Podcasts about kasowitz

In this episode, Dave talks with Ian Kasowitz, the territory manager for the Stiles Company, Inc.

“The victory's already yours, you just have to show up.” - Jon Waldrop This Real Talk is packed with wisdom on perseverance, leaning on your Higher Power and community, and how gratitude paves the way for life-changing opportunities. I had the privilege of chatting with my close friend and incredible trailblazer, Jon Waldrop. Jon is a Managing Partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP in Silicon Valley. He is a highly respected and recognized patent and trademark litigation lawyer, representing industry-leading companies such as Google, Uber, and Cox Communications. Here are key highlights from this episode: Early aspirations and change of course: Jon initially sought to become an engineer. However, influenced by the people he admired and the profound role his family's preaching heritage played in shaping his communication skills, he was drawn to law.  Journey to law and belief in a bigger purpose: Jon shares his belief in God and the importance of trusting one's intuition. He reflects on his journey to becoming a lawyer, stressing the importance of recognizing signals from your Higher Power and trusting in the plan laid out for you. Power of faith, meditation, and positive influence: Jon credits his success to the vital lessons his parents taught him, unwavering support from other key figures in his life, and his deep faith. He discusses the power of prayer, meditation, and the influence of positive people around him.  Overcoming challenges and embracing authenticity: from being a child of divorce and experiencing the effects of racism growing up in Alabama, to dealing with imposter syndrome at Harvard, Jon opens up about his struggles. He explains how overcoming these adversities shaped his beliefs about perseverance, authenticity, and self-belief. Reframing failures and embracing full commitment: after a series of attempts to control his life direction, Jon decided to fully commit to his role as a lawyer. He discusses how this complete dedication led to professional success and personal fulfillment. Understanding energy and its influence: Jon believes that one's energy is one of the most important aspects to protect and cultivate. He advises on the importance of surrounding oneself with positive influences and steering clear of “energy vampires.” Staying focused and resilient: Jon shares his practices for maintaining focus and energy. He emphasizes the role of affirmations, meditation, exercise, sleep, and a supportive network. He also discusses the benefits of leveraging perceived losses and failures as catalysts for pivotal wins. Changing definition of success: Jon reflects on how his definition of success has evolved over time. While he initially sought money, power, and independence, he now views success in terms of contributing positively to the world and expanding opportunities for others. Throughout the episode, Jon Waldrop shares nuggets of wisdom and insights, stressing the importance of faith, positive relationships, authenticity, and gratitude in achieving personal and professional success. Share this episode with someone in your network who needs a boost of encouragement – Jon's story is a compelling reminder to keep going! With so much love & gratitude, Grace

A quick update on some of the latest January sixth news, followed by a close reading of 300 pages of transcripts from crucial testimony by a key figure in the January sixth Committee Report, Trump campaign attorney Alex Cannon. Topics include the arrest of an AFO defendant who was arrested on January 6th, only to be released from his cuffs by the mob of Trumpist thugs, an analysis of the daunting task of reading some 18,000 pages of testimony, a call for assistance with regard to this task, with inquiries to be directed to @capinsurrep on Twitter, and some discussion of the question of whether the speech and debate clause actually applies to members of the executive branch, such as the vice president. The main body of the episode consists of a close reading of the two transcripts of testimony by Trump campaign lawyer Alex Cannon in April and August of 2021. Cannon offered very useful testimony to Committee with regard to the big lie, and had documentation to support his position that he had opposed "team crazy." Nonetheless, the transcripts make it clear that this opposition had its limits, and Cannon took pains to absent himself from the work of "team crazy," even going so far as to move his office. Although the Committee did not delve much into the question of Cannon's involvement in the TMAGAC "Big Rip-Off" scheme, already addressed in S3E11, "The Big Rip-Off," which was relegated to Appendix 3 of the Final Report, Cannon, whose expertise consists mainly of drawing up vendor contracts, lies at a nexus of Trump insiders who created LLCs that received disbursements from the Trump campaign and his PACs, sometimes totaling millions of dollars. Though the Committee seemingly took pains not to undermine Cannon's credibility, the questions surrounding these unusual dealings are reportedly of interest to Special Counsel Jack Smith. Cannon's transcript also shows how Cannon, who was represented by Daniel Benson, a named partner at Kasowitz, Benson and Torres, is linked to another KB&T client: Jared Kushner. Cannon told the Committee that it was Kushner, acting on the instruction of Donald Trump, who sought to create the Save America PAC as a leadership PAC because it would allow the campaign to transfer over 200 million dollars, ostensibly raised for the purposes of creating an Election Defense Fund that ultimately was never created, into an entity with few restrictions on how these funds could be spent. This move raises issues of FEC violations, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Also, in rare scoop for the podcast, I will reveal that Cannon authorized a secret investigation into January 6th funded with Trump PAC money. Cannon claims the investigation was conducted by 2M Document Management and Imaging, LLC, a firm with no clients not affiliated with Trump. Cannon also claims that this investigation, which was funded with part of the 6.2 million dollars disbursed to 2M, is work product subject to attorney-client privilege. Cannon asserted that neither the Committee, nor the public, nor anyone else, will ever see this privileged work product, which raises questions regarding accountability and transparency. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/jesse-james-rumson-sedition-panda-jan-6-b2291006.html https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-shell-spending-scheme-comes-under-doj-scrutiny https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/22/trump-brass-campaign-firm-449402 https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/politics/secret-grand-jury-special-counsel-trump/index.html https://www.lawfareblog.com/how-much-can-speech-or-debate-clause-protect-mike-pence https://www.golocalprov.com/news/blocks-voter-fraud-allegations-spark-controversy-in-rhode-island https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000062449/ https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-J6-TRANSCRIPT-CTRL0000916113/

David Melech Friedman (born August 8, 1958) is an American bankruptcy lawyer and the former United States Ambassador to Israel. He joined the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman (then known as Kasowitz, Hoff, Benson & Torres) in 1994, where he met and represented Donald Trump, then chairman and president of The Trump Organization. He was an advisor to Trump during his successful presidential campaign. In December 2016, President-elect Trump's transition team announced that Friedman was Trump's nominee for ambassador. He was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, officially sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on March 29 and presented his credentials on May 15. 00:00 - Intro9:50 - Interview1:05:19 - Outro Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: Rabbi, Boca Raton Synagogue (BRS). Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Associate Rabbi, BRS. Rabbi Josh Broide: Outreach Rabbi, BRS. 

