(NEW YORK) — At least six to eight people are still unaccounted for after a massive housefire engulfed a Pennsylvania residence where authorities were responding to an emergency call, officials said Wednesday.
While responding to the home Wednesday afternoon, officers were “immediately met by gunfire,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday.
During the incident, the house became engulfed in flames while shots were still being fired from the home, Stollsteimer said.
There is a family that lives in the home, including children, according to authorities.
Police will search for bodies and evidence Thursday morning since the house was still burning Wednesday evening, Stollsteimer said.
The two male officers, who were with the East Lansdowne and Lansdowne police departments, each sustained a single gunshot wound, Stollsteimer said. They were pulled from the scene to safety by responding officers from the Upper Darby Police Department, he said.
The injured officers are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Stollsteimer.
A 911 caller reported that an 11-year-old girl had been shot at the residence in East Lansdowne, according to Stollsteimer.
Authorities have been unable to enter the residence to determine if the shooter is still alive or if there were any other occupants, Stollsteimer said. It is also unclear if an 11-year-old had been shot, he said.
“We are still actively investigating the scene,” Stollsteimer said.
No shots had been fired since and the fire has “largely burned out the house,” Stollsteimer told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI-TV.
A neighbor, John White, told reporters at the scene he heard gunfire and sometime later, “13 or 15 more shots.” He said he “got low” during the incident, and SWAT members later evacuated him from his home.
(NEW YORK) — The parents of a newborn who had been decapitated during birth held a press conference on Wednesday after the Clayton County, Georgia Medical Examiner’s Office declared the baby’s death a homicide.
Dr. Roderick Edmond, one of the family’s attorneys and a medical doctor, pointed particularly to the hospital staff’s alleged attempt to hide the decapitation from the parents.
“It’s diabolical in my mind,” Edmond said. “That they tried to basically force her to get the baby cremated to basically spoil the evidence. That they lied to them saying, ‘You can’t get a free autopsy at the expense of Clayton County.'”
The medical examiner’s office ruled the cause of death as a homicide, with the immediate cause of death listed as a fracture-dislocation with complete transection of the upper cervical spine and spinal cord.
Homicide, in this case, means the death was caused by the actions of another person, and not to be confused as a criminal charge, according to the coroner’s office.
Jessica Ross, 20, the mother of the baby, Treveon Taylor, Jr., was quiet during the entire press conference. When asked by her lawyers if she had any words, Ross burst into tears and was escorted to another room.
“We just want justice for our son,” Treveon Taylor, Sr, the infant’s father, said. “They lied to us. They ain’t let us touch him. We don’t like it. We just want justice for our son.”
Ross and Treveon Taylor, Sr., were in Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia, on July 9, 2023 for the birth of their son, according to a statement from their lawyers. The baby’s shoulders got stuck in the vaginal canal during the attempted vaginal delivery, a fetal emergency known as shoulder dystocia. Ross pushed for three hours without delivery, according to a lawsuit filed by the parents against the hospital in August 2023. An obstetrician and other hospital staff were present during the birth, according to the lawsuit.
“When there’s a shoulder dystocia there’s certain tried and true things that must be done,” Edmond said. “Things that must be done by the nurses – putting fundal pressure … and there should be an alert made to all people in the hospital so that other people can come get fresh eyes on the situation … we alleged that this was not done.”
The obstetrician applied excessive force to the infant’s head and neck during the attempted vaginal delivery and the nurses did not adhere to the hospital’s procedures resulting in the baby’s death, according to the complaint.
After about three hours of the attempted vaginal delivery, the obstetrician moved Ross to an operating room to attempt a Cesarean section, according to the lawsuit. The infant’s body was delivered through Cesarean section, the head was delivered vaginally and the baby was already deceased due to the excessive force applied by the obstetrician when she attempted to deliver the baby vaginally, according to the complaint.
Though Ross and Traveon Taylor Sr. knew their son did not make it, Edmond claims the hospital staff did not inform the parents that their baby was decapitated. Medical staff allegedly tried to convince them to cremate the body to destroy evidence, and told them that a free autopsy was not available through the county, and only allowed them to see their child through a looking glass, as he was wrapped in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body to allegedly hide the decapitation, according to Edmond.
The parents didn’t find out about the decapitation until three days after the delivery when a funeral home in possession of the baby’s body notified the county medical examiner’s office, according to Cory Lynch, one of the family’s lawyers.
The hospital did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for a statement. Southern Regional Medical Center Spokesperson Kimberly Golden-Benner told USA TODAY in August that they could not respond to matters concerning pending litigation but “denies the allegations” against it.
“Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event,” the hospital released in a statement. “Our prayers also remain with the dedicated team of physicians, nurses and staff at Southern Regional Medical Center who cared for this patient.”
The Clayton County Police Department opened their own independent investigation, according to a statement sent to ABC News by the medical examiner’s office. The Clayton County District Attorney’s Office told ABC News in a statement that it is awaiting an investigative file and charges to be forwarded to their office. The police department did not immediately get back to ABC News’ request for a statement.
(ATLANTA) — Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday renewed his request to the judge overseeing his Georgia election interference case to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and dismiss the indictment against him, saying that her “egregious misconduct demands” it.
The filing refers specifically to comments Willis made during a church speech in early January after the misconduct allegations were first lodged against her, during which she suggested the accusations were racially motivated.
