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Takeaways from the sixth day of the trial.

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Takeaways from the sixth day of the trial.

The tax-fraud trial of Donald J. Trump’s household enterprise continued in State Supreme Courtroom in Manhattan on Thursday with extra testimony from Allen H. Weisselberg, the previous chief monetary officer of the Trump Group.

Mr. Weisselberg is a key witness for the prosecution, however his testimony on Thursday at occasions appeared to serve each side.

Listed here are some takeaways from the sixth day of the trial:

Alan Futerfas, a protection lawyer for the Trump Group, walked Mr. Weisselberg by means of the assorted off-the-books perks he had acquired from the corporate. He requested concerning the lavish Higher West Aspect Manhattan condominium, the Mercedes-Benzes, the private bills together with furnishings and tuition funds for his grandchildren.

For every, Mr. Futerfas requested whether or not Mr. Weisselberg requested that the fee be deducted from his whole compensation and whether or not he did that solely for his personal profit. Again and again, Mr. Weisselberg stated that he had made the request and that it was solely for his profit.

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Mr. Futerfas requested whether or not it was Mr. Weisselberg’s duty to correctly report that to the tax authorities and whether or not he selected to not; Mr. Weisselberg stated that it was and that he had chosen to not.

The off-the-books perks that Mr. Weisselberg acquired have been known as a scheme. However “scheme” suggests a level of coherence.

On Thursday, the court docket bought a have a look at how diffuse cases of misconduct got here collectively right into a single set of practices.

Mr. Weisselberg testified that he acquired the condominium in Manhattan, which the corporate paid for, round 2005. Mr. Weisselberg stated the condominium made it attainable for him to spend much less time commuting and extra time within the workplace.

However Mr. Weisselberg acquired a collection of automobiles, all leased Mercedeses, beginning in 2011. He stated he bought his first when he was nonetheless working in Brooklyn and realized that different staff acquired automobiles. When he was requested on the time if he needed one too: “I stated, ‘positive,’” Mr. Weisselberg stated.

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He stated the follow of recording worker bonuses partly on 1099 kinds, that are supposed for self-employed staff, somewhat than on W2s, predated him.

The prosecution should present that Mr. Weisselberg acted “in behalf of” the corporate.

The decide, Juan Merchan, stated in October that the prosecution should introduce proof that “tends to help” the argument that Mr. Weisselberg’s actions weren’t undertaken solely in his personal pursuits.

On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Futerfas immediately attacked the concept that Mr. Weisselberg acted to profit the corporate. Prosecutors don’t want to indicate that the corporate benefited — solely that Mr. Weisselberg acted to profit it.

Prosecutors can have a chance to cope with a few of these points throughout their subsequent flip questioning Mr. Weisselberg on Friday.

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Relying on how Justice Merchan explains the “in behalf of” idea to the jury earlier than it deliberates, Mr. Futerfas might discover that his questioning on Thursday afternoon was notably efficient.

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New York

Video: Cohen Testifies That Trump Directed Hush-Money Payment

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Video: Cohen Testifies That Trump Directed Hush-Money Payment

Michael D. Cohen, the do-anything fixer who once boasted of burying Donald J. Trump’s secrets and spreading his lies, took the stand at the former president’s criminal trial in Manhattan on Monday and exposed those machinations to the jury and the world. Jonah Bromwich, a criminal justice reporter at The New York Times, gives his takeaways.

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New York

Who Are Key Players in the Menendez Case?

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Who Are Key Players in the Menendez Case?

Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, are accused of taking part in a wide-ranging, international bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged them with accepting bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from several New Jersey businessmen in exchange for political favors.

Mr. Menendez goes to trial on May 13 with two of the businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. Ms. Menendez’s trial was postponed after her lawyers said she had a serious medical condition requiring surgery and a recovery period; it is now expected to start in July. All four have pleaded not guilty.

Defendants

Senator Robert Menendez

New Jersey Senator

First elected to Congress in 1992, Mr. Menendez is now charged with taking bribes of gold, cash and a luxury car in exchange for trying to aid the governments of Egypt and Qatar, and seeking to disrupt separate criminal investigations involving his allies in New Jersey.

After his arrest, he stepped down, as required, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but he has refused calls to resign and left open the possibility that he will run for re-election in November if he is exonerated at trial. This is his second federal bribery trial in seven years. In the earlier case, a jury was unable to reach a verdict and the charges were later dismissed.

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Fred Daibes

New Jersey Real Estate Developer

Mr. Daibes is accused of giving Mr. Menendez furniture, gold and cash. These were bribes, prosecutors say, for Mr. Menendez’s efforts to have unrelated federal bank fraud charges Mr. Daibes faces in New Jersey quashed and for the senator’s help in lining up financing for a stalled real estate project.

