning Woman 1’s account, the Defendant and Lawyer A discussed how to obtain the rights to Woman 1’s account from AMI and how to reimburse AMI for its payment. Lawyer A told the Defendant he would open up a company for the transfer of Woman 1’s account and other information, and stated that he had spoken to the Chief Financial Officer for the Trump Organization (the “TO CFO”) about “how to set the whole thing up.” The Defendant asked, “So what do we got to pay for this? One fifty?” and suggested paying by cash. When Lawyer A disagreed, the Defendant then mentioned payment by check. After the conversation, Lawyer A created a shell company called Resolution Consultants, LLC on or about September 30, 2016.

15. Less than two months before the election, on or about September 30, 2016, the AMI CEO signed an agreement in which AMI agreed to transfer its rights to Woman 1’s account to Lawyer A’s shell company for $125,000. However, after the assignment agreement was signed but before the reimbursement took place, the AMI CEO consulted with AMI’s general counsel and then told Lawyer A that the deal to transfer the rights to Lawyer A’s shell company was off.

D. Suppressing Woman 2’s Account

16. About one month before the election, on or about October 7, 2016, news broke that the Defendant had been caught on tape saying to the host of Access Hollywood: “I just start kissing them [women]. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. . . . Grab ’em by the [genitals]. You can do anything.” The evidence shows that both the Defendant and his campaign staff were concerned that the tape would harm his viability as a candidate and reduce his standing with female voters in particular.

17. Shortly after the Access Hollywood tape became public, the AMI Editor-in-Chief contacted the AMI CEO about another woman (“Woman 2”) who alleged she had a sexual encounter with the Defendant while he was married. The AMI CEO told the AMI Editor-in-Chief to notify Lawyer A.

18. On or about October 10, 2016, the AMI Editor-in-Chief connected Lawyer A with Woman 2’s lawyer (“Lawyer B”). Lawyer A then negotiated a deal with Lawyer B to secure Woman 2’s silence and prevent disclosure of the damaging information in the final weeks before the presidential election. Under the deal that Lawyer B negotiated, Woman 2 would be paid $130,000 for the rights to her account.

19. The Defendant directed Lawyer A to delay making a payment to Woman 2 as long as possible. He instructed Lawyer A that if they could delay the payment until after the election, they could avoid paying altogether, because at that point it would not matter if the story became public. As reflected in emails and text messages between and among Lawyer A, Lawyer B, and the AMI Editor-in-Chief, Lawyer A attempted to delay making payment as long as possible.

20. Ultimately, with pressure mounting and the election approaching, the Defendant agreed to the payoff and directed Lawyer A to proceed. Lawyer A discussed the deal with the Defendant and the TO CFO. The Defendant did not want to make the $130,000 payment himself, and asked Lawyer A and the TO CFO to find a way to make the payment. After discussing various payment options with the TO CFO, Lawyer A agreed he would make the payment. Before making the payment, Lawyer A confirmed with the Defendant that Defendant would pay him back.

21. On or about October 26, shortly after speaking with the Defendant on the phone, Lawyer A opened a bank account in Manhattan in the name of Essential Consultants LLC, a new shell company he had created to effectuate the payment. He then transferred $131,000 from his personal home equity line of credit (“HELOC”) into that account. On or about October 27, Lawyer A wired $130,000 from his Essential Consultants LLC account in New York to Lawyer B to suppress Woman 2’s account.

E. Post-Election Communications with AMI CEO

22. On November 8, 2016, the Defendant won the presidential election and became the President-Elect. Thereafter, AMI released both the doorman and Woman 1 from their non-disclosure agreements.

23. The Defendant was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2017. Between Election Day and Inauguration Day, during the period of the Defendant’s transition to his role as President, the Defendant met with the AMI CEO privately in Trump Tower in Manhattan. The Defendant thanked the AMI CEO for handling the stories of the Doorman and Woman 1, and invited the AMI CEO to the Inauguration. In the summer of 2017, the Defendant invited the AMI CEO to the White House for a dinner to thank him for his help during the campaign.

II. The Defendant Falsified Business Records

24. Shortly after being elected President, the Defendant arranged to reimburse Lawyer A for the payoff he made on the Defendant’s behalf. In or around January 2017, the TO CFO and Lawyer A met to discuss how Lawyer A would be reimbursed for the money he paid to ensure Woman 2’s silence. The TO CFO asked Lawyer A to bring a copy of a bank statement for the Essential Consultants account showing the $130,000 payment.

25. The TO CFO and Lawyer A agreed to a total repayment amount of $420,000. They reached that figure by adding the $130,000 payment to a $50,000 payment for another expense for which Lawyer A also claimed reimbursement, for a total of $180,000. The TO CFO then doubled that amount to $360,000 so that Lawyer A could characterize the payment as income on his tax returns, instead of a reimbursement, and Lawyer A would be left with $180,000 after paying approximately 50% in income taxes. Finally, the TO CFO added an additional $60,000 as a supplemental year-end bonus. Together, these amounts totaled $420,000. The TO CFO memorialized these calculations in handwritten notes on the copy of the bank statement that Lawyer A had provided.

26. The Defendant, the TO CFO, and Lawyer A then agreed that Lawyer A would be paid the $420,000 through twelve monthly payments of $35,000 over the course of 2017. Each month, Lawyer A was to send an invoice to the Defendant through Trump Organization employees, falsely requesting payment of $35,000 for legal services rendered in a given month of 2017 pursuant to a retainer agreement. At no point did Lawyer A have a retainer agreement with the Defendant or the Trump Organization.

27. In early February 2017, the Defendant and Lawyer A met in the Oval Office at the White House and confirmed this repayment arrangement.

28. On or about February 14, 2017, Lawyer A emailed the Controller of the Trump Organization (the “TO Controller”) the first monthly invoice, which stated: “Pursuant to the retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for the months of January and February, 2017.” The invoice requested payment in the amount of $35,000 for each of those two months. The TO CFO approved the payment, and, in turn, the TO Controller sent the invoice to the Trump Organization Accounts Payable Supervisor (the “TO Accounts Payable Supervisor”) with the following instructions: “Post to legal expenses. Put ‘retainer for the months of January and February 2017’ in the description.”

29. Lawyer A submitted ten similar monthly invoices by email to the Trump Organization for the remaining months in 2017. Each invoice falsely stated that it was being submitted “[p]ursuant to the retainer agreement,” and falsely requested “payment for services rendered” for a month of 2017. In fact, there was no such retainer agreement and Lawyer A was not being paid for services rendered in any month of 2017.

30. The TO Controller forwarded each invoice to the TO Accounts Payable Supervisor. Consistent with the TO Controller’s initial instructions, the TO Accounts Payable Supervisor printed out each invoice and marked it with an accounts payable stamp and the general ledger code “51505” for legal expenses. The Trump Organization maintained the invoices as records of expenses paid.

31. As instructed, the TO Accounts Payable Supervisor recorded each payment in the Trump Organization’s electronic accounting system, falsely describing it as a “legal expense” pursuant to a retainer agreement for a month of 2017. The Trump Organization maintained a digital entry for each expense, called a “voucher,” and these vouchers, like vouchers for other expenses, became part of the Trump Organization’s general ledgers.

32. The TO Accounts Payable Supervisor then prepared checks with attached check stubs for approval and signature. The first check was paid from the Defendant’s Trust and signed by the TO CFO and the Defendant’s son, as trustees. The check stub falsely recorded the payment as “Retainer for 1/1-1/31/17” and “Retainer for 2/1-2/28/17.” The second check, for March 2017, was also paid from the Trust and signed by two trustees. The check stub falsely recorded the payment as “Retainer for 3/1-3/31/17.”

33. The remaining nine checks, corresponding to the months of April through December of 2017, were paid by the Defendant personally. Each of the checks was cut from the Defendant’s bank account and sent, along with the corresponding invoices from Lawyer A, from the Trump Organization in New York County to the Defendant in Washington, D.C. The checks and stubs bearing the false statements were stapled to the invoices also bearing false statements. The Defendant signed each of the checks personally and had them sent back to the Trump Organization in New York County. There, the checks, the stubs, and the invoices were scanned and maintained in the Trump Organization’s data system before the checks themselves were detached and mailed to Lawyer A for payment.

34. The $35,000 payments stopped after the December 2017 payment.

III. The Investigation into Lawyer A and the Defendant’s Pressure Campaign

35. On or about April 9, 2018, the FBI executed a search warrant on Lawyer A’s residences and office. In the months that followed, the Defendant and others engaged in a public and private pressure campaign to ensure that Lawyer A did not cooperate with law enforcement in the federal investigation.

36. On the day of the FBI searches, Lawyer A called to speak with the Defendant to let him know what had occurred. In a return call, the Defendant told Lawyer A to “stay strong.”

37. On or about April 21, 2018, the Defendant publicly commented on Twitter encouraging Lawyer A not to “flip,” stating, “Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if . . . it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see [Lawyer A] doing that . . . .”

38. In mid-April 2018, Lawyer A was also approached by an attorney (“Lawyer C”), who offered to represent him in the interest of maintaining a “back channel of communication” to the Defendant. On or about April 21, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A, highlighting that he had a close relationship with the Defendant’s personal attorney (“Lawyer D”) and stating, “[T]his could not be a better situation for the President or you.” Later that day, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A again, writing, “I spoke with [Lawyer D]. Very Very Positive. You are ‘loved.’ . . . [Lawyer D] said this communication channel must be maintained. . . . Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places.”

