ON LEGAL

Former Trump Lawyer’s Testimony In New York Civil Fraud Trial Postponed Due To Health Concerns

Former President Donald Trump‘s ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, has postponed his testimony in the New York civil fraud trial against Trump due to health issues.

What Happened: Cohen’s testimony was scheduled for as early as Tuesday and was estimated to span over two days.

The duration of Cohen’s absence due to this health concern is undisclosed, The Hill reported.

It is possible he may testify later in the trial, which is anticipated to continue for several months, the report added.

See Also: Marjorie Taylor Greene Refuses To Support GOP’s Speaker Nominee Because She Wants To ‘See Him Defeat Cancer’

Last month, a judge ruled that Trump and his businesses committed fraud by manipulating the value of their assets to reduce taxes and secure better insurance coverage. As a result, multiple business licenses were set to be stripped.

Cohen, a crucial witness in the case, has suggested that the trial could potentially dismantle Trump’s business empire. He previously testified in 2019, alleging that Trump artificially boosted his wealth.

Despite his concerns over online attacks from Trump’s supporters, Cohen was slated to testify as early as Tuesday. Cohen’s statement led to the ongoing $250 million lawsuit initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The trial commenced on Oct. 2, with both New York Attorney General James and Trump present in the courtroom. A New York appeals court denied Trump’s request to temporarily halt the trial but paused the cancellation of his business licenses until after an appeals court hears his case.

The ex-president is also facing criminal charges from the Manhattan district attorney’s office related to hush-money payments, in which Cohen is expected to testify. Trump has denied the allegations in both the hush-money and civil cases and has publicly disparaged Cohen, referring to him as a “rat.”

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October 17, 2023 by LAW

Ex-Trump lawyer warns Giuliani is in “a lot of trouble” after being left without any local attorneys

A second attorney for Rudy Giuliani is seeking an exit from his Georgia legal team, according to a Tuesday court filing, which would seemingly leave the former New York City mayor without any local representation in the state.

Brian Tevis, who joined Giuliani’s legal team shortly before he surrendered to Fulton County authorities in August, submitted a motion to withdraw to the clerk Tuesday evening, leaving it to a judge in the case to sign off on the motion.

The move comes after several other attorneys who represented Giuliani have sued the former Trump lawyer for failing to pay his legal fees, including his longtime lawyer and friend Robert Costello, who sued Giuliani for more than $1.3 million in payments to his firm.

The loss to his legal team also follows the departure of fellow Giuliani Georgia lawyer David Wolfe, who submitted his own motion to withdraw from representing the former mayor last week.

Sources familiar with Giuliani’s situation told ABC News that he is close to obtaining new local representation.

Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb told CNN’s Erin Burnett Wednesday that the latest departure from Giuliani’s Georgia team puts the former mayor “in a lot of trouble.”

“I think it’s a huge problem,” Cobb continued. “I think it’s, like any American who saw him throw the first ball out at Yankee Stadium after 9/11 and thought he was ‘America’s Mayor,’ I think this is a tragic fall.”

“And the depths I don’t think we’ve necessarily seen yet,” Cobb added. “So I do think he’s in great difficulty. I think he needs a very strong attorney to assist him there.”

Other legal experts echoed Cobb’s sentiments.

“Have to imagine it’s rooted in Giuliani’s inability to pay, which is going to get hugely worse before (ie probably never)

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October 16, 2023 by LAW

New York terror lawyer says he has ‘Hamas on the phone’

A New York lawyer infamous for defending terrorists said he is providing legal aid to Hamas members in Gaza and elsewhere.

“I continue to represent various Palestinian movements and individuals. I have since 1995,” said Stanley Cohen, a self-described radical attorney whose website boasts he has “Hamas on the phone.”

“I speak with representatives of Hamas on an as-needed basis for legal advice and in matters pending in international courts,” said Cohen, 70, who has also repped members of Hezbollah and Al Qaeda.

The attorney claims he’s recently communicated with Hamas members in Gaza and abroad but declined to specify when, with whom, or about what.

Hamas leaders are known to live in plush compounds in friendly host nations.

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for an international day of Jihad this week from his hideaway in Qatar.

Cohen was raised as an Orthodox Jew but has left the faith.


Stanley Cohen has raised eyebrows and made enemies as a lawyer for Hamas and other infamous terror groups.
Cohen has raised eyebrows and made enemies as a lawyer for Hamas and other infamous terror groups.
AFP via Getty Images

“I walked away long ago as the effort to conflate a 120-year-old European colonial project with a 3000-year-old faith took hold,” he said.

Last week Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from Gaza, killing 1,300 and taking at least 150 people hostage.

Among the victims were dozens of babies, some of whom were burned alive and decapitated.

Among the dead were 27 Americans.

Cohen was unrepentant.