Wael Hana

Founder of the IS EG Halal company

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Prosecutors say that Mr. Hana, a United States citizen born in Egypt, helped to arrange meetings with the senator and Egyptian officials that led to a lucrative monopoly for Mr. Hana’s company, IS EG Halal. The company, which certifies that products shipped to Egypt are prepared according to Islamic law, was used to funnel bribes to the Menendezes in exchange for the senator’s s efforts to steer U.S. weapons and aid to Egypt, according to the indictment.

Nadine Menendez

Mr. Menendez’s Wife

Ms. Menendez served as a go-between for Mr. Menendez, Egyptian intelligence officials and men who were seeking political favors from the senator, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say that bribes and messages went through Ms. Menendez to the senator.

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The Co-Operator

Jose Uribe

Former New Jersey insurance broker

Mr. Uribe had been charged with seeking the senator’s help to scuttle state insurance fraud investigations that involved Mr. Uribe’s associates. He pleaded guilty in March and agreed to cooperate with the government, admitting in court that he had given a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz to Ms. Menendez to influence the senator.

The Court

Judge Sidney H. Stein

Presiding Judge

He was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1995. Among the more prominent defendants whose cases he has overseen are Jennifer Shah, a “Real Housewives” star sentenced to 78 months in prison in connection with a telemarketing fraud scheme, and Hassan Nemazee, a major donor to Democratic political causes, who was sentenced to 12 years in a bank fraud case.

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Prosecution Team

Damian Williams

U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York

Mr. Williams joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2012 and was named by President Biden to the top post in 2021. He leads an office of 220 assistant U.S. attorneys and executives. He has overseen the prosecutions of defendants like Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted of stealing billions of dollars from his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, and Juan Orlando Hernández, the ex-Honduran president convicted in a cocaine importation case.

Christina Clark

Trial Attorney, Justice Department

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She works in the department’s national security division. Ms. Clark helped to prosecute the former high-ranking F.B.I. official Charles McGonigal, who pleaded guilty in a money-laundering case in connection with his work for a Russian oligarch under sanctions.

Catherine Ghosh

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District, Public Corruption Unit

She helped prosecute 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority in what the authorities called the “largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department.”

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Eli Mark

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Public Corruption Unit

He helped to prosecute defendants in an N.C.A.A. basketball recruiting scandal, as well as a former State Supreme Court justice in an obstruction case.

Paul Monteleoni

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Public Corruption Unit

He helped to prosecute a former Brooklyn assistant district attorney in a bribery case and Robert Hadden, a former Columbia gynecologist who lured patients to his office and abused them.

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Lara Pomerantz

Assistant U.S. Attorney, Public Corruption Unit

She helped to prosecute Ghislaine Maxwell, the former companion to Jeffrey Epstein, in a sex trafficking case and Norman Seabrook, the former longtime president of New York City’s correction officers’ union, in a bribery case.

Daniel Richenthal

Deputy Chief of the Southern District’s Criminal Division

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He helped to win the convictions of Sheldon Silver, the former Democratic speaker of the New York State Assembly, and Michael Avenatti, the once high-flying lawyer who tried to extort more than $20 million from the apparel giant Nike.

Defense Lawyers

Adam Fee

Lawyer for Robert Menendez

He previously spent five years as a prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District — the same office prosecuting Mr. Menendez. Based in California, Mr. Fee focuses on white-collar criminal defense work.

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Avi Weitzman

Lawyer for Mr. Menendez

He spent nearly seven years as a Southern District prosecutor and is now a New York City based partner at the same law firm as Mr. Fee, with an emphasis on complex civil and criminal cases.

Lawrence Lustberg

Lawyer for Wael Hana

A prominent New Jersey defense attorney, he was previously a federal public defender. He also represents Mr. Daibes in the pending bank fraud case in New Jersey.

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César de Castro

Lawyer for Fred Daibes

Previously a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, he now runs his own New York City-based law firm. Last year, he represented Genaro García Luna, Mexico’s former top security official who, after a high-profile federal trial in Brooklyn, was convicted of taking millions of dollars from the Sinaloa drug cartel.

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Video: Judge Says Michael Cohen Must Stop Taunting Trump

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Video: Judge Says Michael Cohen Must Stop Taunting Trump

Ahead of what could be the most explosive testimony in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial, the judge on Friday told prosecutors that he was personally asking that Michael D. Cohen stop taunting the former president. Jonah Bromwich, a criminal justice reporter at The New York Times, gives his takeaways.

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