Trump has accused her of violating her office’s ethics requirements with what he called “improper extrajudicial public comments.”
Trump’s filing came in response to Willis’ court filing last week in which top prosecutor Nathan Wade admitted to the two of them having a “personal relationship” — but in which Willis flatly denied allegations that she benefitted financially from the arrangement or that she violated conduct rules with her statements at the church.
“Defendant Trump’s motion raising public comments made by District Attorney Willis that neither reference this case nor these defendants as a basis for disqualification is transparently meritless,” Willis said in her filing last week.
Trump’s filing on Wednesday pushed back on Willis’ claim that the church statements didn’t reference the case.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” said the filing by Trump attorney, Steve Sadow. “Stated succinctly, the DA’s position in its filed response is preposterous and disingenuous at best, and an outright lie at worst. It is an after-the-fact futile attempt to mislead this court.”
Willis, addressing the congregation last month at the Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a service to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, said, “I appointed three special counselors. It’s my right to do. Paid them all the same hourly rate.” Of the three, Willis said, “I hired one Black man.”
“They only attack one,” she said. “Isn’t it them playing the race card when they only question one?”
Trump’s filing claims Willis’ conduct in making those comments “was indeed egregious” and “undeniably unethical.”
As such, Trump renewed his call for Willis to be disqualified and for his election interference indictment to be dismissed, saying that Willis had “made a calculated and purposeful choice here to disregard her special ethical responsibilities as a prosecutor because she conceived it was in her own best interest to do so.”
“The State knows better,” the filing said. “The State knows that improper extrajudicial public comments by a prosecutor in the State of Georgia may be dealt with by disqualification.”
The filing from Trump’s attorney also appeared to reference the recent subpoena sent to Willis for her to testify at the upcoming Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing on the matter, saying he can “only hope” that at the hearing “the DA will be required to explain” the church comments “in testimony under oath,” and “who else she could have been referring to in them.”
Willis, in her filing last week, asked Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee to effectively cancel the Feb. 15 hearing, claiming that “no further factual development is necessary.”
On Wednesday, she filed additional motions seeking to quash subpoenas that had been issued to her, Wade, and seven other members of her office.
She argued in her filing that there is “no factual basis” that “could reasonably justify requiring” her and a number of her employees to become witnesses in the case, and accused election case defendant Michael Roman, who issued the subpoenas, of “an attempt to conduct discovery in a (rather belated) effort to support reckless accusations.”
The filing further claims that the investigators in her office who were subpoenaed have “no knowledge at all” of the issues raised in Roman’s motion alleging misconduct.
The filing also seeks to quash a subpoena to Wade’s former law partner, who representing him in his divorce proceeding, arguing that he is protected by attorney-client privilege.
It also seeks to quash a subpoena to Synovus Bank for Wade’s financial records, saying that Roman “cannot possibly justify such a fishing expedition.”
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
Four defendants in the case subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $370 million civil lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric Trump and and Donald Trump Jr., and other top Trump Organization executives are accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James of engaging in a decade-long scheme in which they used “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate Trump’s net worth in order get more favorable loan terms. The trial comes after the judge in the case ruled in a partial summary judgment that Trump had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets, leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and his attorneys have argued that Trump’s alleged inflated valuations were a product of his business skill.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 07, 4:54 PM
NY AG says Weisselberg plea should not affect case
New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Wednesday that the potential guilty plea of former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg should have no bearing on the outcome the civil fraud case against former President Trump.
The attorney’s general’s office said it is unaware whether Weisselberg committed perjury while testifying in the case, but does not believe “this development should result in any delay of a final decision.”
Judge Arthur Engoron had asked the parties to weigh in after it was publicly reported that Weisselberg was engaged in plea talks with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to resolve a potential perjury charge.
“In sum, the fact that a defendant who lacks credibility and has already been to prison for falsifying business documents may have also perjured himself in this proceeding or the preceding investigation is hardly surprising,” the AG’s office said in a filing Wednesday, adding that “it should not delay a final decision and judgment imposing remedial measures in this law enforcement proceeding.”
Weisselberg testified during the trial that he was only peripherally involved in certifying the size of Trump’s Fifth Avenue apartment, but on the witness stand he was confronted with email suggesting otherwise.
Feb 06, 12:20 PM
Judge requests info about ex-CFO’s potential perjury
Judge Arthur Engoron is requesting more information about potential perjury committed by defendant Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization CFO, according to an email shared on the court’s docket.
As ABC News has reported, Weisselberg is in plea talks with the Manhattan district attorney’s office to resolve a potential perjury charge, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“As the presiding magistrate, the trier of fact, and the judge of credibility, I of course want to know whether Mr. Weisselberg is now changing his tune, and whether he is admitting he lied under oath in my courtroom at this trial,” Engoron wrote in an email he sent to the parties on Monday.
Engoron requested both parties to send him a letter by Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET detailing “anything you know about this that would not violate any of your professional ethics or obligations.”
“I would also appreciate knowing how you think I should address this matter, if at all, including the timing of the final decision,” Engoron added.
The judge is still weighing his decision in the $370 million fraud case, which he originally indicated would come by the end of January.
Jan 29, 6:29 PM
Trump attorney criticizes independent monitor’s report
Trump attorney Clifford Robert on Monday blasted a report issued last week by the former judge appointed to monitor the Trump Organization as an inaccurate depiction of the firm’s finances intended to justify the continued oversight of the company.