Cohen represented Osama Bin Laden's son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for conspiring to kill Americans.
Cohen represented Osama Bin Laden’s son-in-law Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for conspiring to kill Americans.
AP

“Do I agree with the notion that Palestinians have a right to armed struggle, I do,” he said, calling Israeli “settlers” and soldiers “legitimate targets under international law.”

On Thursday he posted on X that a “dear friend” had

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October 15, 2023 by LAW

US tourist allegedly smashes two Roman statues in Jerusalem

An American tourist allegedly went on a bizarre rampage at an Israeli museum, smashing two ancient Roman statues because he claimed they represented “idolatry” that was “contrary to the Torah,” authorities said.

A lawyer for the unnamed suspect — who was arrested after the incident — claimed he was suffering from a delusion known as “Jerusalem syndrome” when he allegedly went wild with a stick during the Thursday evening incident, according to reports.

At least two statues — including one that the Times of Israel tentatively identified as a head of Athena dating to the 2nd century CE and a statue of a griffin holding a wheel of fate decorated with the Roman god Nemesis from about 210-211 CE — were left broken into multiple pieces on an exhibition hall floor, photos shared by police and distributed via local outlets showed.

The damaged statues were all original artifacts, the Israel Museum confirmed.

The 40-year-old US citizen — who has not been named due to gag order — was taken into custody late Thursday.
Israel Museum
The 2nd-century statues are undergoing professional restoration, the museum said.
Israel Museum

The museum also shared a photo of a stick the man was allegedly carrying through the exhibit and may have used to carry out the bizarre attack, the Times of Israel said.

The 40-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after the incident, and has been ordered held through Monday to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, the Jerusalem Post reported.

His attorney Nick Kaufman later claimed the man had “Jerusalem Syndrome, which is a form of disorientation that causes religious pilgrims to believe they are biblical figures.

Officers believe the man lashed out at the objects because he felt the Roman sculptures “to be idolatrous and contrary to the Torah.”

The history of Jews in and

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October 12, 2023 by LAW

Fired lawyer calls Landry’s conflict of interest claim false | Courts

 After he sued the Louisiana Board of Pardons to halt a historic batch of death row clemency requests, Attorney General Jeff Landry fired the board’s lawyer over an alleged conflict of interest.

But that attorney, Art Smith, claimed in an interview Tuesday morning that no such conflict exists. And the attorney general, the leading Republican candidate for governor, himself now faces conflict-of-interest accusations over his decision to fire the opposing lawyer in a case where Landry is a plaintiff.

Landry said through a spokesman Monday that Smith had pending litigation against the pardon board and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The open cases amount to a “non-waivable” conflict of interest that could hinder his ability to litigate the death row lawsuit fairly, he wrote to Smith on Sept. 26.

Landry told the Baton Rouge attorney he was dismissed from his position representing the board.

Smith said Tuesday that while he indeed has pending litigation against those agencies, he disclosed the cases to members of the pardon board upon his hiring. Board members did not view his open cases as a conflict during his hiring, Smith said. 

Smith said he also obtained both verbal and written affirmation from a private attorney who specializes in ethics cases stating that his open litigation did not amount to a conflict of interest.

“I wanted to be transparent about it, and I fully disclosed it,” Smith said.

Louisiana’s attorney general is required by state law to approve or reject lawyers hired by state agencies. Contracts between attorneys and agencies must be approved by the attorney general’s office, which reviews potential conflicts of interest and weighs costs, among other factors.

In his letter, Landry wrote that Smith had not properly sought contract approval and had skirted other requirements, making him ineligible to represent

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October 6, 2023 by LAW

Hunter Biden in Delaware court. What is he charged with?

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden departs after a court appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden departs after a court appearance in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, Oct. 3. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)


Matt Rourke

AP

Hunter Biden was arraigned on gun charges in federal court on Oct. 3, but his lawyer says the case is unconstitutional and he has grounds for dismissal.

The criminal charges — the first-ever to be brought against a sitting president’s child — stem from Biden’s purported purchase of a handgun.

What is Hunter Biden accused of?

He is accused of lying, both on federal forms and to a gun dealer, while purchasing a revolver from a Wilmington, Delaware, gun store in 2018.

Biden, an admitted crack addict, certified that he was not a user of controlled substances, according to a press release from Special Counsel David Weiss, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in August to oversee an ongoing investigation into Biden.

He is also accused of possessing the handgun for an 11-day period as an unlawful user of illicit substances.

A grand jury charged Biden with three felony firearm offenses.

If convicted, he could face up to 25 years in prison, though “actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties,” according to the release.

In his court appearance on Oct. 3, he pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

The charges come after a plea agreement between Biden, 53, and federal prosecutors fell apart in July.

