Northeast
Trump touts defense team has 'won' Manhattan case as he calls on Merchan to dismiss
Former President Trump said his defense team has already “won the case by any standard” in the NY v. Trump trial as he called on presiding Judge Juan Merchan to dismiss this case.
“We have a phenomenal case. We’ve won the case by any standard; any other judge would have thrown this case, any other judge would have thrown this case out. And I think that Juan Merchan would do himself and the state and the city a great service by doing what everybody knows should be done,” Trump said Tuesday morning outside the Manhattan courtroom.
“I will be doing something in the morning and then probably coming back in the afternoon, and we’ll be resting pretty quickly. Resting, meaning resting the case. I won’t be resting. I don’t rest. I’d like to rest sometimes, but I don’t get to rest. But we are,” Trump added. The defense team rested the case shortly following Trump’s remarks, and Merchan dismissed the jury until after Memorial Day.
Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche on Monday motioned for an order of dismissal, citing that there has been no evidence any of the business records or filings related to the case were false. The case itself focuses on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office must prove to the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to payments to former pornography actress Stormy Daniels but that he did so in furtherance of another crime: conspiracy to promote or prevent election.
COHEN’S BOMBSHELL ADMISSION COULD LEAD TO HUNG JURY, IF NOT ACQUITTAL: EXPERT
Former President Trump waves while leaving Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
The prosecution team argues that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has repeatedly denied any affair with Daniels.
Blanche said there were “absolutely no false business filings” and no evidence of connection to Trump.
“How on Earth is keeping a false story from voters criminal?” Blanche said.
NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN ADMITS TO STEALING TENS OF THOUSANDS FROM FORMER PRESIDENT’S BUSINESS
Merchan told the court Monday he would rule on the motion to dismiss at a later time.
The prosecution team’s star witness, Michael Cohen, admitted in testimony on Monday that he stole thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization.
Former President Trump speaks to members of the media before entering the courtroom with his attorney, Todd Blanche, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on May 21, 2024. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Cohen in bombshell testimony revealed that he stole $60,000 from the Trump Organization by overstating how much he paid a tech company that provided services for the company. Cohen said he told former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in 2017 that he had paid tech firm Red Finch $50,000 out of his own pocket and that he still needed to be reimbursed for the payment.
NY V TRUMP: MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE’S CONSIDERING CONGRESSIONAL RUN
Weisselberg and Cohen in 2017 calculated a $420,000 repayment to Cohen for his $130,000 payment to Daniels, as well as the alleged $50,000 payment to Red Finch. The repayment plan was “grossed up” compared to what Cohen said he paid to Daniels and Red Finch, sparing him a tax hit and meaning he was able to pocket thousands from the Trump Org.
Cohen said taking the money was “almost like self-help” and that he took it because he was “angry” that his yearly bonus had been slashed.
NY V TRUMP TO RESUME WITH CONTINUED CROSS-EXAMINATION OF MICHAEL COHEN AS TRIAL NEARS CONCLUSION
Michael Cohen is cross-examined by defense lawyer Todd Blanche during former President Trump’s criminal trial. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Amid his testimony Monday, Cohen also said he’s mulling a potential congressional run, citing he has the “best name recognition out there.”
Tuesday, which marks the 20th day of court for the case, kicked off with continued testimony from defense witness Robert Costello, a former legal representative of Cohen who testified before a grand jury last year that Cohen is a “serial liar.”
TRUMP SLAMS NY COURT SYSTEM, BOASTS HE’S GOING ‘TO WIN’ EMPIRE STATE
The courtroom became tense during Costello’s testimony Monday, with Merchan ordering the media and jurors out of the room after Costello audibly and visibly disapproved of the judge’s rulings that sustained multiple objections from the prosecution team.
Robert Costello, center, appears on “America’s Newsroom with Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino.” (Robert Costello/America’s Newsroom)
“I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom,” Merchan said after the jury left. “You don’t say strike it, because I’m the only one who can strike it.”
Merchan reprimanded Costello to not roll his eyes or react to his rulings. Before the jury came back into the courtroom, Merchan asked Costello, “Are you staring me down?”
