NEW: Geoff Berman statement:
“I learned in a press release from the Attorney General tonight that I was ‘stepping down’ as United States Attorney. I have not resigned, and have no intention of resigning, my position"
Verdict in Carroll v. Trump
Jury says Donald Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll:
COMPENSATORY:
Other than reputation repair program: $7.3M
Reputation repair program: $11M
PUNITIVE: $65M
TOTAL: $83.3M
VERY testy exchange between Habba and Judge Kaplan after Habba again asked for adjournment so Trump can attend funeral.
Kaplan: "The application is denied. I will hear no further argument on it."
Habba attempted to speak.
Kaplan: "None. Do you understand that word?
Sit down."
Trump legal adviser Boris Epshteyn just tried to speak in court, but was denied.
Judge Kaplan: "Are you a member of the bar of this court?"
Epshteyn: "I’m a member of the New York state bar."
Kaplan: "Alright, then please have a seat."
One example of Kaplan already not having Habba's complaints: "Ms. Habba, I have heard you. I’ve considered what you have to say. And I have ruled. That’s it. In my courtroom, when a ruling is made, that’s the end, not the beginning, of the argument."
SDNY says they learned today that Epstein had in a locked safe a foreign passport issued in the 1980s, expired, with a photo that appears to be Epstein and a name that is not his. It also gives his place of residence as Saudi Arabia.
Judge Engoron has issued a gag order in the Trump civil fraud trial after Trump posted about the judge's clerk.
Engoron: "Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting emailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff."
Alina Habba asks Carroll about a gun she has said she keeps next to her bed.
Habba: "Do you have a license for that gun?"
Carroll: "No."
Habba: "Are you aware that you have to have a license..."
Kaplan cuts off Habba: "Don't even start."
Crowley's last words: "This isn't a campaign rally. It's not a press event. This is a court of law. And it’s Ms. Carroll’s life. Donald Trump sexually assaulted her. He defamed her. He keeps defaming her." (cont'd)
Judge Engoron just tore into Trump, accusing him of having potentially violated the gag order again with comments he made outside the courtroom. Judge said he is under the impression Trump again disparaged his law clerk. Trump lawyer Chris Kise argued Trump was referring to Cohen
More from Geoff Berman:
"I will step down when a presidentially appointed nominee is confirmed by the Senate. Until then, our investigations will move forward without delay or interruption."
Crowley: "He sat in this courthouse – you saw him – & while he was sitting here he posted more defamatory statements. More lies about Ms. Carroll & this case. By our last case, 22 posts just today. Think about that when you consider how much money it will take to get him to stop"
Trump's Truth Social posts are becoming evidence practically in real time. Carroll's attorney just admitted into evidence a post Trump made yesterday, while they were in court.
New: Former SDNY U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman has told the House Judiciary in his opening statement that in urging him to resign, AG Bill Barr warned him that being fired would “not be good for my resume or future job prospects."
via
@jeremyherb
@mkraju
New: Bragg offered a private retort to Trump’s message calling for protest, telling DA employees in an email that “we do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
NEW: A NY state judge has ordered President Donald Trump to pay $2 million to a collection of non-profit orgs as part of a settlement with the New York state attorney general’s office to resolve a civil lawsuit that alleged "persistent" violations of charities law. Story TK.
After Habba says she intends to question Carroll about a topic previously deemed off-limits, Judge Kaplan scolds her again:
"The last I heard, Ms. Habba, I do not need announcements from counsel about what they intend to do."
Habba stared to speak.
Judge Kaplan: “Sit down.”
After Trump left, his legal adviser Boris Epshteyn got out of his seat.
Judge Kaplan: "Defense counsel ought to remain seated. And that includes you, Mr. Epshteyn, even though you aren't part of the defense counsel."
Deutsche Bank has begun turning over docs to the NYAG, including those related to Trump International Hotel in DC, the Trump National Doral Miami, the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago and Trump's unsuccessful effort to buy the Buffalo Bills.
New: Mary Trump has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, Maryanne Trump Barry and the estate of Robert Trump alleging fraud, which she calls the family “way of life.”
Trump counsel made a motion for Judge Kaplan to recuse himself, saying Carroll lawyer Shawn Crowley was Kaplan's law clerk and that Kaplan has expressed "general hostility" toward the defense.
Kaplan: "Denied."
Uma Thurman says Quentin Tarantino forced her to drive a car she couldn't properly operate during the filming of Kill Bill, resulting in a crash that left her permanent injuries. She obtained the video of it, included here.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's children withdrawn from school after administrators raised concerns about the couple’s lack of adherence to Covid precautions
Judge Kaplan is speaking to the courtroom. "It is a very well-established legal principle in the country that prevents do-overs by disappointed litigants."
