A former assistant attorney general for New York state warned that former President Donald Trump 's most prized assets, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and his golf courses, are "at stake" in the civil probe by Attorney General Letitia James. Trump sat for an hour-long deposition on Wednesday, reportedly invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions more than 400 times. The investigation involves the valuation of Trump's assets, and whether the former president's business, the Trump Organization, misrepresented the stated valuations of some of its real estate assets for financial gain, including better terms on loans and insurance, as well as tax benefits. Tristan Snell, the managing partner of mainstreet.law and a former assistant attorney general for New York state, said that the probe is a "big deal" and assessed that Trump pleading the Fifth made James' case "even stronger." Notably, Snell helped lead the successful civil prosecution of the now-defunct Trump … [Read more...] about Trump Tower, golf courses “at stake” in N.Y. as Trump pleads Fifth: Expert
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Victor Pinchuk is a Ukrainian billionaire who donated $150,000 to Trump’s foundation in exchange for a speech
Victor Pinchuk is the Ukrainian billionaire who paid Donald Trump's foundation $150,000 for an appearance by video link at a 2015 conference in Kiev. That payment was unearthed in a subpoena of the Trump Organization by the Mueller investigation , reported The New York Times . It is one of a number of foreign payments made to Trump and his associates under the microscope. Pinchuk, 57, made his wealth in metals, steel in particular. After achieving his doctorate in pipe design from the Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute, Pinchuk founded Interpipe in 1990, which makes metal products, most notably steel pipes. Forbes estimates Pinchuk's net worth to be $1.4 billion. Other assets include Credit Dnipro Bank and the media companies ICTV, Novy Kanal, and STB, according to a profile of Pinchuk in the Kyiv Post . He also owns real estate in central London. He reportedly counts the Clintons and Blairs among his friends, as well as the singer Elton John and the late Princess … [Read more...] about Victor Pinchuk is a Ukrainian billionaire who donated $150,000 to Trump’s foundation in exchange for a speech
Kellyanne Conway’s Husband Takes Aim at Trump on Twitter, Again
George Conway, the husband of counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, took aim at President Donald Trump again Sunday, this time over the New York Attorney General's lawsuit that alleged the Trump foundation violated campaign finance laws. "These are obviously very serious allegations, and they should be referred to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York," Conway tweeted in reference to the lawsuit. Barbara Underwood, the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against President Trump and his three eldest children on Thursday alleging "illegal conduct" at the president's personal charity. Trump is accused of using the nonprofit for personal business purposes to decorate one of his golf clubs and host a multimillion dollar giveaway during his 2016 campaign for president, according to The Washington Post . Despite his wife's position as counselor to the president, Conway has been a vocal critic of President Trump and his policies. … [Read more...] about Kellyanne Conway’s Husband Takes Aim at Trump on Twitter, Again
Eric Trump: My dad isn’t playing games on national security
Eric Trump has stressed that his father is "not playing" when it comes to national security and "protecting the free world against lunacy." Speaking in an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures , the president's second eldest son said: "I think having three or four aircraft carriers parked right off the peninsula really shows the might of a nation." His comments appeared to be a nod to the deployment of three Navy aircraft carrier groups to the Korean Peninsula last month, in a move that Defense Department chief spokeswoman Dana White told The Hill at the time was "not directed towards any particular threat," rather "a demonstration that we can do something that no one else in the world can." However, Trump appeared to have a different opinion of the deployment of the carriers, telling Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that neither his father nor Secretary of Defense James Mattis were the kind of people who played games with national security. "It also makes it very … [Read more...] about Eric Trump: My dad isn’t playing games on national security
Eric Trump should testify about Russia, a House Intelligence Committee member says
A member of the House Intelligence Committee wants the panel to interview Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, as part of its investigation into Russia's election meddling. Representative Joaquin Castro (D–Texas) told Newsweek last week: "We still have many interviews that are being scheduled, more documents that we're receiving from witnesses and other evidence. We need to visit with some of the principals, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and others that we've not had a chance to sit down with yet." Asked if such discussions were ongoing or would begin soon, the Texas congressman added, "Yeah. Most of these requests have already been put forward by Democrats to the majority." A spokeswoman for Castro later clarified that the process of requesting the interview had not started and that there no current plans to begin the process. Related: Russian lawyer from Trump Jr. meeting says she would testify The House Intelligence Committee is one of three … [Read more...] about Eric Trump should testify about Russia, a House Intelligence Committee member says
