Posts

NY Judges Scrutinize ‘Troubling’ $450 Million Penalty in Trump Fraud Case: ‘No One Lost Any Money’

/0 Comments/in , /by

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered in February former President Donald Trump to pay an approximate $450 million penalty in a civil fraud case in which there were no victims. Now, a New York appellate court is raising questions regarding the “troubling” penalty and Attorney General Letitia James’ justification for bringing the case in the first place.

James accused Trump of inflating his personal wealth to get better loan terms. Trump, for example, valued his Mar-a-Lago estate at between $427 million and $612 million, Forbes reported. Engoron, however, cited a one-off local Palm Beach County appraiser who valued the property as low as $18 million. Some experts have reportedly valued the sprawling property in the hundreds of millions.

As my colleague Mark Hemingway explained earlier this year, “Trump took out loans over several years, as real estate moguls are wont to do. For him to get approved for those loans, the banks did their own due diligence about Trump’s finances and ability to pay back the loans and decided to give them to him. Trump paid back the loans, and everyone made money.”

Enogoron ultimately ordered Trump to pay $354 million plus an additional $100 million in interest. Trump posted a $175 million bond in April and appealed the ruling.

Trump’s team argued on Thursday before the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department that the case was a “clear-cut violation of the statute of limitations,” and that the statute used to bring charges against the former president ultimately did not justify the action taken. (Read more from “NY Judges Scrutinize ‘Troubling’ $450 Million Penalty in Trump Fraud Case: ‘No One Lost Any Money’” HERE)

COVID Adviser Brags in Secret Recording About Drug-Fueled Sex Parties Mid-Pandemic: ‘Had to Be Sneaky’

/3 Comments/in , /by

New York City’s former COVID czar was caught on a hidden camera boasting about having drug-fueled sex parties mid-pandemic — and admitting New Yorkers would have been “pissed” if they had found out at the time.

Dr. Jay Varma — who served as senior health adviser to then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and was tasked with running the Big Apple’s pandemic response — made the confession in secretly recorded conversations with a so-called undercover operative from conservative podcaster Steven Crowder’s “Mug Club.”

“I had to be kind of sneaky about it … because I was running the entire COVID response in the city,” Varma was filmed telling the unidentified woman on Aug. 1 in what appears to be a restaurant.

The edited clips of the hidden camera footage, which were all recorded between July 27 and Aug. 14 in New York, were released by Crowder on Thursday. The Post has not reviewed the full, unedited recordings.

The identity of the woman Varma was speaking to — or where he met up with her — wasn’t clear. The nature of their relationship also wasn’t clear. (Read more from “COVID Adviser Brags in Secret Recording About Drug-Fueled Sex Parties Mid-Pandemic: ‘Had to Be Sneaky’” HERE)

Ex-Employee Sues Blue State University For Allegedly Firing Her After She Converted To Christianity

/0 Comments/in , /by

A former City University of New York (CUNY) staff member is suing the university for wrongfully terminating her employment after she converted to Christianity, according to a religious discrimination lawsuit filed last week.

Teona Pagan, who worked at CUNY’s Research Foundation as the Fellowships and Public Service Program Coordinator, alleges she was denied a religious accommodation for an aspect of her job that required her to recruit students for a fellowship focused on the promotion of LGBT “rights and causes,” according to the complaint filed Aug. 28. When Pagan converted to Christianity in April 2022 — months after beginning her job in November 2021 — she suddenly found her duties related to the fellowship in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.

“After my hire, I was told that the committee was particularly drawn to me because of my youthful maturity and willingness to stand boldly for issues plaguing our generation,” Pagan told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Ironically, when I decided to finally stand for the Truth, who is Jesus Christ, they chose to terminate my employment.”

Pagan was hired for the position right after graduating from the Honors Program at CUNY’s Baruch College, according to the lawsuit.