Adina Allen, co-founder and creative director of The Jewish Studio Project, joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to explore what Torah is, what creativity is, and what her framework -- a Torah of Creativity -- has to teach the world.Inspired by what you hear in this podcast episode? You can sign up for a 3-week mini-course in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva (a digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning), taught by Adina Allen and revolving around the Torah of Creativity. Register for Adina Allen's 3-week course in the UnYeshiva by clicking here, and check out the UnYeshiva's other upcoming "mini-courses" via this link.

Dr. Peterson's extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire+: https://utm.io/ueJdKAs the Ambassador to Israel under President Donald Trump, David Friedman accomplished many things including the historical passing of the Abraham Accords. Ambassador Friedman joins to discuss his time under President Trump and how the accords came to fruition.David Melech Friedman (born August 8, 1958) is an American bankruptcy lawyer and the former United States Ambassador to Israel. He joined the law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman (then known as Kasowitz, Hoff, Benson & Torres) in 1994, where he met and represented Donald Trump, then chairman and president of The Trump Organization.He was an advisor to Trump during his successful presidential campaign. In December 2016, President-elect Trump's transition team announced that Friedman was Trump's nominee for ambassador. He was narrowly confirmed by the Senate, officially sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on March 29 and presented his credentials on May 15 to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.Read Sledgehammer: https://www.amazon.com/Sledgehammer-Breaking-Brought-Peace-Middle/dp/0063098113 // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jordanbpeterson.com/youtubesignup Donations: https://jordanbpeterson.com/donate  // COURSES // Discovering Personality: https://jordanbpeterson.com/personality Self Authoring Suite: https://selfauthoring.com Understand Myself (personality test): https://understandmyself.com  // BOOKS // Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: https://jordanbpeterson.com/Beyond-Order 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: https://jordanbpeterson.com/12-rules-for-life Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: https://jordanbpeterson.com/maps-of-meaning  // LINKS // Website: https://jordanbpeterson.com Events: https://jordanbpeterson.com/events Blog: https://jordanbpeterson.com/blog Podcast: https://jordanbpeterson.com/podcast  // SOCIAL // Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordanbpeterson Instagram: https://instagram.com/jordan.b.peterson Facebook: https://facebook.com/drjordanpeterson Telegram: https://t.me/DrJordanPeterson All socials: https://linktr.ee/drjordanbpeterson  #JordanPeterson #JordanBPeterson #DrJordanPeterson #DrJordanBPeterson #DailyWirePlus

A fairly mundane lawsuit over oil and gas royalties in West Virginia has been jolted by the revelation that the judge overseeing the case purportedly brandished a gun at an attorney who had previously tried to get him booted from the case. On this week's all-host edition of Pro Say, the crew breaks down the truly wild development out of the Mountain State. Also on the show this week, Tesla is found negligent in a fiery car wreck that killed two teenagers, but assigned only 1% of the blame in the case; and New York law firm Kasowitz fights allegations that it helped to frame a woman for a hate mail campaign after she became involved in a neighborly dispute with one of the firm's powerful clients. Finally, a California attorney gets smacked down after lobbing a vaguely coded sexist slur at two opposing female attorneys.

Senator Joe Lieberman, is senior counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres (https://www.kasowitz.com/people/joseph-i-lieberman) where he currently advises clients on a wide range of issues, including homeland and national security, defense, health, energy, environmental policy, intellectual property matters, as well as international expansion initiatives and business plans. Prior to joining Kasowitz, Senator Lieberman, the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee in 2000, served 24 years in the United States Senate where he helped shape legislation in virtually every major area of public policy, including national and homeland security, foreign policy, fiscal policy, environmental protection, human rights, health care, trade, energy, cyber security and taxes, as well as serving in many leadership roles including as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Senator Lieberman served as the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut for six years. He also served 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate, including three terms as majority leader. In addition to practicing law, Senator Lieberman is honorary national founding chair of No Labels (https://www.nolabels.org/), an American political organization composed of Republicans, Democrats and Independents whose mission is to “usher in a new era of focused problem solving in American politics.” Since 2014, Senator Lieberman, and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, have Co-Chaired the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (https://biodefensecommission.org/), which has provided recommendations to improve the United States' efforts in the biodefense arena, particularly as it relates to biosecurity and pandemic preparedness. Senator Lieberman is also on the Board of Trustees for The McCain Institute for International Leadership, the Board of Trustees for the Institute for the Study of War, and the Board of Directors of the Center for a New American Security. Senator Lieberman is also an accomplished author with his most recent book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Government Work and Can Make It Work Again (https://www.amazon.com/Centrist-Solution-Made-Government-Again/dp/1635769043), recently released in Oct 2021.

