New York AG: Trump Org investigation is now a criminal matter
It was a problem for Donald Trump when New York prosecutors pursued a civil case against his business. The fact that it s now a criminal case is much worse
Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City on June 22, 2020.Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images file
May 19, 2021, 12:00 PM UTC
BySteve Benen
It was last summer when we learned that the New York attorney general s office was stepping up its inquiry into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. At issue were allegations the Republican s business misled lenders by inflating the value of the company s assets claims bolstered by Michael Cohen, Trump s former fixer, who gave sworn testimony about the Trump Organization routinely lying to gain financial advantages.
Maddow Blog | New York AG: Trump Org investigation is now a criminal matter MSNBC 5 hrs ago Steve Benen
It was last summer when we learned that the New York attorney general s office was stepping up its inquiry into Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. At issue were allegations the Republican s business misled lenders by inflating the value of the company s assets claims bolstered by Michael Cohen, Trump s former fixer, who gave sworn testimony about the Trump Organization routinely lying to gain financial advantages.
If proven true, the alleged fraud could create all kinds of problems for the company, but at its core, the investigation was a civil matter, not a criminal one.
Republicans argued that the motive in March s mass shooting in Georgia has not been proven yet. Author: Mike Gooding Updated: 7:04 PM EDT May 17, 2021
WASHINGTON Taking a stand against hate, lawmakers on Monday debated House Resolution 275.
The measure before the House Rules Committee condemns the mass shootings in Atlanta area spas in March in which eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women.
The resolution reaffirms the House s commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. Anti-Asian hate crimes reported to police in 16 of America s largest cities and counties rose 164 percent in the first quarter of 2021, said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-California). The House of Representatives should clearly state our condemnation of the heinous and inexcusable acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of lives on March sixteenth.
The Atlanta spa shooting and the hate crime gap
Those targeted by hate see evidence of bias that law enforcement doesn t see. Authorities investigate a multiple fatal shooting at a spa March 16, 2021, in Acworth, Georgia. Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker said Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia, was taken into custody in Crisp County on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
May 14, 2021
(RNS) In March, a 21-year-old white man went on a killing spree in Georgia. He targeted three massage businesses and murdered eight people, six of whom were Asian American.
The killer, Robert Aaron Long, told police that he did not target the victims because of their race. One Atlanta police officer, apparently attributing the killing spree to Long’s mental health, dismissed his crimes as the result of “a bad day.” Long himself claimed his actions were the result of “sex addiction.” At the time, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said that while the shootin
The Atlanta spa shooter shouldn t face the death penalty for a hate crime
Using the Atlanta spa shootings case to further entrench the death penalty in our nation and in our lives will only hurt us.
Graham Bloomsmith and Cynthia Shi hug outside of Gold Spa, where four women were fatally shot, in Atlanta on March 18, 2021.Elijah Nouvelage / The Washington Post via Getty Images file
May 13, 2021, 8:17 PM UTC / Updated May 13, 2021, 8:23 PM UTC
On Tuesday, Atlanta’s recently elected district attorney, Fani Willis, announced that she would be seeking the death penalty and hate crimes penalty enhancements against Robert Aaron Long, the 22-year-old man charged in the Atlanta-area shootings at spas that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent.