+ Levar Burton Schools Meghan McCain On 'Cancel Culture'

"I think we have a consequence culture, and that consequences are finally encompassing everybody in this society," the "Reading Rainbow" host explained.

By David Moye
04/26/2021 02:27 PM ET

Meghan McCain attempted to bait Levar Burton into a debate about “cancel culture” during Monday’s episode of “The View,” but the “Reading Rainbow” host turned it into a teachable moment.

It started when McCain asked Burton about the decision Dr. Seuss Enterprises made in March to cease publishing six children’s books because of racist and insensitive imagery.


“What do you think of that decision and about the cancel culture surrounding works of art or artists that are controversial?” McCain asked.

Burton returned the volley by first explaining that he recently did a voiceover for a Seuss Foundation video reminding viewers that “Dr. Seuss is more than simply a company that’s decided to put a couple of books on the shelf, to take them out of rotation.”

Then, using Dr. Seuss’ real name, he added: “That man, Theodore Geisel, is responsible for generations of wholesome, healthy, wonderful, creative content for children of all ages. So, I think we need to put things in perspective.”


Finally, Burton calmly explained that he thinks the term “cancel culture” is wrongly invoked to explain an awakening of accountability.

“I think it’s misnamed,” Burton said of the term, which has become a right wing buzzword. “That’s a misnomer. I think we have a consequence culture, and that consequences are finally encompassing everybody in this society, whereas they haven’t been ever in this country.”

Whatever it’s called, Burton said, “good signs that are happening in the culture right now.”


He added: “And I think it has everything to do with a new awareness by people who were simply unaware of the real nature of life in this country for people who have been othered since this nation began.”



https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_6086e01ce4b0ccb91c27d75d/amp?__twitter_impression=true

+ Officer injured in Capitol riot criticizes politicians who continue to downplay attack

Wilson Wong


Wed, April 28, 2021, 7:48 AM·



A Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police officer who was assaulted during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot criticized elected officials for "downplaying" the mob's violence and said he now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

In an interview with CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday, Michael Fanone said: "I experienced the most brutal, savage, hand-to-hand combat of my entire life, let alone my policing career, which spans almost two decades."

"This was nothing that I had ever thought would be a part of my law enforcement career, nor was I prepared to experience."


Daniel Rodriguez was indicted earlier this month after federal authorities said he attacked Fanone with an "electroshock weapon." Another man, Thomas F. Sibick, was accused of assaulting the officer and "forcibly" taking his badge and radio, prosecutors said.

In the months since the attack, Fanone, who suffered a heart attack and a concussion during the riot, said he started to "experience some of the more psychological injuries — PTSD."

The officer said it was "difficult seeing elected officials and other individuals kind of whitewash the events of that day or downplay what happened."

"Some of the terminology that was used, like 'hugs and kisses,' and 'very fine people,' is like very different from what I experienced and what my co-workers experienced on the 6th," he said. Fanone's comments appeared to reference former President Donald Trump's false claims in a Fox News interview last month where he said some rioters were "hugging and kissing the police," a contrast to videos showing a mob storming the Capitol.

The attack led to the unprecedented second impeachment of Trump, who held a rally before the riot occurred promoting falsely claimed fraud and a stolen election lie. He was acquitted in the Senate.

Hundreds of people across the country have been arrested in connection with the attack.

Both Rodriguez and Sibick were charged with several federal counts, including knowingly entering a restricted building, violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, impeding, obstructing, or interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a civil disorder, and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

Fanone urged the public not to erase the violence that unfolded on Jan. 6, which left five dead, including a Capitol police officer.

"I want people to understand the significance of Jan. 6. I want people to understand that thousands of rioters came to the Capitol hell-bent on violence and destruction and murder," he said.