Robert, in his letter Monday to Judge Arthur Engoron, said the report from independent monitor Barbara Jones “twists immaterial accounting items into a narrative favoring her continued appointment, and thereby the continued receipt of millions of dollars in excessive fees,” arguing that her report represented an “unacceptable level of disingenuity.”
“This is truly a joke,” Trump attorney Chris Kise told ABC News in a statement. “Indeed, it is shocking that President Trump has been forced to pay millions for a Monitor to prove what he has said from the outset, namely, there is no financial reporting misconduct, no fraud and simply no basis for this abusive process to continue.”
Jan 27, 6:55 PM
Trump Organization monitor flags financial misstatements
A report issued Friday by the former judge appointed to serve as the Trump Organization’s independent monitor by Judge Arthur Engoron found that the company has been cooperative, implemented some changes, and issued necessary corrections to financial statements; however, the report also outlined multiple errors and misstatements observed by the monitor over her 14 months in the role.
The report, by independent monitor Barbara Jones, was issued at the request of Judge Engoron ahead of his expected ruling in Trump’s civil fraud trial.
“It is important to note that the Trump Organization acknowledged the disclosure issues described after I brought them to its attention and has been open to recommendations to improve accuracy and transparency,” Jones wrote in her report.
However, Jones wrote, “Absent steps to address the items above, my observations suggest misstatements and errors may continue to occur, which could result in incorrect or inaccurate reporting of financial information to third parties.”
Jan 24, 4:11 PM
Trump attorney calls NY AG’s ‘Pharma Bro’ comparison ‘irresponsible’
A day after New York Attorney General Letitia James cited a ruling involving “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli to support a lifetime real estate ban for Donald Trump, a defense lawyer responded in a letter to the court calling the comparison “misplaced and irresponsible.”
The New York AG said Tuesday that a federal appeals court decision upholding a lifetime industry ban for Shkreli should convince Judge Arthur Engoron to impose a lifetime real estate ban on Trump.
Defense attorney Clifford Robert, in response, wrote Wednesday that “the absurdity of the Attorney General’s latest effort would be almost comical but for the sobering future consequences of her shameless abuse of power.”
Robert argued that Trump’s fraud case lacks witnesses, complaints, and victims compared to Shkreli’s case.
In a statement to ABC News, Trump attorney Chris Kise said the ruling in Trump’s case could have far-reaching implications for the New York business community.
“This is not just about President Trump. Every major bank CEO and every Wall Street participant should speak out now before the Attorney General’s shocking and tyrannical interference in the capital markets places all New York business transactions at risk,” Kise said.
Jan 23, 7:43 PM
NY AG cites ‘Pharma Bro’ ruling in seeking lifetime ban for Trump
The New York attorney general’s office says a federal appeals court decision upholding a lifetime industry ban for disgraced “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli should convince Judge Arthur Engoron to impose a lifetime real estate ban on Donald Trump.
In a letter to Judge Engoron, state attorney Colleen Faherty cited Tuesday’s decision in the Shkreli case to justify the NY AG’s request to ban the former president from the New York real estate industry for life.
According to Faherty, New York State Executive Law 63(12) — which was used in the NY AG’s lawsuits against both Trump and Shkreli — gives the court the ability to “issue a permanent and plenary ban in a particular industry.”
“63(12) is the Swiss Army knife of the AG’s Office,” said Tristan Snell, a former lawyer with the New York attorney General’s office who used the law to sue Trump over the now-defunct real estate seminar called Trump University. “If you don’t have laws like this in place, that you basically allow lies and misrepresentations to be endemic.”
A final decision in Trump’s civil fraud case is expected later this month.
Jan 19, 12:47 PM
James releases video of Trump’s April 2023 deposition
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday released video of former President Trump’s April 2023 deposition in the case.
Video of the deposition, the transcript of which was released by the attorney general in August 2023, was released as part of a public records request.
As ABC News reported in August, Trump in the deposition called his real estate portfolio “the Mona Lisa of properties” and suggested his assets were worth far more than what appeared in his statements of financial condition that are at the center of the New York AG’s case.
The videotaped deposition proved to be a preview of Trump’s testimony at trial earlier this month, in which he bragged about his finances and declared himself “an innocent man.”
Jan 16, 8:07 PM
Court of Appeals upholds limited gag order
New York’s highest court has upheld the limited gag order in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.
“On the Court’s own motion, appeal dismissed, without costs, upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved. Motion for a stay dismissed as academic,” New York’s Court of Appeals said in a two-sentence ruling issued Tuesday.
The gag order barred Trump and his lawyers from commenting on Judge Arthur Engoron’s staff during the former president’s 11-week civil fraud trial.
A decision in the case is expected later this month, after closing arguments wrapped up last week.
Jan 11, 5:34 PM
‘This case has never been about politics,’ James says
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, speaking to reporters outside court following the conclusion of closing arguments, dismissed the idea that her case against Donald Trump is about politics.
“This case has never been about politics, personal vendetta, or about name calling. This case is about the facts and the law, and Mr. Donald Trump violated the law,” James said.
James thanked her team, the judge, and Trump’s lawyers before repeating her confidence that “justice will be done” in the case.
“No matter how powerful you are, no matter how rich you are, no one is above the law,” she said.
