NEW YORK: Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Monday to jurors in the Republican’s hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Trump’s company as defense lawyers seized on the star witness’ misdeeds to attack his credibility.
With the prosecution’s case nearing its end, Trump’s attorneys hope Cohen’s admission — on top of his numerous other past lies and crimes — will sow doubt in jurors’ minds about Cohen’s crucial testimony implicating the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the hush money scheme. The defense has painted Cohen as a serial fabulist who is on a revenge campaign aimed at taking down Trump.
Back on the witness stand for a fourth day, Cohen admitted while being questioned by defense attorney Todd Blanche that he pocketed cash that was supposed to be reimbursement for a $50,000 payment Cohen claimed he had shelled out to a technology firm. But Cohen actually gave the technology firm just $20,000 in cash in a brown paper bag, he said.
“So you stole from the Trump Organization?,” Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied. Cohen said he never paid the Trump Organization back. Cohen has never been charged with stealing from Trump’s company.
Cohen is the last prosecution witness, and it’s not yet clear whether Trump’s attorneys will call any witnesses, let alone Trump himself.
After more than four weeks of testimony about sex, money, tabloid machinations and the details of Trump’s company recordkeeping, jurors could begin deliberating as soon as next week to decide whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first criminal trial of a former US president.
The charges stem from internal Trump Organization records where payments to Cohen were marked as legal expenses, when prosecutors say they were really reimbursements for Daniels’ hush money payment.
Trump has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers say there was nothing criminal about the Daniels deal or the way Cohen was paid.
“There’s no crime,” Trump told reporters after arriving at the courthouse Monday. “We paid a legal expense. You know what it’s marked down as? A legal expense.”
While Cohen is prosecutors’ most important witness, but he is also vulnerable to attack.
The now-disbarred attorney has admitted on the witness stand to previously lying under oath and other falsehoods, many of which he claims were meant to protect Trump. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to various federal charges, including lying to Congress and a bank and engaging in campaign finance violations related to the hush money scheme.
And he has made millions of dollars off critical books about the former president, whom he regularly slams on social media in often profane terms.
Blanche grilled Cohen on Monday about his initial public denials that Trump knew about the Daniels payoff. After The Wall Street Journal reported in January 2018 that Cohen had arranged the payout to the porn actor more than a year earlier, Cohen told journalists, friends and others that Trump had been in the dark about the arrangement.
He did not change his account until after federal authorities in April 2018 searched Cohen’s home, office and other locations tied to him. Four months later, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations and other charges and told a court that Trump had directed him to arrange the Daniels payment.
Known for his hot temper, Cohen has remained mostly calm on the witness stand despite sometimes heated interrogation by the defense about his misdeeds and the allegations in the case.
Jurors remained largely engaged with Cohen’s testimony, though some appear to be dragging as his testimony stretched into another day. Several jurors stifled yawns while peering at the witness and looking at monitors in front of them as emails and other evidence were displayed. Some took notes. Others sat back and took in the testimony, occasionally peering at the gallery of reporters and public observers.
Cohen told jurors that Trump was intimately involved in the scheme to pay off Daniels to prevent her from going public late in his 2016 presidential campaign with claims of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Trump says nothing sexual happened between them.
Cohen told jurors about meetings and conversations with Trump, including one in 2017 in which Cohen says he, Trump and then-Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg discussed how Cohen would recoup his outlay for the Daniels payment and how the reimbursement would be billed as “legal services.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is expected to rest its case once Cohen is off the stand, but prosecutors would have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if Trump’s lawyers put on witnesses of their own. Judge Juan M. Merchan, citing scheduling issues, says he expects closing arguments to happen May 28, the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
Defense lawyers said they have not decided whether Trump will testify. And Trump did not respond to shouted questions from reporters about whether his lawyers have advised him not to take the stand. Defense attorneys generally are reluctant to put their clients on the witness stand and open them up to intense questioning by prosecutors, as it often does more harm than good.
Trump’s lawyers have said they may call Bradley A. Smith, a Republican law professor who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton to the Federal Election Commission, to refute the prosecution’s contention that the hush money payments amounted to campaign-finance violations. But the judge has limited what Smith can address.
There are often guardrails around expert testimony on legal matters, on the basis that it’s up to a judge — not an expert hired by one side or the other — to instruct jurors on applicable laws in a case.