“I don’t know how you can watch my body-worn camera footage and deny that Jan. 6 was anything other than violent and brutal."




https://news.yahoo.com/officer-injured-capitol-riot-criticizes-124845469.html

+ In-custody death of Marvin David Scott III ruled a homicide


BY VICTORIA ALBERT

APRIL 29, 2021 / 7:41 AM / CBS NEWS


The in-custody death of Marvin David Scott III, a 26-year-old Black man who was allegedly pepper-sprayed and had a spit mask placed on his face while he was held at a Texas detention facility in March, was ruled a homicide on Wednesday.

Dr. William Rohr, the medical examiner in Collin County, said Scott's death was caused by "fatal acute stress response in an individual with previously diagnosed schizophrenia during restraint struggle with law enforcement." Rohr's office said it's waiting to obtain laboratory results before publishing a final autopsy report.

Scott was taken into custody on March 14 by officers from the Allen Police Department, who said he was "acting in an erratic manner" at an outlet mall. He was transported to a hospital and held in an emergency room for approximately three hours "due to the possible ingestion of drugs," Allen police said.


Scott, who had been arrested for possessing less than 2 ounces of marijuana, was then transferred to a detention facility in Collin County at approximately 6:22 p.m., Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner said at a March 19 press briefing


(more)



https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/marvin-scott-death-ruled-homicide-texas/?__twitter_impression=true

+ 'Petulant toddler' Trump brutally mocked for running to Fox to whine that Biden didn't acknowledge his 'accomplishments'


Matthew Chapman
April 29, 2021


'Petulant toddler' Trump brutally mocked for running to Fox to whine that Biden didn't acknowledge his 'accomplishments'


On Thursday morning, following President Joe Biden's address to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump took to Fox Business and, in an interview with Maria Bartiromo, whined that Biden is being "ungracious" by not acknowledging the "accomplishments" of the Trump administration in his speech.

"Obviously they're very ungracious people," said Trump. "I did the vaccine. They like to take the vaccine. But even the fake news isn't giving them credit for that. We did the vaccine, saved tens of millions of lives throughout the world by coming up with a vaccine."


Commenters on social media quickly piled on Trump for his tantrum.

(more)



https://www.rawstory.com/trump-whining/

+ Proud Boys splintering after Capitol riot, revelations about leader. Will more radical factions emerge?

Will Carless
USA TODAY


The Proud Boys are having a rough time. The self-described "Western chauvinist" drinking club has long been a refuge for white supremacists, anti-Semites and assorted extremists seeking a veneer of legitimacy.

But in the wake of the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month, the group is in some disarray, as state chapters disavow the group's chairman and leaders bicker inpublic and in private about what direction to take the Proud Boys in.


Proud Boys chairman Henry Tarrio, who goes by Enrique, was arrested days before the Capitol riot and charged with two federal weapons charges. Three weeks later, Tarrio was outed as a longtime FBI informant, a role he has now admitted to. The news about the Proud Boys leader came as other members of the group were arrested for their involvement in the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Then, on Feb. 3, Canada designated the Proud Boys as a domestic terrorist group.


(more)


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/12/proud-boys-splintering-after-capitol-riot-revelations-leader/6709017002/

+ Dead Whale Found With 16kg of Plastic Bags, Wrappers Inside Stomach

BY AATIF SULLEYMAN ON 5/11/21 AT 4:38 AM EDT


Environmental conservationists have expressed their "anger" after 16kg of plastic waste was found inside the stomach of a beached whale.



The cetacean, a female Cuvier's beaked whale measuring a little over 5 meters in length, washed up on a beach in Messanges in south-west France, which is on the Atlantic coast.

The whale's partially decomposed corpse was discovered by passers by on Saturday, May 8, and an autopsy carried out by environmental conservation groups Pelagis Observatory and Itsas Arima concluded that its ingestion of an enormous quantity of plastic products led to its death


(more)


https://www.newsweek.com/dead-whale-found-16kg-plastic-bags-wrappers-inside-stomach-1590310?amp=1&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_impression=true

+ Liz Cheney denounces Trump on eve of GOP vote: ‘Ignoring the lie emboldens the liar’


Over 100 anti-Trump republicans threaten to form breakaway party as GOP ousts Cheney
‘Right now, it’s basically the Titanic. We’re in the middle of this slow sink’

Louise Hall


Over 100 prominent Republicans are threatening to split from the GOP amidst its continued support of former president Donald Trump and the ouster of his vocal critic, Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, as divisions in the party hit breaking point.