39. On or about June 14, 2018, Lawyer C emailed Lawyer A a news clip discussing the possibility of Lawyer A cooperating, and continued to urge him not to cooperate with law enforcement, writing, “The whole objective of this exercise by the [federal prosecutors] is to drain you, emotionally and financially, until you reach a point that you see them as your only means to salvation.” In the same email , Lawyer C, wrote, “You are making a very big mistake if you believe the stories these ‘journalists’ are writing about you. They want you to cave. They want you to fail. They do not want you to persevere and succeed.”

40. On August 21, 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty in the federal investigation. The next day, on or about August 22, 2018, the Defendant commented on Twitter, “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of [Lawyer A]!” Later that day, the Defendant posted to Twitter again, stating, “I feel very badly for” one of his former campaign managers who had been criminally charged, saying, “[U]nlike [Lawyer A], he refused to ‘break’ – make up stories in order to get a ‘deal.’”

IV. Lawyer A and AMI Admit Guilt in Connection with Payoffs of Woman 1 and Woman 2

41. Ultimately, other participants in the scheme admitted that the payoffs were unlawful.

42. In or about September 2018, AMI entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in connection with AMI’s payoff of Woman 1, admitting that “[a]t no time during the negotiation or acquisition of [Woman 1’s] story did AMI intend to publish the story or disseminate information about it publicly.” Rather, AMI admitted that it made the payment to ensure that Woman 1 “did not publicize damaging allegations” about the Defendant “before the 2016 presidential election and thereby influence that election.”

43. In August 21, 2018, Lawyer A pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with his role in AMI’s payoff to Woman 1, admitting in his guilty plea that he had done so at the Defendant’s direction:

[O]n or about the summer of 2016, in coordination with, and at the direction of, a candidate for federal office, I and the CEO of a media company at the request of the candidate worked together to keep an individual with information that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign from publicly disclosing this information. After a number of discussions, we eventually accomplished the goal by the media company entering into a contract with the individual under which she received compensation of $150,000. I participated in this conduct, which on my part took place in Manhattan, for the principal purpose of influencing the election.

(emphasis added).

44. Lawyer A also pleaded guilty to a felony in connection with his payoff of Woman 2 to secure her silence, again at the Defendant’s direction. Lawyer A admitted as part of his guilty plea:

[O]n or about October of 2016, in coordination with, and at the direction of, the same candidate, I arranged to make a payment to a second individual with information that would be harmful to the candidate and to the campaign to keep the individual from disclosing the information. To accomplish this, I used a company that was under my control to make a payment in the sum of $130,000. The monies I advanced through my company were later repaid to me by the candidate. I participated in this conduct, which on my part took place in Manhattan, for the principal purpose of influencing the election.

(emphasis added).1

DATED: New York, New York
April 4, 2023
ALVIN L. BRAGG, JR.
District Attorney
New York County

_______________

Notes:

1 This Statement of Facts contains certain of the information that is relevant to the events described herein, and does not contain all facts relevant to the charged conduct.

[admin]

Donald Trump Indictment

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
-against-
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Defendant.

THE GRAND JURY OF THE COUNTY OF NEW YORK, by this indictment, accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

SECOND COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842457, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRD COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842460, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

FOURTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated February 14, 2017, bearing check number 000138, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

FIFTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 16, 2017 through March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 16, 2017 and transmitted on or about March 16, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

SIXTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 846907, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

SEVENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated March 17, 2017, bearing check number 000147, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

EIGHTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about April 13, 2017 through June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated April 13, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

NINTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858770, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002740, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

ELEVENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 22, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated May 22, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWELFTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 22, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 855331, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 23, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated May 23, 2017, bearing check number 002700, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

FOURTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 16, 2017 through June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated June 16, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

FIFTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858772, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

SIXTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002741, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

SEVENTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated July 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

EIGHTEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 861096, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

NINETEENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated July 11, 2017, bearing check number 002781, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTIETH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated August 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-FIRST COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 863641, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-SECOND COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated August 1, 2017, bearing check number 002821, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-THIRD COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated September 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-FOURTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 868174, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-FIFTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 12, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated September 12, 2017, bearing check number 002908, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-SIXTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated October 18, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-SEVENTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 872654, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-EIGHTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated October 18, 2017, bearing check number 002944, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

TWENTY-NINTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 20, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated November 20, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTIETH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 20, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 876511, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTY-FIRST COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 21, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated November 21, 2017, bearing check number 002980, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTY-SECOND COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated December 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTY-THIRD COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 877785, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

THIRTY-FOURTH COUNT:

AND THE GRAND JURY AFORESAID, by this indictment, further accuses the defendant of the crime of FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of Penal Law §175.10, committed as follows:

The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 5, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated December 5, 2017, bearing check number 003006, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.

ALVIN L. BRAGG, JR.
District Attorney

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
-against-
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Defendant.

INDICTMENT

FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE FIRST DEGREE, P.L. §175.10, 34 Cts

ALVIN L. BRAGG JR., District Attorney
A True Bill
Foreperson
ADJOURNED TO PART _______ ON ________

[admin]

Donald Trump addresses the United States from Mar-a-Lago home
by Donald Trump
4/4/23



