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Eric Trump Testifies He Wasn’t Aware Of Dad’s Financial Statements, But Emails Show Some Involvement
NEW YORK – Eric Trump, one of Donald Trump’s two sons tasked with running the family business, swore Thursday that he was never involved with financial statements that New York state officials allege illegally inflated the ex-president’s wealth and the value of the family business.
When presented with a decade-old email requesting information for one of his father’s financial statements, the angry son attempted to clarify.
“We’re a large organization, a massive real estate organization — yes, I believe I understand we have financial statements.” “Without a doubt,” Eric Trump testified during the family’s and company’s civil fraud trial. However, the executive vice president of the Trump Organisation maintained, “I had no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition.”
Even though another Trump Organisation executive testified that Eric Trump was on a video conversation concerning his father’s financial statement as recently as 2021, the son said he couldn’t recall it.
“I’m on a thousand calls a day,” he admitted.
On a carefully watched and often turbulent day in the trial, Eric Trump joined their brother and colleague, Trump Organisation Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr., to the testimony. After defense counsel criticized his legal clerk’s conduct in the case again, Judge Arthur Engoron suggested extending a gag order.
Eric Trump Testifies He Wasn’t Aware Of Dad’s Financial Statements, But Emails Show Some Involvement
Engoron forbade participants in the case from slandering his workers early in the trial after Donald Trump disparaged the clerk on social media. The former president was fined twice, totaling $15,000, for what the judge described as infractions.
Trump’s attorneys have often complained about the clerk passing notes to the judge during evidence, which they believe is inappropriate and unfair to them. Engoron claims an “absolutely unfettered right” to the clerk’s advice.
When the defense objected Thursday again, with Eric Trump calmly looking from the witness box, a sometimes table-pounding Engoron threatened to widen the gag order to include attorneys if anybody mentioned a member of his staff again.
The former president, his adult sons, and other defendants deny wrongdoing in the case that New York Attorney General Letitia James initiated. She accuses them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on his annual “statement of financial condition” forms, which were distributed to banks, insurers, and others for them to accept loans and do business with him.
“So sad to see my sons being persecuted in a political witch hunt,” the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform. Engoron and James are Democrats.
On Monday, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump are both scheduled to testify. Late Thursday, an appeals court dismissed her request to postpone her testimony.
Eric Trump will take the stand again on Friday.
An appraiser testified earlier in the trial that the scion took an active interest in determining the worth of the Trump National Golf Club and Seven Springs estate, both in New York’s suburban Westchester County, a decade ago. According to the lawsuit, Donald Trump’s financial filings listed the properties at estimated values more than double the appraiser’s approximate calculations.
Eric Trump claimed that he couldn’t even recall the appraiser’s name, let alone the appraisals.
As he began his evidence, he stated that he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition,” that he didn’t believe he’d ever seen one, that he “was not personally aware” of the document, and that he “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition.”
“It’s not what I did for the company,” claimed the son, who has stated that he focuses on property development and management.
Andrew Amer, a state lawyer, then presented him with emails from former Trump Organisation controller Jeffrey McConney from 2013.
In one, McConney informed Eric Trump, who was then in a different job at the company, that he was “working on your father’s statement of financial condition” and required information about one of the company’s properties.
In another communication, McConney stated that he was “working on the notes to Mr. Trump’s annual financial statement” and requested a report on recent big building activity from Eric Trump and others.
“Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father,” Eric Trump admitted as he shifted back in his chair. He jumped right into his response about the “massive real estate organisation,” his voice rising as he spoke.
Emails and records showed he had responded to McConney’s inquiries. When pushed to admit that he was “very familiar” with the financial accounts, Eric Trump dismissed the texts as just responding to an accounting colleague’s request for a property description.
He explained, “I just don’t think it would have registered” that they were for the financial statement.
For his part, Donald Trump Jr. stated that he only interacted with the financial accounts in passing, relying on assurances from business finance officers and an independent accounting firm that the information was correct.