The anti-Trump members are preparing to release a letter this week, hitting out at the former president’s grip on the GOP and threatening to form a third party unless certain demands are met, The New York Times and Reuters report.

“When in our democratic republic, forces of conspiracy, division, and despotism arise, it is the patriotic duty of citizens to act collectively in defense of liberty and justice,” the statement opens, according to The Times.

A struggle for power in the GOP has ensued since Mr Trump officially left the White House, with the party becoming increasingly divided over the former president’s future standing in the party.


Mr Trump himself has continued to launch personal and political attacks on those who voted to impeach him during his second Senate trial following the Capitol insurrection on 6 January.

"Right now, it’s basically the Titanic. We’re in the middle of this slow sink. We have a band playing on the deck telling everybody it’s fine," Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger who voted to impeach, told Reuters.


(more)


https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/liz-cheney-gop-republican-split-b1846235.html

+ Who is Representing the Most Proud Boys in Capitol Hill Cases? Meet Pierce Bainbridge Attorney John Pierce.

May 12, 2021

Don Lewis

New York Times columnist Alan Feuer says attorney John Pierce of Pierce Bainbridge is representing “more proud boys than any other single lawyer in the Capitol Hill cases”. In addition to representing the most proud boys, what do we know about John Pierce? The Harvard Law School Class of 2000 graduate has a multitude of issues; the timeline below is illuminating.


2016
Pierce reportedly agrees to a $2.5 million a year salary to be a partner at K&L Gates LLP. In around four months, Pierce loses his job after physically assaulting a co-worker at a firm retreat.

Pierce winds up in a UCLA Psychiatric Facility. His ex-wife allegedly receives a warning that Pierce expressed an intense to desire to kill her, the mother of his three children.

Pierce’s former spouse, also a Harvard Law School graduate, obtains the first of two domestic violence restraining orders against him.

Let’s fast forward to 2019, additional interim information is available in this Pierce Bainbridge “Financial Dossier.”

2019
In early November, Rudy Giuliani announces that he hired Pierce Bainbridge. One week later a litigation funder named Virage Capital Management makes a $21 million loan commitment to the law firm. Virage has funded other troubled lawyers, as covered in “The Company You Keep.“

Yet, notwithstanding this massive commitment, over the next several months, Pierce and Pierce Bainbridge take out several cash advances totaling in the millions. The chart below provides an overview of borrowing activity which involves Pierce Bainbridge, John Mark Pierce Enterprises and/or John Pierce, as well as additional related entities.

Pierce Bainbridge borrowing activity.
One day after Giuliani announced hiring Pierce Bainbridge, Pierce signs an income and expense declaration. Another lawyer summarized the filing.

In March, Pierce’s former wife says he breached child support obligations. She threatens to report the matter to child services.


In June, Law360 reports that Pierce’s firm defaulted on its debt to Virage Capital. The amount owed is reported to be approximately $65 million.


(more)



https://sunlight-reports.com/the-most-proud-boys/

+ Norwegian pushes back against DeSantis with threat to enforce fully vaccinated cruises


Meaghan Ellis



As cruise lines prepare to set sail at the end of the summer, the COVID vaccine passport debate continues to ensue. According to Sun-Sentinel, Norwegian Cruise Lines has made it clear that it will continue its plans to require passengers to be fully vaccinated, at least for now.

According to a new press release posted on the company's site, "All initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew." On Monday, June 7, Norwegian Cruise Lines CEO Frank del Rio also confirmed that his staff and legal team are working to implement ways to ensure cruises are safe when they resume.


"We are currently in communication with his staff and legal counsel to ensure that we can offer the safest cruise experience for our passengers departing from the cruise capital of the world," del Rio said.

The move comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continues his push to ban vaccine passports across the state. Last month, the Republican governor signed an executive order banning COVID passports.