Here is what law-enforcement officials found in Jeffrey Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion on Saturday night when they executed a search warrant, according to SDNY’s detention memo:
Habba: "I don't like to be spoken to that way, your honor." She continued to ask for an adjournment, at which point Kaplan cut her off again:
"It’s denied. Sit down."
Two weeks before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump was shown highly classified intelligence indicating that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had personally ordered complex cyberattacks to sway the 2016 American election.
Judge Kaplan to Alina Habba: "You are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. Now, sit down."
This came after Madaio and Habba were arguing to include a slide showing tweets they hadn't entered as evidence.
I am on a plane sitting on the tarmac. The couple behind me is reading each other the Khashoggi news out loud. Earlier I overheard an airport bartender talking about it. People are paying attention.
After Trump threw his hands up in the air and said, "I would love it," Judge Kaplan continued: "I know you would," Kaplan said. "I know you would. You just can’t control yourself in this circumstance, apparently."
In a filing in the Ghislaine Maxwell case today, SDNY prosecutors note that "the investigation into the conduct of the defendant in this case and other possible co-conspirators of Jeffrey Epstein remains active."
NEW: SDNY is charging Michael Avenatti for "attempting to extract more than $20M in payments from a publicly traded company by threatening to use his ability to garner publicity to inflict substantial financial & reputational harm on the company if his demands were not met."
NEW: Another MUELLER referral to SDNY. Mueller has referred an inquiry involving lobbyists Tony Podesta and Vin Weber, as well as former Skadden partner Greg Craig, to NY federal prosecutors.
My story:
Judge Amy Berman Jackson says Manafort's cooperation agreement includes:
-interviews and briefings he'll give to the special counsel's office
- turning over documents
- testifying in other proceedings
Kaplan threatened to kick Trump out of court after Carroll counsel complained again about Trump's commentary. Kaplan: "Mr. Trump has the right to be present here. That right can be forfeited." He continued: "Mr. Trump, I hope I don’t have to consider excluding you from the trial"
Cohen attorney Lanny Davis says that "after Mr. Mueller completes his investigation and issues his final report, I look forward to assisting Michael to state publicly all he knows about Mr. Trump."
Barr asked Berman to resign during a meeting in NY on Friday. Berman refused. DOJ offered him alternative posts. Berman still said no.
Hours later, Barr put out a press release saying Berman was “stepping down,” & two hours after that Berman said he’s not going anywhere. Now:
The standoff opens up a fresh crisis at DOJ, places the leadership of the most prominent federal prosecutors office outside Washington in a precarious position & raises questions about Barr's willingness to steer the dept to suit Trump's political agenda:
Before court broke for the day, Blanche asked that prosecutors disclose their first three witnesses in advance.
Steinglass refused, saying Trump has been tweeting about witnesses. "We're not telling him who the witnesses are."
Merchan: "I can't fault them for that."
Carroll's lawyer Robbie Kaplan is offering as evidence a video of Trump's presser yesterday in which he again disparaged Carroll, calling her "a person I never knew" and calling the trial "a rigged deal."
Stormy Daniels's friend says Trump used to call "all the time" while they were on set.
"She would put him on speakerphone and walk away and he'd still be talking."
The Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office has charged a New York man with threatening to murder and assault two U.S. senators in retaliation for their support for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The senators aren't identified by name in the complaint.
More Engoron: "I stated the last time that any future violations would be severely punished.
Why should there not be severe sanctions for this blatant, dangerous disobeyal of a court order?"
The indictment charges the Trump Organization, Trump Payroll Corporation and Allen Weisselberg. Prosecutors allege a 15-year tax scheme, with 15 felony counts, including a scheme to defraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and falsifying business records.
With the jury out of the room, Carroll's lawyer Shawn Crowley is complaining that Trump is muttering loud enough that the plaintiff's table can hear him. Crowley says Trump is saying Carroll's testimony is false and suggesting she has "suddenly gotten her memory back."
Biden, to
@jaketapper
, on the Justice Department: “I'm not going to be telling them what they have to do and don't have to do. I'm not going to be saying go prosecute A, B or C – I'm not going to be telling them.”
SDNY’s detention memo for Jeffrey Epstein, which argues against bail, says he owns homes in NYC (worth $77M), Palm Beach, New Mexico & Paris, and he owns a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has three U.S. passports, at least 15 vehicles and access to two private jets.
A former Chicago bank executive was found guilty Tuesday of charges alleging he conspired with Paul Manafort to exchange risky bank loans for a high-ranking position in the Trump administration:
After Blanche claimed Trump was going to great pains to comply with the gag order, Merchan lashed out at Blanche. “You’re losing all credibility, I have to tell you right now,” Merchan said. “You’re losing all credibility with the court.”
SDNY has asked a federal judge to revoke Lev Parnas’s bail and have him detained, alleging in a court filing Wednesday that he has made false statements to the government regarding his assets and income & that he misled his pretrial services officer in Florida.
Jury selection in the second Carroll v. Trump trial is complete.