Hon. Clarine Nardi Riddle, '74, counsel with Kasowitz, Benson & Torres in Washington, DC, has served as a trial court judge in Connecticut, as chief of staff to Senator Joseph Lieberman, and as the state's only female attorney general. She is also a founder of No Labels, a bi-partisan organization aimed at moving America from old-politics point-scoring to new-politics problem-solving. Clarine shares insights from her wide-ranging career.

Marc Kasowitz Offers Insights and Counsel. The host for this show is Benjamin Lau. The guest is Marc E. Kasowitz. His advice is sought by some of the world's most powerful corporations and business executives. Marc E. Kasowitz and his namesake law firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres, represent the world's leading corporations and financial institutions, hedge fund tycoons, wall street buyout kings, Hollywood A-listers, silicon valley tech companies, and world leaders. Marc sits down with us and shares his insights and counsel as one of America's preeminent lawyers and entrepreneurs possessing a singular 'insider's view' of the world. The ThinkTech YouTube Playlist for this show is https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQpkwcNJny6k0vfRDNk6TUG2dQvCLCjYl

Mike and Lance graph the biggest news in the boxing world, Canelo Alvarez files a lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya ,Golden Boy and DAZN after their strife finally boiled over (:30). Kurt Emhoff, sports and entertainment attorney at Kasowitz, Benson & Torres, joins P&C to further elaborate on Canelo's lawsuit (12:30). The trio talk about the language in Canelo's contract with DAZN as well as whether Emhoff would allow a client to sign a deal without knowing the full extent of the terms (14:30). How long will Canelo be sidelined (21:00)? Is it fair to expect a counter suit (24:30)? Pug and Copp finish off today's show discussing Mean Machine-Zewski; Lubin-Gausha; Charlo pay per view price and Whyte-Povetkin (30:00).Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeCoppingerFollow Lance on Twitter: @pugboxingFollow Kurt on Twitter: @boxing_esq Join The Athletic for just $1 a month! Visit: theathletic.com/pugandcopp Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now Senior Counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres LLP in New York, Joseph I. Lieberman was for 24 years a member of the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. At the end of his service in January 2013, he was Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. Through both committee positions, he became a leader in protecting the security of the American people and supporting American international leadership. Senator Lieberman is known as a national leader who works across party lines to get things done and who speaks his conscience regardless of the political consequences. Before his election to the Senate in 1988, Senator Lieberman served 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate and 6 years as Connecticut's Attorney General. In 2000 he was the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States. Senator Lieberman also serves on the board of several nonprofit organizations including the McCain Institute. Senator Lieberman is married to Hadassah Freilich Lieberman. Together they have 4 children and 12 grandchildren. On this episode, Senator Lieberman shares his one way ticket to the day after the corona virus pandemic ends. The Senator also covers his work on the bi-partisan commission on bio defense which he co-chairs with former Homeland Security Secretary, Tom Ridge; comments on the far left turn of the democratic party, and shares what he thinks the rest of the world should know about the United States today. Senator Lieberman is just one of the dynamic personalities featured on The One Way Ticket Show, where Host Steven Shalowitz explores with his guests where they would go if given a one way ticket, no coming back. Destinations may be in the past, present, future, real, imaginary or a state of mind. Steven's guests have included: Nobel Peace Prize Winner, President Jose Ramos-Horta; Legendary Talk Show Host, Dick Cavett; Law Professor, Alan Dershowitz; Fashion Expert, Tim Gunn; Broadcast Legend, Charles Osgood; International Rescue Committee President & CEO, David Miliband; Playwright, David Henry Hwang; Journalist-Humorist-Actor, Mo Rocca; SkyBridge Capital Founder & Co-Managing Partner, Anthony Scaramucci; Abercrombie & Kent Founder, Geoffrey Kent; Travel Expert, Pauline Frommer, as well as leading photographers, artists, chefs, writers, intellectuals and more.

I recorded this episode prior to the pandemic, and I think it’s ironic that people have talked about a potential increase in divorces after the quarantine. I guess releasing this now may be apropos for many people.  Joining me today are Kelly Frawley and Emily Pollock, partners in the matrimonial and family law department of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres law firm, to discuss the legal matters you should consider before you get into a marriage and after. Specifically, we’re talking about prenups and if it makes sense to have one before you get married. Kelly and Emily share a number of helpful lessons learned in their over 20 years of practicing law that can help you in any stage of your relationship.  For more information, visit the show notes at https://martinisandyourmoney.com/show-notes/prenuptial-agreements-with-kelly-frawley-and-emily-pollack

We interview Jerold Oshinsky, Partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres. Jerry talks about the future trends in insurance litigation, and why young associates should consider becoming generalists at first.

A tremor rolled through the legal industry recently when Thomson Reuters announced that it had sold its managed services business, Pangea3, to global Big Four professional services firm Ernst & Young, a sign of Ernst & Young’s increasing expansion into legal services. On this episode of LawNext, host Bob Ambrogi speaks with two of the leaders of Pangea3, Joe Borstein, global director at Pangea3, and Ed Sohn, vice president of product and partner management there. They provide further details on the deal and discuss its broader implications for the legal industry. Joe Borstein is a global director with Pangea3, helping to oversee over 1,000 full-time legal, compliance, and technology professionals in offices across the globe, and also director of innovation for Thomson Reuters’ corporate segment. Prior to joining Pangea3, Borstein practiced law at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, LLP, where he managed complex litigation in federal, state, and administrative courts. He is a 2005 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Ed Sohn is the vice president of product management and partnerships for Pangea3. He oversees an award-winning product portfolio that tech-enable managed services, products built in-house or from third-party partners. Sohn has served in a variety of leadership roles within Pangea3. Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, he was a business litigation associate at King & Spalding in Atlanta, GA, where he is still based. Sohn has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s in computer science from the University of Illinois. Borstein and Sohn also co-author the alt.legal column on Above the Law, where they write about innovative technologies and businesses in the legal industry. NEW: We are now Patreon! Subscribe to our page to be able to access show transcripts, or to submit a question for our guests. Comment on this show: Record a voice comment on your mobile phone and send it to info@lawnext.com.