Jan 11, 5:15 PM
Closing arguments conclude, ruling expected by Jan. 31
Judge Arthur Engoron asked state attorney Kevin Wallace to conclude the day’s proceedings by comparing Trump’s fraud to the actions of financier Bernie Madoff, who defrauded clients out of tens of billions of dollars in the 1990s and 2000s.
“How would you compare the fraud you are alleging to the Madoff Ponzi scheme?” Engoron said.
During a meandering response, Wallace acknowledged that Trump’s fraud was smaller, but “significant given the dollar amounts involved.”
“If you are rich enough, you going to be allowed to do it. You’ll get away with it,” Wallace said.
Engoron concluded the day by estimating that he would issue an opinion in the case by Jan. 31.
He then ended the proceedings.
Jan 11, 4:45 PM
The buck stopped at Trump, state lawyer says
The buck stopped at Donald Trump, and the court should hold him responsible for his company’s actions, according to state attorney Andrew Amer.
“The buck stopped with him, so he was responsible for all the conduct I just reviewed,” Amer said about Trump’s conduct between 2011 and 2015, before his sons took over the company when Trump won the White House.
Though defense attorneys have repeatedly criticized the testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Amer highlighted that Trump’s lawyers never questioned the former president about his testimony that Trump instructed Cohen and then-CEO Allen Weisselberg to “reverse engineer” his financial statement to increase his net worth.
“Based on their decision not to question Mr. Trump on this critical point, the court should infer that the reverse engineering instructions were given by Mr. Trump, just as Mr. Cohen described,” Amer said.
Amer also highlighted what he said was Eric Trump’s inconsistent testimony about his knowledge of his father’s statement of financial condition.
“He went to great lengths to conceal from this court that he was fully aware that his father had a personal financial statement,” Amer said, claiming that Eric Trump and his brother Donald Trump Jr. “approved of and perpetuated those schemes with the intent to defraud.”
Judge Engoron, however, appeared skeptical of Amer’s argument about Trump’s adult sons — particularly Donald Trump Jr. — and interrupted the summation to question Amer.
“What evidence do you have — I just haven’t seen it — that they knew there was fraud?” Engoron said.
Amer responded that the sons should have known about the fraud given their role in the company, and that their inaction amounted to “sticking their heads in the sand.”
“They can’t say they didn’t bother paying attention to it. That is just not a defense,” Amer contended.
Jan 11, 3:40 PM
‘Cash crunch’ drove Trump to fraud, state alleges
The competing obligations between the costs of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and his business obligations created a “cash crunch” at the Trump Organization that motivated the former president to commit fraud, state attorney Kevin Wallace argued during his summation.
Wallace’s theory about the motivation for the alleged fraud, which he articulated for the first time, attempted to explain Trump’s motive for the alleged conduct as well as justify levying a fine against Trump in order to regulate the marketplace.
According to Wallace, the hundreds of millions of dollars saved by the Trump Organization through fraud allowed the company to “stay afloat” during a major “cash crunch” during the 2010s.
During the first half of the decade, the Trump Organization spent roughly $775 million to renovate properties including its Doral and Turnberry golf courses, as well as the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., Wallace said. The idea that the company could have funded these expenses with cash alone was a “fantasy,” according to Wallace.
“By the time you get to 2017, Mr. Trump was becoming president, and the company was getting low on cash,” Wallace said. Faced with the chance of a negative cash flow, the company opted to embrace fraud, according to Wallace.
“They didn’t have to choose between their priorities,” Wallace said about the company’s business expenses and Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump attorney Chris Kise objected to the argument, suggesting the theory was nothing more than conjecture — which prompted a heated exchange with Wallace.
“Chris. Stop. We didn’t interrupt the defendants’ presentation at all,” Wallace shouted while facing Kise.
“I think I agree with Mr. Kise,” Judge Engoron responded, but he allowed the presentation to continue.
Jan 11, 3:05 PM
State attorney says defense provided ‘no new facts’
“We’re back to hearing the same arguments,” Kevin Wallace, an attorney with the New York state AG’s office, began his closing statement following closing arguments from Trump’s defense team.
“Donald Trump is rich, banks like rich people,” Wallace said. “What we have not heard from defendants is any new facts.”
Wallace said the defense failed to assert that any of the alleged fraud was a mistake, other than the overvaluation of the Trump Tower penthouse, and that the defense did not argue the numbers Trump used on his statements of financial condition were accurate.
“If you look at it across time, it becomes clear that fraud was central to the operation of the Trump Organization’s business,” Wallace said.
Wallace took aim at the testimony of defense expert witnesses, calling them a “murderer’s row of experts” who Trump collectively paid at least $2.5 million.
“None of the experts actually presented evidence that is helpful to the court as a fact-finder,” Wallace claimed.
Defense attorney Chris Kise stood up to interject, calling Wallace’s murderer’s row reference “outrageous.” Wallace joked he was referring to the 1927 Yankees.
Jan 11, 1:48 PM
Trump, outside court, says ‘it’s been a pretty successful trial’
Moments after delivering his closing statement, Donald Trump exited the courtroom to criticize the trial as politically motivated.
“This is a political witch hunt the likes of which nobody’s ever seen before. They owe me damages for what they’ve done,” Trump said, repeating his claim that the case against him would scare businesses away from New York.
Nevertheless, the former president appeared pleased with his defense.