Trump hangs painting of himself with historic Republican presidents in the White House
Eagle-eyed viewers of Donald Trump's interview on 60 Minutes may have spotted an unusual painting hanging inside the White House. The painting, which appeared briefly in the background while Lesley Stahl was speaking to Trump, shows him gleefully drinking at a table with former Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Abraham Lincoln, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. For those who were not able to catch it on-air, the painting was also tweeted out on 60 Minutes 's official Twitter account as part its promotion of the interview. The painting, titled The Republican Club , was the creation of artist Andy Thomas, whose previous woks include Grand Ol' Gang—Republican Presidents Playing Poker , featuring several former GOP leaders (not including Trump), and another painting of Democrat presidents playing pool. Speaking to Time , Thomas said he was "ecstatic" that one of his pieces was now hanging up in the … [Read more...] about Trump hangs painting of himself with historic Republican presidents in the White House
New York attorney general seeks to ban Trump from nonprofits for 10 years
New York state Attorney General Barbara Underwood has asked a judge to ban President Donald Trump from working with any nonprofit organization for 10 years from when he leaves office, alleging his foundation regularly broke federal and state law. In a memo to New York Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla, Underwood, who is suing the foundation, claimed that for more than a decade t he Donald J. Trump Foundation engaged in "persistent violation" of laws after Trump used it for "his own personal benefit" to advance his personal and business interests, including during the 2016 presidential campaign. "Foundation funds—consisting primarily of money donated by persons other than Donald Trump—were used improperly, not once, but numerous times," the court filing said . "The law is clear—private foundations cannot use their funds for the personal or business benefit of their directors, and they cannot engage in political activity. "The Board abdicated its fiduciary duties … [Read more...] about New York attorney general seeks to ban Trump from nonprofits for 10 years
Donald Trump shuts down his million-dollar charitable foundation that he never gave money to
President Donald Trump's charitable foundation, which he never donated to, is finally in the process of being shut down. In a statement received by NBC News, a spokesperson for the Trump Foundation confirmed that it is being shuttered. "The foundation continues to cooperate with the New York Attorney General's Charities Division, and as previously announced by the President, his advisers are working with the Charities Division to wind up the affairs of the Foundation," the statement reads. "The Foundation looks forward to distributing its remaining assets at the earliest possible time to aid numerous worthy charitable organizations," the statement adds. The foundation can't close yet, though, because it is still under investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office. The investigation must be completed before finally closing it down. The Washington Post reported that the Trump Foundation transferred "income or assets to a disqualified person." That disqualified … [Read more...] about Donald Trump shuts down his million-dollar charitable foundation that he never gave money to
Did Eric Trump just subtweet the White House chief of staff?
First son Eric Trump appeared to diss his dad's chief of staff John Kelly on Friday, apparently complaining that the Trump family still isn't happy about his crackdown on White House drop-bys. Eric Trump, 33, made the dig as he shared photos of himself, his father and his wife taken Thursday in the Oval Office. "It isn't quite as easy to visit @realDonaldTrump in his office as in the old days but we are so proud of him & the job he's doing to #MAGA!" he wrote . As soon as Kelly was sworn in as chief of staff in late July, he began to limit the previously unfettered access the large Trump brood had to its patriarch. First daughter Ivanka Trump was told, for example, that she could no longer "come by and say 'hi,'" like she did during two interviews over the summer, once with her daughter tagging along. The same went for her husband, Jared Kushner, according to Politico . Ivanka Trump now needs to tell Kelly if she wants to discuss politics, as opposed to personal business, … [Read more...] about Did Eric Trump just subtweet the White House chief of staff?
Eric Trump celebrates birthday as White House erupts over Russia probe, new book
President Donald Trump's son Eric Trump turns 34 years old Saturday, as the White House struggles to deal with a Russia probe and new tell-all book by Michael Wolff. In the book, In Fire and Fury , Wolff was not terribly kind to Eric. "Donald Trump's sons, Don Jr. thirty-nine, and Eric, thirty-three, existed in an enforced infantile relationship to their father, a role that embarrassed them, but one that they also professionally embraced," Wolff wrote. "The role was to be Donald Trump's heirs and attendees. Their father took some regular pleasure in pointing out that they were in the back of the room when God handed out brains." Eric echoed this himself, when he told the New York Magazine that his brother Don Jr. and sister Ivanka were the real parents to him. "[Ivanka] took me under her wing and raised me, took me shopping, tried to make me cool," he said. And Eric isn't being let out of the Russia talk either. In November, a member of the House Intelligence Committee … [Read more...] about Eric Trump celebrates birthday as White House erupts over Russia probe, new book