At the time, DeSantis also released a statement explaining the reason for his executive order.

"Over the last year, we've avoided protracted lockdowns and school closures in Florida because I have refused to take the same approach as other lockdown Governors. This legislation ensures that legal safeguards are in place so that local governments cannot arbitrarily close our schools or businesses," DeSantis said last month. "In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision. I'd like to thank President Simpson, Speaker Sprowls, and the Florida Legislature for getting this legislation got across the finish line."

The order quickly led to blowback from Democratic lawmakers, cruise line CEOS, and cruise analysts. Now, DeSantis is accusing the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of discrimination and "unlawful overreach" with the requirement for COVID vaccine passports. However, experts argue otherwise.

"It would be very difficult, and very unwise, for Florida to stop a company from doing a vaccine passport," said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on National and Global Health. He added, "The message is that you may think you have a very effective vaccine, and you might desperately need this for your own health and safety and for your business to thrive, but you can't do it."



https://www.alternet.org/amp/norwegian-pushes-back-against-desantis-with-threat-to-enforce-fully-vaccinated-cruises-2653280067?__twitter_impression=true

+ Senate report on Jan. 6 attack finds Capitol Police, intelligence agencies failed to relay threat posed by pro-Trump rioters

Caitlin Dickson

Tue, June 8, 2021, 5:28 PM

Summary
In the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, the day Congress was scheduled to meet to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis struggled to determine whether social media posts calling for supporters of then-President Donald Trump to go to the U.S. Capitol armed and prepared for violence amounted to a legitimate security threat or were simply “online bravado.”

Ultimately, according to a Senate report released Tuesday, both DHS and the FBI concluded that such conversations were not credible, and as a result, neither agency issued an official threat assessment or intelligence bulletin to warn law enforcement about the potential for violence at the Capitol ahead of the riot that unfolded on Jan. 6.

That faulty assessment was among a number of massive intelligence, security and communication failures that contributed to what is described in the report as “a violent and unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Vice President, Members of Congress, and the democratic process.”


Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The bipartisan report is the result of a joint inquiry launched earlier this year by two Senate committees — Rules and Administration, and Homeland Security and Government Affairs — in an effort to understand how, exactly, a violent pro-Trump mob managed to breach the Capitol complex during a joint session of Congress. Its findings and recommendations are based on more than three months of oversight hearings; interviews with current and former law enforcement, intelligence and military officials; and thousands of documents and written statements provided by 50 Capitol Police officers about their experiences. The report links the violence of Jan. 6 to the deaths of seven people, including three police officers who died in the aftermath of the riot.

“The events of January 6th were horrific, and our bipartisan investigation identified many unacceptable, widespread breakdowns in security preparations and emergency response related to this attack,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday


(more)



https://news.yahoo.com/senate-report-on-jan-6-attack-finds-capitol-police-intelligence-agencies-failed-to-relay-threat-posed-by-pro-trump-rioters-222829477.html

Any low-level Bonebrain these days can now also be a "doctor" evidently.

Tragic.


😑😑😑😑😑



**************

+ Fact check: Gohmert's attempts to connect moon orbits and solar flares to climate change

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN
Updated 11:06 PM EDT, Wed June 09, 2021

Washington(CNN)

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas made an argument about climate change at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday that appeared to elicit confusion from a government official and ridicule on Twitter.

During the Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing, Gohmert appeared to draw a connection between the moon and Earth's orbit and solar flares to climate change. In questioning US Forest Service Associate Deputy Chief Jennifer Eberlien, Gohmert asked if the National Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management could change the orbits of the moon and Earth, making a comment that some saw as an attempt to argue that climate change should be viewed as a natural phenomenon rather than man-made.

"I was informed by the immediate past director of NASA that they have found that the moon's orbit is changing slightly and so is the Earth's orbit around the sun," Gohmert said.


"We know there's been significant solar flare activity. And so, is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM (Bureau of Land Management) can do to change the course of the moon's orbit or the Earth's orbit around the sun? Obviously, that would have profound effects on our climate," the congressman asked Eberlien.