“It’s been a pretty successful trial,” said. “I don’t know that we’re going get a fair ruling. But everybody knows what I just said — this is a sham and it’s a shame,” Trump said.
With the defense team’s closings concluded, the state’s closing is scheduled to begin following a break.
Jan 11, 1:34 PM
‘Not how this should have been done,’ judge says of Trump statement
Judge Engoron mostly kept his head down for the duration of Donald Trump’s closing summation, which Trump delivered from his seat at the defense counsel table.
“This is not how this should have been done,” Engoron said seconds before Trump launched into his statement, which contained several accusations that Engonron had tried to prohibit Trump from making.
Calling the state attorneys “disgraceful” and the statute used against him “vicious,” Trump repeated many of his lawyer’s claims before arguing that he is the only victim of fraud in the case.
Trump also criticized Engoron himself, claiming that the judge would not listen to him.
“You can’t listen for one minute,” Trump said.
“Mr. Kise please control your client,” Engoron said while attempting to reign in Trump. But Trump continued.
“I did nothing wrong. They should pay me for what we had to go through,” Trump said. “She sued me to try to get publicity,” he said of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Engoron then held up his phone screen to signal to Trump that he had run out of time for his remarks, then the judge called for a break.
Jan 11, 1:13 PM
Trump, ignoring judge’s warning, tells court he’s an ‘innocent man’
Before Judge Arthur Engoron could even get Trump to agree to the terms the judge had laid down for the delivery of Trump’s closing statement, the former president launched into a five-minute address while seated at the defense table.
It began when defense attorney Christopher Kise asked the judge to reconsider his decision and allow Trump to speak, and Engoron asked Trump if he would stay within the bounds of his closing argument.
Trump pressed immediately on.
“Well I think, your honor, this case goes outside the facts,” Trump said. “The financial statements were perfect. The banks got all their money back. They were as happy as can be.”
Ignoring the judge’s prohibition regarding delving into politics, Trump said, “This is a political witch hunt that should be set aside. We should receive damages for what we’ve gone through.”
He also attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“I’m an innocent man. I’ve been persecuted by someone running for office,” Trump said. “This statute is vicious. It doesn’t give me a jury. It takes away my rights.”
He said the tripling of the square footage of his Trump Tower penthouse on his statement of financial condition was a mistake — “an honest mistake” that was corrected.
Trump declared, “This is a fraud on me. What’s happened here sir is a fraud on me.”
Jan 11, 1:00 PM
Lawyer says no evidence implicates Trump’s sons
Defense attorney Clifford Robert rounded out the defense summations by repeating claims that no evidence implicates his clients Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
“There is not one witness who says that Eric Trump or Donald Trump Jr. had nothing more than peripheral involvement with the statement of financial condition” that’s at the heart of the case, Robert said. He added that even former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen — who he described as “the biggest liar on the face of the planet” — failed to implicate his clients.
Delivering his summation from the far side of the courtroom as if he was addressing the courtroom’s jury box, Robert frequently pointed to the courtroom’s gallery where Eric Trump sat in the first row.
“They have their futures ahead of them,” Robert implored Judge Engoron, warning that the case could result in a professional “death penalty” for Trump’s two eldest sons and could harm their families.
Like his co-counsel, Robert criticized the case as politically motivated.
“This is a press release wrapped up in a lawsuit,” he quipped.
Robert concluded his statement by requesting that all the causes of action alleged against Trump’s sons be dismissed.
Jan 11, 12:48 PM
Trump lawyer calls case ‘political agenda,’ drawing rebuke
The second of three defense attorneys to present closing arguments, Alina Habba, began her statement with accusations of political motives.
Habba, who also serves as Trump’s legal spokesperson, said, “This case started before Ms. James took office,” referring to New York Attorney General Letitia James. “You are now being dragged through a political agenda.”
The accusation prompted an interjection from Judge Engoron, who earlier in the week instructed Trump’s attorneys via email that Trump — should be participate in the closings — would have to abide by the same rules lawyers must adhere to when delivering a closing statement, namely “commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.”
Habba pivoted, declaring that Trump “is worth billions” and arguing that there could be no fraud. She said the Trump Organization and its executives relied on the company’s outside accounting firm, Mazars USA, to flag any impropriety with asset valuations and how they were calculated.
“We have wasted years, you and me, your honor, and for what?” Habba said.
Jan 11, 12:16 PM
Trump attorney warns ruling ‘impacts every corporation in NY’
Trump attorney Chris Kise wrapped up his closing statement by warning that the upcoming ruling in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial “impacts every corporation in New York.”
“This decision is not just about President Trump,” Kise said.
“What you do, judge, impacts every corporation in New York. The commercial marketplace would cease to exist as we know it,” Kise warned.
Kise repeated his claim that the alleged fraud lacks any witnesses, allegations of fraud, and lost money; instead, the case is simply the “weaponization” of New York Executive Law 63(12), he argued.
“You cannot allow the attorney general to pursue a victimless fraud and enforce the corporate death penalty,” Kise said.
Jan 11, 12:03 PM
‘You can’t just make up a number,’ Trump lawyer says of $370M fine
Trump’s attorney Chris Kise hammered away at the New York attorney general’s request for a fine of $370 million, calling the request “pure speculation” in his closing argument.
“You can’t just make up a number in the sky,” Kise argued, criticizing the New York AG for stepping into private transactions.
“The attorney general is going to come along ten years later because she does not like Donald Trump,” Kise said.
