Arguments set to begin in Trump appeal of fraud verdict
Arguments will begin shortly in a New York courtroom on Donald Trump’s appeal of the almost $500 million civil fraud verdict against him.
Trump’s attorneys are expected to tell a five-judge panel of the state Appellate Division that Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling finding Trump, his top executives and his company liable for fraud was legally flawed, and that the financial penalty he handed down was excessive.
As of Thursday, Trump’s judgment with interest is more than $478 million, increasing by almost $112,000 per day, according to the New York attorney general’s office, which sued Trump on the state’s behalf. The total judgment with interest for all defendants is more than $489 million.
The AG’s office maintains that the finding and the penalty were appropriate given the length of the fraud and the amount of money the company took in as a result of the scheme.
‘Not accurate’: The Republican mayor in Aurora is pushing back at Trump’s migrant depictions
AURORA, Colo. — The Republican mayor of Colorado’s third-largest city doesn’t think Trump will follow through on his promise to visit the mountain community, which has become embroiled in the national debate over immigration that the GOP nominee is helping fuel.
“I kind of doubt it by now,” Mike Coffman said in an interview this week. “The fact that we’re not a battleground state and the fact that you have a mayor who’s a Republican with a different view of the conditions of the city I think probably would cause him to hold back.”
But unlike Springfield, Ohio, where the mayor has asked Trump not to visit, Coffman would welcome him.
Evangelicals for Harris launches seven-figure ad campaign targeting Christians
A group called Evangelicals for Harris launched a seven-figure ad campaign aimed at Christian voters in the key battleground states today, using the ads to argue Donald Trump’s words and behavior contradict Christian teachings.
The series of ads draws on biblical themes and contrasts those with Trump’s words. One quotes the Bible’s warnings against “false prophets” before showing clips of Trump saying he could shoot someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose voters, threatening to order the indictment of a political opponent, and saying immigrants “are poisoning the blood” of the country. Another ad suggests Trump has failed to follow the biblical commandment to repent.
The newest ad features clips from a speech delivered by the late televangelist Billy Graham, based on 2 Timothy 3:1-5, where he warns about the dangers of people who are greedy, arrogant, deceitful and violent — intercut with clips of Trump.
“In the last days, the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centered and greedy for money,” Graham says.
“My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I grabbed all the money I could,” Trump says.
“They will be proud and abusive ... reckless, and arrogant,” Graham continues.
“I am the chosen one,” Trump says.
“Keep clear of that,” Graham concludes.
Trump to give remarks this afternoon at Trump Tower
Trump will deliver remarks at Trump Tower in New York at 4:30 p.m. The campaign did not specify what the remarks are about or whether the former president will take questions.
N.Y. Mayor Eric Adams hit with five charges
The Southern District of New York unsealed its five-count indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams in connection with contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, “including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.” The charges include: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; one count of wire fraud; two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and one count of bribery.
Prosecutors ask to postpone Hunter Biden gun charges sentencing
Prosecutors from special counsel David Weiss’ office are asking the judge who presided over Hunter Biden’s trial on gun-related charges to delay his December sentencing by one week.
The president’s son was initially scheduled to be sentenced on three felony gun charges in federal court in Delaware on Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika later granted a request from Biden’s lawyers to push the date back to Dec. 4.
In a court filing today, prosecutors said that date conflicts with the trial of Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant who’s been charged with making false statements about Biden. They asked that the date be pushed back to sometime the following week.
“The defendant does not oppose the motion,” the filing said.
Rudy Giuliani disbarred in Washington, D.C., after losing N.Y. law license
Former New York City Rudy Giuliani has been disbarred from practicing law in Washington, D.C., according to an order filed Thursday by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Giuliani, previously a lawyer for Trump, was suspended from the bar in D.C. in July 2021 and two boards had previously recommended that his law license be permanently revoked over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Both panels had pointed to Giuliani’s efforts to get thousands of votes for President Joe Biden tossed out in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that year.
The D.C. Bar’s Board on Professional Responsibility said in a report in June that there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Giuliani “violated Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct” and therefore “should be disbarred.” A disciplinary board for the D.C. Bar Association made a similar argument in a lengthy decision last year, writing that Giuliani “claimed massive election fraud but had no evidence of it.” The board said, “His utter disregard for facts denigrates the legal profession.”
DSCC chair touts 'momentum' and more money for Senate races in Texas and Florida
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, declined to specify in remarks to reporters this morning just how much money the committee will be spending on the races in Texas and Florida “for strategic purposes.” But he did say he is “very confident there’s going to be more coming.”
Peters said at a National Press Club event that the committee decided to invest in those states after seeing evidence in polling and focus groups that Florida and Texas Senate races are competitive.
“The data is definitely showing some great momentum for us there,” Peters said. “We expect there’s a lot of upside,” especially once voters get to know the Democratic candidates.
Peters did stress that the new investments will not divert resources from other states. Asked specifically about the party’s commitment to the Montana Senate race, Peters said, “There is no world that I, that you can conceive of, that I’m not going to be in Montana right to the very end. Jon Tester will have everything that he needs to win.”
Trump's plane heads toward NYC
Trump is flying to New York City for meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda today. The meetings are scheduled to take place at Trump Tower.
Secret Service told Trump campaign it lacked manpower for security at a planned outdoor rally in Wisconsin
The Trump campaign had planned to host a rally in Wisconsin at an outdoor airport venue Saturday, but was told by the Secret Service that it did not have the manpower and assets to secure the venue while the United Nations General Assembly meeting was happening in New York, an official familiar with the planning told NBC News.
The Secret Service notified the campaign of the issue sometime last week, leaving it a week and a half to “readjust,” the official said. The source described the notification by the USSS as a “last-ish minute” change. NBC News has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Trump’s Saturday remarks are now scheduled to take place at the Prairie du Chien Area Arts Center in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.