On his second day on the stand on Thursday, he stated that, notwithstanding James’ charges, he believed his father’s financial accounts were “materially accurate.” According to the former president, the paperwork, if anything, understated his riches.
Trump Jr. also claimed that the Trump Organisation paid Bally’s $60 million to acquire the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The lease transfer details for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx were not previously publicized.
Trump Jr. told reporters outside the courthouse that his testimony went “really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”
“Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” the general remarked. “I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York — for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it: accounting.”
SOURCE – (AP)
News
Howard Schultz Violated Labor Law By Telling Employee ‘If You’re Not Happy At Starbucks, You Can Go Work For Another Company’
Starbucks’ interim CEO, Howard Schultz, violated federal labor law in 2022 by telling a California barista who expressed concerns about unionization that “if you’re not happy at Starbucks, you can go work for another company.”
The National Labor Relations Board ruled on Wednesday that Schultz’s statement constituted an unconstitutional, coercive threat.
The decision highlights Starbucks’ difficult relationship with organized labor, as more and more employees at its outlets unionize.
Howard Schultz Violated Labor Law By Telling Employee ‘If You’re Not Happy At Starbucks, You Can Go Work For Another Company’
In 2022, as interim CEO, Schultz visited a business event in Long Beach, California, to address and improve working conditions at Starbucks locations. According to the NLRB, Barista Madison Hall attempted to discuss the benefits of unionization as well as Starbucks’ claimed history of unfair labor practices.
“Why are you angry at Starbucks?” Schultz inquired. He stated that the occasion was not the appropriate forum for discussing union problems before remarking on working elsewhere. The administrative law decision states that he “had an angry expression on his face.” The NLRB ruling maintains an administrative law judge’s decision from October 2023.
Starbucks issued a statement expressing its disagreement with the board’s decision. “Our focus remains on training and supporting our managers to ensure respect for our partners’ right to organize, and we are making progress in our discussions with Workers United,” a business representative said in a statement Thursday.
Though Schultz stepped down from his third term as CEO in March 2023, he remains involved with the company. When he retired from Starbucks’ board of directors in September, the business named him “lifelong chairman emeritus.”
“We note that the judge identified the Respondent’s highest official, interim CEO Schultz, as a ‘legendary leader,’ a status that would exacerbate the coercive nature of Schultz’s statement,” the ruling read.
Since the first Starbucks branch in Buffalo, New York, unionized in 2021, the coffee business has been embroiled in hundreds of labor battles over alleged union-busting practices. In June, the Supreme Court heard Starbucks v. McKinney, a case involving seven employees who were fired after attempting to form a union. The Supreme Court agreed with Starbucks.
An NLRB administrative law judge earlier stated that Starbucks had engaged in “egregious and widespread misconduct” in its dealings with employees involved in unionization efforts at Buffalo outlets, including the first site to unionize. Starbucks dispatched high-level executives into Buffalo-area stores on a “relentless” campaign, according to the judge, which “likely left a lasting impact as to the importance of voting against representation.”
Starbucks stated at the time that it is “considering all options to obtain further legal review,” and that “we believe the decision and remedies ordered are inappropriate given the record in this matter.”
Howard Schultz Violated Labor Law By Telling Employee ‘If You’re Not Happy At Starbucks, You Can Go Work For Another Company’
The NLRB ordered Starbucks on Wednesday to stop threatening to terminate employees for unionizing and to post a notice of employee rights in all of its Long Beach outlets.
“We are pleased to see the NLRB continuing to advocate for workers and their legal right to organize. At the same time, we’re looking ahead and proud to be on a new journey with the firm,” said Michelle Eisen, co-chair of Starbucks Workers United’s national organizing committee and bargaining delegate, in a statement to CNN on Thursday.
SOURCE | CNN
News
Tesla Recalls 27,000 Cybertrucks Due To A Rearview Camera Issue
Tesla is recalling around 27,000 Cybertrucks due to a rearview camera issue that delays the image being presented on the dashboard, increasing the danger of a collision.
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, the rearview display may appear blank for up to 8 seconds when the Cybertruck is in reverse. That is far over the two seconds required by US federal safety regulations.
Tesla Recalls 27,000 Cybertrucks Due To A Rearview Camera Issue
Tesla has issued a free, over-the-air software update to address the issue. Drivers can also reverse the Cybertruck by “performing a shoulder check and using their mirrors,” according to the NHTSA.
This is the fifth recall for the electric vehicle, which was released last year. The most recent recall, in June, concerns the truck’s large single windshield wiper and a piece of plastic trim along the edge of the truck bed that might become loose and detach from the vehicle while driving.
In April, the trucks were recalled because the accelerator pedal could become stuck when depressed. Tesla launched a software recall in January for 2.2 million of its cars, including Cybertrucks, due to warning light letters that were too small to read. That issue was likewise resolved with an over-the-air software upgrade.
Tesla Recalls 27,000 Cybertrucks Due To A Rearview Camera Issue
The company delivered approximately 463,000 automobiles worldwide in the third quarter, rising 6% from the previous year’s sales number and 4% from the second quarter of this year.
SOURCE | CNN
News
The Biden Administration can go Ahead With Student Loan Forgiveness, Says a Federal Judge.
(VOR News) – A temporary restraining order that was obtained against the expansive new student loan forgiveness system that was planned by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden will be allowed to expire by a federal judge.
Injunction was issued against the program that was being proposed. It is possible that the execution of this strategy may reduce the suffering of tens of millions of people in the United States of America.
There is a possibility that the idea might be beneficial to as many as three out of every four people who are now in possession of federal student loans, as stated by an estimate that was provided by the Center for American Progress.
This happens because the student loan plan takes into account government initiatives.
A victory was granted to the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, according to an announcement made by United States District Judge Randal Hall in Georgia before the close of the day on Wednesday. The previous Republican president, George W. Bush, was the one who appointed Hall to his current post. Hall now serves in that capacity.
In the next few weeks leading up to the election that will take place in November, it is quite likely that Vice President Joe Biden will press forward with the proposition that his administration has offered to cancel student loans. There is a chance that this will occur given the verdict.
A new condition has emerged as a result of a lawsuit that was filed against the aid package by seven states that are run by Republicans. This lawsuit was filed against the aid package after it was submitted.
There are a number of states that have ruled that the debt cancellation scheme that is now being carried out by the United States Department of Education is illegal. These states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio, amongst others.
The conclusions of Hall, on the other hand, indicate that Georgia did not have the legal jurisdiction to launch a legal action against the relief plan. As a result, the state was unable to fulfill the duty of the forum for the application.
The judge made an order that the case be relocated to Missouri because the states argue that the notion that was proposed by Biden would be most detrimental to Mohela, which is the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority.
Which is responsible for servicing student loans?
The judge issued the order as a result. The United States Department of Education’s spokesman applauded the judge’s finding that Georgia had “no legal basis” to pursue the action; yet, the spokesperson also criticized the Republican drive to prevent relief from being granted. The verdict made by the judge was lauded by the authorized spokesperson.
This case is the outcome of an ongoing campaign by Republican elected officials who, according to what they claimed, seek to prevent millions of their own people from having breathing room on their student loans. This campaign is the cause of this complaint.
That campaign is reflected in this lawsuit that has been filed. “The fact remains that this lawsuit reflects an ongoing effort.”
Our efforts to improve the flawed student loan system and to provide support and relief to borrowers all throughout the country are not going to be abandoned, and we are not going to stop up on providing these services. We have declared our intention to carry on with our work.
Under the plan that was proposed by Vice President Joe Biden, student debt would be forgiven for four different groups of borrowers:
Those who owe more than they initially took out; those who have been in repayment already for decades; students who attend schools with a low financial value; and those who are eligible for loan forgiveness under an existing program but have not yet implemented the program.
SOURCE: CNBC
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