The two prospective jurors who said they believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen were not selected for the jury.
SDNY prosecutors investigating Giuliani have seized wider array of materials than previously disclosed, including email/iCloud accounts of Yuriy Lutsenko & ex Ukrainian Fiscal Service head Roman Nasirov, per redacted court doc that CNN could read by copy/pasting. w/
@KaraScannell
Carroll's lawyers are playing a portion of a videotaped deposition of Trump saying he has a lot of cash. "We have a lot of cash. We have great assets. And we have a very valuable company."
Carroll lawyer Shawn Crowley: "One of the questions you have to decide is whether he acted with malice. What could be more on-brand for Donald Trump than malice?"
Trump was just audible on the microphone. "I wasn't at the trial. I don't know who this woman is. I never met this woman."
Judge Kaplan: "Mr. Trump, please keep your voice down."
Strzok says text was in response to "Trump insulting the immigrant family of a fallen war hero. And my presumption based on that horrible, disgusting behavior [was] that the American people would not elect someone demonstrating that behavior to be president of the United States."
Merchan just admonished Trump, telling Blanche: "Your client was audibly uttering something...I won’t tolerate that. I will not have any jurors intimated in this courtroom. I want to make that crystal clear."
Habba: "Ladies and gentlemen, in our country, you have the right to speak. You have a constitutional right to speak."
Judge Kaplan sustains an objection. "You have a constitutional right to some kinds of speech and not others."
This Trump testimony was wildly different than what he gave in the civil fraud trial. No rambling speeches, no attacks on the judge, no political commentary. He was cut off the moment he veered off course by more than a word or two.
EDNY Judge Kiyo Matsumoto has ordered that Martin Shkreli must forfeit more than $7.3 million in assets.
Yes, that includes the one of a kind
@WuTangClan
album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, which he says he bought for $2 milliom
Check
@NYLawJournal
soon for a story
"I don't believe the polls," Trump said. "I believe the people of this country are smart. And I don't think that they will put a man in who's incompetent."
Trump walked out moments after Robbie Kaplan said this about the prior Carroll trial:
"Did he respect the jury verdict? No. Not at all. Not even for 24 hours."
Judge Engoron: "Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them in any circumstances."
He added: "Failure to abide by this order will result in serious sanctions."
After Trump lawyer Michael Madaio asks the expert witness a series of repetitive questions, Judge Kaplan steps in. "We are now wasting time, big time. Stop it. We all agree that Lincoln was the 16th. Let's move on."
The standoff opens up a fresh crisis at DOJ, places the leadership of the most prominent federal prosecutors office outside Washington in a precarious position & raises questions about Barr's willingness to steer the dept to suit Trump's political agenda:
SDNY has filed a second superseding indictment against Sen. Robert Menendez, this time adding charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for taking action to benefit the government of Qatar.
Kise is continuing to complain about the clerk, saying she is passing notes to the judge.
Judge Engoron pounded on the bench: "That's right!" he shouted. "Confidential communications for my record. Absolute right to it. You don’t have any right to see it"
After Trump lawyer Chris Kise made a reference to Judge Engoron's law clerk, the judge said: "If there is any further reference to anyone on my staff, I would consider expanding the gag order to include the attorneys."
The Second Circuit has ordered expedited consideration of Trump's appeal of the tax return ruling, with Trump's brief due this Friday by 5p. Oral arguments will be scheduled as soon as the week of 10/21.
In other SDNY news:
Geoffrey Berman, recently fired as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will be appearing behind closed doors for a transcribed interview before the House Judiciary Committee next week, according to a congressional aide.
via
@jeremyherb
Borrowing language that Trump used about Carroll, Robbie Kaplan ends her closing argument with this:
"Now is the time to make him pay for it. And now is the time to make him pay for it dearly."
Carroll lawyer Shawn Crowley: “Donald Trump was president when he made those statements and he used the world’s biggest microphone to attack Ms. Carroll, to humiliate her and to destroy her reputation."
"Everything he said was a lie."
Geoffrey Owens, a Yale grad, left his Trader Joe's job after he heard there was a story being prepared on it. "I didn't feel that for my peace of mind & my dignity that I was going to be able to function there in a positive way, spiritually & emotionally."
NEW: At the direction of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, federal agents executed search warrants on longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on at least THREE locations: office, home AND hotel room
Tom Arnold interviewed Michael Cohen for Vice.
Arnold: “This dude has all the tapes — this dude has everything.”
"I say to Michael, 'Guess what? We’re taking Trump down together, & he’s so tired he’s like, 'OK,' & his wife is like, 'OK, f*** Trump.’”
Michael Cohen is expected to be brought to New York City from prison this month for a meeting with top officials from the Manhattan DA's office, a law enforcement official tells CNN, per
@MarkMorales51
.
The DA's office has already interviewed Cohen in prison.