(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) — A woman who believed she was crashing her car into a Jewish school has been arrested by police in Indiana.
Ruba Almaghtheh, 34, allegedly crashed her car into the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge in Indianapolis on Friday, mistakenly thinking it was a pro-Jewish organization, police said. Nobody was injured.
The Anti-Defamation League said that the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge is in fact an extremist organization that is anti-Israel. The Southern Poverty Law Center has also designated the organization a hate group.
Almaghtheh allegedly told an officer at the time of her arrest that she had been watching the news and “couldn’t breathe anymore,” and “referenced her people back in Palestine,” according to a statement provided to ABC News by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).
Since Hamas launched its surprise terror attack on Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to Israeli officials. And more than 10,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
Almaghtheh further stated that she had “passed by a couple times and saw the ‘Israel school’,” police said, and also told police, “Yes. I did it on purpose.”
Almaghtheh was arrested for criminal recklessness. The IMPD said they informed the FBI about the arrest, and the FBI said they are aware and working with the police department.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Last month. citing a rising number of domestic hate crimes against Muslims, Arabs and Jews, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning that the intensification of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas targets in Gaza would keep the United States on a “heightened threat environment in the near-to-medium term.”
Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate panel that while Jewish people make up 2.4% of the United States population, they are the targets of nearly 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.
(WASHINGTON) — Capitol Police say two men cashed a stolen car into a barricade outside the Capitol, and led officers on a foot chase before they were arrested Sunday. Police recovered two handguns during their arrest — one of which was modified to turn the weapon into a machine gun.
Police say on Sunday afternoon, Ricardo Glass and Onosetale Okojie, both 20 years old, were in a stolen white Infiniti Q50 idling at a green light by Union Station — the shopping and transit hub just a few blocks from the Capitol building. Suspecting the driver could be impaired, an officer attempted to make a traffic stop, but the driver sped away, crashing into a Capitol vehicle barricade near 1st and D streets in Northeast D.C.
The two men got out of the car and ran away from the crash, which happened to be near the Capitol Police headquarters. Police chased them on foot and both were captured in the neighborhood.
In the car, police found a Glock handgun with a 22-round extended magazine. Hidden in a nearby flowerbed was a Glock with a “giggle switch,” which can turn it into a machine gun, police said.
Both are facing several charges including carrying a pistol without a license, unauthorized use of a vehicle and unlawful possession of a machine gun.
Capitol Police said they have confiscated more than 30 guns so far this year.
ABC News’ Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — A 64-year-old food deliveryman was fighting for his life Monday after being shot multiple times by an assailant who ambushed him outside a Philadelphia home and stole his vehicle, according to police.
The gunman in Sunday evening’s shooting in a north Philadelphia neighborhood remained unidentified and on the run Monday, police said.
The shooting unfolded around 6 p.m. when the deliveryman, whose name was not released, dropped off a takeout order at a home in the city’s Port Richmond section, police said.
The victim was walking back to his Jeep when he was approached from behind and shot five or six times, according to police and neighbors. The assailant fled in the victim’s car.
Port Richmond resident Phillis Kelly told ABC station WPVI in Philadelphia that the deliveryman was shot after bringing food to her home from a local restaurant.
“It happened so quick. It’s like, why did this happen?” Kelly said.
Kelly said the shooting erupted shortly after she went back into her home.
“[I’m] in shock and anger. Maybe if I would have stayed there another minute, maybe they would have went away. Maybe the driver would have been OK,” Kelly said.
Neighbor James Thompson, who lives across the street from Kelly, said the deliveryman’s Jeep was parked next to his house and that he was startled by the gunshots that rang out.
“We heard five or six, what sounded to be gunshots,” Thompson told WPVI. “I came out to look and saw a guy lying on the pavement and I grabbed my phone and called 911.”
The victim was shot in the chest, back and torso, according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, police said.
The shooting left Port Richmond residents like Thompson shocked and worried that the shooter is still on the loose.
“I have a concern in general but that’s the environment we live in right now,” Thompson said. “I have to figure out how to protect myself and my family as best as I can.”
Another Port Richmond resident, who would only give her name as Ana S., said it was heartbreaking that an “innocent life” was jeopardized for just trying to earn a living.
“It’s just sad. All the violence, all the guns. It’s just sad it’s going on,” she said.
The shooting came as Philadelphia is seeing significant drops in homicides and non-fatal shootings this year compared to 2022, when the city recorded 516 homicides. As of Sunday, Philadelphia police have investigated 360 homicides, a 20% decline from the same period last year, according to the police department’s crime statistics.
Non-fatal shootings in Philadelphia are down about 35% from this time last year, according to the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. As of Sunday, Philadelphia has seen 1,161 non-fatal shooting victims, including 22 in the first week of November, according to the center.
(CHICAGO) — The father of the suspected Highland Park, Illinois, mass shooter pleaded guilty to reckless conduct instead of beginning his trial on Monday, according to Chicago ABC station WLS.
Robert Crimo Jr. was charged with seven counts of reckless conduct, accused of signing the Firearm Owner’s Identification card for his son, Robert Crimo III, to apply for gun ownership. The younger Crimo was 19 at the time and too young to get a FOID card on his own. Illinois at the time required people ages 18, 19 or 20 to have parent or guardian authorization.
Crimo Jr., who was arrested in December 2022, had earlier opted for a bench trial that was supposed to begin Monday.
As a part of the plea deal, Crimo Jr. will serve 60 days in jail and two years of probation, WLS reported.
Crimo Jr. took the plea deal because he “did not want his family to be more torn apart on the public stage than it already is,” his attorney, George Gomez, told reporters on Monday, according to WLS.
And, as a member of the Highland Park community, “the last thing that Mr. Crimo wants is the Highland Park community to relive these tragic events and make a public spectacle of this,” Gomez said.
Crimo Jr.’s son, Robert Crimo III, is accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens of others in the mass shooting at a 2022 Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.
Crimo Jr. told ABC News days after the shooting, “I filled out the consent form to allow my son to go through the process that the Illinois State Police have in place for an individual to obtain a FOID card.”
“They do background checks. Whatever that entails, I’m not exactly sure. And either you’re approved or denied, and he was approved,” he said.
“Signing a consent form to go through the process … that’s all it was,” Crimo Jr. said of his involvement. “Had I purchased guns throughout the years and given them to him in my name, that’s a different story. But he went through that whole process himself.”
Robert Crimo III has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and attempted murder. A trial date hasn’t been set.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York in a $250 million lawsuit that could alter the personal fortune and real estate empire that helped propel Trump to the White House.
Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr., and 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:
Nov 06, 9:55 AM EST
The numbers ‘don’t lie,’ says New York AG
New York Attorney General Letitia James briefly conferred with her team of lawyers in court this morning before taking her seat in the gallery.
Before entering the courtroom, James predicted that Trump will likely engage in “name calling, taunts, [and] race baiting” to distract from his testimony.
“Before he takes the stand, I am certain that he will engage in name calling, taunts, race baiting, and call this a witch hunt,” James told reporters. “But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters are the facts and the numbers, and numbers, my friends, don’t lie.”