Pagan oversaw nine other fellowship programs, and less than 10% of her job was devoted to the LGBT-centered program, known as the Mixner Fellowship, she told the DCNF. She thought the religious accommodation would be an “easy fix and compromise,” especially since she had collaborated with her supervisor on other projects “where roles shifted smoothly.” (Read more from “Ex-Employee Sues Blue State University For Allegedly Firing Her After She Converted To Christianity” HERE)

Bombshell Indictment: Top New York Democrat Aide Worked as Agent of Influence for China, Communist Party

/1 Comment/in , /by

A former top aide to New York Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Kathy Hochul (D) used her high-ranking position in the state’s government to peddle influence for China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while profiting millions in the process, an unsealed federal indictment alleges.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against 41-year-old Linda Sun, born in China and a naturalized American citizen, and her husband, 40-year-old Chris Hu. The indictment charges the couple with operating a money laundering and bank fraud scheme thanks in part to Sun’s allegedly acting as an agent of influence for China while working in Cuomo and Hochul’s administrations.

The couple were arrested and arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

The 64-page indictment is far-reaching, detailing Sun’s alleged work as an agent for China and her husband’s subsequent illegal business dealings in China. In particular, the indictment lays out how Sun allegedly acted on behalf of the CCP while working for Cuomo, who is called “Politician-1,” and Hochul, who is called “Politician-2.” The indictment states:

The defendant LINDA SUN acted at the order, direction, or request of representatives of the [People’s Republic of China (PRC)] government and the CCP to engage in political activities intended to influence the public, including the [New York State (NYS)] government, with respect to the political or public interests of the PRC government and the CCP. (Read more from “Bombshell Indictment: Top New York Democrat Aide Worked as Agent of Influence for China, Communist Party” HERE)

FBI Raids Home of Ex-UN Weapons Inspector & Anti-War Pundit Scott Ritter

/2 Comments/in , , /by

On Wednesday the upstate New York home of Scott Ritter was raided by the FBI and state police. The FBI has since confirmed in a statement that this is part of an ongoing federal investigation into Ritter.

Agents were seen entering his house in Delmar, NY in widely shared photographs and local media footage in the afternoon. It was unclear if Ritter was at home at the time and the allegations at the center of the investigation remain unknown.

“I can confirm FBI personnel are at a home on Dover [Drive] conducting law enforcement activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation,” a statement from the FBI’s Albany office confirmed. “As the investigation is ongoing, [Department of Justice] policy prevents me from commenting further.”

Ritter became a prominent figure as the chief UN weapons inspector in the 1990s in Iraq and ex-intelligence official (Marine Corp intelligence) who publicly opposed the George W. Bush administration’s drive to take the United States into war with Iraq.

He subsequently became a popular anti-war pundit and leading critic of US foreign policy. For an example of his ongoing criticisms of the US government and foreign policy, he wrote in 2019, “I love my country, but the collective ignorance of the American people empowers so-called public servants who abuse their positions of trust to push policies that further individual agendas at the expense of the nation they ostensibly serve. Fact-based logic no longer matters.”

More recently he has been a fierce critic of US policy related to the war in Ukraine, having also made several trips to Russia during the course of the war which began in February 2022.

(Read more from “FBI Raids Home of Ex-UN Weapons Inspector & Anti-War Pundit Scott Ritter” HERE)

Blue State to Ban Hotels From Providing Guests With Mini Shampoo, Conditioner Bottles

/1 Comment/in , , /by

New York state will be mandating hotels to forgo small bottles containing “hospitality care” products such as shampoo and lotions.

The enforcement comes as a bill was passed in the New York Assembly in hopes of reducing waste.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2025, hotels with more than 50 rooms will not be able to provide toiletry bottles under 12 ounces, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s website.

The act, which was first introduced in 2019, defines “hospitality personal care product” as a “product provided by a hotel and intended to be applied to or used on the human body or any part thereof for cleansing,” the legislation states.