Merchan has ruled that Smith can give general background on the FEC, the laws it enforces and the definitions of such terms as “campaign contribution.” But he cannot interpret how federal campaign-finance laws apply to the facts of Trump’s case or opine on whether the former president’s alleged actions violate those laws.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump’s company as defense presses key hush money trial witness
https://arab.news/23ty3
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump’s company as defense presses key hush money trial witness
- The defense has painted Cohen as a serial fabulist who is on a revenge campaign aimed at taking down Trump
- Cohen is the last prosecution witness, and it’s not yet clear whether Trump’s attorneys will call any witnesses, let alone Trump himself
UK to end Afghan refugee schemes
- Move is part of plan to clear backlog of asylum seekers in temporary accommodation
- No timeline yet in place but defense secretary says schemes cannot be ‘endless’
LONDON: The UK is to close its resettlement schemes for people fleeing Afghanistan, The Times reported.
Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK’s two programs for Afghans could not be “an endless process” as he laid out plans to move refugees out of temporary accommodation. He added that over 1,000 Afghan families have arrived in the UK in the past 12 months.
Though no time frame has been announced, the government aims to limit the amount of time Afghans can stay in hotels and other temporary housing to nine months.
The two refugee programs — the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy — were introduced in 2021 after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban following the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces.
Thousands of people were evacuated to the UK during an airlift mission known as Operation Pitting.
UK authorities have struggled to find suitable permanent housing solutions for many Afghan refugees due to the large size of typical Afghan families — more than double that of the average British family.
A total of 30,412 Afghans were eventually taken to the UK under the two schemes. Under ARAP, 2,729 Afghans were placed in temporary Ministry of Defense accommodation and a further 288 in Home Office housing, amid a broader backlog of over 100,000 asylum seekers requiring assistance in the UK — 35,651 of whom were put up in hotels.
Safe Passage International told The Times it is “concerned” by suggestions that the two resettlement schemes are set to close, adding that they have been a “lifeline to safety” for vulnerable Afghans.
The charity said “new safe routes” would need to be opened for Afghan refugees when the two schemes are shuttered.
Its CEO Wanda Wyporska said: “We’re concerned that the government is thinking about closing the safe pathways for Afghans, given there are no other working safe routes that can bring those fleeing the Taliban to safety here.
“We urgently need more detail on this so Afghans are not left in danger. We know there are many Afghans living in terror and under the threat of increasingly repressive Taliban rules, such as those oppressing women and girls.
“Afghans are already the top nationality crossing the Channel, so we fear without this safe route we will only see more people turning to smugglers to reach protection here.”
Modi to visit Kuwait for the first trip by Indian PM in four decades
- Indian nationals make up the largest expatriate community in Kuwait
- Modi’s visit will likely focus on strengthening economic ties, experts say
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on Saturday, marking the first trip of an Indian premier to the Gulf state in more than four decades.
With more than 1 million Indian nationals living and working in Kuwait, they are the largest expatriate community in the country, making up around 21 percent of its 4.3 million population and 30 percent of its workforce.
Modi will be visiting Kuwait for two days at the invitation of the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
“This will be the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Kuwait in 43 years,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
“During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. Prime Minister will also interact with the Indian community in Kuwait.”
India is among Kuwait’s top trade partners, with bilateral trade valued at around $10.4 billion in 2023-24.
Experts expect the visit to focus on strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
“Kuwait has a strong Indian expatriate community who have contributed to the economic development of the country,” Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the Center for West Asian Studies in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News.
“In my view, the focus would be on the economy. Politically, it underlines that Kuwait is an important regional country and remains an important partner of India.”
Quamar said that trade and economic ties will likely get a boost from the visit, as well as cooperation in energy, infrastructure, financial technology, education and culture.
Modi’s visit reflects how India’s engagement with Arab states has increasingly focused on the economy, said Kabir Taneja, a deputy director with the Strategic Studies program at the Observer Research Foundation.
“India’s engagement with Arab states is increasingly rooted in a ‘new’ Middle East, that is, it is economy-led,” he told Arab News.
“This visit is a good opportunity for India to expand beyond its good relations with UAE and Saudi Arabia and explore opportunities with the smaller Arab states which includes Kuwait.”
Modi to visit Kuwait for first trip by Indian PM in four decades
- Indian nationals make up the largest expatriate community in Kuwait
- Modi’s visit will likely focus on strengthening economic ties, say experts
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kuwait on Saturday, marking the first trip to the Gulf state by an Indian premier in more than four decades.
With more than 1 million Indian nationals living and working in Kuwait they are the largest expatriate community in the country, making up around 21 percent of its 4.3 million population and 30 percent of its workforce.
Modi’s two-day visit is at the invitation of the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
“This will be the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Kuwait in 43 years,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
“During the visit, the prime minister will hold discussions with the leadership of Kuwait. (The) prime minister will also interact with the Indian community in Kuwait.”
India is among Kuwait’s top trade partners, with bilateral trade valued at around $10.4 billion in 2023-24.
Experts expect the visit to focus on strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
“Kuwait has a strong Indian expatriate community who have contributed to the economic development of the country,” Muddassir Quamar, associate professor at the Center for West Asian Studies in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News.
