Here’s a Look Inside Donald Trump’s $355 Million Civil Fraud Verdict as an Appeals Fight Looms

 

On the witness stand last year, Donald Trump proclaimed: “I have a lot of cash.”

After Friday’s eye-popping penalty in his New York civil fraud trial, he’s going to need it — and maybe more.

A judge ordered the former president to fork over $355 million of his fortune, plus interest, finding he lied for years about his wealth on financial statements he used to secure loans and make deals as he built the real estate empire that vaulted him to fame and the presidency.

“The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience,” Judge Arthur Engoron wrote in a 92-page decision that spares Trump’s company from closure, but forces it into years of court supervision, among other sanctions.

The ruling, after a 2½-month trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit cuts to the core of Trump’s image as a wealthy, shrewd real estate mogul turned political force.

The financial penalty — staggering even for a businessman who’s seen casinos, an airline and other ventures fail — adds to Trump’s mounting legal debts and could put the Republican presidential front-runner in a serious cash crunch as he campaigns to retake the White House.

Trump, who’s also dealing with four criminal cases, decried Friday’s ruling as “election inference” and has vowed to appeal.

Here’s a look at the case, the penalties and what’s next for Trump.

The death of free shipping

You know how sometimes you’re the jerk? Maybe you’re a little aggressive with a lane change to make your exit on the highway. Or you get a little heated with a customer-service rep who has nothing to do with the thing you’re mad about. It happens to the best of us.

Well, if you’ve ever bought stuff online and received free shipping or returns, you’ve also been a little bit of a jerk — and now it’s time to pay up.

Fast, free shipping and easy, no-cost returns have become a baseline expectation in the modern online shopping experience. Many consumers have grown accustomed to treating their bedrooms like store dressing rooms, confident they can regularly buy 20 items of clothing, try them on, and then send all but one back, no questions asked. Waiting even two days for a purchase to arrive seems like forever, and anything greater than $0 for shipping is a robbery. A December 2022 survey by the National Retail Federation and Appriss Retail found a 16.5% return rate for that year, estimating $816 billion worth of merchandise would be sent back.

Belgium Invites Imam That Calls for Killing and Taking Jews Captive to Address Parliament

Absolutely horrified to discover that in Brussels Parliament, an invited Muslim preacher chose to recite parts of Surah "Al-Ahzab", a Surah about a battle between Muslims and Jews.

This is a Surah that explicitly (verse 26) calls for the KILLING and TAKING CAPTIVE of Jews! In… pic.twitter.com/2jO7maJQrg

— Ambassador Idit Rosenzweig-Abu (@IditAbu) February 16, 2024

 An Imam at the Belgian parliament last week began reciting a verse from the Quran that explicitly calls on Muslims to kill and take Jews captive.

The Quran excerpt is verse 33:26 from the Al-Ahzab Surah (chapter). It translates to,

 “ And He brought down those from the People of the Book who supported the enemy alliance from their own strongholds, and cast horror into their hearts. You ‘believers’ killed some, and took others captive.”

Within the Quran, Jews are referred to as the “People of the Book.”

The event on Tuesday was not organized by the parliament, but rather at the initiative of Hasan Koyuncu, a member of parliament within the socialist party and vice president of the Francophone Parliament in Brussels, along with the Friends Of Brussels Association. 

Leftists Spending Tens of Millions of Dollars to Defeat Netanyahu "Sowing nothing but incitement, discord and division"

 

At the conclusion of his press conference Saturday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the reporters in the room over the enormous campaign displaying huge ads against him on Ayalon Highway and other major roads, as well as in the media and social networks, that claim Netanyahu is guilty of the colossal failure of October 7, and the Hamas attack and the massacre that followed.

“There are huge ads on Ayalon and throughout the country and I see advertisements in all the media worth tens of millions of dollars. And I want to ask you – did you not think to investigate this? Did you not think to check who is doing this? Where does it come from? What are the funding sources? Who is behind this huge amount of money which is about nothing but incitement, discord, and division?”

Did Israel Agree to Freeze Settlements in Exchange for American Arms?

 

Maariv’s Anna Barsky on Saturday night cited officials in Judea and Samaria who claimed there’s a settlements construction freeze and as a result, no construction plan has been approved in the past six months in area E1 (the area between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim), which had been promoted by the Lapid-Bennett government, as well as other plans.