We discuss the circus of the week at the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, Alex Jones gets banned permanently by Twitter and Apple for being confrontational on the Hill, Nike unveils an ad campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, and more. Support the show! Streamlabs (Superchat alternative): https://streamlabs.com/skagg3 Become a Patron: http://www.patreon.com/beautyandthebeta Make a one-time contribution on PayPal: http://www.paypal.me/beautyandthebeta Beauty & the Beta merchandise shop: http://bit.ly/2nxSaj6 (If there are items absent that you'd like to request, email us and we can accommodate) Blonde's channel: http://bit.ly/23RrR3z Blonde's Twitter (RIP): http://bit.ly/2t41Wvc Blonde's Gab: http://bit.ly/2jQFS4a Matt's Twitter: http://bit.ly/2ib6eKr Matt's BitChute channel: http://bit.ly/2P9UrxT Our Discord server: New users use this link: https://discord.gg/Uhattun Existing users use this link: https://discord.gg/4rkxcZv Beauty & the Beta on demand: http://bit.ly/1TUcepj Listen on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/23YM9rM Listen on Google Play: http://bit.ly/2iFWOqD Listen on Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/1TUce8E Listen on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/1TlubhE Listen on Podbean: http://bit.ly/1TUcnJ8 ARTWORK by Facepalm Reality Facepalm Reality's Twitter: http://bit.ly/2AZfI4V Facepalm Reality's YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/2uxbrr9 MUSIC Fast Car remix: https://youtu.be/7dzaVrhphlE Bearing and SugarTits' cover of "Catch the Wind" https://youtu.be/DPZtCSScFWM "Dog Park" and "Odahviing" written and performed by AENEAS: http://bit.ly/2sibPZ7 ITEMS REFERENCED Tess Holliday eats cake: http://bit.ly/2Qgk9RJ RNC ad 'Crazy Town': https://youtu.be/u-2V_6Vf2ho Law and Order Hate Crime edition: https://cnn.it/2CBvl8V Kavanaugh opening statement: https://cnn.it/2QiDeD5 Cher's tweet: http://bit.ly/2QeqSvv 'Be a Hero' ad: http://bit.ly/2NTh4Fz Democrats try to shut down the hearing at the start: https://youtu.be/Jid6XBaTGr8 Accusations protesters were paid: http://bit.ly/2Cya2oL Original tweet accusing Zina Bash of 'white power' sign: http://archive.is/oSUeX Even the ADL says it's not a hate symbol: http://bit.ly/2CCWmsr Fred Guttenberg says he's going to the hearing to stop Kavanaugh: http://bit.ly/2CDjXcF Accuses Kavanaugh of diregarding him: http://bit.ly/2CDkbAx Footage of the Guttenberg-Kavanaugh interaction: http://bit.ly/2Q81He8 Babylon Bee satire "Sudden Kavanaugh Death": http://bit.ly/2CDU5gO Cory Booker demands the release of emails: http://bit.ly/2NVi3oI Releases the emails: http://bit.ly/2QgDAdd Likens himself to Spartacus: https://youtu.be/zflpsdyvC3I Kamala Harris asks Kavanaugh about Kasowitz law firm: https://youtu.be/Tsm1GPnlqmU Kasowitz donated to Harris: https://washex.am/2QgS0tW Harris asks Kavanaugh about laws regulating male bodies: https://cnn.it/2Qg0EIY Jack Dorsey and Sheryl Sandberg hearing highlights: https://cnet.co/2Qfzu52 Alex Jones confronts Marco Rubio: https://youtu.be/4puHukLe7Cw Alex Jones confronts Oliver Darcy: https://youtu.be/SdGilbVOnMA Gets banned on Twitter for it: http://bit.ly/2NUArOu Apple app store too: http://bit.ly/2QhwgOr Apparently Alex Jones' last tweet: http://bit.ly/2Cy0ZnO New York Times anonymous op-ed: https://nyti.ms/2CAXMUl Trump Billings rally: https://youtu.be/BHm-dbFlzaY Hip hop anonymous: https://youtu.be/vvWxsckzPws Trump asks if it's treason: http://bit.ly/2CBwptf Calls for NYT to turn over the author to the government at once: http://bit.ly/2CC80E9 Trump thinks it was someone in national security: https://cnn.it/2CAPxaR Trump calls for Jeff Sessions to investigate https://nbcnews.to/2CzyuWL Kaepernick's pig cop socks: http://bit.ly/2QivmBo Kaepernick's tweet reveal of the Nike ad campaign: http://bit.ly/2QhJbzO Nike's Kaepernick video ad: https://youtu.be/Fq2CvmgoO7I Local sports shop drops Nike: https://youtu.be/YzoL7O-rxYI College of the Ozarks drops Nike: http://bit.ly/2CwfXKO Nike favorability drops: http://bit.ly/2Q5qgrY Stock dips: https://cnb.cx/2CBs49w But reports are online sales surged: https://on.mktw.net/2CwI6l3 New Mexico Muslim compound update https://reut.rs/2M27Fd5 Asia Argento accuses teen of assaulting her http://bit.ly/2NUUSLx Surprise cringe http://bit.ly/2QfChv7  

#backroomstewdios, #jbrick, #jewbalations, #jewish, #jewishbrickJbrick is run by a husband and wife team. Yitzy, with a background in fine wood working and engineering and currently professionally employed as an Expert LEGO® Builder, designs the custom LEGO® sets. His wife Channie, who has a degree in finance, is the business manager.Yitzy has always dreamed of creating Jewish custom LEGO® sets. After our first product, a 3-in-1 Menorah set, sold out in just one week after launch, we were inundated with requests for more. With nothing else like it on the market, we realized that the demand for high quality Jewish toys is huge! Because we are committed to designing the highest quality sets, we only use genuine LEGO® parts. Our goal is to bring children and adults closer to their Jewish heritage through our fun products. As a father of three and a martial arts instructor, Yitzy understands the importance of connecting with learners using visually stimulating, exciting, and hands-on techniques. Jbrick uses genuine LEGO® elements for all our builds, and it is exciting for children to open a new toy knowing it's a quality, brand name product. With Jbrick custom LEGO® sets, children will receive detailed color instructions that will teach them advanced LEGO® building techniques. Be it a 3-in-1 Menorah for Chanukah or a 2-in-1 Seder Plate for Passover, our kits will occupy the recipient for hours while they build and rebuild each of the models. What's more, once built, the completed model will be a piece of art that can be displayed proudly year round. At Jbrick, our vision goes beyond creating Jewish Custom LEGO® sets. We want to use Yitzy's building skills to create large scale Jewish Custom LEGO models, such as a replica of the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) to LEGO® minifig size, about 1/35 scale, a replica of the kotel, or Noah's Ark. The more this business grows, the more we will be able to create new fun and exciting custom Jewish custom LEGO® sets and models that will not only enhance Jewish learning, but will make it really fun too! Please feel free to let us know what YOU would like to see jbrick create. We love feedback!

