Lawyers spar over positive Covid tests and trial delay
From CNN's Lauren del Valle and Jeremy Herb
Former President Donald Trump sits in a New York State Supreme Court room alongside his lawyers including Chris Kise, right, on Tuesday. Mike Segar/Pool via Reuters
Trump attorney Chris Kise objected at the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, telling the court that four members of the NY attorney general’s staff tested positive for Covid and complained that there was no mention of it until the weekend.
“The leading candidate for president of the United States" is here, Kise said.
If it were the other way around and the Trump team exposed the court to the risk, Kise added, "I’d be in shackles if I had not notified the court of some risk. The attorney general would be up in arms."
Kise alleged that Attorney General Letitia James knew about the risk at least as of last Wednesday but there was no mention of it. He said the court was not notified until Saturday and said four AG team members have tested positive.
Another Trump attorney also confirmed a member of the former president’s team tested positive.
Judge Arthur Engoron said court will proceed and commented, "I understand what you’re saying. I understand your concerns.” He added that masks are available.
Neither Trump nor anyone on his legal team is wearing a mask, and neither is James. Only a handful of people in the gallery are wearing masks.
Trump’s attorneys also objected to using the same microphone to question witnesses as the district attorney’s office. Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez was given a wireless microphone when he started his cross-examination of the first witness on Tuesday.
The NY Attorney General’s office said it followed US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“As always, the Attorney General’s Office has followed and complied with CDC guidelines. Our office properly notified the court and defendants’ counsel, and the court decided to proceed with trial today,” a spokesman from the AG’s office said. “If there were any concerns, defendants’ could wear masks today or at any point, but they have opted not to.”
1 hr 3 min ago
Mazars general counsel testifies about working with Trump Org.
From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Lauren del Valle
The first witness Tuesday for the New York attorney general's office is Bill Kelly, the general counsel of Mazars, the accounting firm used by Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
Kelly testified that Mazars determined the company could still work with Trump Org. when it first received a congressional subpoena in 2019 and as it received additional subpoenas thereafter.
Mazars continued to work with Trump Org. until they received a subpoena in May 2021 when it learned the Manhattan District Attorney’s office was investigating Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg.
“If we can no longer rely on him as CFO we can no longer perform those services,” Kelly said.
Trump is following along with Kelly's testimony though not reacting to it. He's alternating between leaning back and sitting up to look at documents on the screen in front of him as they are shown by the attorney general's office.
1 hr 40 min ago
Trump calls Michael Cohen a “proven liar” as he enters courtroom
From CNN's Laura Dolan
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press after arriving at New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Former President Donald Trump called his former attorney Michael Cohen a “proven liar” as he entered court Tuesday morning.
“He’s a proven liar,” Trump said. “He’s a felon. He has served a lot of time for lying and we’re just going to go in and see.”
Cohen says his lies were made at Trump's direction.
Trump again complained about the trial and said he’s done nothing wrong.
“This case by any other judge, this case would have been over a long time ago,” Trump said.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty and served prison time for nine federal crimes including tax fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations for helping pay off two women who threatened to go public with past alleged affairs with Trump just before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affairs.
1 hr 20 min ago
Another Trump campaign attorney pleads guilty
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Jenna Ellis sits with her lawyers after pleading guilty inside a Fulton County Courtroom in Atlanta on Tuesday. John Bazemore/Pool via Reuters
At the same time as Trump is attending the civil fraud trial in New York, another of his former campaign lawyers, Jenna Ellis, is pleading guilty in an Atlanta courtroom for her efforts to help overturn the 2020 election.
The overlapping courtroom drama shows the ongoing legal peril to the former president in multiple jurisdictions.
Ellis delivered a tearful statement to the judge Tuesday while pleading guilty, disavowing her participation in Trump's unprecedented attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
"If I knew then what I knew now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-challenges. I look back on this experience with deep remorse," Ellis said, her voice breaking at times.
1 hr 53 min ago
Cohen says he's looking forward to Tuesday's reunion
From CNN's Nicki Brown
Michael Cohen arrives at the New York State Supreme Court in New York on Tuesday. Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Ahead of the taking the stand in a New York courtroom Tuesday, Michael Cohen spoke to reporters outside his apartment, saying he is “looking forward to the reunion” with Donald Trump.
“It’s been five years since we’ve been in the same room,” Cohen said.
Cohen said that despite pleading guilty to lying to Congress, “my credibility should not be in question,” because it was done “at the direction of, in concert with, and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump.”
2 hr 42 min ago
Michael Cohen set to testify today in fraud trial of his former boss, Donald Trump
From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Lauren del Valle
Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen is seen in New York in March. Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images
Michael Cohen was once one of Donald Trump’s most loyal allies.
But after going to jail for tax crimes and lying to Congress, Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” became a star witness against his former boss, testifying before Congress about the hush-money payments he made to women claiming affairs with Trump and writing books highly critical of the former president.
Tuesday, Trump and Cohen are expected to be face to face in a New York courtroom as Cohen delivers testimony as part of the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case against the former president.
When Cohen takes the stand, he will face down a very angry Donald Trump. It’s the first time the two have been in the same room or even spoken in five years, according to multiple sources.
“It appears that I will be reunited with my old client @realDonaldTrump when I testify this Tuesday, October 24th at the @NewYorkStateAG civil fraud trial. See you there!” Cohen posted last week on the social media site Threads.
Cohen’s testimony is the latest high-profile moment in the civil fraud trial, in which New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to bar Trump from doing business in the state. While Trump has played only a passive role in the trial to date, he is expected to be called as a witness later on.
Trump voluntarily attended the civil trial’s opening days, and the former president returned last week, when Cohen was initially supposed to be called to testify, though Cohen’s appearance was delayed after he cited a medical issue.
Trump is also returning to the courtroom after he was fined $5,000 last week by Judge Arthur Engoron – and warned about possible imprisonment – for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff. Engoron fined Trump over a social media post attacking Engoron’s clerk that had not been removed from Trump’s campaign website.
Cohen is expected to testify about meetings with former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and Trump regarding Trump’s financial statements and net worth. Cohen has claimed there were meetings with Weisselberg and Trump about Trump’s net worth before the financial statements were filed. Weisselberg testified earlier in the trial, “I don’t believe it ever happened, no.”
Judge fines Trump $5,000 for violating gag order in New York fraud trial
From CNN's Kara Scannell and Sabrina Souza
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press during a break in his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 17. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 by a New York judge on Friday for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff — and was warned twice about possible imprisonment.
“Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it,” Judge Arthur Engoron said in his order last week.
“Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is not longer appropriate; this Court is way behind the ‘warning’ stage," it said.
On the second day of the trial, October 3, Engoron issued a partial gag order on all parties not to speak about any members of the court staff after Trump posted on Truth Social attacking Engoron’s clerk. The post claimed she was a “girlfriend” to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, showing a picture of the two of them together.
The post was removed from Truth Social right after the gag order was issued, but it was not erased from Trump’s campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com.
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over former President Trump's civil fraud case on October 17. Seth Wenig/Pool via Reuters
In court, Engoron admonished the former president’s attorneys for a “blatant violation” of the gag order and suggested that violations could result in “imprisonment.”
“I learned that the subject post was never removed from the website,” he said. “And, in fact, had been on that website for the past 17 days. I understand that it was removed late last night but only in response to an email.”
Trump attorney Chris Kise apologized to Engoron, saying it was “inadvertent” that the post was able to live on what he called a “back page” of Trump’s campaign website.
Kise blamed it on the large machinery of the campaign and was assured the judge that Trump ordered the post removed.
Donald Trump and his former attorney and "fixer" Michael Cohen are expected to come face to face in a courtroom Tuesday as Cohen delivers testimony as part of the New York attorney general's civil fraud case against the former president.
In the $250 million lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges Trump and his co-defendants committed repeated fraud in inflating assets on financial statements to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies. The case is civil, not criminal, but threatens Trump's business in New York.
Trump is returning to the courtroom after he was fined $5,000 last week by Judge Arthur Engoron – and warned about possible imprisonment – for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff.
Meanwhile, in a separate Trump case, another one of his former campaign lawyers is pleading guilty for her efforts to help overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Former President Donald Trump sits in a New York State Supreme Court room alongside his lawyers including Chris Kise, right, on Tuesday. Mike Segar/Pool via Reuters
Trump attorney Chris Kise objected at the start of Tuesday’s proceedings, telling the court that four members of the NY attorney general’s staff tested positive for Covid and complained that there was no mention of it until the weekend.
“The leading candidate for president of the United States" is here, Kise said.
If it were the other way around and the Trump team exposed the court to the risk, Kise added, "I’d be in shackles if I had not notified the court of some risk. The attorney general would be up in arms."
Kise alleged that Attorney General Letitia James knew about the risk at least as of last Wednesday but there was no mention of it. He said the court was not notified until Saturday and said four AG team members have tested positive.
Another Trump attorney also confirmed a member of the former president’s team tested positive.
Judge Arthur Engoron said court will proceed and commented, "I understand what you’re saying. I understand your concerns.” He added that masks are available.
Neither Trump nor anyone on his legal team is wearing a mask, and neither is James. Only a handful of people in the gallery are wearing masks.
Trump’s attorneys also objected to using the same microphone to question witnesses as the district attorney’s office. Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez was given a wireless microphone when he started his cross-examination of the first witness on Tuesday.
The NY Attorney General’s office said it followed US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“As always, the Attorney General’s Office has followed and complied with CDC guidelines. Our office properly notified the court and defendants’ counsel, and the court decided to proceed with trial today,” a spokesman from the AG’s office said. “If there were any concerns, defendants’ could wear masks today or at any point, but they have opted not to.”
The first witness Tuesday for the New York attorney general's office is Bill Kelly, the general counsel of Mazars, the accounting firm used by Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
Kelly testified that Mazars determined the company could still work with Trump Org. when it first received a congressional subpoena in 2019 and as it received additional subpoenas thereafter.
Mazars continued to work with Trump Org. until they received a subpoena in May 2021 when it learned the Manhattan District Attorney’s office was investigating Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg.