Eberlien responded that she "would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert."

Facts First: Gohmert's remark makes little sense. The insinuation that solar flares and orbital activity cause or greatly contribute to the climate change seen today is completely incorrect. Greenhouse gases produced by humans are the primary driver of the earth's rapid warming.

Gohmert's office did not respond to CNN's requests to clarify his remarks, which were widely mocked on Twitter.

Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, wrote tersely, "We cannot change the Earth's or Moon's orbit. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk."

"The 'science-y sounding' reasons most politicians use to reject climate change are not primarily due to lack of education or knowledge," Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist and co-director of the Climate Center at Texas Tech University, wrote on Twitter. "No: they are deliberately manufactured and offered as palatable excuses to hide the real problem: solution aversion. They don't want to fix it."

Everything Gohmert asserted has been debunked by NASA.


(more)



https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/06/09/politics/louie-gohmert-climate-change-fact-check/index.html

+ Palmer Report

Lock him up!

Bocha Blue | 11:59 pm EDT June 11, 2021
Palmer Report » Community

We should not have been surprised. I say this regarding the bombshell news that the former guy weaponized the Department of Justice to spy on his enemies by seizing metadata from Apple and slapping a gag order on Apple. We already know of at least two prominent Democrats who were spied on. There will likely be more where that came from.

We shouldn’t have been surprised. But we were. I don’t know about you, my friends, but my jaw dropped. In retrospect, though, it makes sense. The former guy is, I believe, a sociopath. I cannot be sure. I am not a psychologist and have not diagnosed him.



But he meets all the criteria. And sociopathy is a personality disorder. There is no cure. Sociopaths cannot feel empathy. They cannot care about anyone beyond themselves. They use people. They turn on any perceived enemies in a heartbeat. They are without any conscience. They know what they are doing is wrong, and they do not care.

So, yes. The former guy did this. And I would not be surprised if there are even more horrible things he did that we don’t even know about.


(more)



https://www.palmerreport.com/community/lock-him-up-3/39486/

+ Revealed: rightwing firm posed as leftist group on Facebook to divide Democrats

FEC investigation failed to uncover link to Rally Forge, a firm with close ties to Turning Point USA

Julia Carrie Wong in San Francisco
@juliacarriew
Fri 11 Jun 2021 06.00 EDT


A digital marketing firm closely linked to the pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA was responsible for a series of deceptive Facebook ads promoting Green party candidates during the 2018 US midterm elections, the Guardian can reveal.

In an apparent attempt to split the Democratic vote in a number of close races, the ads purported to come from an organization called America Progress Now (APN) and used socialist memes and rhetoric to urge leftwing voters to support Green party candidates.


Facebook was aware of the true identity of the advertiser – the conservative marketing firm Rally Forge – and the deceptive nature of the ads, documents seen by the Guardian show, but the company determined that they did not violate its policies.

Rally Forge would go on to set up a pro-Trump domestic “troll farm” for Turning Point Action, a “sister” organization of Turning Point USA, in 2020, earning a permanent ban from Facebook.

“There were no policies at Facebook against pretending to be a group that did not exist, an abuse vector that has also been used by the governments of Honduras and Azerbaijan,” said Sophie Zhang, a former Facebook employee and whistleblower who played a small role in the investigation of the Green party ads.

She added: “The fact that Rally Forge later went on to conduct coordinated inauthentic behavior with troll farms reminiscent of Russia should be taken as an indication that Facebook’s leniency led to more risk-taking behavior.”


Devon Kearns, a spokesperson for Facebook, said: “We removed Rally Forge from our platforms for violating our policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior. Since the 2018 midterms, we have strengthened our policies related to election interference and political ad transparency. We continue working to make political advertising more transparent on our platform and we welcome updated regulations and help from policymakers as we evolve our policies in this space.”


The revelation that the ads were linked to a rightwing organization raises questions about the Federal Election Commission’s enforcement of campaign finance laws. APN and its ads appeared to violate federal laws that require independent expenditures to be filed with the FEC and include proper disclosures on advertisements, as ProPublica and Vice News first reported in 2018.

