General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
NEW YORK — A judge will hear arguments Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s fight to avoid being questioned under oath in a New York investigation into his business practices.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to enforce subpoenas her office issued in December to Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr.
James, a Democrat, said her civil investigation has uncovered evidence Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of assets like golf clubs and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits.
She wants her investigators to be able to question Trump and his children, both of whom have been been executives in the Trump Organization.
“The Trumps must comply with our lawful subpoenas for documents and testimony because no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them,” James said in a statement. “We will not be deterred in our efforts to continue this investigation and ensure that no one is above the law.”
In a statement Tuesday, Trump railed against what he called a “sham investigation of a great company that has done a spectacular job for New York and beyond” and a racially motivated “continuation of a Witch Hunt the likes of which has never been seen in this Country before.”
In a court filing this week, James included a letter from Trump’s longtime accounting firm advising him to no longer rely on years of financial statements it prepared based on his company’s valuations, given the questions about their accuracy.
Testifying in a civil investigation could be a potential peril for the Trumps, if they did anything wrong. Anything they say could be used against them in a parallel criminal investigation being overseen by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Even if ordered to comply with the subpoenas, however, they would be free to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at any time in a deposition. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization’s finance chief Allen Weisselberg did so hundreds of times when they were questioned by investigators in 2020.
Last summer, spurred by evidence uncovered in James’ civil investigation, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Weisselberg and the Trump Organization with tax fraud, alleging he collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation. Weisselberg and the company have pleaded not guilty.
In court papers ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Trump’s lawyers wrote that James had “relentlessly targeted” Trump, his family, company and associates “because of her dislike of his speech and political views.”
The subpoena dispute is now before state Judge Arthur Engoron. He previously sided with James on other matters relating to the probe, including making Eric Trump testify after his lawyers abruptly canceled a scheduled deposition.
Engoron ruled immediately in that matter and ordered Eric Trump to sit for a deposition within 14 days.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst.
ASTORIA – Greek Minister of the Interior Niki Kerameus offered an informative presentation on postal voting in the upcoming European Union elections for Greek citizens in a well-attended event held at the St.
NICOSIA - A meeting between the ministers of energy for Cyprus and Israel - George Papanastasiou and Eli Cohen - led to an agreement that the countries would make an underwater electric cable link a top priority, linking them to Europe.
LONDON (AP) — The British Museum on Thursday appointed National Portrait Gallery chief Nicholas Cullinan as its new director, as the 265-year-old institution grapples with the apparent theft of hundreds of artifacts and growing international scrutiny of its collection.
ATHENS - The European Union needs to get involved in the case of the two-year jail sentence given ethnic Greek Fredi Beleri who was elected Mayor of the seaside town of Himare and said the trial was a farce to get him and protect Prime Minister Edi Rama’s business friends.