“If we can no longer rely on him as CFO we can no longer perform those services,” Kelly said.
Trump is following along with Kelly's testimony though not reacting to it. He's alternating between leaning back and sitting up to look at documents on the screen in front of him as they are shown by the attorney general's office.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press after arriving at New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Former President Donald Trump called his former attorney Michael Cohen a “proven liar” as he entered court Tuesday morning.
“He’s a proven liar,” Trump said. “He’s a felon. He has served a lot of time for lying and we’re just going to go in and see.”
Cohen says his lies were made at Trump's direction.
Trump again complained about the trial and said he’s done nothing wrong.
“This case by any other judge, this case would have been over a long time ago,” Trump said.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty and served prison time for nine federal crimes including tax fraud, lying to Congress and campaign finance violations for helping pay off two women who threatened to go public with past alleged affairs with Trump just before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affairs.
Jenna Ellis sits with her lawyers after pleading guilty inside a Fulton County Courtroom in Atlanta on Tuesday. John Bazemore/Pool via Reuters
At the same time as Trump is attending the civil fraud trial in New York, another of his former campaign lawyers, Jenna Ellis, is pleading guilty in an Atlanta courtroom for her efforts to help overturn the 2020 election.
The overlapping courtroom drama shows the ongoing legal peril to the former president in multiple jurisdictions.
Ellis delivered a tearful statement to the judge Tuesday while pleading guilty, disavowing her participation in Trump's unprecedented attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
"If I knew then what I knew now, I would have declined to represent Donald Trump in these post-challenges. I look back on this experience with deep remorse," Ellis said, her voice breaking at times.
Michael Cohen arrives at the New York State Supreme Court in New York on Tuesday. Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Ahead of the taking the stand in a New York courtroom Tuesday, Michael Cohen spoke to reporters outside his apartment, saying he is “looking forward to the reunion” with Donald Trump.
“It’s been five years since we’ve been in the same room,” Cohen said.
Cohen said that despite pleading guilty to lying to Congress, “my credibility should not be in question,” because it was done “at the direction of, in concert with, and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump.”
Former Trump Attorney Michael Cohen is seen in New York in March. Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images
Michael Cohen was once one of Donald Trump’s most loyal allies.
But after going to jail for tax crimes and lying to Congress, Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” became a star witness against his former boss, testifying before Congress about the hush-money payments he made to women claiming affairs with Trump and writing books highly critical of the former president.
Tuesday, Trump and Cohen are expected to be face to face in a New York courtroom as Cohen delivers testimony as part of the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case against the former president.
When Cohen takes the stand, he will face down a very angry Donald Trump. It’s the first time the two have been in the same room or even spoken in five years, according to multiple sources.
“It appears that I will be reunited with my old client @realDonaldTrump when I testify this Tuesday, October 24th at the @NewYorkStateAG civil fraud trial. See you there!” Cohen posted last week on the social media site Threads.
Cohen’s testimony is the latest high-profile moment in the civil fraud trial, in which New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to bar Trump from doing business in the state. While Trump has played only a passive role in the trial to date, he is expected to be called as a witness later on.
Trump voluntarily attended the civil trial’s opening days, and the former president returned last week, when Cohen was initially supposed to be called to testify, though Cohen’s appearance was delayed after he cited a medical issue.
Trump is also returning to the courtroom after he was fined $5,000 last week by Judge Arthur Engoron – and warned about possible imprisonment – for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff. Engoron fined Trump over a social media post attacking Engoron’s clerk that had not been removed from Trump’s campaign website.
Cohen is expected to testify about meetings with former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and Trump regarding Trump’s financial statements and net worth. Cohen has claimed there were meetings with Weisselberg and Trump about Trump’s net worth before the financial statements were filed. Weisselberg testified earlier in the trial, “I don’t believe it ever happened, no.”
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the press during a break in his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 17. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 by a New York judge on Friday for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff — and was warned twice about possible imprisonment.
“Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it,” Judge Arthur Engoron said in his order last week.
“Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is not longer appropriate; this Court is way behind the ‘warning’ stage," it said.
On the second day of the trial, October 3, Engoron issued a partial gag order on all parties not to speak about any members of the court staff after Trump posted on Truth Social attacking Engoron’s clerk. The post claimed she was a “girlfriend” to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, showing a picture of the two of them together.
The post was removed from Truth Social right after the gag order was issued, but it was not erased from Trump’s campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com.
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over former President Trump's civil fraud case on October 17. Seth Wenig/Pool via Reuters
In court, Engoron admonished the former president’s attorneys for a “blatant violation” of the gag order and suggested that violations could result in “imprisonment.”
“I learned that the subject post was never removed from the website,” he said. “And, in fact, had been on that website for the past 17 days. I understand that it was removed late last night but only in response to an email.”
Trump attorney Chris Kise apologized to Engoron, saying it was “inadvertent” that the post was able to live on what he called a “back page” of Trump’s campaign website.
Kise blamed it on the large machinery of the campaign and was assured the judge that Trump ordered the post removed.