Transcript

[Donald J. Trump] we have to save our country God bless
you all God bless you all
thought anything like this
like this could happen in America never
thought it could happen
the only crime that I have committed is
to fearlessly defend our nation from
those who seek to destroy it
from the beginning the Democrats
spied on my campaign remember that
they attacked me with an onslaught of
fraudulent investigations Russia Russia
Russia Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine
impeachment hoax number one impeachment
hoax number two the illegal and
unconstitutional raid on Mar-A-Lago
right here
the line to the fisa courts
the FBI and doj relentlessly pursuing
Republicans
the unconstitutional changes to election
laws by not getting approvals from state
legislators
the millions of votes illegally stuffed
into ballot boxes and all caught on
government cameras
and just recently the FBI and doj in
collusion with Twitter and Facebook
in order not to say anything bad about
the hunter Biden laptop from hell
which exposes the Biden family as
criminals in which
according to the pollsters would have
made a 17-point difference
in the election result
and we needed a lot less than that like
about 16.9
it would have been in our favor
not my favor our favor because our
country is going to hell
and we remember the 51 intelligence
agents
who said Hunter Biden's laptop was
Russian disinformation
it didn't exist it was Russian
disinformation remember that
and that was all confirmed strongly by
the FBI
when they all knew that it wasn't
Russian disinformation
and so much more our elections were like
those of a third world country
and now this massive election
interference at a scale never seen
before in our country
beginning with the radical left George
Soros back prosecutor Alvin Bragg of New
York
he would get president Trump I gotta get
him I'm going to get him this is a guy
campaigning
you want to get president Trump at any
cost and this before he knew anything
about me didn't know a thing about me he
was campaigning
as it turns out virtually everybody that
has looked at this case including rhinos
and even hardcore Democrats
say there is no crime
and that it should never have been
brought
even people that
aren't big fans have said it they said
this is not the right thing to do
it's an insult to our country as the
world is already laughing at us for so
many other reasons like our open borders
are incompetent withdrawal from
Afghanistan Where We Left Behind
American citizens 85 billion dollars
worth of
the best military equipment in the world
lost 13 magnificent young lives and far
too many
to mention that are so badly hurt with
the loss of arms and legs and facial
obliteration
the most embarrassing time in our
country's history in my opinion
then our give up on energy Independence
and even energy dominant we're going to
be dominant within six months more than
any other Nation times two
we had this all just three years ago our
raging
crime statistics if you look in
democrat-run cities numbers the likes of
which we have never seen before
the open threats by various countries
of the use of nuclear weapons
something never mentioned or discussed
by outside Nations during the Trump
Administration in which
could very well lead under the Biden
administration's leadership to an
all-out nuclear world war three can
happen
we're not very far away from it believe
it or not
an economy that has been crippled by the
biggest inflation we have seen in more
than 60 years
and a military that I use to defeat Isis
in four weeks they said it would take
four years
four weeks to kill al-baghdadi and
solomonie
that has now gone woke at the top Levels
by trying to indoctrinate everyone down
to the lowest ranking Patriot
but now they have really stepped up
their reference by
indicting
the 45th president
of the United States who received
75 million votes which is more than any
sitting president in the history of our
country
foreign
and in the wings they've got a local
racist Democrat district attorney in
Atlanta who is doing everything in her
power to indict me
over an absolutely perfect phone call
even more perfect than the one I made
with the president of Ukraine remember a
kid kept saying that's a perfect call
this one was more perfect
nobody said sir you shouldn't say that
many people on the phone
or hung up in disgust because of
something I inappropriately said because
nothing was said wrong in fact at the
end of the call we agreed to continue
our conversation about election fraud
and election fraud specifically in
Georgia
at a later time many people on the phone
including lots of lawyers nobody found
anything wrong with that perfect call
until a book promotion to her many
months later all of a sudden they say
you know I remember Trump making a call
let's look at that
this fake case was brought only to
interfere with the upcoming 2024
election
and it should be dropped immediately
foreign
then you have a radical left lunatic
known as a bomb thrower
who is harassing hundreds of my people
day after day
over the boxes hoax you know the boxes
out
as we call it
just so everyone knows I come under
what's known as the presidential records
act which was designed and approved by
Congress long ago just for this reason
under the ACT I'm supposed to negotiate
with Nara the National Archives and
Records Administration
which as of this date is a radical left
trouble making organization that red
flags the Constitution of the United
States and the Bill of Rights is
dangerous
and triggering can you imagine this is
what we have to deal with
but there is no criminality under the
presidential records Act
that is not what it's all about
we were negotiating in very
good faith proper way in order to return
some or all of the documents that I
openly and in very plain sight
brought with me to Mar-A-Lago from our
beautiful white house just as virtually
every other president has done in the
past
when FBI and doj officials with narrow
with
here I told my lawyer to show them the
very secure storage room
in which they were locked
the FBI still request in writing was
could you please put another lock on the
door we immediately complied
it's a lot different than the Biden
situation isn't it
the next thing I know we were rated by
many gun toting FBI agents
who took whatever they wanted including
my passports and medical records
everybody was in shock nobody had ever
heard of such a raid before can't even
believe it who would think that that
could happen today
I immediately thought of the fourth
amendment that protects against
unreasonable search and seizure
but they did it anyway because our
justice system
has become Lawless
they're using it now in addition to
everything else to win elections
apparently they're not looking at me
through the view of the non-criminal
presidential records act they came up
with a new one this is a new one
and they're looking at me through the
Espionage Act because of 1917
where the penalty
is death
even though that is absolutely nothing
to do with openly taking boxes of
documents and mostly clothing and other
things to my home
which President Obama has done the
bushes have done Jimmy Carter has done
Ronald Reagan has done
everybody's done in fact
Hillary Clinton got rid of 33 000 emails
that was okay
nobody's done it like Joe Biden
this lunatic special prosecutor named
Jack Smith I wonder what it was prior to
a change
hey he is even worse than they are
is only looking at Trump against Joe
Biden took massive amounts more
documents even removed many boxes to
Chinatown
you believe that
it's got 10 million dollars from China
where did that come from I guess they
were banking on Hunter's expertise
and had others stored in unsecured
offices in Pennsylvania and screwed all
over his garage floor where his now very
famous Corvette
is also stored
all over the floor including classified
documents
but that's okay
perhaps most importantly he has
1850 boxes in Delaware
which he is refusing to give up
but isn't that real obstruction
as president I have the right to
declassify documents and the process is
automatic
if I take them with me it's automatic
Declassified
Biden was vice president
he had absolutely no right to deglassify
as vice president
he doesn't come under the non-criminal
presidential records act he comes under
the very criminal Federal records act
unfortunately for him but it's not going
to matter because
they don't follow the law
which has very severe penalties
he had classified documents that he took
while he was a senator
which is absolutely inexcusable and
other Senators including Democrats
are outraged
but he's not being harassed and hounded
like the people
who work for me are
in fact they seem to have forgotten
about his documents entirely so many
thousands and thousands okay with him
they like to say that I'm obstructing
which I'm not
because I was working with Nara very
nicely until the raid on my home
but Biden is obstructing by making it
impossible to get the 1800 and 50 boxes
or explain why many documents were
located in Chinatown can't explain it
why were they agenda that I don't know
lastly I'm under investigation
this time a civil investigation by
another racist in reverse
who also campaigned on I will get Trump
I will get them
this was your campaign never ran for
office I will get him
her name is Leticia James
he proclaimed while camping quote I look
forward
the Attorney General every single day
suing him and then going home
before she knew me
she announced what is purely my soul
right now is Trump
and that she had her eyes on Trump Tower
those eyes are focused on jump down
didn't know the young lady
she even assured her supporters in an
election promised that we're going to
definitely sue him we're going to be a
real pain in the ass
he's going to know my name personally
and then she claimed that I was an
illegitimate president think of it with
all
with all we did on the military or taxes
because tax cuts in history
biggest regulation Cuts in history
right to try
people able to get drugs now that aren't
approved
Leticia James vowed to use every area of
the law to quote investigate president
Trump and his business transactions
those transactions are going to be
investigated she said
and that of her family
and his family
because we're going after his family and
we're going after them hard
this is all before entering office and
all before knowing anything at all about
me but you're gonna get me
this is why along with unrelenting crime
so many people and companies are leaving
New York
she said that I falsified my financial
statements but in fact we're proving and
we'll prove that my financial statements
were substantially more than we
submitted not less
and in all cases have a strong
disclaimer clause in them which tells
the institutions that may look at that
if they want to
not to rely on the statement
but they've got a problem
with their case because number one I'm
very under leverage they can't believe
it all the stuff they read and gave and
have very little debt relative to the
value of assets and importantly not One
bank has lost even one dollar she was
investigatingly to save
they have very good lawyers
but they didn't lose a dollar with us
during this period of time
in fact the banks
were talking about made almost 200
million dollars off Donald Trump
and they like me very much
we never missed a payment never got a
default notice had a great relationship
with
I don't need Banks I have a lot of cash
built a great business with my family
built a fantastic person
I have a son here who's done a great job
and I have another son here he's done a
great job
and baron will be great Sundays tall and
smart
but I have a great family and they've
done a fantastic job and we appreciate
it very much
so she's suing me over banks that
weren't defraud
when she should be focused on violent
crime that's driving people out of the
state
this is a persecution not an
investigation she's put our family
through hell it's cost hundreds of
millions of dollars to defend
but our heads are held very very high
they want to settle the case but I want
no part of that
where we were today
in a city that was so gracious four or
five years ago
but now we're there spend time there
today as you possibly
with a local failed district attorney
charging a former president of the
United States for the first time in
history
on a basis that every single pundit and
legal analyst said there is no case
there's no case they kept saying there's
no case
virtually everyone
but it's far worse than that because he
knew there was no case
that's why last week he delayed for a
month and then immediately took that
back
and through this ridiculous indictment
together came out today everybody said
this is not really an indictment there's
nothing here
my lawyers came to me and they said
there's nothing here they're not even
saying what you did
the criminal is the dish the district
attorney because he illegally leaked
massive amounts of grand jury
for which he should be prosecuted or at
a minimum he should resign
and Alvin Bragg's wife confirmed a
report that claimed her husband has
Trump nailed on felonies
she has since locked down her Twitter
account
his chief prosecutor who represented the
Democrats and crooked Hillary Clinton
and
a firm run by Chuck Schumer's brother
Robert
he quit the firm in order to go to work
in the D.A office in order to get Trump
can you imagine that Hillary Clinton's
lawyer Democrat lawyer Democrat firm
ultimately he
quit as Chief prosecutor because Bragg
didn't think he had a case I think of
the same guy that brought this
ridiculous thing today
yeah during his investigation
this prosecutor named Mark pomeranz
wrote and published a book
saying also it's a privileged things
has been very strongly
reprimanded he was reprimanded so
strongly I've never seen anything like
it that's probably the end of it
but
what he did was probably very illegal
but he was very very strongly
reprimanded
even district attorney Bragg was furious
with him they were having a tremendous
fight in the office because
but hope is never lost because various
prosecutors in the DA's office also quit
because they thought president Trump was
being treated very unfairly how about
that oh I love them I'd like them
I'd like to meet them
thank you
the DA's office
even had a web page
meet the team of Executives who have
done this to president Trump that was
the title isn't that nice they
immediately had to take it down
meanwhile overall crime in New York was
up 30 percent last year
much more than that the year before with
felony assaults robberies and burglaries
all up by massive massive numbers
not the same place that I know not the
same place that you know
and this is where we are right now I
have a trump-hating judge
with a trump-hating wife and family
whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris
and now receives money from the Biden
Harris campaign and a lot of men
we recently had another trial and the
same judge told the fine man who worked
for me for many many years
that if you admit your guilt
you will be in jail for 90 days
but if you don't
if we go through a trial and you're
found guilty you're going away for 10
years and maybe longer
which for 75 year old man with a great
family
really means life
what the prosecutors and judge did to
that man I will never forget
because it's right out of the old Soviet
Union that's where we are
they said you say anything about Trump
meaning that's bad
and you won't even have to serve the 90
days you'll want free
and they say that to many of my
employees
we have this Jack Smith lunatic
threatening people every single day
through his Representatives
they're threatening jail terms
but talk about Trump and you'll go free
this is where we are as a nation who
would have thought
they can't beat us at The Ballot Box so
they try and beat us
through the law that's the country in
which we live however right now the USA
is a mess
our economy is crashing inflation is out
of control Russia has joined with China
can you believe that
Saudi Arabia has joined with Iran
China Russia Iran and North Korea have
formed together
as a menacing and destructive Coalition
would have never happened
if I were your president would never
have happened
nor would Russia attacking Ukraine have
happened all of those lives would be
saved all of those beautiful cities
would be standing
our currency is crashing and will soon
no longer be the world standard
which will be our greatest defeat
frankly in 200 years there will be no
defeat like that
that will take us away from being even a
great power
if you took the five worst Presidents in
the history of the United
and added them up they would not have
done near the destruction to our country
as Joe Biden and the Biden
Administration have done
incredibly we are now a failing Nation
we are a nation in Decline
and now these radical left lunatics want
to interfere with our elections by using
law enforcement
we can't let that happen
King said
and with a very dark cloud
over our Beloved Country
I have no doubt nevertheless
that we will make America great again
God bless you and God bless America
thank you very much

[admin]

The Arraignment of Donald J. Trump: A Detailed Summary
by Anna Bower, Benjamin Wittes
Lawfare
Wednesday, April 5, 2023, 12:33 AM

Judge Juan Merchan of the Supreme Court of New York opens the hearing by asking both the government and counsel for former President Donald J. Trump whether there’s anything they need “to address before we conduct the arraignment.”