On Dec. 14, 2016, one month after his election, President-elect Donald Trump had a call with the prime minister of Vietnam. At a time when foreign governments were scrambling to contact Trump, the conversation was a victory for the Vietnamese. State television broadcast footage of the call, with the prime minister surrounded by other smiling officials. But inside the State Department, officials were puzzled and concerned. Historically, post-election calls to heads of state are carefully choreographed affairs. Careful deliberation goes into who the president-elect speaks to first and career diplomats deliver background briefings on issues to be raised and avoided. The Trump transition operation ignored those conventions. The contact with Vietnam was not set up by the State Department. Instead, Trump’s personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, helped arrange the call. Kasowitz had another client with a keen interest in Vietnam: Philip Falcone, an American investor with a major casino outside Ho Chi Minh City. After the Trump call, Kasowitz traveled to Vietnam with Falcone. They met with government officials as part of an effort to persuade Vietnam to lift a ban on gambling for its citizens. Such a shift would deliver vastly more gamblers to Falcone’s casino. “Phil asked if Marc could arrange a phone call between the president and prime minister of Vietnam,” said a person familiar with the call. “Marc did that.” In an interview, Falcone denied he requested the call. He added there was nothing improper about arranging such a call. “It’s just lending a hand when people ask you,” he said. A spokesman for Kasowitz acknowledged the lawyer provided a “telephone contact” to the Vietnamese government to call Trump. Kasowitz has represented Trump for over 15 years, including in the Trump University fraud case, against allegations of sexual harassment, and, most recently, in the Russia investigation. Falcone, who was barred from the securities industry several years ago after admitting to wrongdoing in managing his hedge fund, has been trying for several years to salvage his several hundred-million-dollar-bet on Vietnam’s gaming industry. So far, that investment has not paid off, in large measure because of the rules limiting casinos to foreign bettors. It’s not clear whether Trump mentioned the casino on his December 2016 call with the prime minister or in any other communications with the Vietnamese. A White House spokeswoman referred all questions to Kasowitz. The Vietnamese embassy in the U.S. didn’t respond to requests for comment. U.S. embassy officials in Vietnam heard about the call in advance from Falcone’s casino company, not the Trump transition. And they never received information from the Trump transition about what was said on the call; their only understanding of what was discussed came from Vietnamese officials, according to a person with knowledge of the episode. “You want the State Department to set up calls and take notes,” said Susan Rice, a senior adviser on Barack Obama’s transition in 2008-09 who went on to become National Security Advisor. “You want contacts made in a fashion that can be accountable to the president-elect. You want background briefings for the president-elect.” In November 2008, the Obama transition explicitly warned high-profile campaign supporters not to “under any circumstances” speak to “any foreign officials, or embassies on behalf of the transition or President-elect Obama.  The Vietnam call was just one instance of how the Trump administration has blurred the lines between private business interests and those of the country. Trump, who did not divest from his own real estate empire, has declared America “open for business.” Many have tried to take him up on the promise. Business people, lobbyists, friends, and foreign dignitaries have all vied for access to Trump since his election, believing it can mean lucrative contracts, eased regulations, or otherwise convey to potential partners a proximity to power and influence. Falcone, who didn’t donate to Trump’s campaign, told ProPublica his casino hasn’t gained anything from the phone call. “Literally nothing has changed since the new administration.” *** Falcone’s business interest in Vietnam goes back a decade. His Harbinger Capital fund has poured money -- Bloomberg put it at more than $450 million -- into a casino-resort called The Grand Ho Tram Strip. Located on a remote coastline 75 miles outside Ho Chi Minh City, the complex includes a gleaming Vegas-style tower, a golf course designed by the legendary Greg Norman, and a casino with 90 tables and a private area for high rollers dubbed the Pearl Room. But the illegality of gambling for Vietnamese citizens has posed a nearly insurmountable obstacle. On a recent visit, the sprawling casino was almost entirely empty. Staff outnumbered customers. One industry observer quipped, “You could drive a truck through the casino and not hit anyone.” To save the project, Falcone has spent years lobbying the Vietnamese government to allow its citizens to gamble in his casino. The casino has proved not to be the comeback vehicle Falcone might have hoped for. A Harvard hockey player turned high-flying hedge fund manager who made it onto Forbes’ billionaire list and amassed a large stake in the New York Times Company, Falcone’s fortunes turned in the years after the financial crisis. In a 2013 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he was barred from the securities industry for five years and admitted to taking an improper loan of over $100 million from his fund. Falcone lost his place on the Forbes’ list. Two months before the 2016 election, Falcone’s team made a play to add political heft to the Ho Tram project, appointing a pair of new board members to the casino company: Tony Podesta, the veteran lobbyist and brother of Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager; and Loretta Pickus, former vice president of legal affairs at Trump Entertainment Resorts, Donald Trump’s now-defunct casino company. A week after Trump won the election, the casino company sent out a new press release touting Pickus’ appointment. It mentioned her onetime role representing Ivanka Trump and made a thinly veiled reference to Ho Tram’s efforts to get its local gambling license in Vietnam. “With Ms. Pickus having substantial experience with Trump properties, she hopes The Grand Ho Tram can continue to serve as a champion of U.S.-Vietnam ties for the incoming Trump Administration,” the release said, calling her appointment “an excellent opportunity to share best practices from the United States as Vietnam considers opportunities to reform the regulatory regime for its hospitality and gaming sector.” One of Pickus’ duties at Trump’s company was overseeing anti-money laundering enforcement. The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City repeatedly ran afoul of anti-money laundering laws, and paid multiple fines for its lack of proper oversight. Pickus told ProPublica she has a decades long relationship with Trump but hasn’t had contact with him or the administration since his election. She also defended the Trump casino anti-money laundering programs as “sophisticated” and appropriate. After Trump’s surprise election victory, Kasowitz’s longtime client was suddenly president-elect. A spokesman for the lawyer acknowledged Kasowitz’s role in setting up the December call between Trump and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. “At the request of the office of the Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S., Mr. Kasowitz provided a telephone contact that the Vietnamese could use to try to arrange a congratulatory call to President-elect Trump,” the spokesman said. (This wasn’t the only unusual Trump call during the chaotic transition. Controversy erupted when it emerged that former Senator Bob Dole, working as a lobbyist for Taiwan, played a role arranging a precedent-breaking call between Trump and Taiwan’s president.) Just a few weeks after the phone call between Trump and Phuc, Falcone traveled to Hanoi to meet the Vietnamese prime minister and press him on the casino project. State media reported that Falcone “asked the Vietnamese government to continue creating favorable conditions for U.S. companies, including Harbinger, to do long-term and stable business in Vietnam.” Falcone has retained an array of lobbyists, consultants, and media advisers to persuade the Vietnamese government to change its rules on gambling. The effort included getting Falcone on the cover of Vietnamese Esquire, arranging regular meetings between Falcone and top Vietnamese officials, and seeking assistance from the U.S. embassy. It’s not clear when Kasowitz first got involved in the Ho Tram project. His law firm has represented Falcone and his associated businesses going back to at least 2013. David Friedman, who was a name partner at Kasowitz’s firm until Trump named him U.S. ambassador to Israel, also represented Falcone’s fund. In 2017, Kasowitz traveled to Vietnam with Falcone. But Kasowitz went “not as my attorney, just kind of getting to know the landscape, understanding what was happening over there,” Falcone told ProPublica. Falcone said Kasowitz attended some meetings with Falcone and Vietnamese officials. A Kasowitz spokesman said Kasowitz went to Vietnam “to advise Mr. Falcone on legal issues” and declined to comment further. Also on that trip was Jerry Abbruzzese, a Falcone consultant who has a history of working the levers of government for business interests. He is best known for being the main witness in the corruption trials of the former New York State Senate leader, Joe Bruno. The case centered on Bruno receiving a large consulting contract and payment for a racehorse from Abbruzzese, whose companies had business before the state. Bruno was ultimately acquitted. Abbruzzese was not charged in the case. He declined to comment on his role in Ho Tram.  Two Washington-based firms stocked with former diplomats from both Democratic and Republican administrations, BowerGroupAsia and The Asia Group, have worked on Falcone’s casino project. According to Falcone, Asia Group asked him for a connection with Kasowitz because of the attorney’s close ties with the Trump administration. A spokesman for Asia Group said: “The Asia Group does not comment on business confidential information, including the names of our clients and contract terms.” Asia Group worked with Falcone to host a conference of investors in New York for Prime Minister Phuc’s visit to the U.S. last May. Luminaries including Ret. General David Petraeus, now with the firm KKR, attended. The next day, Phuc traveled to Washington for his first in-person meeting with President Trump at the White House. The two leaders discussed trade and North Korea. As Trump and Phuc left a large meeting in the Cabinet Room, Marc Kasowitz was there, apparently waiting, according to a person familiar with the visit. Kasowitz greeted Trump and shook hands with Phuc. The White House and the Vietnamese embassy declined to comment on Trump’s meeting with Phuc. There’s no evidence Trump raised Ho Tram. Kasowitz’s spokesman denied he was waiting to greet the prime minister: “Mr. Kasowitz was in the White House on other business on May 31, 2017. He had no idea the Prime Minister of Vietnam was there that day, he was not waiting outside a meeting room for the Prime Minister, it was a total coincidence that he ran into the Prime Minister with the President and he had no substantive conversation with the Prime Minister.” The spokesman added, “Neither Mr. Kasowitz nor anyone else at the firm has used any access [to Trump] to help a client of the firm.” Falcone’s efforts have so far proved unsuccessful: the Ho Tram casino hasn’t yet won a local gambling license. One industry expert attributed that to disagreements within Vietnam’s Communist Party-controlled state. “I find it shocking that people would think that the administration would bring up Ho Tram or even think about getting involved,” Falcone said. Do you have information about the Trump administration and casino companies? Contact Justin at justin@propublica.org or via Signal at 774-826-6240.