Nov 06, 9:48 AM EST
New York AG’s senior counsel to question Trump
Senior Enforcement Counsel Kevin Wallace of the New York attorney general’s office will lead the direct examination of Donald Trump when the former president takes the stand this morning.
Wallace led the depositions of Trump during the New York attorney general’s investigation and also delivered the state’s opening statement in the trial.
“The defendants were lying year after year,” Wallace said in his opening statement.
A constant presence in court during the trial, Wallace joined the New York AG’s office in 2018 after working in the private sector for 15 years.
Wallace and Trump sparred for hours during Trump’s April deposition, according to a transcript of the deposition that was subsequently released by the AG’s office.
“We’re going to be here until midnight if your client answers every question with an eight-minute speech,” Wallace remarked after one of Trump’s lengthier answers.
Wallace tried to press Trump on spreadsheets that Wallace displayed during the deposition, promoting frequent objections from Trump’s lawyers.
“Oh my God — are you people capable of reading a spreadsheet?” an exasperated Wallace said after one objection from Trump’s attorney Chris Kise.
Nov 06, 9:21 AM EST
Trump arrives at courthouse
Donald Trump’s motorcade has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse in lower Manhattan.
Court is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. ET, with Trump scheduled as the day’s only witness.
Nov 06, 8:49 AM EST
Trump prepped for testimony with attorneys, say sources
Donald Trump, in New York, had a prep session with his lawyers Sunday ahead his testimony, sources tell ABC News.
Trump’s mood during the session fluctuated between fits of anger regarding the case and being “in a good head space,” according to sources.
The former president “can be a good witness if he stays focused,” one source said.
Nov 06, 8:23 AM EST
Trump due in court to testify this morning
Former President Trump is due in court to begin his testimony in his $250 million civil fraud trial at 10 a.m. ET.
Hundreds of members of the news media are huddled outside the New York State Supreme Courthouse ahead of Trump’s arrival, with some having waited overnight.
Nov 03, 3:19 PM EDT
Judge extends limited gag order to cover lawyers
After multiple in-court disputes about communications between him and his law clerk, Judge Arthur Engoron modified his limited gag order to cover attorneys in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial.
“Defendants may reference my staff as is appropriate to ask about scheduling issues or the management of the trial, which is an integral part of their jobs. What they may not do is to make any further statements about internal and confidential communications (be it conversations, note passing, or anything similar) between me and my staff,” Engoron wrote in his supplemental limited gag order on Friday.
Engoron wrote that defense lawyers Chris Kise, Alina Habba, and Clifford Robert made “repeated, inappropriate remarks about my Principal Law Clerk, falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial.”
The attorneys have raised multiple arguments during the trial that Engoron and his clerk passing notes between each other suggests impropriety and is distracting. Going forward, if the lawyers want to object to communications with his clerk, Engoron advised that they refer to the order as a “blanket statement.”
“This gag order is as narrowly tailored as possible to accomplish its purpose, which is to protect the safety of my staff and promote the orderly progression of this trial,” Engoron said.
To justify the safety threat, Engoron added that his chambers has received “hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages” since the start of the trial,
The judge threatened “serious sanctions” for violations of the extended order.
Nov 03, 12:30 PM EDT
Eric Trump, leaving court, criticizes case against his family
Standing in the courthouse hallway where his father earlier railed against his civil trial, Eric Trump echoed his father’s attacks on the New York attorney general and the case levied against his family, following the adjournment of court for the day.
“We have an unbelievable company. We have some of the best assets anywhere in the world. We’ve never had a default. We’ve never missed a payment,” Eric Trump said of the Trump Organization.
Like his father, he described the case as politically motivated and decried the involvement of his family.
“They’ve dragged Don and I and Ivanka into it as collateral damage,” he said.
Later, addressing reporters on the courthouse steps, he said that the state’s efforts should be focused elsewhere.
“Let’s get the murderers off the street. Let’s take care of the crime. Let’s rebuild our infrastructure. Everywhere you drive in New York, you hit a pothole and your car gets destroyed,” he said.
Nov 03, 12:21 PM EDT
Court adjourned for the day, with Trump on deck for Monday
Judge Engoron adjourned court until Monday, when the state plans to call former President Trump to the stand.
“We will reconvene on Monday at 10 a.m., and the first witness will be…?” Engoron asked state attorney Andrew Amer.
“The only witness will be Donald J. Trump,” Amer said.
Nov 03, 11:37 AM EDT
Eric Trump pressed on Mar-a-Lago valuation
Eric Trump has stepped down from the witness stand after facing an hour of questions from state attorney Andrew Amer.
Amer concluded his questioning by directly asking Eric Trump about the $2 million severance agreement between the Trump Organization and its former CFO, Allen Weisselberg.
“Did you participate in the business agreement to enter into this business decision with Mr. Weisselberg?” Amer asked.
“Yes,” Eric Trump said.
“Did your father direct you to enter into this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg?” Amer asked.
“No, he did not,” Eric Trump replied. He reiterated, “I did this agreement with Mr. Weisselberg.”
Pressed on the value of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago property, Eric Trump denied knowing that the club was valued for tax purposes as a commercial property used as a social club.
“It is very clear that Mar-a-Lago is not a club, it is a private residence. I don’t see anything wrong with that. 100 percent,” Eric Trump said.
Previous testimony and documents in evidence demonstrated that despite the property being restricted by deed to club usage, Donald Trump continued to overvalue the property as if it could be sold as a private residence. Judge Engoron already found that the club was overvalued by 2,300%.
“Mar-a-Lago is a residence that could be sold to a private individual,” Eric Trump insisted.
Nov 03, 11:15 AM EDT
Eric Trump testifies that he signed financial certifications
Eric Trump said that he signed three financial certifications to lenders that relied on his father’s statements of financial condition, which are at the heart of the attorney general’s case.
“I certified something I believed was accurate. My lawyers told me was accurate, and our financial people told me was accurate,” Eric Trump said.
While Eric Trump did not certify his father’s financial statements themselves, like his brother Donald Trump Jr., the attorney general has alleged that these certifications to lenders are similarly fraudulent.
Eric Trump said that he did not personally review the methodologies or supporting data for the financial statements themselves, instead relying on lawyers and accountants to verify the documents for him.
“I wouldn’t sign something that I thought was inaccurate,” he said multiple times.
Nov 03, 11:03 AM EDT
Trump lawyer broaches mistrial over unproven report of bias
Eric Trump has resumed his testimony this morning.
Before he took the stand, Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise said that the defense team is considering requesting the mistrial on the basis of a Breitbart report alleging bias from Judge Engoron’s law clerk.
“I think the defense will have to give serious consideration to seeking a mistrial,” Kise said, initially referencing a vague media report that “some random individual” filed a complaint on Oct. 3 alleging “accusations of partisan political activity” by the judge’s clerk.
“It’s not information, it’s an allegation,” Judge Engoron initially responded. “I don’t know what you are talking about, and I will respond later.”
A state attorney argued that Kise was arguing a “frivolous position” and requested specifics about the news report Kise cited.