Christopher Conroy for the prosecution and Todd Blanche for the defense agree that there is nothing.

“Let’s arraign Mr. Trump,” says the judge.

And the court proceeds to arraign the 45th President of the United States—the first president ever to face criminal charges:

THE CLERK: Donald J. Trump, the grand jury of New York County has filed indictment 71543 of 2023 charging you with the crimes of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. How do you plead to this indictment, guilty or not guilty?

MR. TRUMP: Not guilty.

Judge Merchan quickly turns things over to Conroy, who in a businesslike fashion thanks the judge and declares that the state is “filing with the Court and handing to counsel copies of the indictment and a statement of facts.” He also declares that he is giving defendant’s counsel a copy of Trump’s fingerprint report. And he says that the indictment was unsealed at 1:30 pm and given to defendant’s lawyers in advance of the hearing.

He notes that the grand jury “listened to the evidence and carefully considered the charges [and] has voted an indictment against the defendant, Donald J. Trump, charging him with 34 separate felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in violation of New York State Penal Law section 175.10.” He says that his colleague in the district attorney’s office, Catherine McCaw, will address discovery issues, motions, and a possible trial date. But he wants first to address “what this case is about, the defendant’s recent public statements, conditions of release, and the conflict matter [we] believe the Court should be aware of.”

Judge Merchan allows him to proceed.

In Conroy’s telling, this case is about the fact that Trump “falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws.” Beginning in August 2015, he argues, Trump “agreed with others to carry out an unlawful plan to identify and suppress negative information that could have undermined his candidacy for President.” He then summarizes the allegations in the indictment and statement of facts. “Defendant falsified these New York business records with the intent to defraud, including the intent to commit another crime, and to aid and conceal the commission of another crime,” he argues.

He emphasizes that, “This office has long prioritized protecting the integrity of business records maintained here in New York County. When those records are falsified in service of another crime, it is a felony.”

He then turns to what he terms Trump’s “recent public statements threatening our city, our justice system, our courts, and our office.” Over the past few weeks, he says, Trump “has made a series of threatening and escalating communications,” a series that has included “irresponsible social media posts that target various individuals involved in this matter, and even their families.” These statements, he alleges, have “threatened potential death and destruction . . ., and World War III . . . if these charges were brought and he was indicted.” Trump’s statements directly addressed the grand jury itself and ”disparaged witnesses” who had reportedly participated in the investigation. Trump has also threated the district attorney’s office, “including posting a picture that depicts Mr. Trump wielding a baseball bat at the head of the district attorney.”

Trump’s comments have required “extensive public safety measures” by “a number of law enforcement agencies” starting weeks ago.

He turns over to the court and to Trump’s counsel what he terms “several of the defendant's recent online posts as an example” of “this kind of threatening rhetoric.” And he expresses “significant concern” about the danger Trump’s rhetoric poses “to our city, to potential jurors and witnesses, and to the judicial process.”

He insists, however, the district attorney’s office will not be deterred.

One way, he suggests, of addressing Trump’s conduct would be for the court to issue “an appropriately restrictive protective order concerning discovery materials, so that his lawyers can access the information they need to prepare a defense, while at the same time, making sure the defendant does not disseminate any information provided as discovery through threatening online posts.” McCaw, he says, will address this further. Of course, “the terms of any protective order the Court enters can . . . be carefully policed through contempt proceedings and other sanctions as necessary.”

While the government is only seeking a protective order regarding discovery materials, Conroy notes that Trump’s rhetoric directed at individuals and their families “may also raise concerns about the fair and orderly administration of justice, the risks that pre-trial publicity will taint the jury pool and prejudice a fair trial, and individual and public safety concerns.” And the district attorney’s office is thus considering seeking other possible relief as well and “would be prepared to submit briefing if the Court requests.”

He then turns to the question of conditions of Trump’s release. He notes that under New York law these charges are not eligible for bail and that Trump surrendered voluntarily for processing and arraignment. He asks Judge Merchan “to give the defendant Parker warnings”—advising him of his right to be present at trial and of the consequences of his non-appearance. “Should the defendant decide not to return to court from out of state, these warnings would help mitigate potential issues around any extradition proceeding.” He says that if circumstances change and the prosecution believes it needs modifications to the these conditions, it will bring the matter to the court’s attention.

Finally, he raises the issue of a possible conflict of interest on the part of Joseph Tacopina, one of the lawyers for Trump. “Our understanding [is that] he previously had privileged communications with Stormy Daniels, who we expect to be a witness in this case,” he says. He consequently asks for the judge to “conduct an inquiry at an appropriate time” of both Tacopina and Trump about potential conflicts arising out of this prior relationship. He says he received a letter sent by Daniels’s current counsel on Monday and would happily share it with the court and Trump’s lawyers.

And then he tries to turn things over to McCaw.

But McCaw doesn’t get her turn just yet. Todd Blanche, the former federal prosecutor whom Trump added to his defense team only yesterday pipes up. “Your Honor, thank you,” he begins. “I didn't realize we were going to give opening statements today. I would appreciate the opportunity to respond.”

Blanche complains that the prosecution had “ten minutes” to talk about “the strength of their case.” Yet, he continues, “this is no trial” and the defense has not had an opportunity to view discovery yet.

Then he shifts to the subject of the prosecution’s key witness: the President’s former fixer, Michael Cohen. Cohen, he complains, stood on the courthouse steps every time he met with prosecutors or the grand jury and announced exactly what he did and why he did it.

It’s true, Blanche acknowledges, that Trump has responded “forcefully” to the events of the past several weeks, and that he’s “absolutely frustrated, upset, and believes that there is a grave injustice happening.” Still, Blanche says, the prosecution’s efforts to give “their version” of the indictment today has “exacerbated” the problem.

Before Blanche can continue, Judge Merchan interjects. The prosecutors, he clarifies, are merely “complaining about the rhetoric and the charged nature of the language that is being used” by the former President. In response, Blanche contends that Trump has free speech rights to talk about his view of what is happening in this case. And, he continues, it’s important to “step back” and realize this case has been investigated for several years. He adds that Mark Pomerantz, a former special assistant district attorney with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, wrote a whole book about the investigation, which he has publicly discussed.

Meanwhile, Blanche points out, “the President” is running for reelection as President of the United States. “I mean, imagine anybody in this courtroom that was in that position,” he urges before reiterating that this was a three-year investigation plagued by “leaks galore.” As one example, he points out that Trump only received a copy of the indictment 40 minutes before the hearing, while the media “apparently” received a copy of the indictment last night. “That is a grave injustice,” he proclaims.

Clearly, Trump is “frustrated” by all of this, Blanche continues. But his posts, he says, “are not threats, they are not harassment.” While the prosecutors may disagree with the “rhetoric,” Blanche says it is “patently unfair” to frustrate the freedom of speech of a man who is running for President of the United States.

In reply, Judge Merchan acknowledges that Trump “does have rights.” But, he says, “I don’t believe the People are asking the Court to impose any kind of gag order.” When Blanche agrees that is correct, Judge Merchan continues: “Certainly, the Court would not impose a gag order at this time even if it were requested.” He observes that such restraints “are the most serious and . . . intolerable on First Amendment rights,” which applies “doubly” to Trump because he is a candidate for the presidency of the United States. Still, Judge Merchan says that he doesn’t share Blanche’s view “that certain language and certain rhetoric is just by frustration.” So though Judge Merchan won’t enter a gag order, he “would encourage counsel on both sides to speak to their witnesses and the defendant” and “remind them” to “please refrain from making comments or engaging in conduct that has the potential to incite violence, create civil unrest, or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals.” Additionally, “please do not engage in words or conduct which jeopardizes the rule of law, particularly as it applies to these proceedings in this courtroom.” If this request isn’t taken seriously, Judge Merchan warns that he would “have to take a closer look” at the option of issuing an order to restrict such speech.

McCaw now gets her turn to speak. She has three matters to address. First up is the protective order she describes herself as “in the process of working out with defense counsel.” The second issue is discovery. And the final one is scheduling.

On the protective order, she argues, “especially in light of the defendant's public comments, that a protective order is vital to insure the sanctity of the proceedings as well as the sanctity of the discovery materials.” She says the prosecution has had “a number of very productive conversations” with defense counsel on the subject and that she believes “we are very close to agreement and finalizing the language.” When “we do reach an agreement, we should be able to submit that language to the Court within the next few days, hopefully.”

The proposed order, she notes “would have terms that would be binding not solely on defense counsel, but also on the defendant himself, and that should the defendant fail to abide by these terms, it could have the effect of being in contempt of court.” She says she wants to highlight three terms on which the defense and the prosecution have already agreed:

• Trump “may not use any of the materials the prosecution produces for any purpose other than to prepare a defense.”
• Trump “will be permitted to review certain sensitive materials only in his attorney's office, and he may not take copies of the documents” or notes on them away from his lawyers’ offices.
• Trump “may not provide the materials he receives through the discovery process to any third party, including the press, and he may not post them to social media.” She describes this third provision as perhaps the most important one.

She emphasizes that violations of these provisions would put Trump in contempt of court.

Judge Merchan pauses at this point and asks defense counsel to weigh in on the protective order matter. Susan Necheles handles this matter for the defense. She confirms that the defense and prosecution are working on the matter and hope to reach agreement.