Arguing that Trump’s main lender at Deutsche Bank was happy to do business with the Trump Organization despite accusations that Trump overvalued his assets, Kise said that the state is attempting to rely on expert testimony due to a lack of testimony from bankers alleging wrongdoing.
Judge Engoron intervened twice during Kise’s argument to cast doubt on the claim that happy bankers mean there was no wrongdoing.
“If the bank doesn’t say it’s material, then it’s simply not material,” Kise responded.
“That’s not logically correct,” Engoron said. “You can’t just get a witness to say it was not material to us, so it was not material.”
Kise also spent a significant portion of his closing statement criticizing former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who he argued was the only witness to support the attorney general’s claim of a conspiracy to defraud lenders.
“We have an individual who comes into the courtroom and lies right in front of you, and the attorney general wants you to find him credible,” Kise said regarding Cohen reversing his testimony during the trial.
Jan 11, 10:58 AM
Trump lawyer says case ‘manufactured to pursue a political agenda’
Defense attorney Chris Kise began his closing argument by reciting the greatest hits of Trump’s defense case, highlighting the lack of victims, intent, and claims of wrongdoing.
According to Kise, Trump’s net worth is higher than claimed in his statement of financial condition, and the entire case was “manufactured to pursue a political agenda” by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“There is no testimony from anyone as to how the defendant’s conduct allegedly harmed the marketplace,” Kise said with Donald Trump looking on from three feet behind him.
Kise then touted the testimony of the former president, who he praised for “shaping the skyline of New York,” as evidence that he and his sons committed no wrongdoing.
“There are few people in the world who have succeeded in the real estate industry this well, that have been this successful,” Kise said of Trump.
Kise instead placed the blame for the case on Trump’s deputies at the Trump Organization and his accountants at Mazars USA.
“President Trump relied on multimillion-dollar accountants at Mazars,” Kise said. “Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey McConney, and Donald Bender were the three most principally involved in the presentation and preparation of the statements of financial condition. Guess which one is a CPA? Bender.”
Jan 11, 10:22 AM
Closings underway with no mention of Trump’s role
Trump attorney Chris Kise began his closing argument after Judge Engoron opened the proceedings without addressing Trump’s desire to deliver part of the defense’s closing statement.
Trump is seated in his usual seat at the defense counsel table, sandwiched between his attorneys.
Engoron lobbed jokes while the pool cameras prepared to enter the courtroom.
“Lining them up — are they going to be shot or something?” the judge quipped. “I see the usual mixture of anticipation and dread out there. Trust me, this will be painless.”
Jan 11, 10:12 AM
‘I want to speak,’ Trump says on way into courtroom
Speaking to reporters before entering the courtroom, Donald Trump said he still hopes to deliver a portion of the closing statement despite Judge Engoron denying that request yesterday after Trump’s lawyers declined to agree with the rules Engoron set restricting Trump from making political statements and criticizing those involved in the trial.
“I want to speak, I want to make the summation,” Trump told reporters. “At this moment, the judge is not letting me make the summation because I’ll bring up things that he doesn’t want to hear.”
“So I hope to speak, and to help my lawyers reveal all of the defects of this case,” said Trump, who called the case “very unfair” and “very bad for New York state companies.”
Jan 11, 9:34 AM
Trump, James arrive at courthouse for closing arguments
Donald Trump has arrived via motorcade at the lower Manhattan courthouse where closing arguments are scheduled to take place.
The former president pulled up shortly after New York Attorney General Letitia James arrived.
Traffic around the courthouse was briefly disrupted about half an hour before Trump’s arrival by a group of protesters chanting “No dictators in the USA” as they waved signs and displayed a large banner.
Jan 11, 8:38 AM
Judge receives bomb threat ahead of closing arguments
Judge Arthur Engoron received a bomb threat at his New York home this morning, just hours before closing arguments are scheduled in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, according to a court official.
In light of the threat, the court is adding additional security for the judge, the court official said.
Nassau County Police bomb technicians responded to Engoron’s home out of an abundance of caution. Nassau County Police notified the court system of the threat, which they say they have determined to be unfounded.
Today’s court proceedings are expected to proceed as planned.
Jan 11, 8:23 AM
Trump to attend court, still hopes to present closing statement
Donald Trump is set to attend his civil fraud trial today, where he still hopes to participate in the defense’s closing statement despite Judge Arthur Engoron rejecting that request yesterday.
The former president last night dismissed the idea that spending time in the courtroom is impacting his campaign ahead of Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
“No — we’re leading by record numbers,” Trump told ABC News.
The defense team’s closings are scheduled to take place from 10:15 a.m. ET to 12:45 p.m. ET, while the state’s closing is scheduled from 2:15 p.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET.
The defense plans to use most of its allotted time, and the attorney general’s office has indicated their closing statement would run roughly one hour, according to emails shared on the court’s docket yesterday.
Mengshin Lin for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(HONOLULU) — A new bill in Hawaii aims to ban foreigners from purchasing land in the Aloha State.
State Sen. Brenton Awa, who introduced the bill, says it could address concerns about the ongoing housing crisis in the state.
“During the pandemic, right before I got into office here, we saw the home prices jump up $400,000 within a year, and that was because people outside were coming in,” Awa told local news outlet KHON-TV. “When they’re coming in with cash and our salaries over here are less than those of the people who are ready to retire, we can’t compete.”