“I’m not the internet person. I want to say it is on Breitbart maybe. It’s on a news outlet,” Kise said, prompting laughter from the gallery.
“This idea that somebody notified me … is absolutely untrue. OK? Absolutely untrue,” Engoron responded. “I will let everybody in the room decide what they think about Breitbart.”
“It’s a shame you descended to this level,” Engoron added.
A court spokesperson subsequently described the report as “not a serious complaint.”
Nov 03, 8:55 AM EDT
NY AG claims Trump Jr., Eric Trump lied to enrich father
After a day of testimony in which tempers at times flared on all sides, Eric Trump will return to court this morning for what is expected to be his final day on the witness stand.
In a video statement posted to social media last night, New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s testimony yesterday highlighted how they lied to help inflate their father’s net worth.
Eric Trump was “intimately involved in lying about the values of properties … to make his father appear richer,” while Donald Trump Jr. “continued to lie” by certifying his father’s financial statements despite being confronted with misstatements, James alleged.
“They pretend that they were not involved in their family’s fraudulent business. But the facts tell a very different story,” James said in the video.
Nov 02, 9:07 PM EDT
Appeals courts rules that Ivanka Trump must testify
A New York appeals court has denied an emergency request from Ivanka Trump to stop her testimony at her father’s civil fraud trial.
Trump’s daughter, who is not a defendant in the case, was subpoenaed by the attorney general to testify.
She is currently scheduled to testify next week on Wednesday.
Nov 02, 6:01 PM EDT
Trump attorney decries trial as ‘waste of NY taxpayer dollars’
Outside court after court was adjourned for the day, Trump attorney Alina Habba defended the actions of Donald Trump’s adult children on the heels of their testimony.
“These children are being brought in, away from their families, for doing nothing wrong,” Habba said.
Echoing Trump, Habba attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James and called the trial “the biggest waste of New York taxpayer dollars I have ever seen.”
“She piggybacked on Trump to get into office. She didn’t do it well enough to become governor,” Habba said, referencing James’ failed attempt to run for New York governor in 2021.
“This is a waste of time,” Habba said.
Exiting court separately with his attorney, Eric Trump shot a thumbs-up to an onlooker ahead of his return to the stand Friday morning.
Nov 02, 5:20 PM EDT
Judge suggests Trump attorney is misogynist, threatens gag order
Court concluded for the day with a threat from Judge Engoron to expand the trial’s limited gag order to include attorneys, after a clash between the judge and defense counsel.
The judge had previously issued the partial gag order prohibiting defendants from making public comments about his staff, after former President Trump posted online about Engoron’s law clerk.
After defense attorney Chris Kise suggested potential bias from the bench, Engoron told him, “Do not refer to my law clerk again.”
“Sometimes I think there might be a bit of misogyny,” Engoron told Kise.
“I have the right to make points on the record,” Kise responded. “If there is bias in the proceedings, I have the right to raise that.”
Engoron, pounding on the bench, shouted into his microphone that Kise had no right to hear conversations between the judge and his clerk.
“I have an absolute, unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk,” Engoron said.
Court is scheduled to resume tomorrow morning when Eric Trump returns to the stand.
Nov 02, 4:41 PM EDT
‘I stick by that 100%’ Eric Trump says of appraisal testimony
Eric Trump confidently stood by his past testimony regarding his limited involvement in an appraisal during a heated exchange with state attorney Andrew Amer.
Amer had spent the better part of the afternoon highlighting emails between Eric Trump and a Cushman & Wakefield appraiser, suggesting that Eric Trump was deeply involved in the appraisal of an estate and golf course in New York’s Westchester County. Attempting to paint the testimony as inconsistent, Amer played another portion the deposition Eric Trump had given to investigators.
“I pour concrete. I operate properties. I don’t focus on appraisals between a law firm and Cushman. It’s just not what I do in my day-to-day responsibilities,” Eric Trump said in the deposition.
“Will you concede that your testimony … that you really haven’t been involved in appraisal work on this property was incorrect?” Amer then asked Eric Trump on the stand.
“No. I really hadn’t been involved with appraisal work on that property,” Eric Trump responded. “I was clearly involved to a very small point. I see your emails. One hundred percent. I made phone calls.”
When Amer continued to press the issue, Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise loudly objected.
“Are you running the courtroom, or is the judge?” Kise shouted to Amer. “It’s asked and answered, asked and answered, asked and answered, and it’s continued all afternoon. At some point it needs to end.”
“There are a handful of emails well over ten years ago … I stick by that 100%” Eric Trump said.
Nov 02, 4:12 PM EDT
Eric Trump denies ignoring appraisal of luxury NY property
Eric Trump denied that he ignored a professional appraisal that would have significantly lowered the value of his family’s Seven Springs estate in New York’s Westchester County.
State attorney Andrew Amer attempted to show Eric Trump multiple emails and calendar invites from 2014 and 2015 to demonstrate that he was personally involved in an appraisal by Cushman & Wakefield executive David McArdle that placed the total value of the property’s undeveloped lots between $30 and $50 million.
Trump’s 2014 financial statement, in contrast, valued the property at $291 million, including $161 for just seven of the undeveloped lots.
“Can we agree that Mr. McArdle’s valuation in relation to the easement donation he was doing was disregarded?” Amer asked.
“No, the exercises are apples and oranges. Nothing to do with each other,” Eric Trump responded.
Nov 02, 3:53 PM EDT
Attorney continues to press Eric Trump on financial statement
Eric Trump grew visibly irritated as he appeared to struggle with his testimony regarding his father’s statement of financial condition.
Resisting state attorney Andrew Amer’s efforts to show he was familiar with the document at the center of the case, he at times raised his voice and punctuated his short answers with phrases like “obviously,” “clearly,” and “as I previously testified.” Other times he responded with lengthy equivocations, prompting Amer to exhort him to keep his answers to “yes or no.”
“You don’t have to give a speech about that,” Judge Engoron implored Eric Trump at one point.
Amer repeatedly asked variations of the same question: Was Eric Trump aware of his father’s statement of financial condition?
“This is not something I ever recall seeing or working on,” Eric Trump said in one clip from his deposition that was played in court. “This is accounting, and that is not what I do on a daily basis.”
Nov 02, 2:49 PM EDT
Eric Trump appears to contradict deposition
After acknowledging in his testimony that he provided Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney with information for his father’s statement of financial condition, Eric Trump was shown video from his own deposition where he appeared to contradict his testimony in court.
“I have no recollection of ever providing Jeff material to be used in a statement that I’ve ever seen,” Eric Trump said in the deposition he gave state attorneys during their probe.
“I don’t think it would have ever registered” what the material was for, Eric Trump said in court today, responding to his own statement during his deposition.
Nov 02, 2:32 PM EDT
Eric Trump clarifies testimony about email
Eric Trump clarified his earlier answer regarding his involvement in his father’s statement of financial condition, in which he was asked if he recalled a 2013 email from then-Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney asking him for notes for the statement.
“I clearly understood I sent notes to Jeffrey McConney,” Eric Trump testified.
“I don’t think that it ever registered [that] it was for a personal statement of financial condition,” he said.