That said, she notes that the prosecution “in their statement of facts here have laid out what they, I assume, contend the grand jury evidence and the testimony showed.” She says it seems fundamentally wrong to her that the prosecution is “able to put out into the public a statement of what they believe the facts are and for the defense and someone who is defending his career, his reputation, everything that he's built in his entire life for him not to be able to respond in the same manner.” So there need to be “further discussions,” but she hopes to do that “promptly.”

Judge Merchan expresses his hope that the two sides can agree on the order “so all I have to do is sign it.”

But now Tacopina has a protective order problem. “I know the D.A said the review by the defendant would have to be in the attorney's office,” he says. But “that will not happen. I thought it was in the attorney's presence. We would meet most likely at the office of President Trump.”

Judge Merchan sees that perhaps the two sides are not that close to agreement after all. “All right,” he says. “Since you are still negotiating, I will not weigh in at this time. If you reach an impasse and you need my help in resolving anything, let me know and I'll try to help out.”

And with that, we are on to discovery.

McCaw says that once the protective order is in place, the prosecution will begin “rolling productions of discovery.” This will take place in three phases.

• The first stage will involve grand jury minutes and exhibits, witness statements and the like. This will take about a week after a protective order is in place.
• The second stage “will consist of subpoena compliance, other witness materials, as well as some police documents and other odds and ends.” She says this will take place within the statutorily allocated 65 days.
• The third stage will include materials like district attorney’s office email messages. She doesn’t know how long this will take.

She says the most important materials will be produced in the first and second stages, particularly the first.

As the government intends to seek a trial date of Jan. 5, 2024 and there is intense public interest in “moving this case along as expeditiously as possible,” she says the government wants to produce these materials quickly to allow ample time for trial preparation before January.

Judge Merchan turns to Blanche, who starts by emphasizing again that this has been a long investigation and the defense has not seen any discovery so far. Trump certainly wants this whole matter behind him, Blanche says, “But to sit here and say January of 2024 is good with us when we have not seen a piece of paper yet, is I think patently unfair for us given everything that I think we know about the case from the media and from witnesses talking.” The January 2024 date is “a little bit aggressive.” The spring of 2024 might be “a more realistic plan at this point.” But Blanche admits that he’s “speculating a bit because we have not seen anything yet.”

The court agrees that it’s difficult to anticipate being ready in January having not received any discovery yet. “The message I would like to deliver is we would like to move ahead as expeditiously as possible, without undue delay. Of course, you are entitled to the discovery. You are entitled to review the discovery and make determinations there.”

McCaw next turns to the schedule. “I believe that the next step would be to set an appropriate motion schedule,” she said. She says she has a schedule of dates she is ready to propose but suspects Judge Merchan will want to hear from the defense. And he does.

Ordinarily, Judge Merchan tells Blanche, he would get 45 days to file its motions. But the judge knows this is a “much more complex case,” and in recent complex cases, he has extended the motion schedule. He asks Blanche what he’s thinking. Blanche responds that “we strongly believe there will be substantive motions addressing the substantive facts of the indictment that could be dispositive.” These motions may happen only after discovery, because they may depend on material received from the government. But “to move the case along expeditiously,” he says, “there may be other motions that do not need to wait for the substantive motions several months from now after the conclusion of discovery.” For example, while the defense just got the statement of facts today, it may seek a bill of particulars. “That might also be something we need before we start going through all the discovery.”

Hence, Blanche asks the judge for an “opportunity to study the indictment beyond the half an hour or so we had so far.” And he asks for an opportunity to file motions in two parts. He says he will consult with the prosecution and the court “as we land on the specifics” with respect to timing. “So I don't know if it is worth setting a date now, but if the Court would like to, we say at least six weeks after discovery has been concluded, and for other potential motions that we will reach out to the Court about, we would ask to have a month to file those motions or to at least inform the Court of what motions we intend to file.”

Judge Merchan now wants to clarify how long discovery is going to take. McCaw tells him again that the government can finish the “vast majority” of the production within 65 days of arraignment but acknowledges that there might be “some additional straggler materials”— especially with respect to emails from within the district attorney’s office. She asks for the motion schedule to be set in advance, even if the motions are to be divided.

Judge Merchan notes that 65 days from today brings the court to mid-June. He says he doesn’t want two sets of motions, and he says he means to set one motions schedule. “I think four months would be more than sufficient for you to be able to address your motions, so that would bring us out to August 8.”

Blanche offers “one caveat.” If the defense decides it needs to file a motion in advance of that, he will alert the court “and obviously your Honor can guide us.” Other than that, the court’s motions schedule works for him.

Judge Merchan does some calculations and determines that the government’s responses would be due on September 5. McCaw says if the defense is getting six weeks, she should as well for her responses, which would mean her responses should be due on September 19.

But Judge Merchan says he’s not giving the defense six weeks. He’s giving them four months from today to complete all their motions. She asks again “if we could get six weeks from the date of the filing of their motions, in light of the amount of time they will have had to prepare the motions, we request a date of September 19.” Judge Merchan obliges.

He now turns to the subject of the possible conflict of interest on the part of Tacopina. Tacopina asks to be heard on the subject. He states that “we received last night, for the first time, a letter from a Clark Brewster, an attorney apparently representing Stormy Daniels, that was larded with factual inaccuracies.” The most important was that “I never met Stormy Daniels. I never spoke to Stormy Daniels, and I never reviewed any documents of Stormy Daniels.” Daniels called Tacopina’s office and “tried to hire me or asked about hiring me. She spoke to an associate and paralegal. Gave some facts. Sent over a document, and it went no further than that.”

Under the ethics rules, he says, with respect to the attorney’s duty to prospective clients, “I have to be in possession of information that is significantly harmful to the person in the matter.” No such material exists. “Everything she sent us wound up in her book. So, there is not obviously any privilege, and any that existed was waived.”

What’s more, he argues, he has learned that Daniels “signed a waiver” when she turned over material to federal prosecutors. “She testified in open court about her attempt to secure representation prior to retaining Mr. [Michael] Avenatti.” Moreover, if any conflict really existed, the “remedy would be I do not participate in her examination” if and when she testifies. “There are three different law firms here. It is as simple as that.”

Now Judge Merchan turns to Conroy for argument on behalf of the district attorney’s office on the matter: “People, what was your basis for believing there might be a conflict?”

Conroy responds that the district attorney’s office believes that Tacopina has a conflict based on a “combination” of the letter received, comments made on various TV networks, and the fact that there were “some” privileged conversations between Tacopina and Daniels. He reiterates that he merely sought to “alert” the Court to the potential issue. “I think it is a real potential issue that needs to be explored,” he finishes.

Having heard the positions of both the prosecution and the defense on the matter, Judge Merchan tells Conroy that he would “welcome” a written motion on it should the district attorney decide to file one. “In the meantime,” Merchan continues, “I do believe I have an obligation to address both Mr. Tacopina and Mr. Trump with regard to this.” He then instructs Trump of his absolute right to “conflict-free” representation. While he stresses that he is “not making any findings of fact” at this point, he informs Trump that prosecutors have alleged that Tacopina has a potential conflict because he “may have represented a former client” who is a witness in the case. “Do you understand that right, Mr. Trump?”

The 45th President of the United States responds with a single word: “Yes.”

Moving on, Judge Merchan next announces that the state has asked him to give Trump what are called “Parker warnings”—a set of judicial admonitions provided to criminal defendants in New York state court. "This is something I do with every individual who appears before me in the courtroom," Judge Merchan says.

He then proceeds to inform Trump that he has a right to be present at “every stage” of the proceedings in his case. However, the judge warns Trump that there are ways he could lose or waive his rights to be present at the proceedings. Trump could, for example, “voluntarily absent” himself from the proceedings. If he does so, Merchan says that the Court has the right to find that he voluntarily waived his right to be present, which could mean that the proceedings would continue in his absence. Another way Trump could waive his rights to be present for the proceedings is to become disruptive to such a degree that it affects the judge’s ability to preside over the case. In that situation, Merchan warns, he would have the authority to remove Trump from the courtroom and continue the proceedings without him.

“Do you understand that?” Judge Merchan asks Trump.

The former President of the United States and current presidential candidate answers in the affirmative: “I do.”

Having read Trump his Parker warnings, Judge Merchan is ready to wrap up. “Now I think we need to set an adjournment date.” Trump, he continues, will be released “on his own recognizance”—that is, without bail. The judge announces that the next hearing date will be set for Dec. 4, 2023, for the Court’s decisions on various pre-trial motions. “If, for some reason, I'm unable to have my decisions ready or not all the decisions ready, I will certainly let you know,” he tells counsel.

Before the judge adjourns the hearing, however, Blanche pipes back up on behalf of Trump. “Judge,” he says, “I am just stating the obvious that having President Trump in this courtroom today is extraordinarily burdensome and expensive on the city,” he states. Adding that the “security issues” that needed to be worked out ahead of Trump’s appearance today were substantial, he informs the judge that defense counsel may ask that Trump’s presence be waived for future hearing dates.

“What would be the reason [for] asking to waive his appearance?” Judge Merchan queries. In reply, Blanche again emphasizes “the incredible expense and effort and security issues that present themselves with the President traveling and being in court.”

While Judge Merchan acknowledges that Trump’s appearance has been a “huge undertaking” for the court, he reminds Blanche that Dec. 4 is “quite a ways out.” If a reason were to come up that Trump could not appear on that date, such as something unanticipated, he says that defense counsel can run it by him then. “But in the same way I expect all other defendants to appear in court, even high profile defendants…I think in the interest of transparency and assuring the rules of law even-handedly, at this time I'm going to deny your application.”