“In my view, the focus would be on the economy. Politically, it underlines that Kuwait is an important regional country and remains an important partner of India.”
Quamar said that trade and economic ties will likely get a boost from the visit, as well as cooperation in energy, infrastructure, financial technology, education and culture.
Modi’s visit reflects how India’s engagement with Arab states has increasingly focused on the economy, said Kabir Taneja, a deputy director with the Strategic Studies program at the Observer Research Foundation.
“India’s engagement with Arab states is increasingly rooted in a ‘new’ Middle East, that is, it is economy-led,” he told Arab News.
“This visit is a good opportunity for India to expand beyond its good relations with UAE and Saudi Arabia and explore opportunities with the smaller Arab states, which includes Kuwait.”
Putin says fall of Assad not a ‘defeat’ for Russia
- Bashar Assad fled to Moscow earlier this month after a shock militant advance ended half a century of rule by the Assad family
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the fall of ex-Syrian leader Bashar Assad was not a “defeat” for Russia, claiming Moscow had achieved its goals in the country.
Assad fled to Moscow earlier this month after a shock militant advance ended half a century of rule by the Assad family, marked by repression and allegations of vast human rights abuses and civil war.
His departure came more than 13 years after his crackdown on democracy protests precipitated a civil war.
Russia was Assad’s key backer and had swept to his aid in 2015, turning the tide of the conflict.
“You want to present what is happening in Syria as a defeat for Russia,” Putin said at his annual end-of-year press conference.
“I assure you it is not,” he said, responding to a question from an American journalist.
“We came to Syria 10 years ago so that a terrorist enclave would not be created there like in Afghanistan. On the whole, we have achieved our goal,” Putin said.
The Kremlin leader said he had yet to meet with Assad in Moscow, but planned to do so soon.
“I haven’t yet seen president Assad since his arrival in Moscow but I plan to, I will definitely speak with him,” he said.
Putin was addressing the situation in Syria publicly for the first time since Assad’s fall.
Moscow is keen to secure the fate of two military bases in the country.
The Tartus naval base and Hmeimim air base are Russia’s only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union and have been key to the Kremlin’s activities in Africa and the Middle East.
Putin said there was support for Russia keeping hold of the bases.
“We maintain contacts with all those who control the situation there, with all the countries of the region. An overwhelming majority of them say they are interested in our military bases staying there,” Putin said.
He also said Russia had evacuated 4,000 Iranian soldiers from the country at the request from Tehran.
Saudi tourist swims for 5 hours to help his wife stranded in Pattaya waters
- Saudi tourists stranded in the dark for hours before rescuers reached them
- About 188,000 Saudi tourists visited Thailand between January and October this year
BANGKOK: A Saudi tourist swam for more than five hours to reach shore and find help for his wife after their jet ski capsized in Pattaya Bay, Thailand, local authorities said on Thursday.
On Saturday, Abdulrahman Mahdi M. Al-Amri and his wife, Atheer Saeed A. Al-Amri, were reported missing at 6:30 p.m., prompting an immediate search and rescue operation by Pattaya City authorities.
“We received a call at 6:30 p.m. from a jet ski operator that one of their jet skis and the clients were missing. So, we set out on a search operation,” Pattaya City Sea Rescue’s Nattanon Chamnankul, who led the search and rescue mission, told Arab News.
The rescue team had been searching for more than five hours and was navigating the dark seas, strong winds and drizzle to no avail. But as their boat returned to Pattaya’s Jomtien beach, authorities found Abdulrahman swimming toward the shore.
“The husband had swum for five hours to reach the shore and was worried about his wife. He used the lights on the beach as a guide,” Chamnankul said, adding that the 26-year-old man was in a state of extreme fatigue when he was rescued.
The rescue boat then took him on board and continued the search for his wife.
“We found his wife at 2 a.m., six hours after the search began,” Chamnankul said. “At first the sea was dark, but we heard a small voice in the sea and it was her.”
Their jet ski had capsized in the middle of the ocean and its engine was damaged by seawater, according to Nipon, an officer at the Pattaya Tourist Police.
After the jet ski ran out of fuel, Abdulrahman decided to swim to shore to get help.
Although Atheer had a minor injury to her left leg, Nipon said the couple had no serious medical issues and had since returned to their home country after settling a damage cost with the jet ski operator for 50,000 Thai baht ($1,400).
Thailand has become an increasingly popular destination for Saudi travelers since the normalization of ties between the Southeast Asian country and Saudi Arabia in 2022.
The Gulf state is considered a high-potential market by Thai tourism experts, with about 178,000 Saudi tourists visiting in 2023, and another 188,000 between January and October this year, the highest number among visitors from that region.
The latest data shows that the number of Saudi tourists has almost doubled compared with 2022, when the number was about 96,000.