Under the agreement, Biden would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax violations and entered a diversion program, which would have allowed him to avoid gun charges if he remained drug-free and law-abiding, NPR reported.

Lawyer argues for dismissal

Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, argued the charges against his client stem from a Republican pressure campaign and have no legal standing.

“These charges

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October 5, 2023 by LAW

New defense lawyer retained in James Staley’s appeal of conviction for Wilder’s murder

A renowned defense attorney has been retained — not court-appointed — to represent James Irven Staley III in the appeal of his murder conviction for the killing of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel in Wichita Falls, court records show.

Keith S. Hampton of Austin has notably gotten clients exonerated on appeal and clemency granted for at least one who was on death row.

In August, Hampton filed a notice that he was retained to be the lead counsel in Staley’s appeals case.

He has been filing various documents since, including requests for more time to file a brief detailing the basis for Staley’s appeal. The brief is now due Oct. 23.

Taxpayers do not pick up the tab for an attorney who is retained, but Wichita County taxpayers are footing the bill for Staley’s court-appointed attorney, J. Warren St. John.

He is still listed as a defense lawyer on Staley’s case in the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth. While no documents have been filed in reference to St. John withdrawing from the case, it is likely he will not take part in Staley’s representation since Hampton has been retained.

It was not clear Tuesday how Hampton is being compensated for representing Staley, 40. He and St. John did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

With Staley’s resources drained by the cost of his murder trial and his business stalling, the once wealthy oilman was found to be indigent by Senior District Judge Everett Young on March 15 at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth.

Appeals attorney Keith Hampton answers questions Nov. 6, 2019, from reporters at the Williamson County Justice Center about Greg Kelley's exoneration. Kelley was accused in 2013 of sexually assaulting two 4-year-old boys at an in-home daycare site operated by a friend's family in Cedar Park. [RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]

A jury found Staley guilty March 13 of capital murder of a child under 10. Young quickly handed down Staley’s automatic sentence of life without parole that day.

Before deputies led him away in handcuffs, Staley told onlookers

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October 4, 2023 by LAW

Bill Munck: The Lawyer from Long Island

It’s hard to imagine it today, as he has such a commanding presence, but Bill Munck was bullied as a child. The son of a Long Island police officer, he became a favorite target of kids whose older brothers and sisters had run-ins with his dad. At first, Munck ran away from them. “I became the fastest kid in town,” he says. “I’d run away from a 5-year-old.” But then, his dad found out. 

“When I was 7, my dad sat me down and said, ‘You’re not in trouble. But I’m not going to stop being a cop, so you’re going to have to learn how to fight.’” His father taught him to box and hit a speed bag during sparring sessions in the family’s garage. He moved up to jujutsu and karate classes from a dojo who taught hand-to-hand combat to police officers, and by the time he was 14, he was a third-degree black belt.

That feeling of knowing what it’s like to be the underdog has never left Munck. He has built one of the nation’s most successful technology-focused law

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September 30, 2023 by LAW

David Jungerman, millionaire convicted in killing of Brookside lawyer, dies at 85

David Jungerman, the Jackson County millionaire who was found guilty in the 2017 shooting death of a Brookside attorney, died Monday morning, according to his defense attorney.

Jungerman, 85, was convicted last year of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Oct. 25, 2017, shooting death of Tom Pickert, who had just returned home after walking his sons to school.

Dan Ross, who represented Jungerman in the murder trial in Jackson County Circuit Court, said his client had been hospitalized at University Health for some time after becoming ill.

“David Jungerman always insisted on his innocence,” Ross told The Star. “Unfortunately, the appeal of his guilty verdict will never be heard. The defense was confident of prevailing on his appeal, because of his death by operation of law, we believe the case will be dismissed.”

In March, a Jackson County judge ruled that Jungerman was not competent to be sentenced and ordered that he be committed to the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Jungerman, a self-made millionaire, was a native of Blackburn, Missouri. He worked his way through college as a psychology major and later became a salesman for a baby crib company. By the time Jungerman was in his mid-30s, he was president of Baby-Tenda Corp., a manufacturer of cribs and toddler tables in Kansas City.

David Jungerman appeared with his daughter and granddaughter on the back cover of this 2010 catalog for his baby furniture business, Baby-Tenda. The Star blurred the photo to protect the relatives’ privacy.

In 2018, Jungerman’s family had assets of about $33 million, with more than 7,000 acres of property.

Over the years, Jungerman has faced a plethora of legal and criminal challenges. In 1990, Raytown police arrested Jungerman after he tried to detain four juveniles for trespassing behind his Raytown house.

Jungerman lost lawsuit over shooting of homeless man

During a murder trial that lasted nearly two weeks, prosecutors said Jungerman shot Pickert because of a $5.75 million judgment Pickert won against Jungerman

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September 29, 2023 by LAW
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