Thanking the judge, Blanche stresses that he “was not suggesting President Trump does not want to be here.” Instead, he says, the cost of the arraignment to the city is why he brought the matter up today. “To the extent we need to, we will revisit it,” he finishes.

“What you said is true, and I agree,” Judge Merchan responds.

Then the judge addresses the courtroom at large: “Thank you all very much.”

And with that, the first arraignment of a United States president comes to an end.

****************************

What It Was Like Inside the Courtroom During Trump’s Arraignment: Here are some of the most important moments from the hearing where criminal charges against Donald Trump were unveiled.
by Jonah E. Bromwich and Nate Schweber
New York Times
April 5, 2023

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.

The scene on Tuesday for the arraignment of former President Donald J. Trump, seated third from right. Credit...Pool photo by Andrew Kelly

Former President Donald J. Trump sat quietly in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday as prosecutors described the accusations against him. The proceeding marked his first experience as a criminal defendant.

A 32-page transcript of the hearing offers only a hint of the dramatic implications of the arraignment and the lengthy legal process to come. It was one of the most-anticipated court proceedings in the world. And yet, it was seen firsthand only by the few dozen people who were present in the courtroom where the charges against Mr. Trump were unveiled.

Here are some of the most important moments from the arraignment:

The hearing begins, and Mr. Trump pleads.

THE COURT: Let’s arraign Mr. Trump.

THE CLERK: Donald J. Trump, the grand jury of New York County has filed indictment 71543 of 2023 charging you with the crimes of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

How do you plead to this indictment, guilty or not guilty?

DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP: Not guilty.

The shades were down in the courtroom when Mr. Trump entered around 2:30 p.m., wearing a navy suit, a red tie and a blank expression. Armed court officers flanked him on both sides as he walked down the aisle toward the front. Photographers were briefly allowed to enter the jury box to take his picture, and he turned and stared at the cameras until their operators were made to leave.

Mr. Trump’s arraignment did not begin immediately after he came in. He was compelled to wait about 10 minutes, seated silently at the defense table, as a lawyer representing media organizations requested that journalists be granted more access to the proceeding. Mr. Trump visibly scoffed when that lawyer asserted that professional journalists could be trusted.

When that lawyer was finished speaking, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, referred to in the transcript as “The Court,” called for Mr. Trump to be arraigned. The former president was read the charges against him — 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. In the hushed courtroom, Mr. Trump leaned forward and, speaking into the microphone at the defense table, said that he was not guilty.

A prosecutor previews the case.

MR. CONROY: The defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records in order to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws.

Chris Conroy, a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office, then stood up and began to detail the charges. They stem from a hush-money payment that Mr. Trump’s former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, paid to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, in the run-up to the 2016 election. Mr. Trump reimbursed Mr. Cohen after he was elected. Prosecutors are accusing Mr. Trump of orchestrating the creation of false business records related to the reimbursements.

Falsifying business records is only a felony in New York State when it is committed with the intent to “commit or conceal” another crime. In saying that Mr. Trump had falsified records “to conceal an illegal conspiracy,” Mr. Conroy offered a potential preview of the office’s broader case against Mr. Trump.

Members of the defense team were handed copies of the indictment. Mr. Trump passed a copy to one of his lawyers, Joseph Tacopina. The former president was the only person at the defense table not to accept a copy.

Mr. Trump’s recent social media posts are entered into the record.

An extraordinary moment came when Mr. Conroy began to reference Mr. Trump’s recent social media posts. The former president promised that “death and destruction” would follow were he to be charged and posted racist language and threatening images directed at the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg.

MR. CONROY: We have significant concern about the potential danger this kind of rhetoric poses to our city, to potential jurors and witnesses, and to the judicial process.

Mr. Conroy then passed out printed copies of Mr. Trump’s posts to the judge and defense team. Mr. Trump passed his copy to Mr. Tacopina, but a minute later requested it back, beckoning with his right hand. Another of his lawyers, Todd Blanche, objected strongly to Mr. Conroy’s comments about the social media posts.

MR. BLANCHE: It is true that President Trump has responded, and responded forcefully. It is true that as part of that response, he’s absolutely frustrated, upset, and believes that there is a grave injustice happening with him being in this courtroom today.

Mr. Blanche asserted that Mr. Trump “ has rights, he’s allowed to speak publicly.”

That appeared to prompt Justice Merchan, who spoke calmly and soberly, to respond that he had no immediate intention of placing a “gag order” on Mr. Trump, counter to concerns expressed recently by the former president’s legal team. Prosecutors have not requested a gag order.

THE COURT: Certainly, the court would not impose a gag order at this time even if it were requested.

Such restraints are the most serious and least intolerable on First Amendment rights. That does apply doubly to Mr. Trump, because he is a candidate for the presidency of the United States. So, those First Amendment rights are critically important, obviously.

But Justice Merchan, a judge in the State Supreme Court since 2009, did warn the defense to speak to Mr. Trump “and anybody else you need to, and remind them to please refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest.”

[JUDGE MERCHAN] PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MAKING COMMENTS OR ENGAGING IN CONDUCT THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCITE VIOLENCE, CREATE CIVIL UNREST OR JEOPARDIZE THE SAFETY OR WELL-BEING OF ANY INDIVIDUALS.... DO NOT ENGAGE IN WORDS OR CONDUCT WHICH JEOPARDIZE THE RULE OF LAW, PARTICULARLY AS IT APPLIES TO THESE PROCEEDINGS IN THIS COURTROOM.... IF I WERE TO BE HANDED SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, I WOULD TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT IT.

The prosecution details potential constraints on Mr. Trump.

MS. MCCAW: Defendant may not provide the materials he receives through the discovery process to any third party, including the press, and he may not post them to social media.

As Mr. Trump continued to sit in silence, Catherine McCaw, another prosecutor, told the judge that her team was working with Mr. Trump’s lawyers to draft a protective order, a document that would place certain constraints on Mr. Trump.

One of those constraints, she said, would bar the former president from posting certain case material on social media, or from sharing it with reporters. Were Mr. Trump to violate any constraints that are in place, Justice Merchan would decide whether and how to sanction him.

Mr. Trump speaks again.

As his arraignment went on, Mr. Trump increasingly fidgeted. He wove and unwove his fingers repeatedly. He crossed and uncrossed his arms. He knocked his knuckles on the hardwood table. Once, he puffed out his cheeks in a sigh.

Finally, more than a half-hour after he entered his plea, he spoke again — after being prompted by his lawyers — but only to respond to Justice Merchan when the judge informed the former president about his right to be present at proceedings — and the ways that right could be forfeited.

THE COURT: If you become disruptive to such a degree that it affects my ability to preside over this case and my ability to ensure that the case is treated the way it needs to be treated for both sides, I do have the authority to remove you from the courtroom and continue in your absence, do you understand that?

DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP: I do.

The judge requests Mr. Trump’s presence.

THE COURT: I expect all other defendants to appear in court, even high-profile defendants.

Given that Mr. Trump was charged with nonviolent crimes, prosecutors were barred from even requesting that he be put in jail. As Justice Merchan prepared to release the former president, Mr. Blanche suggested that Mr. Trump might not appear at his next court date, scheduled for Dec. 4. When asked for his reasoning, Mr. Blanche cited “the incredible expense and effort and security issues” that attended the arraignment.

The judge acknowledged that it had been a huge undertaking for everyone involved. But he noted that December was “quite a ways out.” Finally, he noted that “in the interest of transparency and assuring the rules of law evenhandedly,” he was going to disagree with Mr. Blanche. The implication: As much as possible, the judge intends to treat Mr. Trump like any other defendant.

When the arraignment adjourned around 3:25 p.m., Mr. Trump was the slowest person at the defense table to stand up. He smoothed the lapels of his blue suit jacket, neatened a stack of paper in front of him and walked out of the courtroom.

Hurubie Meko, Kate Christobek and Jason Silverstein contributed reporting.

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney's office, state criminal courts in Manhattan and New York City's jails. @jonesieman

*******************

Judge warns ‘defendant’ Trump: Ari Melber breaks down lengthy arraignment
by Ari Melber
MSNBC
4/5/23

The transcript from Donald Trump’s first court appearance shows Trump’s shift from candidate to criminal defendant. Judge Juan Merchan began Trump’s arraignment on the offensive over Trump’s recent threats and rejected Trump’s request to skip the next court hearing. MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber breaks down Trump’s historic arraignment.



