Former US President Donald Trump’s lawyers say he will testify in a new investigation on one condition
Former US President Donald Trump and two of his children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, have been ordered to comply with previous subpoenas issued for their testimonies in New York state’s civil investigation into the Trump Organization.
New York State Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Thursday that the Trumps have 21 days to comply with the subpoenas from New York Attorney General Letitia James. The judge’s ruling came after two hours of testimony from the state and Trump’s lawyers, and he ultimately favored the state, saying James has the “clear right” to call for depositions of the Trump family.
James claims her investigation has found evidence that Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of its assets in order to take advantage of tax loopholes and secure loans. The attorney general’s civil investigation was opened in 2019 following testimony from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. One of the former president’s sons, Eric Trump, was previously ordered to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right hundreds of times.
Whether the former president will testify remains a mystery, as his lawyers have argued he will only do so on one condition.
“If she wants sworn testimony from my client, he’s entitled to immunity. He gets immunity for what he says, or he says nothing,” Trump’s criminal defense lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, said at Thursday’s hearing.
Trump’s legal team has argued that he can not be compelled to testify for a civil investigation when there is also an ongoing criminal investigation into his business unless he is offered immunity.
Without immunity, Rischetti said his advice would be for his client to remain silent and plead the fifth, which would then be national news, making picking a jury for a potential criminal trial near impossible.
Trump’s team argued that calling Trump and his children for depositions is a strategy to aid the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s criminal investigation, rather than ordering them in front of a grand jury, which would grant them immunity in their testimony.
Trump’s team has previously argued James’ investigation is politically motivated and the former president is the victim of “selective prosecution.”
MADRID, Feb 17 (IPS) – Once completed in 2030, it could well be considered the world’s eighth wonder, this time natural. It is the African-led Great Green Wall or the largest living structure on the planet – an 8.000 kilometres natural hit stretching across the entire width of the continent.
Meta announced Agence France-Presse (AFP) will act as its fact-checking and disinformation watchdog
Weeks before the first round of France’s presidential election, US tech giant Meta has announced a set of new initiatives for combating “misinformation” on the platforms it owns, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The initiatives are meant to boost “media literacy” in France and teach people “the best practices for dealing with information online,” the company owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday.
WhatsApp users in particular will be able to report messages they consider false to Meta’s chosen watchdog, Agence France-Presse (AFP). The French news agency was signed up by what was then called Facebook to provide fact checking services in France in 2017. It has since expanded coverage to many other European countries, with Greece and Cyprus being among the latest additions.
Adding an AFP reporting option to the popular messenger is “an important step in the fight against false information,” Meta said. The agency is also releasing three educational videos on how to develop the “right reflexes” for responding to “dubious information during the election period.”
The two other campaigns are likewise educational. One involves Loopsider, a French visual content provider that was created in 2018. It produces short videos based on current news and human interest stories aimed at younger audiences getting their information via social media. Loopsider will teach their followers the same skills as AFP, according to Meta.
Meanwhile, US journalism school the Poynter Institute and French state-owned broadcaster France 24 teamed up to offer a free 10-day training course on how to “spot conspiracy theories, scams, false information and other forms of manipulation” circulating on the internet. Meta said it was hopeful about its effect after learning how similar programs worked in other countries.
The US tech giant said the initiatives are part of its wider effort to use its platforms to protect the French presidential election, which is to take place in April, from interference. France’s President Emmanuel Macron is seeking a second term and is currently leading in the polls. Right-wing politician Marine Le Pen and center-right politician Valerie Pecresse pose the biggest challenges to him.