The law says that hotels that break the restriction will first receive a warning with 30 days to “correct the violation.” (Read more from “Blue State to Ban Hotels From Providing Guests With Mini Shampoo, Conditioner Bottles” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Court Rules Against Donald Trump’s Gag Order Appeal

/0 Comments/in , /by

Former President Donald Trump will remain gagged during his criminal trial in Manhattan, a New York appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Trump can now petition the New York Court of Appeals.

The gag order prevents Trump from making public comments about witnesses participating in the trial, counsel other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, “members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or … the family members of any counsel or staff member, if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with … counsel’s or staff’s work” on the case. It also encompasses prospective jurors.

The order read:

We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm.

(Read more from “Court Rules Against Donald Trump’s Gag Order Appeal” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump Civil Fraud Judge’s Talks With Attorney Under Investigation by Ethics Commission: Report (VIDEO)

/0 Comments/in , /by

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is investigating an alleged interaction between a New York real estate lawyer and the judge who issued a $454 million judgement against former President Donald Trump, according to NBC New York.

Real estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey said he had a conversation with Judge Arthur Engoron a few weeks before the judge’s decision was due, NBC New York reported. Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York sued Trump in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings in order to obtain loans.

“I actually had the ability to speak to him three weeks ago,” Bailey said in the Feb. 16 interview, according to NBC New York. “I saw him in the corner [at the courthouse] and I told my client, ‘I need to go.’ And I walked over and we started talking … I wanted him to know what I think and why…I really want him to get it right.”

“No ex parte conversation concerning this matter occurred between Justice Engoron and Mr. Bailey or any other person. The decision Justice Engoron issued February 16 was his alone, was deeply considered, and was wholly uninfluenced by this individual,” a spokesman for Engoron told NBC New York. (Read more from “Trump Civil Fraud Judge’s Talks With Attorney Under Investigation by Ethics Commission: Report (VIDEO)” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Blue State Bill Could Ban Immensely Popular Pistol

/1 Comment/in , /by

The New York state Legislature is considering a bill that could ban the popular semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Glock, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Democratic State Sen. Zellnor Myrie of New York, who represents Brooklyn, will introduce the bill in the New York State Senate Tuesday, the WSJ reported. The legislation will require firearms manufacturers to alter their firearms to prevent easy conversion to fire fully-automatic or the pistols would be banned.

Myrie claimed that so-called “Glock switches” and “pistol converters” were a threat to his constituents, according to the WSJ. The parts, capable of being made by 3D printers, are the latest target of New York legislators, who also banned so-called “ghost guns” and bump stocks in past legislation, the WSJ reported.

Myrie’s proposed bill was celebrated by the Bloomberg-funded gun-control group Everytown in a post thread on X.

“For decades, Glock has known that its pistols are uniquely susceptible to being converted into illegal machine guns in a matter of minutes with cheap, quarter-sized devices, now called Glock switches,” the group claimed. (Read more from “Blue State Bill Could Ban Immensely Popular Pistol” HERE)

Illegal Alien Bites, Punches Security Guard in Vicious Attack at Controversial NYC Shelter: Report

/3 Comments/in , /by

A security guard at Randalls Island shelter in New York City was brutally attacked by an illegal alien on Monday morning, sources told the New York Post.

The tent city shelter has become a hotbed for violent activity since it was converted into temporary makeshift housing for illegal immigrants in August.

Around 6:45 a.m. Monday, 24-year-old Oscar Adrian Al Ordonez was heard arguing with his wife inside the shelter, the Post reported. A security guard, 40, intervened in the altercation, hoping to break up the heated exchange.

Ordonez responded by abruptly punching the guard, according to sources. The aggressor also allegedly scratched the worker’s face and neck and bit his head.

The security guard defended himself, punching Ordonez in the face, the sources told the Post. They noted that the illegal immigrant was bruised and bleeding as a result of the conflict. When authorities arrived at the scene, neither Ordonez nor the guard requested medical attention. (Read more from “Illegal Alien Bites, Punches Security Guard in Vicious Attack at Controversial NYC Shelter: Report” HERE)