The legislation reads: “At the time of purchase, a buyer of real property or an interest in real property shall provide an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury attesting that the buyer is not a foreign principal.” The legislation defines a “foreign principal” in part as “any person who is domiciled in a foreign country and is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.”
In this Feb. 19, 2010 file photo, a homeless encampment is seen on the west side of Oahu, Hawaii.
Andre Seale/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, FILE
Residents have long complained about the impact of tourism and luxury home and resort development on housing accessibility, as well as the lack of affordable housing and rentals for residents. Hawaii residents have some of the highest housing costs in the nation — 2.5 times higher than the national average — according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
The Maui wildfires burned thousands of structures in August 2023, including many affordable housing units, exacerbating the housing crisis.
State Attorney General Anne Lopez expressed concern about the bill’s “constitutionality and legality.”
She said the bill has potential, as written, to “subject the State to litigation and to cause the State to incur substantial monetary liability,” as well as its potential to violate the 14th Amendment, Fifth Amendment and Fair Housing Act.
A bill with similar language was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, but it has been partially blocked amid a legal challenge against the state. That bill specifically restricts Chinese buyers who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from purchasing land in the state.
After signing the bill into law, DeSantis stated the law is intended “to counteract the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the state of Florida.”
Federal appeals judge Nancy Abudu, in her decision, called the law “a blanket ban against Chinese noncitizens from purchasing land within the state” and said it “blatantly violates the 14th Amendment’s protection against discrimination” in her decision.
Awa’s bill in Hawaii is one of several proposed solutions to the housing issue as state officials scramble to implement housing policy amid outrage and calls for action from residents.
In January, Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation to work with federal and county agencies on measures to speed construction of tiny village communities that could offer shelter to unhoused residents.
“As long as we are in a housing crisis, we will treat it like an emergency,” said Green. “This emergency proclamation streamlines the construction process for housing, removing unnecessary red tape, and enables our community partners to tackle homelessness and the housing shortage head-on.”
Green has also implemented emergency declarations to restrict price gouging on necessities, including rent, food and water, as Lopez investigated dozens of reports of rent hikes and evictions following the tragedy.
Meanwhile, Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen proposed amending the County Code to exempt short-term vacation rentals, timeshares, and non-owner-occupied housing from paying real property taxes while they rent to Maui residents who have been displaced by the Aug. 8 tragedy.
Across Hawaii, homes have been converted to short-term rentals, taking up large swaths of potential long-term rental units.
Owners of properties assessed at over $1 million who choose not to rent their property to displaced victims would see an increase in their property taxes, according to Bissen.
“I believe that a shared sacrifice is necessary at this time,” Bissen said in a statement. “Owners who help our disaster-impacted families by making their units available will receive a tax waiver. While those who choose not to can help by contributing more in taxes to make up for the loss of tax revenue.”
(NEW YORK) — A teenager was shot and killed by a police officer conducting a welfare check at a residence in Nebraska, state police said.
The Nebraska State Patrol said it is investigating the shooting, which occurred Tuesday afternoon in Columbus, a city located about 90 miles west of Omaha.
“The Columbus Police Department was conducting a welfare check on a subject following a report of potential self-harm,” Nebraska State Patrol said in a press release.
During the response, an officer shot the 17-year-old boy, state police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Columbus Police Department contacted the Nebraska State Patrol to conduct the “in-custody death investigation,” which is ongoing, state police said.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave, state police said.
There is no active threat to the community, Columbus police said.
No additional details on the shooting are being released at this time by the Nebraska State Patrol and Columbus Police Department.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — California search and rescue crews are looking for a missing helicopter with five Marines aboard, the U.S. Marine Corps said.
The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter was “reported overdue” to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Tuesday night. The helicopter departed from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas and was en route to Miramar, in the San Diego area.
The Marines have asked for help from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and Civil Air Patrol.
The sheriff’s department said it received a call at 1:50 a.m. and sent its own helicopter to search, but the helicopter wasn’t able to reach the area due to the atmospheric river storm hitting the region. The sheriff’s department said it has now sent off-road vehicles to navigate the rough terrain.
Firefighters responded to the point where the helicopter was last known, and nothing was found, Cal Fire officials said.
(WASHINGTON) — The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, according to a statement.
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” the statement said.
The ADIZ is a zone that stretches out 150 miles from the U.S. coastline where the U.S. requires aircraft to identify themselves.
NORAD tracks aircraft in the region through a “layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft,” according to their statement, and they say they remain “ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.”
Russia’s defense ministry issued a press release about a long-range training flight by bombers to the Arctic that might offer a description of some of the Russian bombers in this incident saying that two Tu-160 strategic missile carriers performed a flight over the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean and the Laptev Sea, lasting over 10 hours.
“The flight was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace,” said the commander of long-range aviation, Lt. Gen. Sergei Kobylash, whose words were reported to the Russian Ministry of Defense. “Long-range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean.”
Strategic bombers Tu-160, Tu-95MS and long-range bombers Tu-22M3 are part of the long-range aviation of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation. Long-range aircraft are the air component of the Russian nuclear triad, but they can also carry out strikes with conventional missiles and bombs, including cruise missiles, says the Russian Ministry of Defense.
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation Tuesday into Harvard University for possible discrimination after Arab and Muslim students filed a civil rights complaint against the university.
