News: Trump v. New York

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Trump v. New York - TBD

Apr 04, 2023

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Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower in New York, Monday, April 3, 2023. Trump is expected to be booked and arraigned the next day on charges arising from hush money payments during his 2016 campaign.

Today’s the day. Former President Donald Trump is set to surrender in Manhattan after being indicted last week. He touched down in New York City Monday afternoon and briefly waved to a crowd outside Trump Tower, where he stayed for the night.

“It’s hard to believe that I will be ARRESTED tomorrow as a result of the most disgraceful witch hunt in our nation’s history,” read a campaign email that Trump sent to supporters of his 2024 run for president.

Trump has hired Todd Blanche, a top white-collar criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor, as his lead counsel. Blanche resigned from being partner at law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft for the job, saying that representing Trump was “an opportunity I should not pass up.”

The judge conducting the arraignment and likely overseeing the criminal trial, Juan Merchan, presided over two unrelated criminal tax fraud cases involving Trump’s real estate firm and his former CFO. But despite Trump’s assessment that Merchan “HATES ME,” experts say there’s no reason he can’t preside.

Around 2:15 p.m. today, Trump will be arraigned, fingerprinted and possibly photographed, and then he plans to fly back down to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he will deliver remarks at an event tonight.

MEANWHILE, IN ALBANY, at the highest levels of state government, it’s much quieter, and it’s not because the governor and state lawmakers are too riveted to the drama downstate.

No, the dealmaking troika of Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate and Assembly leadership couldn’t come to an agreement on the state budget — particularly bail — by the official March 31 deadline. Nor could they come to an agreement by the comptroller’s April 3 deadline to ensure state workers get paid. So they came to a different agreement: to give themselves at least another week to come to an agreement.

Hochul, in a statement proposing a week-long extender, said “I have been negotiating in good faith with the Legislature, but it is clear there is more work to be done before we reach an agreement.”

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, “We are disappointed that all parties couldn’t come together to pass a final budget in a timely manner,” and Heastie blamed conversations about bail, which he said continue to take up “90 percent” of the discussions.

Both the Senate and Assembly rank-and-file are basically on call as negotiations outside their purview continue, but multiple members leaving both chambers after they approved the extender on Monday could be heard telling their colleagues “See you in a week!”

It doesn’t seem like they’ll be needed to vote on anything for quite some time.

IT’S TUESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold

WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no announced public schedule.

WHERE’S ERIC? In Brooklyn will deliver remarks at the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation’s inaugural Cyber Command Academy graduation, and then he will deliver remarks at a meeting for his Caribbean Advisory Council. Next, the mayor will host an iftar in celebration of Ramadan.

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WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

Journalists gather across the street from Manhattan Criminal Court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. Former President Donald Trump will surrender in Manhattan on Tuesday to face criminal charges stemming from 2016 hush money payments.

NYC mayor to MTG: “Be on your best behavior,” by POLITICO’s Zachary Schermele: Mayor Eric Adams took aim at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters, on Monday as he tried to quell safety concerns ahead of the former president’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

“NYC Council leaders say they’ve identified $1.3B that can reverse Mayor Adams’ budget cuts,” by Daily News’ Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Gartland: “City Council leaders announced Monday that they’ve identified $1.3 billion in taxpayer cash that they believe should be used to reverse a long list of municipal budget cuts proposed by Mayor Adams.”

“New York City is obsessed with the bad old days,” by City and State’s Jeff Coltin: “New York is obsessed with the bad old days. Everyone, it seems, is living on edge, with a concern that we’ll slip back into the ’70s, the ’90s or the early 2010s – depending on your politics. It’s often a quiet fear. You’re known to be exaggerating if you suggest the city could actually return. The crime numbers were so high. The city was so chaotic. The finances were so bad. But New Yorkers, as a whole, seem more concerned we’re going to hell than they have in decades. If this is hell? New Yorkers should consider themselves lucky.”

— WNYC’s Giulia Hayward has a breakdown of what’s awaiting New Yorkers at the polls in June’s primary election for the New York City Council.

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WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Gov. Kathy Hochul hosts a meeting with the New York State Police and New York State Education Department on recent “swatting” incidents at the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y. on March 31, 2023.

Gov. Kathy Hochul hosts a meeting with the New York State Police and New York State Education Department on recent “swatting” incidents at the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y. on March 31, 2023. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul

“NY state budget held hostage by bail reform — as Kathy Hochul levels a salvo at lawmakers,” by New York Post’s Zach Williams and Nolan Hicks: “Hochul — in her first public statement about budget negotiations after a weekend of closed-door talks with state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx) and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) — indicated that top Dem lawmakers also seemed to be digging in their heels over her plan to expand the number of charter schools that can operate in the Big Apple.”