Transcript

>>> TURNING NOW TO A BREAKDOWN
OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS
HISTORIC ARRAIGNMENT OF
DEFENDANT DONALD TRUMP
YESTERDAY.
FOR ALL THE TALK ABOUT HOW NEW
YORK RULES BAR VIDEO CAMERAS,
LET'S BE CLEAR THAT ONLY DELAYS
HOW WE HEAR WHAT HAPPENS AND WE
DON'T SEE IT ON VIDEO, SO WE
DON'T HEAR IT IN REALTIME, AND
FROM A NEWS AND INFORMATION
PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING A LIVE VIDEO
FEED WOULD MEAN WE'D ALL WATCH
IT TOGETHER.
LET'S BE CLEAR, IN ESSENCE, WE
STILL WITH A DELAY LEARN WHAT
HAPPENS.
WE GET THE TRANSCRIPT.
NOW TONIGHT WE HAVE THE FULL
TRANSCRIPT AND I WANT TO SHARE
WITH YOU SOME OF WHAT WE'VE
LEARNED.
I CAN TELL YOU HONESTLY
YESTERDAY THIS WASN'T COVERED.
THERE WAS A LOT OF OTHER MORE
IMPORTANT BIG THINGS HAPPENING,
SO WE'RE GOING TO COVER IT FOR
YOU RIGHT NOW.
FIRST, THE WAY IT BEGAN.
A NOTICEABLY SUBDUED TRUMP WAS
SEATED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE
CRIMINAL DEFENDANT SEAT FLANKED
BY COPS THERE TO KEEP ORDER, NOT
JUST PROTECT HIM AS A FORMER
GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.
TRUMP WAS COMPELLED ONLY TO
SPEAK WHEN INSTRUCTED AND ASK,
TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS.
YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN WHETHER YOU
WANT TO OR NOT, DONALD TRUMP IN
MANY FORMS, INTERVIEWS,
CANDIDATE SPEECHES, GOVERNMENT
MEETINGS
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN HIM LIKE THIS.
COULD ONLY SPEAK IN RESPONSE
FIRST SPOKE ON THE PLEA.
THERE WERE SEVERAL OTHER TIMES
TRUMP WAS COMPELLED TO SPEAK
I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU SOME OF
THEM
THE PLEA WAS REPORTED.
THE JUDGE ASKING -- THE
DEFENDANT AS HE'S IDENTIFIED IN
THIS TRANSCRIPT SAYS, NOT
GUILTY
TRUMP, PARTICIPATING, BOUND BY
THE RULE OF LAW AND ENTERING THE
PLEA
THE JUDGE ALSO WAS QUICK TO
ADMONISH DEFENDANT TRUMP OVER
THE RECENT THREATS HE'S MADE,
AND THAT IS A RESPONSE TO AND
REALLY A VALIDATION OF A
DECISION THAT THE D.A.'S TEAM
MADE, BECAUSE AS YOU MAY HAVE
HEARD US MENTION, THE VAST
MAJORITY OF ARRAIGNMENTS ARE
QUICK.
WE HAD LEGAL EXPERTS ON TALK
ABOUT HOW THIS COULD BE A FIVE,
TEN-MINUTE THING
BUT THE D.A.'S TEAM MADE AN
UNUSUAL AGGRESSIVE CHOICE TO NOT
WASTE ANY TIME AND RISK PEOPLE
SAYING, OH, WHY WAS THIS
DIFFERENT FOR THE DEFENDANT?
AND THEY WOULD SAY, NOT FOR ANY
REASON ABOUT THE COURTS OF BIAS,
BUT BECAUSE THE DEFENDANT ACTED
IN WAYS EVEN THOSE ACCUSE OF
VIOLENT CRIMES DON'T, ATTACKING
COURT OFFICIALS.
THEY ACTUALLY SPENT A
CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME
DOING THAT, AND IT WORKED.
LET ME SHOW YOU THIS
THE JUDGE THEN TOLD TRUMP'S TEAM
ABOUT HOW THIS VIOLENT SET OF
MESSAGES WOULD NOT BE
ACCEPTABLE
QUOTE, THE COURT -- THAT'S A
REFERENCE TO THE JUDGE
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MAKING
COMMENTS OR ENGAGING IN CONDUCT
THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO INCITE
VIOLENCE, CREATE CIVIL UNREST OR
JEOPARDIZE THE SAFETY OR WELL
BEING OF ANY INDIVIDUALS
THE COURT -- THE JUDGE --
CONTINUED, DO NOT ENGAGE IN
WORDS OR CONDUCT WHICH
JEOPARDIZE THE RULE OF LAW,
PARTICULARLY AS IT APPLIES TO
THESE PROCEEDINGS IN THIS
COURTROOM.
NOW, THAT IS THE JUDGE USING THE
ARRAIGNMENT TO PUT DEFENDANT
TRUMP ON NOTICE, ON RECORD,
LAYING DOWN A MARKER FOR MORE
SEVERE ACTION IF HE GOES
FURTHER.
NOW, IF YOU'RE WATCHING THIS
THINKING, WELL, YOU HAVE BEEN ACQUAINTED WITH
DONALD TRUMP AND HOW
HE TALKS AND WHAT HE DOES FOR A
LONG TIME, THAT MAY BE.
THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC DEBATE. THIS IS NOT
RHETORIC OR POLITICS.
AS FAR AS THE NEW YORK COURT
SYSTEM IS CONCERNED, THIS
TRANSCRIPT I'M READING FROM FOR YOU
TONIGHT, WHICH IS NEW, WHICH
COMES FROM OF COURSE YESTERDAY'S
ARRAIGNMENT, IS THE FIRST TIME
DONALD TRUMP HAS APPEARED AS A
CRIMINAL DEFENDANT IN THE NEW
YORK COURT SYSTEM.
SO THIS ACTUALLY, IN FAIRNESS, IS
HIS FIRST OFFICIAL WARNING. AND
THE JUDGE WAS DIRECT ON THAT
POINT, CLARIFYING, AGAIN, IN
THIS OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT ON THE
RECORD -- WE ALL KNOW IT NOW --
THAT THE JUDGE WOULD CONSIDER
MORE EXTREME MEASURES NEXT TIME.
QUOTE, "IF I WERE TO BE HANDED
SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN IN THE
FUTURE, I WOULD TAKE A CLOSER
LOOK AT IT."
AND THE JUDGE IN THIS TRANSCRIPT
INSTRUCTS TRUMP'S LAWYERS AND
DEFENDANT TRUMP THAT WHILE THIS
WAS THE INSTRUCTIONS -- I JUST
READ THEM TO YOU, DON'T DO THIS,
DON'T UNDERMINE THE RULE OF LAW,
DON'T THREATEN VIOLENCE --
THAT'S AN INSTRUCTION, MEANING
LEGALLY THAT'S JUST KIND OF A STATEMENT OF, YOU
KNOW, "PLEASE DON'T."
IT'S NOT AN ORDER.
BUT THERE COULD BE ORDERS.
THERE COULD BE GAG ORDERS.
YOU CAN EVEN HOLD SOMEONE IN
CONTEMPT
CONTEMPT IS FAST, BECAUSE IT
MEANS YOU GET TAKEN TO THE JAIL THAT
SAME DAY.
TRUMP AND HIS LAWYERS, WELL, THEY'RE SAYING THEY
GOT THE MESSAGE.
I HAVE A LITTLE MORE ON THAT TONIGHT.
I ALSO WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW THE
JUDGE ADDRESSED THE DEFENDANT'S RIGHTS
AND OBLIGATIONS.
AND THIS IS, AGAIN, WHY TRUMP IS A
DEFENDANT.
HE'S NOT IDENTIFIED AS A FORMER
PRESIDENT, OR REFERENCE FOR HIS
GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE.
HE IS SIMPLY DEFENDANT TRUMP,
LIKE ANY OTHER ACCUSED SYSTEM IN
THIS COURT, YOU SEE HIM
IDENTIFIED THAT WAY AS WHEN HE
PLED NOT GUILTY.
SO THE JUDGE THEN GOES ON TO SAY LATER
IN THE SAME ARRAIGNMENT, "MR. TRUMP,
AS YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO
CONFLICT-FREE REPRESENTATION.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT RIGHT?"
>> DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP SAYS,
"YES."
AND THIS REFERS TO A LAWYER YOU
MAY HAVE HEARD OF, JOE TACOPINA,
BECAUSE THE JUDGE IS TALKING ABOUT
REPORTS, INCLUDING A NEW LETTER
THAT WAS USED AT THE ARRAIGNMENT YESTERDAY
THAT, AGAIN, GOT A LITTLE LESS NEWS THAN THE
OTHER BIGGER DEAL OF DONALD
TRUMP BEING ARRESTED, BUT A NEW
LETTER THAT DISCUSSES ALLEGED
CONTACT WITH STORMY DANIELS IN
2018 ABOUT POSSIBLY REPRESENTING
HER.
QUOTE, "YOU ARE CERTAINLY WELCOME
TO CONSULT WITH OTHER COUNSEL.
RUN THIS ISSUE BY THEM, AND SEE
HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT IT WHEN IT'S
OVER, OKAY?"
THIS IS THE COURT LOOKING OUT
FOR WHETHER DEFENDANT TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP,
HAS A CONFLICT HERE ON ONE OF
HIS LAWYERS ON HIS TEAM.
AND TRUMP RESPONDS, "OKAY
THANK YOU."
NOW ALL OF THIS IS NEW FROM THE
