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Eric Trump Testifies He Wasn’t Aware Of Dad’s Financial Statements, But Emails Show Some Involvement

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NEW YORK – Eric Trump, one of Donald Trump’s two sons tasked with running the family business, swore Thursday that he was never involved with financial statements that New York state officials allege illegally inflated the ex-president’s wealth and the value of the family business.

When presented with a decade-old email requesting information for one of his father’s financial statements, the angry son attempted to clarify.

“We’re a large organization, a massive real estate organization — yes, I believe I understand we have financial statements.” “Without a doubt,” Eric Trump testified during the family’s and company’s civil fraud trial. However, the executive vice president of the Trump Organisation maintained, “I had no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition.”

Even though another Trump Organisation executive testified that Eric Trump was on a video conversation concerning his father’s financial statement as recently as 2021, the son said he couldn’t recall it.

“I’m on a thousand calls a day,” he admitted.

On a carefully watched and often turbulent day in the trial, Eric Trump joined their brother and colleague, Trump Organisation Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr., to the testimony. After defense counsel criticized his legal clerk’s conduct in the case again, Judge Arthur Engoron suggested extending a gag order.

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Eric Trump Testifies He Wasn’t Aware Of Dad’s Financial Statements, But Emails Show Some Involvement

Engoron forbade participants in the case from slandering his workers early in the trial after Donald Trump disparaged the clerk on social media. The former president was fined twice, totaling $15,000, for what the judge described as infractions.

Trump’s attorneys have often complained about the clerk passing notes to the judge during evidence, which they believe is inappropriate and unfair to them. Engoron claims an “absolutely unfettered right” to the clerk’s advice.

When the defense objected Thursday again, with Eric Trump calmly looking from the witness box, a sometimes table-pounding Engoron threatened to widen the gag order to include attorneys if anybody mentioned a member of his staff again.

The former president, his adult sons, and other defendants deny wrongdoing in the case that New York Attorney General Letitia James initiated. She accuses them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on his annual “statement of financial condition” forms, which were distributed to banks, insurers, and others for them to accept loans and do business with him.

“So sad to see my sons being persecuted in a political witch hunt,” the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform. Engoron and James are Democrats.

On Monday, Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump are both scheduled to testify. Late Thursday, an appeals court dismissed her request to postpone her testimony.

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Eric Trump will take the stand again on Friday.

An appraiser testified earlier in the trial that the scion took an active interest in determining the worth of the Trump National Golf Club and Seven Springs estate, both in New York’s suburban Westchester County, a decade ago. According to the lawsuit, Donald Trump’s financial filings listed the properties at estimated values more than double the appraiser’s approximate calculations.

Eric Trump claimed that he couldn’t even recall the appraiser’s name, let alone the appraisals.

As he began his evidence, he stated that he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition,” that he didn’t believe he’d ever seen one, that he “was not personally aware” of the document, and that he “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition.”

“It’s not what I did for the company,” claimed the son, who has stated that he focuses on property development and management.

Andrew Amer, a state lawyer, then presented him with emails from former Trump Organisation controller Jeffrey McConney from 2013.

In one, McConney informed Eric Trump, who was then in a different job at the company, that he was “working on your father’s statement of financial condition” and required information about one of the company’s properties.

In another communication, McConney stated that he was “working on the notes to Mr. Trump’s annual financial statement” and requested a report on recent big building activity from Eric Trump and others.

“Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father,” Eric Trump admitted as he shifted back in his chair. He jumped right into his response about the “massive real estate organisation,” his voice rising as he spoke.

Emails and records showed he had responded to McConney’s inquiries. When pushed to admit that he was “very familiar” with the financial accounts, Eric Trump dismissed the texts as just responding to an accounting colleague’s request for a property description.

eric trump

He explained, “I just don’t think it would have registered” that they were for the financial statement.

For his part, Donald Trump Jr. stated that he only interacted with the financial accounts in passing, relying on assurances from business finance officers and an independent accounting firm that the information was correct.

On his second day on the stand on Thursday, he stated that, notwithstanding James’ charges, he believed his father’s financial accounts were “materially accurate.” According to the former president, the paperwork, if anything, understated his riches.

Trump Jr. also claimed that the Trump Organisation paid Bally’s $60 million to acquire the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The lease transfer details for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx were not previously publicized.

Trump Jr. told reporters outside the courthouse that his testimony went “really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”

“Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” the general remarked. “I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York — for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it: accounting.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns

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Trudeau, Montreal

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.

Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”

The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”

Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.

“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”

“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.

On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”

Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.

Pro-Palestinian protests

Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.

Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.

Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.

On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.

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Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla

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The zookeeper's negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla

The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.

The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.

The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.

“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”

According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.

Calgary Zoo Questioned

It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.

An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.

Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.

“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.

The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.

“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.

“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.

While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”

Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.

The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.

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Canada’s Lotto Max Jackpot Climbs to $80M

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Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.

Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.

The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.

While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.

Lotto Max History

Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.

The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.

Let’s have a look at the rules:

  1. Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
  2. Numbers cannot be repeated
  3. Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
  4. Each play buys 3 lines
  5. Each play costs $5

Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)

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