Nov 02, 8:38 AM EDT
Trump Jr. has helped run family’s business for a ‘long time,’ AG says
As Donald Trump Jr. prepares to return to the witness stand this morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James says the Trump Organization executive VP has been with the Trump Organization for a long time for someone who appears to have so little understanding of the business.
In a video posted to social media last night following Trump Jr.’s first day of testimony, James said the eldest son of former President Trump “claimed to have very little understanding of the accounting and legal mechanics of the family business — but we know he has been involved in running the Trump Organization for a long time.”
Trump Jr. testified yesterday that he relied on the expertise of others when he signed the company’s statements of financial condition, distancing himself from the documents at the heart of the attorney general’s case.
While he acknowledged that he had some of the “the most intimate knowledge” about some of the deals described in the statements, Trump Jr. reiterated that he did not have a role in putting the documents together.
“The accountants worked on it. That’s what we pay them to do,” Trump Jr. said.
Trump Jr. will return to the witness stand this morning, with his bother Eric Trump on deck to testify later today.
Nov 01, 5:36 PM EDT
‘I wasn’t involved’ with financial statements, Trump Jr. says
Before stepping down from the witness stand at the end of the afternoon, Donald Trump Jr. was asked repeatedly about his involvement in the Trump Organization’s statements of financial condition — the allegedly fraudulent documents that underpin the attorney general’s case.
Trump Jr., who signed and certified the accuracy of the statements while his father was president between 2016 and 2021, said that he was not involved in preparing the filings.
“I wasn’t involved in the compilation of this statement of financial condition,” Trump Jr. said, placing the responsibility on his accountants.
“Did you work on the statement of financial condition for June 30, 2017?” state attorney Colleen Faherty asked.
“I did not. The accountants worked on it. That’s what we paid them to do,” Trump Jr. said.
Throughout the afternoon, the tone of the proceedings alternated rapidly between lighthearted and heated, varying from playful interactions between Trump Jr. and Judge Engoron, to bitter spats between some of the lawyers.
“I know you don’t like it when good evidence comes in,” Faherty told the defense lawyers during one particularly heated exchange.
“There’s no reason to raise your voice,” Donald Trump Jr.’s lawyer, Clifford Robert, responded.
Trump Jr. is scheduled to return to the stand tomorrow morning.
Nov 01, 4:40 PM EDT
Trump Jr. to resume testimony tomorrow
Donald Trump Jr. has stepped down from the witness stand.
He is due to return to the courtroom tomorrow morning to resume his direct examination.
Court is now adjourned for the day.
Nov 01, 4:25 PM EDT
“Move it along,” judge tells lawyer questioning Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr. and state attorney Colleen Faherty got into a rhythm of quick questions and answers during the first hour of direct examination.
“I moved to Florida, but kept the New York pace,” Trump Jr. joked at one point when asked by the judge to speak slower.
So far the state attorney has focused most of her questions on Trump Jr.’s broader roles and responsibilities at his family’s firm, rather than any specific allegations in the attorney general’s complaint.
“I don’t see where we are going at all with this,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said at one point regarding the questioning.
“Move it along as fast as you can,” Judge Engoron told Faherty.
Nov 01, 3:47 PM EDT
Trump Jr. pressed about departure of ex-CFO
Donald Trump Jr. struggled to answer questions when pressed about why former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg departed the family’s firm.
“Because some legal issues he got himself into,” Trump Jr. said, declining to offer specifics about Weisselberg’s guilty plea on tax evasion charges last year.
Previously giving lengthy answers to questions about his background and even smiling with the judge, Trump Jr. appeared tense on the witness stand as he answered questions about Weisselberg.
“The specific event was he was indicted,” Trump Jr. said.
He added that when began working for the Trump Organization as an executive vice president in the 2010s, Weisselberg outranked him. Trump Jr. would seek Weisselberg’s approval for certain business decisions such as refinancing loans.
“Who is above you in your role as an executive vice president in the Trump Organization?” state attorney Colleen Faherty asked.
“Obviously I would have reported to my father in that period of time … people like Allen Weisselberg would have still been senior to me,” Trump Jr. said of that time period.
Trump Jr. said he gained more responsibility in 2016 when his father became president and he was named a trustee of his father’s revocable trust. He said that he, Weisselberg and his brother Eric Trump became a kind of triumvirate running the Trump Organization.
“We stopped reporting to my father on decisions involving the business,” Trump Jr. said.
That relationship broke down once Weisselberg got himself into “legal issues,” Trump Jr. said. He testified that he could not recall the circumstances of Weisselberg’s exit, including the multimillion-dollar severance deal that Weisselberg received, which Weisselberg faced questions about during his own testimony earlier this month.
“I have no knowledge of the specifics of how it happened. He is no longer working at the Trump Organization,” Trump Jr. said of the former CFO.
Nov 01, 3:22 PM EDT
‘I leave it to my CPAs,’ Trump Jr. says of accounting standards
“Sounds very exciting, but no,” Donald Trump Jr. answered to a state attorney’s question about whether he knows about accounting certifications, professional organizations, or accounting standards other than GAAP, which stands for “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.”
“I know nothing about GAAP,” Trump Jr. said, adding, “I leave it to my CPAs.”
“I’m a real estate broker,” Trump Jr. said as he introduced himself on the witness stand. He testified that he began working in the family real estate business “right after 9/11,” working on Trump Park Avenue and the former Sun Times building in Chicago.
State attorney Colleen Faherty tried to pressed him on his lack of accounting knowledge, prompting several objections from the defense.
Judge Engoron sustained the objections and admonished Faherty against asking negative questions.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.
Nov 01, 3:10 PM EDT
Trump Jr. to be questioned by assistant AG
Assistant New York Attorney General Colleen Faherty will start off the direct examination of Donald Trump Jr.
Faherty is familiar with questioning high-stakes witnesses, having led the direct examination of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen last week.
Her quick objections during Cohen’s cross-examination led Trump attorney Alina Habba to accuse Faherty of trying to “throw off” her game.
A seven-year veteran of the New York attorney general’s office and a former criminal defense attorney, Faherty has been a vocal presence in the courtroom since the start of the trial.
Her willingness to spar with Trump lawyer Chris Kise previously led to some heated exchanges in court, such as a sidebar when Faherty demanded Kise “be more respectful.”
“No,” Kise responded.
“That was rude,” Faherty replied.
Nov 01, 3:01 PM EDT
Donald Trump Jr. takes the stand
Donald Trump Jr. has taken the stand, where he will be the first of the former president’s children to testify.
Before taking the stand, Trump Jr. sat while news photographers snapped pictures.
“I should’ve worn makeup,” he quipped.
Nov 01, 2:30 PM EDT
Ivanka Trump appeals ruling requiring her to testify
One week ahead of her planned testimony, Ivanka Trump has appealed Judge Engoron’s decision to require her to testify in person at the Trump Organization’s fraud trial.
Ivanka Trump’s lawyer Bennet Moskowitz asked an appellate court to decide whether Engoron has jurisdiction to compel her testimony and whether the trial subpoenas issued by the New York attorney general were properly served.