TRANSCRIPT
AND "THANK YOU" IS A LONG WAYS AWAY
FROM HOW TRUMP TALKS ABOUT THE
JUDGE AND THE COURT PROCESS IN
PUBLIC, WHICH REINFORCES HOW HE
IS OPERATING UNDER THE RULES AND THE
PRESSURES OF BEING A CRIMINAL
DEFENDANT.
THIS IS ALL NEW TO HIM.
NOW THE JUDGE CONTINUES, "IF AT SOME
POINT DOWN THE ROAD YOU ARE NOT
PRESENT, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO
CONTINUE PROCEEDINGS IN YOUR
ABSENCE.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
>> DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP REPLIES,
"YES."
AND WHILE THE JUDGE MADE CLEAR HE
WAS PROVIDING STANDARD
INSTRUCTIONS NOT CAUSED BY THIS
DEFENDANT IN THIS SECTION, HE ALSO TOLD DEFENDANT TRUMP, THAT IF HE
WERE TO BECOME DISRUPTIVE, "I HAVE
THE ABILITY TO REMOVE YOU FROM
THE COURTROOM AND CONTINUE IN
YOUR ABSENCE.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP REPLIES, "I
DO."
AND THE JUDGE, MAKING IT CRYSTAL
CLEAR IN CASE THIS EVER COMES UP
LATER AND WE HEAR TALK ABOUT BIAS OR
SELECTIVE PROSECUTION OR UNFAIR
RULES, THE JUDGE IS SAYING IT RIGHT HERE,
WE HAVE IT IN THIS NEW
TRANSCRIPT -- QUOTE, "IF EITHER
ONE OF THOSE SITUATIONS WERE TO
HAPPEN, AND THE CASE WERE TO GO
TO TRIAL, WE WOULD GO TO TRIAL
WITHOUT YOU."
THAT MEANS WITHOUT TRUMP PRESENT
IN THE ROOM, WHILE HE STILL OF
COURSE COULD BE SENT TO JAIL FOR
THAT OUTCOME IF HE LOST.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP REPLIES, QUOTE, "YES."
SO ALL OF THIS HAPPENED YESTERDAY
AND AGAIN IT IS STANDARD THAT
THE VIDEO CAMERAS WERE NOT ON.
MOST STATES HAVE THEM.
NEW YORK DOESN'T.
SO IT'S STANDARD NEW YORK PROCEDURE FOR THE
DEFENDANT.
BUT AGAIN AND AGAIN, YOU SAW A HUGE
WIDENING GAP BETWEEN THE ROLE
TRUMP IS PLAYING IN PUBLIC AND
WHAT HE'S ASSURING HIS
SUPPORTERS AND ALL THE REST TO
THE -- AS REQUIRED --
COOPERATIVE AND OBEDIENT DEFENDANT
IN COURT, WHERE THE
JUDGE IS IN CONTROL.
THIS IS THE MOST THAT DONALD TRUMP
FACED IN THIS SCENARIO.
THE NEXT HEARING DATE IS SET FOR
DECEMBER 4th
NOW, MOST ARRAIGNMENTS, I CAN TELL
YOU, THAT WOULD BE THAT.
YOU GO THROUGH IT.
THIS ONE WAS LONGER THAN USUAL, BUT
OKAY, WE GOT THROUGH THAT STUFF.
HERE'S THE NEXT HEARING, AND
YOU'RE GOING TO BE THERE.
WHY ARE YOU GOING TO BE THERE?
WELL, IF YOU BLOW OFF AN ARRAIGNMENT
IN NEW YORK, THE JUDGE ISSUES A
BENCH WARRANT. AND THAT MEANS THE NYPD COME AND GET YOU.
AND UNLESS YOU ARE TERRIBLY MISINFORMED OR
HAVE ALL KINDS OF OTHER PERSONAL PROBLEMS, MOST PEOPLE
DON'T WANT TO BRING ON MORE HEAT AND A NYPD ARREST WHEN
THEY'RE ALREADY A CRIMINAL DEFENDANT,
EVEN HABITUAL, REPEAT PLAYERS IN THE COURT SYSTEMS.
BUT SOMETHING ELSE HAPPENED
YESTERDAY.
AND IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT IT, I'M GOING
TO REPORT IT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE NEWS TAKES A
MINUTE TO GET IT GATHERED UP AND
FACT-CHECKED AND REPORTED OUT.
DONALD TRUMP'S LAWYERS, RIGHT NEAR
THE END OF THIS THING, TRIED TO
GET HIM SOME SPECIAL TREATMENT.
THEY TRIED TO CITE THE FACT THAT
HE WAS FORMER PRESIDENT, BUT
NOT SAY THAT HE SHOULD BE GIVEN
SPECIAL TREATMENT JUST BECAUSE
HE'S PRESIDENT, BUT BECAUSE
RATHER THEY ARGUED IT'S CREATED
SOME UNAVOIDABLE CHALLENGES FOR
THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
THEY ARGUED THE HASSLE, THE COST
OF SECURING THE AREA.
I MEAN, IT WOULD REALLY BE BETTER FOR
EVERYONE TO ALLOW HIM TO JUST SKIP
THE NEXT HEARING, TO NOT HAVE TO
LIVE THROUGH WHAT I JUST SHOWED
YOU, THE AMOUNT OF TIME WHERE HE'S NOT
IN CONTROL, AND WHETHER HE THINKS IT'S FAIR OR NOT, WHETHER IT'S AN INDIGNITY OR NOT, WHERE HE JUST SAYS, "YES SIR, NO,
SIR, THANK YOU SIR."
THEY WANTED TO EXEMPT HIM FROM
THAT. NOW MIND YOU, THEIR IDEA WAS THAT
THE LAWYERS WOULD STILL BE THERE TO
FIGHT FOR HIM, BUT HE WOULDN'T
HAVE TO BE THERE AT THE NEXT
HEARING.
NOW, THIS IS A LOGISTICAL ITEM.
IT'S NOT GOING TO IMPACT THE
RESOLUTION OF THE TRIAL.
BUT TRUMP'S LAWYERS I CAN REPORT
FOR YOU TONIGHT, LOST ON THAT
YESTERDAY.
BECAUSE OF THE NEW TRANSCRIPT I CAN
TELL YOU THE JUDGE JUST SWIFTLY
REJECTS THE ENTIRE TRUMP
REQUEST.
QUOTE, "I EXPECT ALL OTHER
DEFENDANTS TO APPEAR IN COURT,
EVEN HIGH PROFILE DEFENDANTS. I THINK, IN THE INTEREST OF
TRANSPARENCY AND ASSURING THE
RULES OF LAW EVENHANDEDLY, I'M
GOING TO DENY YOUR APPLICATION."
END QUOTE.
DENIED.
IT'S THAT QUICK.
NOW, A JUDGE CAN TAKE MORE TIME
ON LARGER QUESTIONS OF COURSE.
THIS WAS ANOTHER WAY THAT TRUMP
LEARNED HE IS IN A DIFFERENT
ARENA.
THIS ISN'T A CONGRESSIONAL
SUBPOENA OR A CIVIL CASE WHERE
HE CAN JUST DRAG OUT EVERY STEP
FOR MONTHS OR MORE.
SO WHILE THIS WAS EMPHASIZING A
KIND OF A PROCEDURAL POINT --
IT DOESN'T TELL YOU WHETHER HE'S
GUILTY OR NOT, BUT TRUMP'S
LAWYERS ASKED AND A JUDGE
REJECTED THEM AND SAID NO, AND
THAT'S THE END OF THAT.
HE MUST SHOW UP AT THE NEXT
HEARING OR IF HE DIDN'T HE'D BE
FACING THAT POTENTIAL BENCH
WARRANT AND ARREST TO BE BROUGHT
THERE.
THIS ALL HAPPENED YESTERDAY.
THIS IS HOW TRUMP OBEYED AND
ACCEPTED THE JUDGE'S RULINGS IN THE AFTERNOON
WITH LITTLE CHOICE.
AND AT NIGHT HE WENT OUT AND GAVE ONE OF HIS
SPEECHES, WHICH WE'RE NOT AIRING ALL OF IT,
THOUGH WE WILL AIR HIS LEGAL DEFENSES, AND WE'VE HAD HIS LAWYERS ON HERE, BUT
WE'RE NOT GOING TO AIR JUST AN ENDLESS SET OF RAMBLING
ATTACKS, AND IN THAT SPEECH HE
TRIED TO PLAY TOUGH AGAIN.
BUT TRUMP'S LAWYERS, WITH AN
OPEN CASE AGAINST HIM, ARE
TRYING TO TOE A DIFFERENT LINE.
THEY'RE TRYING TO EMPHASIZE
TRUMP HEARD THE JUDGE AND
THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP HIM IN
LINE.
>> [REPORTER] DID YOU TELL YOUR CLIENT, DID YOU DO
WHAT THE JUDGE ASKED YOU TO DO, AND ADVISE HIM
TO KNOCK IT OFF?
>> [JOE TACOPINA] PRESIDENT TRUMP HEARD THE
JUDGE.
>> [ARI MELBER] PRESIDENT TRUMP HEARD THE
JUDGE.
AND IN COURT, PRESIDENT TRUMP
SAID YES TO THE JUDGE AND THANK
YOU TO THE JUDGE, AND HE WATCHED AS HIS VAUNTED
LAWYERS, THAT ONE AMONG
OTHERS, DIDN'T REALLY GET AS FAR AS YOU
CAN GET WITH THESE GAMES IN CIVIL
COURT OR WITH CONGRESS OR WITH
THE SUPREME COURT APPEALS OR WHILE YOU'RE A SITTING PRESIDENT.
AND THERE ARE REASONS WHY THERE ARE
DIFFERENT STANDARDS.
THIS IS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR
HIM.
YESTERDAY WAS THE FIRST TIME HE
WATCHED AS HIS LAWYERS COULDN'T
EVEN BUY HIM AN HOUR ON A QUESTION. JUST "NO." JUST "YOU HAVE TO BE HERE NEXT TIME." AND "THAT'S HOW IT'S GONNA BE." THIS IS THE FIRST FULL DAY OF DONALD TRUMP'S LIFE AS "DEFENDANT DONALD TRUMP." AND HE WILL BE LEARNING AS HE GOES.