The non-partisan campaign finance watchdog group Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint against APN and subsequently sued the agency in an attempt to force it to investigate the group. But in July 2020, the FEC voted to dismiss allegations that America Progress Now had violated federal law, after an individual, Evan Muhlstein, took responsibility for the ads and attributed the lack of proper disclosures and filings to his “inexperience”.


It is illegal to knowingly make false or fraudulent statements to federal agencies, and the FEC appears to have taken Muhlstein at his word that the ads were a sincere but novice attempt to support Green party candidates.


The former FEC commissioner Ann Ravel, who reviewed the case at the request of the Guardian, said that were she still on the FEC, she would now refer this “stunning” case to the justice department for investigation.

“It seems as if it’s a clear fraud,” Ravel said, noting that the FEC general counsel’s office appeared to have been “misled” by Muhlstein. “The requirement for the justice department to take on an electoral matter is that it be serious and willful, and clearly in this case it was willful, in my opinion.”


(more)


https://amp.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/11/facebook-ads-turning-point-usa-rally-forge?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true

+ The Odds Of Donald Trump’s CFO Flipping and Helping Send Him to Prison Just Shot Up

BESS LEVIN
MAY 20, 2021 4:14 PM

One of the key figures in prosecutors’ quest to actually put Donald Trump behind bars is Allen Weisselberg, the longtime Trump Organization chief financial officer. With the company for decades, Weisselberg has described himself as Trump’s “eyes and ears” at the firm and presumably, in the event that any laws had ever been broken, would know about them. In fact, as his ex-daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg, put it to Air Mail earlier this year, “Allen knows every bad thing [Trump] ever did.” That kind of witness would obviously prove invaluable to the government officials trying to make their case, which is why, unsurprisingly, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has been working for months to “flip” Weisselberg and get him to cooperate against the ex-president. And while it’s not clear where Vance’s office is in its efforts, it appears the Trump Organization CFO may soon be under intense pressure to cooperate with the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, which just happens to be collaborating with the D.A.


The New York Times reports that Weisselberg is officially under criminal investigation by James’s office, which is examining if taxes were paid on “fringe benefits” Trump gave him, including cars and thousands of dollars in private school tuition for at least one of Weisselberg’s grandchilden.

Per the Times:

The focus on perks and Mr. Weisselberg overlaps with the Manhattan district attorney’s long-running criminal fraud investigation of Mr. Trump and his family business. The district attorney’s office has been investigating the extent to which Mr. Trump handed out fringe benefits to some of his executives, including Mr. Weisselberg, and whether taxes were paid on those perks…In general, fringe benefits—which can include cars, flights, and club memberships—are taxable, though there are some exceptions. Companies are typically responsible for withholding such taxes from an employee’s paycheck.

Rather than risk bumping into each other, the two investigative offices recently began collaborating, another person with knowledge of the matter said. Two assistant attorneys general from Ms. James’s office have joined the district attorney’s team, which has been seeking to turn Mr. Weisselberg into a cooperating witness against Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization, people with knowledge of that effort said…. In addition to the fringe benefits, Ms. James and the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., have examined whether Mr. Trump’s company inflated the value of his properties to obtain favorable loans and lowered the values to reduce taxes.

For months, Mr. Vance’s office has pursued Mr. Weisselberg as a potential cooperating witness, people with knowledge of that effort have said. Mr. Vance’s prosecutors, who have paid particular attention to Mr. Weisselberg’s fringe benefits, subpoenaed records from Mr. Weisselberg’s bank and the private school in Manhattan that his grandchildren have attended, The Times has reported. Mr. Weisselberg’s former daughter-in-law, Jennifer Weisselberg, has said that prosecutors had asked her about the tuition payments as well as gifts her ex-husband, Barry Weisselberg, received from Mr. Trump, including an apartment on Central Park South and several leased cars.


(more)


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/allen-weisseleberg-ny-ag-criminal-investigation/amp