Trump said Monday that Merchan can earn back “respect” if he rules to dismiss the case.
“This case should be dropped by the judge. I think the judge, if he did, that … could gain the respect back. The appellate court has to step in, something has to happen. Think of it: The Republican Party, one of the two great parties, nominates somebody to be their candidate, and that candidate now has been sitting here for almost five weeks in a freezing cold icebox listening to this stuff,” Trump said Monday following a whirlwind day in court.
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Northeast
From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail
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Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are spending their days for the foreseeable future at a notorious jail in Brooklyn known for housing high-profile defendants awaiting trial in New York City.
The Metropolitan Detention Center, known as MDC Brooklyn, is a sprawling, industrial-style facility that has faced a series of scandals in recent years involving assaults and poor prison conditions. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader arrested in his home in Caracas by the U.S. military over the weekend, is now being held at the jail on narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons charges.
MDC Brooklyn currently holds more than 1,300 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons. A BOP representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that Maduro and his wife were among that figure.
MADURO’S WIFE SUFFERED ‘SIGNIFICANT INJURIES’ IN DRAMATIC CAPTURE, ATTORNEY ALLEGES
Federal officers stand guard outside the Department of Justice next to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, in New York City, Jan. 3, 2026. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
MDC Brooklyn inmates include little-known defendants and prominent ones, and they face a range of mild to serious charges.
Maduro is likely to be held in what is known as the “VIP section” of the jail, according to Renato Stabile. Stabile is a New York-based criminal defense lawyer who represented former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was also held in MDC Brooklyn before he was freed in December as a result of Trump granting him a controversial pardon.
Stabile told Fox News Digital the VIP section is part of the east side of the jail, where high-profile figures like Hernández, rap artist Sean “Diddy” Combs and convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried were once held. Others at MDC Brooklyn include Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of murdering a top health insurance CEO. Jeffrey Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was also held there.
People celebrate in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 3, 2026, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)
Those on the east side will be “hanging out together every day and watching TV together and playing pingpong together and doing whatever they do on that side,” Stabile said. He said the west side, where general population inmates are held, might be more crowded but that treatment of them was likely otherwise the same.
One reason inmates are segregated based on their notoriety could be that they are more vulnerable to violence or extortion, he said.
MDC Brooklyn is a male and female jail, but the inmates are not intermixed by sex, so Maduro and his wife might not be able to interact much there, except during joint meetings with their lawyers.
AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFORCERS
NYPD officers stand guard on a blocked road outside the MDC Brooklyn on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Maduro is being represented by New York-based attorney Barry Pollack, who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and now await their next court appearance, slated for March 17.
MDC Brooklyn has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its troubles, including a week-long power outage in the winter of 2019 that left inmates in freezing conditions, multiple inmate murders and assaults in 2024, and several allegations of inhumane conditions, including inadequate medical staffing and unsanitary food.
Stabile said, in his view, the facility is “run fairly efficiently.”
“But I can tell you that the east side is run a lot more efficiently than the west side, just because there are less people,” he said, noting that lawyers can see their clients with less hassle.
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Boston, MA
Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD
Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.
The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.
O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.
Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.
One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”
Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.
The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.
Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.
O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.
Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.
While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.
During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.
For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.
After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.
After O’Neil was identified as the alleged City Hall thief, police said they sought additional criminal complaints in Boston Municipal Court on charges of two counts of larceny from a building, two counts of credit card fraud under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief.
O’Neil is expected to be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court at a later date.
Following BPD’s announcement on Wednesday, Flynn said “larceny and retail theft must be a top priority for our city.”
“We must have zero tolerance for any type of theft and those arrested must be held accountable in our court system for their criminal behavior,” Flynn told the Herald.
Murphy said, “This incident was unacceptable, and I am glad the individual responsible has been arrested. My focus throughout has been on employee safety and securing City Hall offices. City Hall must be a safe workplace, and this incident underscores the importance of secure offices and prompt action.”
Mayor Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on police identification of the alleged City Hall larceny suspect.
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