Ivanka Trump, who is not a defendant in the case, is currently scheduled to testify next Wednesday as the final witness in the attorney general’s case before the defense presents its case.
Nov 01, 2:08 PM EDT
Donald Trump Jr. arrives at courthouse
Donald Trump Jr. has arrived at the New York State Supreme Courthouse with his attorney.
Unlike his father and his brother Eric Trump — who have visited the courtroom to watch the proceedings – Donald Trump Jr. has not stepped foot inside the courthouse for the trial until today.
A Trump Organization executive vice president, Trump Jr. is scheduled to testify in the case this afternoon.
Nov 01, 1:44 PM EDT
Defense presses state’s expert on his analysis
Defense lawyer Jesus Suarez spent the first hour of his cross-examination working to cast doubt on expert Michiel McCarty’s analysis, which found that Trump defrauded lenders out of $168 million in interest.
“Who created the universe of documents for you to review? It was the New York attorney general, right?” Suarez said before launching into a rapid-fire succession of questions regarding which lenders McCarty had spoken to in the course of his analysis.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Deutsche Bank?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty said.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Ladder Capital?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty repeated.
“Did you ever interview anyone from Mazars,” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty responded.
“Did you ever interview anyone from the Trump Organization?” Suarez asked.
“No,” McCarty said again.
Nov 01, 12:34 PM EDT
Defense assails judge after he tells them to speed up questioning
Only 15 minutes into what is expected to be a three-hour cross-examination, Judge Arthur Engoron snapped at defense lawyer Jesus Suarez for asking redundant questions.
“I see why this is going to take two or three hours. Some questions become three or four more questions,” Engoron said, interrupting the cross-examination to request that Suarez shorten his questions.
That prompted Trump lawyer Chris Kise to criticize Engoron for placing an unfair standard on the defense team.
“You never give them speeches. You never limit their questions,” Kise said about Engoron’s approach to the attorney general’s legal team. “I think it’s unfair.”
Kise stressed that the cross-examination of the state’s sole expert witness is particularly important since his testimony is likely to play into the judge’s calculation of Trump’s potential fine.
“This witness is the only witness they have that even hints … about ill-gotten gains,” Kise said.
Engoron, however, refused to back down.
“I stand by my rulings and statements,” the judge said.
Nov 01, 12:17 PM EDT
Expert agrees that high-net-worth borrowers get low rates
Defense attorney Jesus Suarez began what is expected to be a marathon cross examination of the state’s expert witness, Michiel McCarty, by attempting to use his words against him.
“Historically banks have been willing to lend to high-net-worth individuals at low rates because they get repaid?” Suarez said, citing McCarty’s direct examination.
“That is correct,” McCarty said.
Suarez then reminded McCarty that Trump’s loans were paid on time — a point that the former president has reiterated during his appearance in court and on social media.
Suarez then asked if McCarty had charged the attorney general’s office $950 per hour for his expert analysis.
“That’s my standard rate, yes,” said McCarty, who estimated that his total bill for his analysis was $350,000.
The state’s expert witness, Michiel McCarty, calculated that Donald Trump’s lenders lost $168 million in potential interest between 2014 and 2023, according to a report he presented in court.
McCarty’s testimony appeared to reinforce a central tenet of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case: that Trump’s misrepresentations in his financial statements cost banks potential earnings from interest, even if the banks made money on the loans.
State attorney Kevin Wallace directed McCarty to a footnote in Judge Engoron’s earlier summary judgment order about the concept of lost interest, in which Engoron said, “The subject loans made the banks lots of money; but the fraudulent SFCs [Statements of Financial Condition] cost the banks lots of money. The less collateral for a loan, the riskier it is, and a first principle of loan accounting is that as risk rises, so do interest rates. Thus, accurate SFCs would have allowed the lenders to make even more money than they did.”
McCarty, who said he agreed with this assessment, ultimately found that banks lost a total of $168,040,168 in potential interest from loans related to four of Trump’s properties in Miami, New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Trump attorney Chris Kise fiercely objected, arguing that McCarty was testifying about facts not established during the trial. During questioning, state attorneys declined to ask a Deutsche Bank executive if the bank would have still done business with Trump had they known his financial statements were inflated.
“They are not ill-gotten gains if the bank does not testify it would have done it differently,” Kise said.
“I decided these were ill-gotten,” the Judge Engoron replied.
Following Wallace’s direct examination of McCarty, defense attorney Jesus Suarez began his cross-examination.
Nov 01, 11:03 AM EDT
State’s expert witness takes the stand
Listing companies like Marriott, Fannie Mae and AT&T, the New York attorney general’s lone expert witness, Michiel McCarty, began his testimony by outlining some of the deals he worked on during his nearly 50-year career.
McCarty said that he has worked as an expert witness on “dozens of cases” and testified at 15 trials. But he acknowledged that he had limited experience with the compilation of statements of financial condition, prompting an objection from Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise.
“It appears that he does not have the specific experience relevant to the purpose he is here,” Kise argued.
Deemed an expert by Judge Engoron, McCarty went on to explain the report he wrote after reviewing Trump’s finances.
Nov 01, 10:49 AM EDT
Former Trump Organization VP testifies about Ivanka Trump
Former Trump Organization VP David Orowitz testified about Ivanka Trump’s involvement with Trump’s Old Post Office property in Washington, D.C.
“Ivanka wanted me to change the language in the GAAP section. She asked that I review with you,” Orowitz wrote in a 2011 email to then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, referring to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used in the preparation of financial documents.
Defense attorneys have previously tried to downplay the extent to which Ivanka Trump was involved in the representation of Trump’s finances.
Orowitz subsequently stepped down from the witness stand to make way for Michiel McCarty, the state’s sole expert witness, to begin his testimony.
Nov 01, 10:14 AM EDT
‘We have a busy day,’ judge says as court gets underway
“We have a busy day and a busy week, so let’s try to move things along,” Judge Engoron remarked as he brought the courtroom to order to begin the day’s proceedings.
“Would you like to continue your witness?” Engoron asked state attorney Eric Haren.
“We would,” said Haren, before calling back to the stand former Trump Organization vice president David Orowitz, who began his testimony yesterday afternoon.
Defense attorneys Chris Kise, Alina Habba, and Jesus Suarez are sitting at the counsel table, leaving one seat available for Donald Trump Jr., who has not yet appeared ahead of his scheduled testimony this afternoon.
Nov 01, 10:01 AM EDT
Trump rails against judge, gag order
Former President Trump continued to attack Judge Engoron this morning, calling him “crazy, totally unhinged, and dangerous” on his Truth Social platform.
“He then put a RIDICULOUS GAG ORDER ON ME, which we will appeal. He fines me at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote this morning.
Trump recently paid $15,000 in fines related to two violations of the limited gag order Engoron established that prohibits public statements about the judge’s staff.
Trump also complained about the potential fine that Engoron could impose in the case. During court yesterday, the judge remarked that disgorgement — fining Trump for profits made through fraudulent means — is a “clearly available remedy” in the case.
“Now they come up with something called ‘disgorgement.’ I never even heard of the term,” Trump said.
Engoron already 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.