More than 60 DOE investigations into K-12 schools, colleges and universities have been opened for alleged discrimination regarding shared ancestry since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
“We support the work of the Office of Civil Rights to ensure students’ rights to access educational programs are safeguarded and will work with the office to address their questions,” Jason Newton, director of Media Relations & Communications at Harvard, said in a statement to ABC News.
The Muslim Legal Fund of America, which filed the complaint on behalf of the students in January, alleges that the students have been targeted with “rampant harassment and racist attacks including doxxing, stalking and assault simply for being Palestinian, Muslim, and supporters of Palestinian rights.”
The group also alleges that some students have been assaulted for wearing keffiyehs, which are traditional Palestinian scarves.
The students who filed the complaint attend Harvard College, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Divinity School, and Harvard Law School. This is at least the second complaint made against Harvard in recent months.
“Our complaint addresses Harvard’s failure to protect more than a dozen students from harassment, intimidation, and threats based solely on their status as Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and supporters of Palestinian rights,” the legal fund said. “This investigation signifies an important step toward accountability and justice for these students, who all deserve the right to learn in a safe environment and the freedom to express their views.”
Harvard has also been under scrutiny for alleged antisemitic activity, prompting administrators to create a Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism.
After the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights receives a complaint, it evaluates and determines whether it will open an investigation, according to the agency.
These investigations have been opened under Title VI, a law that bans discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any institution or program that receives federal funding from the DOE.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, some college students — including students from Jewish and pro-Israel communities — told ABC News that they do not feel safe on campus and they do not feel supported by their universities.
Harvard has been under scrutiny since tens of student groups issued a statement on the overseas conflict in Israel following the attack. It stated that Israeli policies and its impact on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” following the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 27,585 people have been killed and 66,978 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
In a previous request for comment on the civil rights complaint, the university said it did not have a comment. Instead, school officials pointed to a list of supports and resources the university put in place for students and pointed to last Friday’s announcement of a Presidential Taskforce on Combating Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Bias.
Harold Staten (right) with his son Harold DeBose (left) celebrate after Staten was exonerated from prison after nearly 40 years behind bars. (Pennsylvania Innocence Project)
(PHILADELPHIA) — A man incarcerated for nearly 40 years was released from prison on Monday after a judge ruled his conviction be overturned.
Harold Staten, 71, was found guilty after prosecutors said he set a 1986 fire that killed a man in Philadelphia after his home burst into flames, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. Charles Harris and three others jumped from the home’s second floor. Harris succumbed to severe burns three days later.
“We have been working on Harold Staten’s case in various ways for over a decade and are elated that he is now home with his family to start the next chapter of his life after nearly 4 decades of wrongful incarceration,” the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which filed the petition for his release, told ABC News in a statement.
Staten’s conviction decades ago was based on science that was considered flawed by a judge on Monday and conflicting testimonies from a teenager after the fire, according to the district attorney’s office. Staten was serving a life sentence without parole for arson, second-degree murder and other related charges.
“Current fire investigations rely on a modern understanding of fire dynamics and the scientific method — all of which was absent from the investigation in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Carry Wood told ABC News in a statement. “A review of Mr. Staten’s conviction, which included a report from a former ATF Special Agent and Certified Fire Investigator, led us to conclude that there is little credible information that could stand up his murder conviction today.”
The DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) began to review Staten’s petition for relief in 2022 after the Pennsylvania Innocence Project filed a Post Conviction Relief Act petition, according to the district attorney’s office. The CIU retained a forensic expert who concluded that the original cause determinations of the fire were not supportable under modern fire investigation standards and the cause of the fire should be considered undetermined, rather than arson.
The original determination of the use of a fire accelerant was due to the heavy damage and the fire pattern on the floor in the entryway. Both are not actually evidence of anything more than a fire had occurred, according to the district attorney’s office.
“Fire investigation experts for both the defense and the Commonwealth independently concluded that the tragic fire that led to Mr. Staten’s conviction should never have been classified as an arson,” The Pennsylvania Innocence Project told ABC News. “Not only was Mr. Staten wrongly convicted, but it is likely that no crime even occurred.”
The rowhouse on North Percy Street in Philadelphia erupted into flames at approximately 3:38 a.m. on Oct. 30, 1984, according to the district attorney’s office. Harris, his partner, Marion DeBose, her daughter Juanita and a tenant Robert Williams leaped from a window on the second floor to escape. Harris later died from his burns.
The prosecutors who first tried Staten said he started the fire because of an argument over a can of missing bug spray, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors stated that he poured an accelerant into the house’s front entrance to start the fire.
Witness testimony that put Staten at the scene was challenged in earlier, unsuccessful attempts to throw out his conviction. After the fire, a 17-year-old girl, initially said she didn’t see Staten near the house within the timeframe of the fire, but in an interview afterwards, she said she saw Staten near the front entrance of the home, according to the district attorney’s office. The teen also admitted to using cocaine the night of the incident, the district attorney’s office added.
Information was uncovered that would contest the 17-year-old’s credibility years later, including testimony from her roommate that the prosecution’s witness was severely intoxicated the night of the fire, according to the district attorney’s office.
Staten did not immediately return ABC News’ request for a statement or interview.
“Ultimately it was Mr. Staten’s own relentless efforts to prove his innocence that led to this result,” the Pennsylvania Innocence Project told ABC News.