— Bloomberg-backed ads to promote Hochul’s position are still airing, even after the budget deadline.

“Child poverty task force members split on Hochul's budget,” by Times Union’s Raga Justin: “An advisory council meant to advise the state on the best measures to reduce child poverty rates sent its official analysis on Hochul’s budget to lawmakers last week, endorsing several of the executive’s proposals they said would have an effect on child poverty. But a half-dozen members of the council had their own version, highlighting what they said was left out of Hochul’s budget on the issue.”

“New York OKs 99 more pot shop licenses after court ruling,” by The Associated Press: “New York regulators approved 99 new provisional licenses for recreational marijuana dispensaries Monday as they try to speed up the rollout of a legal market that had been impeded by a court ruling.”

#UpstateAmerica: The 75th annual Tulip Festival lineup in Albany has been announced.

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DELEGATION

“Democrats take aim at 31 GOP lawmakers in bid to retake Congress — including Rep. George Santos,” by Daily News’ Dave Goldiner: “Democrats have rolled out their 2024 congressional hit list — and Rep. George Santos has a bull’s-eye on him. The controversial Long Island lawmaker is among 31 Republican members of Congress whom the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee aims to topple as they look to retake control of the House of Representatives in next year’s elections.”

“Check thief jacks Sen. Chuck Schumer's campaign account,” by Raw Story’s Dave Levinthal: “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is the latest in a string of prominent politicians and political committees to lose campaign cash to a thief.”

JOIN POLITICO ON 4/5 FOR THE 2023 RECAST POWER LIST: America’s demographics and power dynamics are changing — and POLITICO is recasting how it covers the intersection of race, identity, politics and policy. Join us for a conversation on the themes of the 2023 Recast Power List that will examine America’s decision-making tables, who gets to sit at them, and the challenges that still need to be addressed. REGISTER HERE.

AROUND NEW YORK

— Three Astoria mosques for the first time received permits to play Adhan calls outside during Ramadan.

— The MTA still has no schedule to reopen most bathrooms.

— Two construction workers died after getting trapped under rubble at JFK international airport.

— Three men were charged with murder and robbery in connection with a series of fatal druggings at Manhattan gay bars.

— A Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate is headed toward the moon.

GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Jo Becker … Treasury’s Warren Ryan and Michael Halle … Deloitte’s Dan Jacobs … Business Roundtable’s Molly Edwards Connor … Bloomberg Government’s Heather Rothman … NBC’s Joy Wang … Ali Rubin … Teddy Himler … Daisy Melamed Sanders

FIRST IN NY PLAYBOOK – Global Citizen on Tuesday is announcing new speakers for its NYC summit on April 27-28: French president Emmanuel Macron, Katie Holmes, Jordan Fisher, Sabrina Elba, Michael Gandolfini, Tamron Hall, Bridget Moynahan, Amanda Seales, Gary Vaynerchuk, Letitia James, Ebro Darden and Nicole LaPointe Jameson.

MAKING MOVES -- Alison Cohen is now health and domestic policy legislative aide for Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). She previously was legislative aide for Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.).

ENGAGED -- Robert McMillen, a director at advertising company Publicis Collective, on Friday proposed to Emma V. O’Brian, SVP for strategic initiatives and chief of staff to the CEO of Dow Jones. The couple met about four years ago in New York and got engaged at Bennett Springs State Park near his hometown in Missouri.

SPOTTED at a panel on The Future of Art in the Age of AI at ArtsClub hosted by Nihal Krishan and Phil Linder which featured Henry Jia, Chris Combs and Xenia Gray: Michael McManus, Peter Cherukuri, Katherine Doyle, Ben Droz, Christina Sevilla and Steve Rochlin, Rachel Kaufman, Rich Press, Juan Manuel Contreras, Rachel Dungan, Katherine Doyle, Julia Jeanty, Sonia Herrero and Amirah Sequiera.

Real Estate

“Pfizer opens global headquarters in Hudson Yards as empty offices reach pandemic levels,” by Crain’s New York Business’ Amanda D’Ambrosio: “As offices across the city face vacancy rates similar to those during the pandemic, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer officially opened its new global headquarters in Hudson Yards today, renting 800,000 square feet from Tishman Speyer at the Spiral at 66 E. Hudson Blvd. The pharmaceutical company has been based in Midtown at 235 E. 42nd St. since 1961. Pfizer sold its old office building in 2018, and since then it has been leasing the space from the buyer, the company said.”

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