Nov 01, 8:45 AM EDT
‘Leave my children alone,’ Trump says ahead of sons’ testimony
Former President Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James on social media ahead of today’s expected testimony from his son Donald Trump Jr.
“Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!” Trump wrote overnight on his Truth Social platform.
Donald Trump Jr. is expected to begin his testimony in the afternoon today.
If that testimony concludes today, his brother Eric Trump could also begin his testimony.
Both of them are executive vice presidents in the Trump Organization.
U.S. Park Police Officer Alexander Roy was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the accidental shooting of a fellow park police officer at a home in McLean, Virginia, on Nov. 5, 2023. — Fairfax County Police
(MCLEAN Va.) — An off-duty U.S. Park Police officer was arrested Sunday and charged with fatally shooting a colleague inside a McLean, Virginia, apartment while allegedly handling a gun he thought was unloaded during an alcohol-fueled get-together, authorities said.
U.S. Park Police officer Alexander Roy was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the killing of fellow U.S. Park Police officer Jesse Brown Hernandez, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
The shooting unfolded about 12:20 a.m. local time on Sunday when the 25-year-old Roy was playing around with a gun he assumed was empty, hitting the 22-year-old Hernandez in the upper body, officials said.
“Roy unintentionally shot the firearm he believed to be unloaded, fatally striking Hernandez,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in a statement. “Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the shooting.”
At the time of the shooting, three of the four individuals inside the apartment were off-duty U.S. Park Police officers, officials said.
Fairfax County officers went to the apartment after receiving a 911 call reporting an adult male had been unintentionally shot, officials said.
When officers arrived at the residence, they found Hernandez dead at the scene, according to authorities.
A preliminary investigation indicated that Roy was allegedly “dry firing” the weapon, or attempting to simulate the discharge of a firearm by pulling the trigger of the gun he thought was unloaded, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
After consulting with prosecutors, Roy was charged with Involuntary manslaughter. He was being held without bond Sunday at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
“We are aware of the incident involving off-duty United States Park Police (USPP) employees at a private residence in Fairfax County,” the U.S. Park Police said in a statement. “The incident is under investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department and all questions related to this investigation will need to be referred to them. Our focus right now is on supporting the family, friends and coworkers of our employees involved in this tragic incident. USPP has nothing further to share at this time.”
The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation and the Fairfax County Police detectives asked that anyone with information about the incident to contact them immediately.
(NEW YORK) — When Donald Trump enters court on Monday, the former president will swap his chair next to his lawyers for a seat on the witness stand — sitting to the left of a judge he has called a wacko, feet from a clerk he has called biased, and directly across from a state attorney general he has called, without evidence, a dirty cop.
After more than a month of watching from the sidelines, Trump is set to be the star witness in his own $250 million civil fraud trial.
Sources tell ABC News that Trump spent Sunday evening in New York doing a prep session with his attorneys ahead of his testimony Monday. The sources described Trump as vacillating between fits of anger over the case and “in a good head space,” ready to get his testimony over with — with one source saying the former president “can be a good witness if he stays focused.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to call Trump as the state’s second-to-last witness, setting up a dramatic confrontation in a case that could threaten the former president’s business empire.
“Trump can try to hide his wrongdoings behind taunts and threats, but we will not be bullied out of uncovering the truth,” James said on social media Sunday.
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Sources tell ABC News that once it’s the defense’s turn to present its case, some of members of the Trump family could return to the stand, including the former president himself.
James alleges that Trump and his adult sons relied on false statements of financial condition to conduct a decade of business, enriching themselves through better loan terms, favorable insurance policies, and a reputation bolstered by Trump’s reputed high net worth. In order to maintain that reputation, Trump instructed his executives to falsify records to inflate the value of his namesake buildings and other assets, according to James.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has called James a “dirty cop” whose case is a form of “election interference.”
The judge overseeing the case has been partially convinced by the state’s arguments, finding in a partial summary judgment on the eve of the trial that Trump and his adult sons are liable for using “false and misleading” statements to conduct business — leaving the trial to determine additional actions and what penalty, if any, the defendants should receive.
Trump has appealed that ruling and criticized both James and Judge Arthur Engoron as politically motivated.
Trump returns to the stand
When Trump is sworn in ahead of his testimony Monday morning, it will be the second time he has taken the stand in this case.
During a courtroom visit two weeks ago to watch the testimony of his former lawyer Michael Cohen, Trump was unexpectedly summoned to the witness stand to face questions from Judge Engoron about a statement Trump made that the judge believed was directed at his clerk and thus violated a limited gag order the judge has imposed prohibiting all parties from making public comments about his staff.
“This judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump said in the courtroom hallway that morning. While Trump maintained he was referring to Michael Cohen — who sat next to the judge on the witness stand — Engoron was unconvinced and decided to personally question the former president.
Trump appeared unfazed and comfortable in the witness box, offering generally terse answers — but took one clear jab at the judge’s clerk.
“I think she is very biased against us. I think we made that clear. We put up a picture and you didn’t want that up,” Trump said on the witness stand, referring to his social media post that prompted the initial gag order.
The judge ultimately found that Trump’s testimony was “not credible,” writing in a decision that the former president’s testimony rang “hollow and untrue.” He also fined Trump $10,000 for the statement.
Trump also sat for two depositions with the attorney general’s office during the course of the AG’s probe in 2022 and 2023.
During the first deposition, in August 2022 — before James filed her lawsuit — the former president invoked his Fifth Amendment rights over 400 times.
Trump took a different approach during his second deposition in April 2023, offering lengthy answers, speaking over his lawyers, and pontificating on unrelated topics such as how he prevented a “nuclear holocaust” as president, according to a transcript of the deposition that was subsequently released by the AG’s office.
“Chris, we’re going to be here until midnight if your client answers every question with an eight-minute speech,” state attorney Kevin Wallace, who will also be questioning Trump in court, said to Trump’s lawyer.
Often volunteering more information than required, Trump argued that his brand value was likely worth $10 billion and complained about how his presidency and subsequent investigations soured banks’ impression of him.
He spoke in superlatives about his holdings, saying, “We have the Mona Lisa of properties.”
Trump underplayed the significance of his own financial statements during his deposition, arguing that a so-called “worthless” disclaimer included in each statement of financial condition — which warned lenders that the valuations required judgment and that they should do their own analysis — insulated him from liability.
“Many lawyers have come to me and said, ‘You have the greatest worthless clause I’ve ever seen,'” Trump said.
In his pretrial ruling, Engoron expressed skepticism at Trump’s belief that the “worthless” disclaimers render the financial statements insignificant.
“Defendants’ reliance on these ‘worthless’ disclaimers is worthless,” Engoron wrote.
Trump acknowledged in his deposition that he would “look at” his annual financial statement — which he said contained “guesstimates” — but did not spend much time reviewing the document, which sits at the center of the attorney general’s case.
“They would give me a statement. I would certainly look at it. But I had not a lot to do with it. I just didn’t consider it important because of the worthless clause,” Trump said in his deposition.
Trump sons testify
Trump’s appearance on the witness stand follows three days of testimony from his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who largely denied being involved in the preparation of the financial statements and have denied all wrongdoing.