Dan and Lex are joined by Adina Allen and Jeff Kasowitz, founders of the Jewish Studio Project, which bills itself as "part urban art studio, part house of Jewish learning, part spiritual community," as part of our series exploring new experiments in spirituality and community building. Our conversation looks at how creative expression and Judaism can overlap in powerful ways and how the Jewish Studio Project, through its combination of Jewish learning and creative arts exploration, creates a context for folks to explore that overlap themselves. If you're enjoying Judaism Unbound, please help us keep things going with a one-time or monthly tax-deductible donation. Support Judaism Unbound by clicking here. To access full shownotes for this episode, click here!

This article is a collaboration between WNYC, ProPublica and The New Yorker. In the spring of 2012, Donald Trump’s two eldest children, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr., found themselves in a precarious legal position. For two years, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office had been building a criminal case against them for misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and condo development that was failing to sell. Despite the best efforts of the siblings’ defense team, the case had not gone away. An indictment seemed like a real possibility. The evidence included emails from the Trumps making clear that they were aware they were using inflated figures about how well the condos were selling to lure buyers. In one email, according to four people who have seen it, the Trumps discussed how to coordinate false information they had given to prospective buyers. In another, according to a person who read the emails, they worried that a reporter might be onto them. In yet another, Donald, Jr. spoke reassuringly to a broker who was concerned about the false statements, saying that nobody would ever find out, because only people on the email chain or in the Trump Organization knew about the deception, according to a person who saw the email. There was “no doubt” that the Trump children “approved, knew of, agreed to, and intentionally inflated the numbers to make more sales,” one person who saw the emails told us. “They knew it was wrong.” In 2010, when the Major Economic Crimes Bureau of the D.A.’s office opened an investigation of the siblings, the Trump Organization had hired several top New York criminal defense lawyers to represent Donald, Jr. and Ivanka. These attorneys had met with prosecutors in the bureau several times. They conceded that their clients had made exaggerated claims, but argued that the overstatements didn’t amount to criminal misconduct. Still, the case dragged on. In a meeting with the defense team, Donald Trump, Sr., expressed frustration that the investigation had not been closed. Soon after, his longtime personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz entered the case. Kasowitz, who by then had been the elder Donald Trump’s attorney for a decade, is primarily a civil litigator with little experience in criminal matters. But in 2012, Kasowitz donated $25,000 to the re-election campaign of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., making Kasowitz one of Vance’s largest donors. Kasowitz decided to bypass the lower-level prosecutors and went directly to Vance to ask that the investigation be dropped. On May 16, 2012, Kasowitz visited Vance’s office at One Hogan Place in downtown Manhattan — a faded edifice made famous by the television show, “Law & Order.” Dan Alonso, the chief assistant district attorney, and Adam Kaufmann, the chief of the investigative division, were also at the meeting, but no one from the Major Economic Crimes Bureau attended. Kasowitz did not introduce any new arguments or facts during his session. He simply repeated the arguments that the other defense lawyers had been making for months. Ultimately, Vance overruled his own prosecutors. Three months after the meeting, he told them to drop the case. Kasowitz subsequently boasted to colleagues about representing the Trump children, according to two people. He said that the case was “really dangerous,” one person said, and that it was “amazing I got them off.” (Kasowitz denied making such a statement.) Vance defended his decision. “I did not at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed,” he told us. “I had to make a call and I made the call, and I think I made the right call.” Just before the 2012 meeting, Vance’s campaign had returned Kasowitz’s $25,000 contribution, in keeping with what Vance describes as standard practice when a donor has a case before his office. Kasowitz “had no influence and his contributions had no influence whatsoever on my decision-making in the case,” Vance said. But less than six months after the D.A.’s office dropped the case, Kasowitz made an even larger donation to Vance’s campaign, and helped raise more from others—eventually, a total of more than $50,000. After being asked about these donations as part of the reporting for this article—more than four years after the fact—Vance said he now plans to give back Kasowitz’s second contribution, too. “I don’t want the money to be a millstone around anybody’s neck, including the office’s,” he said. Kasowitz told us his donations to Vance were unrelated to the case. “I donated to Cy Vance’s campaign because I was and remain extremely impressed by him as a person of impeccable integrity, as a brilliant lawyer and as a public servant with creative ideas and tremendous ability,” Kasowitz wrote in an emailed statement. “I have never made a contribution to anyone’s campaign, including Cy Vance’s, as a ‘quid-pro-quo’ for anything.” Last year, The New York Times reported the existence of the criminal investigation into the Trump SoHo project. But the prosecutor’s focus on Ivanka and Donald, Jr. and the email evidence against them, as well as Kasowitz’s involvement, and Vance’s decision to overrule his prosecutors, had not been previously made public. This account is based on interviews with 20 sources familiar with the investigation, court records, and other public documents. We were not able to review copies of the emails that were the focal point of the inquiry. We are relying on the accounts of multiple individuals who have seen them. Requests for interviews with Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., were referred to Alan Garten, the chief legal officer of the Trump Organization. In an emailed response, Garten did not address a list of questions about the criminal case. Instead, he quoted the company’s filings in civil litigation relating to the Trump SoHo, which described complaints as “a simple case of buyers’ remorse.” But even a lawyer in the Trump camp acknowledges that the way the case was resolved was unusual. “Dropping the case was reasonable,” said Paul Grand, a partner at Morvillo Abramowitz who was