Report: New criminal probe targets Trump golf club over taxes
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there, according to The New York Times.
The district attorney’s office subpoenaed records from both the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester and the town of Ossining that handles the club’s taxes, said the Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” The newspaper didn’t say why those people had requested anonymity.
The probe led by District Attorney Mimi Rocah, a Democrat, appears to focus in part on whether the former president’s company submitted misleading valuations on the golf course.
In a statement, the Trump Organization suggested the probe was politically motivated, noting that it had hammered out a compromise with the town over its long-running efforts to cut taxes in June, a deal signed off by a county judge.
“The suggestion that anything was inappropriate is completely false and incredibly irresponsible,” the Trump statement said. “The witch hunt continues.”
The district attorney’s office has not accused anyone at the company of wrongdoing and it was not clear if the probe will ultimately lead to any charges. A spokesperson for the office, Jess Vecchiarelli, wouldn’t confirm the probe to The Associated Press, stating only, “We have no comment.”
The probe adds to several legal challenges facing the former president and his company. In July, the Manhattan district attorney indicted the company and its longtime financial chief with allegedly failing to pay taxes on employee perks, like cars and apartments. Both the company and the finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, have pleaded not guilty.
Prize for Navalny: Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who narrowly survived a poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin, was awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize Wednesday in a clear slap at President Vladimir Putin.
In awarding the Sakharov Prize to Navalny, the European Parliament praised his “immense personal bravery.” The 45-yearold activist fell ill from a nerve agent poisoning last year and recuperated in Germany, then was promptly arrested upon his return to Moscow and later imprisoned.
“He has campaigned consistently against the corruption of Vladimir Putin’s regime, and through his social media accounts and political campaigns, Navalny has helped expose abuses and mobilize the support of millions of people across Russia. For this, he was poisoned and thrown in jail,” parliament President David Sassoli in a statement.
Sassoli called for the immediate release of Navalny, who is Putin’s biggest domestic foe.
There was no immediate reaction to the award from the Kremlin, which denies any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning.
Navalny’s top associate Leonid Volkov said the prize showed that hundreds of lawmakers from different countries and parties agree the fight against corruption is an issue for all of Europe and that Navalny is “political prisoner No. 1 in the world and Putin’s personal captive.”
The $58,200 prize will be presented at the Dec. 15 session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.
Korea tensions: North Korea said Wednesday that it had test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine, in its first such underwater test-launch in two years and one it says will bolster its military’s undersea capabilities.
The test Tuesday was the fifth round of missile launches since September and came as North Korea steps up pressure on Washington and Seoul to abandon what Pyongyang sees as hostile policies such as joint U.S.-South Korea military drills and international sanctions on the North.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the latest test “will greatly contribute to putting the defense technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy.” It said the new missile has introduced advanced control guidance technologies including flank mobility and gliding skip mobility.
Flint water: The only Michigan official fired in the Flint water catastrophe likely was a “public
scapegoat” who lost her job because of politics, an arbitrator said in ordering $191,880 in back pay and other compensation.
It’s a remarkable victory for Liane Shekter Smith, who served as head of the state’s drinking water office when Flint’s water system was contaminated with lead. She was removed and then fired in 2016 and subsequently faced criminal charges in one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Shekter Smith was dismissed while engineers in her department were suspended with pay before ultimately returning to work, the arbitrator said in a 22-page report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Sheldon Stark said the state had failed to show by a preponderance of evidence that there was “just cause” to fire Shekter
Smith, who had an “exemplary” record in government.
India floods: At least 46 people have died and several are missing after floods triggered by heavy rains hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Wednesday.
Rescuers worked through the night to retrieve bodies stuck in debris and to evacuate those in vulnerable areas, said S.A. Murugeshan, secretary of the state’s disaster management. On Tuesday, officials said 22 people were killed by the rains.
The mountainous state has seen incessant rains for the past three days, flooding roads, destroying bridges and causing landslides in which several homes were washed away. The situation has prompted help from about 2,000 members of the paramilitary and civil police. Tigray crisis: New airstrikes hit the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region and another community on Wednesday, as video from Mekele showed injured people with bloodied faces being rushed to vehicles and thick black smoke rising in the sky. Ethiopia’s government said it targeted facilities to make and repair weapons, which a spokesman for the rival Tigray forces denied.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said it is slashing by more than half its Tigray presence as an Ethiopian government blockade halts humanitarian aid efforts and people die from lack of food.At least 14 people were injured in the airstrikes in Mekele and three were in critical condition, said Hayelom Kebede, the former director of Tigray’s Ayder Referral Hospital.
Another airstrike hours later hit Agbe between the communities of Hagere Selam and Tembien, he said, describing the site as a “center of military training and heavy artillery depot.”