“Before even having a day in court I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do — wait for it — accounting,” Trump Jr. said outside court on Thursday.
Despite his increased involvement in his family’s firm once his father became president in 2016, Eric Trump testified that he relied on experts when certifying his father’s finances.
Eric Trump’s appearance on the stand also spurred defense counsel’s additional criticism of Judge Engoron’s law clerk, who Trump’s attorneys called biased and distracting due to the manner in which she confers with the judge during proceedings.
“I do feel like truly that I’m fighting two adversaries,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said during a heated exchange about the clerk on Friday.
In response, Engoron — who told attorneys “I have an absolute, unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk” — expanded the case’s limited gag order to also cover attorneys, barring Trump’s lawyers from objecting to communications between him and his clerk.
Trump’s empire at risk?
Over the first five weeks of the trial, the state’s witnesses have attempted to insulate the former president from the actions alleged in the attorney general’s complaint. His sons said Trump’s financial statements were compiled by accountants and lawyers, and his top deputies within the Trump Organization testified that Trump was largely uninvolved in their preparation.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and self-described “fixer,” offered the strongest testimony against the former president.
“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen said, though he struggled to offer specific details or evidence to prove that such meetings occurred.
Trump’s lawyers hammered at Cohen on cross-examination for two days, eliciting what they described as perjury and saying that his credibility was irreparably damaged. Defense attorney Clifford Robert unsuccessfully moved for a directed verdict after the testimony, arguing that “the government’s key witness has fallen flat on his face.”
Judge Engoron denied the motion, saying that even without Cohen’s testimony, “There’s enough evidence to fill this courtroom.”
Engoron will ultimately decide what penalties, if any, Trump and his adult sons will face. The judge has already canceled Trump’s business certificates in New York — a penalty that has temporarily been paused while Trump appeals. The New York attorney general has also asked that Engoron penalize Trump $250 million, bar him and his children from leading companies in New York, and prevent Trump from purchasing commercial property or taking out loans for five years.
Those penalties could not only hit Trump’s checkbook, but also cast a shadow on the company and brand that Trump has acknowledged allowed him to ascend to the presidency.
“I became president because of the brand, OK?” Trump said during his deposition. “I became president. I think it’s the hottest brand in the world.”
(NEW YORK) — As New York Attorney General Letitia James prepares to call Donald Trump to the witness stand in his $250 million civil fraud case Monday, lawyers for the former president have doubled down on their criticism of the law clerk who sits beside the judge in the courtroom.
“I do feel like truly that I’m fighting two adversaries,” Trump attorney Chris Kise said Friday in court, referring to both the cadre of state lawyers and Engoron’s legal clerk, who is frequently seen whispering in the judge’s ear.
The clerk, Allison Greenfield, has been the subject of the Trump team’s ire since the second day of the trial, when Trump made a comment on his Truth Social platform suggesting that the clerk was “running this case against me,” and shared a photo of her, about which he made a false claim.
Engoron responded by imposing a limited gag order prohibiting public statements about his staff — which Trump has violated twice, to the tune of $15,000 in fines.
After Kise made a comment about Greenfield in court on Thursday, Engoron raised the possibility of expanding the gag order to apply to lawyers, and suggested that Kise might be a misogynist. Undeterred, Kise raised the issue in court again on Friday, citing an unsubstantiated report about Greenfield’s “partisan political activity.”
“I think the defense will have to give serious consideration to seeking a mistrial,” Kise said, appearing to further irritate Engoron, who has the sole authority to decide the outcome of the trial and, to some extent, the fate of The Trump Organization.
Trump and the other defendants in the case have denied all wrongdoing.
‘I don’t want anybody killed’
More than two weeks after Engoron imposed his limited gag order, which was accompanied by Trump removing his Truth Social post referencing Engoron’s clerk, it was discovered that a copy of the post that had been published to Trump’s campaign website had not been removed.
That resulted in a $5,000 fine against Trump for violating the gag order.
“Incendiary untruths can, and in some cases already had, lead to serious physical harm,” Engoron said regarding the penalty.
When Trump appeared in court the following week, he appeared to once again reference Greenfield during a hallway statement.
“This judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is,” Trump said.
While Kise told the judge that Trump was referring to Michael Cohen — who was on the witness stand that day to Engoron’s left — the judge was unconvinced and called Trump to the stand to questioned him directly.
“I think she is very biased against us. I think we made that clear. We put up a picture and you didn’t want that up,” Trump said on the witness stand, maintaining that his statement referred to Cohen.
Engoron fined Trump $10,000 for the hallway statement, finding that Trump’s testimony rang “hollow and untrue.”
“I am very protective of my staff, as I should be,” Engoron said. “I don’t want anybody killed.”
Engoron later said that his chambers has received “hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages” since the start of the trial.
‘I am entitled to make a record’
Over the last week of the trial, Trump’s lawyers have continued to complain about Greenfield, suggesting she is biased and that her whispered comments to Engoron are a distraction. The judge and Greenfield have routinely passed each other notes about the proceedings over the course of the trial.
Kise said that he witnessed Engoron and Greenfield pass each other over 30 to 40 notes on Thursday alone.
“That gives off the appearance of impropriety. It does. I am entitled to make a record of that,” Kise said. He has also argued that Trump should have the right to express what he perceives as bias.
“Sometimes I think there may be a bit of misogyny in the fact that you keep referring to my female principal law clerk,” Engoron told Kise.
“I assure you that’s not the issue,” responded Trump lawyer Alina Habba. “I have the same, frankly, issues with the person sitting on the bench, and I’ve made that clear on the record.”
Trump’s attorneys have also alleged that Engoron and Greenfield communicate with each other more frequently when the defense team is questioning witnesses than when the state is.
“It is incredibly distracting when there are eye-rolls and constant whispering at the bench,” Habba said about Greenfield during the testimony of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
Citing her own experience as a judicial clerk, Habba argued that most clerks are less directly involved in proceedings than Greenfield.
However, in the New York State Supreme Court system, principal law clerks such as Greenfield play a different role than law clerks in other court systems, according to court records. In the state’s Supreme Court system, the position of principal law clerk generally serves as a training ground for future judges.
According to job posting for a similar role, principal law clerks in New York State Supreme Court require five years of relevant legal experience and are responsible for “conferring with and advising the judge on legal issues” and “conferring with lawyers on unusual or complex proceedings.”
Compared to federal law clerks — who generally serve in the role immediately after graduating from law school — Greenfield has over a decade of experience practicing law, including roles in the private sector and in the New York City Law Department.
Engoron himself served as the law clerk to New York Supreme Court Judge Martin Schoenfield for 11 years before ascending to the bench.
“I have an absolute, unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk,” Engoron said Friday.
‘It raises questions of impartiality’
Things appeared to come to a head on Friday when Kise brought up the possibility of seeking a mistrial as a result of Greenfield and the judge’s actions.
Citing a Brietbart article which he acknowledged he did not fully read, Kise raised concerns about an Oct. 3 letter to Engoron that accused Greenberg of “ethical violations” related to “highly partisan speech and activities on behalf of the Democrat Party.”