According to the sources, Netanyahu and other government officials believed that due to the preoccupation with the war in Gaza, they would be able to push the plans forward more easily under the radar, but the Americans did not approve of this and conditioned the supply of ammunition on freezing construction in Judea and Samaria.

The planned shipment, estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, includes about 1,000 MK-82 bombs, KMU-572 Joint Attack Direct munitions that add precision guidance to the bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses. Israeli and American sources are saying the shipment is still under internal review, and details could change before final approval by various congressional committees.

The precision-guided weapons will allow Israel to better target Hamas leaders and attack areas where enemy forces are fortified underground. However, a growing contingency in both houses of Congress, as well as the White House, insist that Israel complete the removal of civilians from Rafah before giving their approval to the latest military aid.

Peace Now has posted an extensive list of Israeli outposts in Judea and Samaria which have been legalized in 2023: Avigail, Beit Hogla, Givat Ha’Roeh, Givan Arnon, Mitzpe Yeuda, Malachei HaShalom, Asa’el, Sdeh Bo’az, Shacharit, Mevo’ot Yericho, Nofei Nechemia, Pnei Kedem, Zeit Ra’anan, and Netiv Ha’Avot.

In addition, according to Peace Now, the Israeli government has completed several roads that bypass Arab towns in Judea and Samaria that are renowned for murderous attacks on Israeli vehicles that were forced to drive through on their main road, most notably Huwara.

David Israel

David writes news at JewishPress.com.

Trump’s historic civil fraud trial ruling will spur a NY business exodus

 

The men and women who run New York's big banks and financial firms have had a long and somewhat tortured history with the former president dating back from his days as a real estate mogul.

Yet they see what’s happening to Donald Trump in the byzantine Letitia James bank-fraud prosecution and the over-the-top penalties issued by a state judge that could bankrupt Trump over relatively little.

They know they could be next — unless of course, they get out of New York , and fast.

That’s the word I’m getting from top executives at financial services firms, who paid close attention to the Trump case because of its broad implications for their businesses.

For years they’ve eyed the New York State Attorney General’s Office as a nuisance, its occupant using state laws, like the Martin Act, that give it wide latitude to prosecute financial crimes (and some petty crimes) for ­political advancement.

Recall: Before he was known as “Governor Socks,” Eliot Spitzer was the much-feared New York AG, the so-called sheriff of Wall Street, cracking down mostly on minor offenses that forced financial firms to fork over billions.

James’ power plays

James has taken Spitzer’s methods to more dangerous levels, Wall Street executives concede.

She has a well-earned rep for using her bully pulpit for political gain — see the “report” on her rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, over sex-abuse allegations that never materialized in prosecution, but did force Cuomo from office.

In Trump, James went further.

Leftist caught on camera punching a woman in the face during a protest against the government

 

Unbelievable! An extreme left-wing activist went to protect Arab shepherds from settlers ..Watch What happens!

 At the end, the Arab shepherds threw her out of the vehicle and stole her car ! 

Red Cross assisted Hamas terrorists at the Erez Crossing on October 7

 

TRUE FACE OF THE RED CROSS

Israel Was Behind Recent Crippling Attacks On Iran’s Gas Infrastructure

 

The New York Times reported on Friday that Israel is behind multiple recent explosions affecting Iranian gas pipelines, citing sources including two Western officials and a military strategist associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran’s oil minister, Javad Owji, addressed the reported attacks, describing them as sabotage and terrorist acts aimed at disrupting gas flow during the winter season.

“The enemy’s plan was to completely disrupt the flow of gas in winter to several main cities and provinces in our country,” he said.

Despite the disruption caused by the attacks, Owji downplayed their impact. However, reports from Iranian governors and officials at the state gas company indicate widespread outages across five provinces due to the attacks, leading to the closure of government buildings.

The targeted natural gas pipeline originates in Iran’s western Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, extending north to cities on the Caspian Sea. Measuring approximately 790 miles, the pipeline starts in Asaluyeh, a crucial hub for Iran’s offshore South Pars gas field.

Notably, the targeted province lacks known insurgent groups that have taken responsibility for other similar attacks and is primarily inhabited by the Bakhtiari, a branch of Iran’s Lur ethnic group.

The Times also said Israel was involved in a separate incident on Thursday involving an explosion at a chemical factory on the outskirts of Tehran. Local officials initially attributed the blast to an accident in the factory’s fuel tank.