“It raises questions of impartiality,” Kise said.
Engoron responded that he did not receive the letter and found that the report Kise cited was “99%” untrue. A lawyer for the attorney general described Kise’s argument as a “sideshow” intended to interrupt the state from entering documents into evidence.
The letter cited by Brietbart was sent to the court by Brock Fredin, a Wisconsin man who runs the social media account @JudicialProtest, which made the original post containing the photo of Greenfield that Trump posted, leading to the original gag order. Fredin told ABC News that he sent the letter on Oct. 3 to Engoron and the lawyers in the case, though he did not get confirmation it was received.
The letter, which ABC News reviewed, largely concerned Greenfield’s campaign as a Democrat for a seat on the Manhattan Civil Court. In court, Engoron said the allegations were “99 percent” untrue and without merit. A court spokesperson described the letter as “not a serious complaint.”
“The Court is in receipt of a 72-page complaint from an individual from Wisconsin and will address it as we deal with any such complaint,” a court representative later told ABC News.
Engoron said he plans to continue to consult Greenfield during the proceedings.
“I don’t want any other comments about my staff or how I communicate with them,” Engoron said on Friday. “I will continue to receive notes, consultation of any sort from my staff.”
At the end of proceedings Friday, Kise reiterated his intent to continue objecting to interactions between Engoron and Greenfield for his future appeal.
In response, Engoron extended his gag order to also apply to lawyers in the case, prohibiting them from making statements regarding communications between him and his clerk.
(STANFORD, Calif.) — An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was hurt in a hit-and-run on campus, and the incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime, according to university police.
The victim said on Friday afternoon the driver “made eye contact with him,” accelerated and hit him, and then drove away and yelled “—- you and your people” out the car window, Stanford’s Department of Public Safety said.
“I never imagined becoming the victim of a hate-driven attack,” the victim said in a statement, according to San Francisco ABC station KGO. “His hateful screams … still echo in my ears as I grapple with the emotional pain this incident has left in its wake.”
The victim’s injuries are non-life-threatening, the Department of Public Safety said.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, according to the university. CHP did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
“We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus,” Stanford University President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez said in a letter to the community. “Violence on our campus is unacceptable. Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible, and we condemn it in the strongest terms. We want to express our deep concern for the student who was injured, and for all affected by this incident.”
Stanford police said security has been upped at locations on campus and the university is “continuing to work to provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in Israel and Gaza.”
The victim reported that the driver was a white man in his mid-20s with short dirty blond hair, a short beard and round glasses, according to university police.
The suspect was driving a black Toyota 4Runner with an exposed tire mounted to the rear center and a Toyota logo in the center of the wheel. The 4Runner had a white California license plate with the letters M and J, university police said.
Stanford’s Department of Public Safety said, “We encourage any witnesses to this incident to come forward and share with law enforcement any information they have. Please contact the CHP at 650-779-2700 or the Department of Public Safety at 650-329-2413.”
(NEW YORK) — Recent mass shootings have put a spotlight on the gun laws of the states in which these tragedies happened and the actions that local legislators take to address the growing impact of gun violence on the U.S.
Maine has come under scrutiny for its lack of gun restrictions following the Oct. 25 shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead and injured 13 more.
The state, despite having Democratic control of the legislature and the governor’s seat, has failed to push stronger gun laws. Some Maine legislators have since begun promising stronger measures to curb gun violence following the tragedy.
ABC News took a look at several states that experienced some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. and what laws were implemented following the respective shootings.
Florida
Florida has experienced several major mass shootings in recent years. In June 2016, a gunman opened fire in an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando. Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more were injured.
In 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland became the site of a mass shooting in which 17 people were killed and 17 others were injured.
Following the 2018 shooting, Florida enacted an Extreme Risk Protection Order law to enable law enforcement to petition a court “to temporarily prevent individuals who are at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms or ammunition.”
“Every student in Florida has a right to learn in a safe environment and every parent has the right to send their kids to school knowing that they will return safely at the end of the day,” said then-Gov. Rick Scott before signing the bill.
Lawmakers also raised the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 and turned the ownership of bump stocks, which could make a semiautomatic rifle fire more rapidly, into a felony.
However, in more recent years, some legislators have worked to weaken gun laws in the state, including eliminating the requirement of a permit for concealed carry.
Nevada
In 2017, 58 people were killed and hundreds injured after a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two victims would later succumb to injuries in the years following the massacre.
Since then, the state has enacted gun safety policies including universal background checks, an Extreme Risk law similar to Florida’s, and requiring that guns be stored safely away from children.
“This past session, Nevadans stood together and took bold action to try and prevent these tragedies in the future,” then-Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a 2019 press conference at the time after signing the bill.
Legislators also banned bump stocks, which had been used in the 2017 shooting. However, the law is being challenged in court.
Several recent gun restriction efforts in Nevada have faltered.
Gov. Joe Lombardo has vetoed three bills — one would have restricted the purchase, possession or ownership of a firearm by a person who committed or attempted to commit a crime motivated by bias.
The other two would have prohibited the possession of firearms under certain circumstances, like near polling places, and would have barred people under the age of 21 from possessing certain firearms, including semiautomatic shotguns and assault weapons.
“I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a May online statement at the time. “Much of the legislation I vetoed today is in direct conflict with legal precedent and established constitutional protections. Therefore, I cannot support them.”
Texas
In May 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed when a gunman opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Anti-gun violence activists and those affected by the shooting have had little success in changing gun laws in the state following the tragedy.
Families of the victims fought to pass a raise-the-age law that would have raised the age to buy assault rifle-style weapons from 18 to 21. However, legislative leaders in the state were against the measure, including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it “unconstitutional.”
However, lawmakers have passed a law to require counties to send information on juvenile mental health cases for review for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The Uvalde shooter was 18.
New York
After 10 people, all African American, were killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a ten-bill package of laws to address gun violence in the state.
“Gun violence is an epidemic that is tearing our country apart,” said Hochul in a statement on the signing. “Thoughts and prayers won’t fix this, but taking strong action will.”
The legislation included limiting the purchase of body armor to only specific professions and restrictions on the purchase of semiautomatic rifles to people over 21, strengthening red flag laws, enhancing reporting by law enforcement to the state and federal gun databases and closing “loopholes” in gun law.
Because of the racial nature of the crime, legislators also included new requirements on social media networks to provide policies to respond to hateful conduct on their platform. The legislation also created a task force to investigate the role of social media in facilitating extremism and terrorism online.
Colorado
A mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar called Club Q killed five people and left over a dozen injured in November 2022, reopening wounds from the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
Following the shooting, Gov. Jared Polis signed several gun restriction measures.
“Today we are taking some important steps to help make Colorado one of the ten safest states, and building upon the ongoing work to make Colorado communities safer,” said Polis in a statement on the signing.
This includes raising the purchasing age for all guns to 21, establishing a three-day waiting period between when people purchase a gun and when they receive it, and strengthening the state’s red flag laws that allow guns to be temporarily removed from a person who poses a risk to themselves or others.
Another law enhances gun violence victims’ ability to sue the firearms industry.