part of the Trump SoHo defense team. “The manner in which it was accomplished is curious.” Grand, who was a partner of Vance’s when the district attorney was in private practice, said he did not believe that the D.A.’s office had evidence of criminal misconduct by the Trump children. But the meeting between Vance and Kasowitz “didn’t have an air you’d like,” he said. “If you and I were district attorney and you knew that a subject of an investigation was represented by two or three well-thought-of lawyers in town, and all of a sudden someone who was a contributor to your campaign showed up on your doorstep, and the regular lawyers are nowhere to be seen, you’d think about how you’d want to proceed.” [Have a tip about this story? Click here to share information with WNYC and our reporting partners ProPublica and The New Yorker.] In June 2006, during the season finale of “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump, Sr. unveiled the Trump SoHo as a visionary project. The luxury development was intended to mark the ascension of Ivanka and Donald, Jr.—then 24 and 28 years old, respectively—as full players in the Trump empire. They signed the licensing deal alongside their father, and photographs of Ivanka were featured in the Trump SoHo’s advertising, under the tagline “Possess your own SoHo.” Their partners on the project included two Soviet-born businessmen, Felix Sater and Tevfik Arif, who ran the Bayrock Group, a real estate development firm. Sater had a history of running afoul of the law. In 1993, he was convicted of assault and spent about a year in prison for attacking a man with the stem of a margarita glass in a bar fight. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering for his role in a $40 million securities fraud scheme. The Trump SoHo was beleaguered from the start: Named for one of Manhattan’s trendiest neighborhoods, the development wasn’t really in SoHo, but located just west of it, near the entrance ramp to the Holland Tunnel. Zoning laws wouldn’t allow a residential tower at the location, so the Trumps fell back on an alternative: a “condo-hotel,” in which buyers got a hotel room rather than an apartment, and were legally prohibited from staying there more than 120 nights per year. Worse, the high-priced condos hit the market in September 2007, just as the global economy began to crater in what became the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Business was slow, but the Trump family claimed the opposite. In April 2008, they said that 31 percent of the condos in the building had been purchased. Donald Jr. boasted to The Real Deal magazine that 55 percent of the units had been bought. In June 2008, Donald, Jr. and Ivanka, alongside their brother Eric, gathered the foreign press at Trump Tower in Manhattan, where Ivanka announced that 60 percent had been snapped up. “We’re in a very fortunate position,” she said, “where we have enough sales and now we are strategically targeting certain buyers.” None of that was true. According to a sworn affidavit by a Trump partner filed with the New York Attorney General’s office, by March of 2010, almost two years after the press conference, only 15.8 percent of units had been sold. This was more than a marketing problem. The deal hinged on selling at least 15 percent of the units. By law, the sales couldn’t close with anything less. The Trumps and their partners would have had to return the buyers’ down payments. Some buyers concluded that they’d been cheated. In August 2010, some sued the Trump Organization and others involved in the project in New York federal court. “This action seeks to redress the substantial and ongoing pattern of fraudulent misrepresentations and deceptive sales practices” by the Trumps and the other defendants, the suit charged. The plaintiffs argued that there’s a vast difference in value between a unit in a building that is fifteen percent sold and one that is sixty percent sold. Their complaint accused the sellers, including the Trumps, of “a consistent and concerted pattern of outright lies.” After the civil suit was filed, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office opened a criminal investigation. Prosecutors are often wary of getting involved in a dispute between wealthy litigants. But in this instance, according to a person familiar with their thinking, the lawyers in the Major Economic Crimes Bureau quickly concluded that there was enough to warrant an investigation. They believed that Ivanka and Donald, Jr., might have violated the Martin Act, a New York statute that bans any false statement in conjunction with the sale of a security or real estate. Prosecutors also saw potential fraud and larceny charges, applying a legal theory that, by overstating the number of units sold, the Trump were falsely inflating their value and, in effect, cheating unsuspecting condo buyers. Peirce Moser, an assistant district attorney known for his methodical, comprehensive investigations, soon took over the case. “He is not a cowboy,” Marc Scholl, who spent almost forty years as a prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, said. “He is certainly not out to make headlines for himself or to advance himself.” On the other side, the Trumps’ defense team included Gary Naftalis and David Frankel, of the law firm Kramer Levin; Paul Grand represented one of the real estate brokers who had worked with the Trumps. As the investigation progressed, Vance suffered an embarrassing setback in one of his highest profile cases. In the summer of 2011, his office had abandoned a sexual-assault case against the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Vance, who was pummeled in the press afterward, denied in his interview with us that the case made him reluctant to take on another prominent defendant. A few months later, on Jan. 11, 2012, Marc Kasowitz contributed $25,000 to Vance’s campaign, unbeknownst to prosecutors in the Major Economic Crimes Bureau, who continued their work. Moser was particularly focused on email correspondence, according to seven people familiar with the case. The prosecutors began considering impaneling a special grand jury, according to a person familiar with the investigation. That would have represented a significant escalation in the case, because it is often a prelude to indictments. With a grand jury in place, defense lawyers knew the risk of indictment was high. The defense team offered a deal to stave off this possibility, floating the possibility of a settlement of some kind, including a deferred prosecution agreement, which would have meant the corporate equivalent of probation for the Trump Organization. With the investigation appearing to gather momentum, Naftalis and Grand, who had already met with the prosecutors twice, began to step up their campaign against the case. Grand calls this the “internal appellate process.” Particularly when well-heeled or high-profile defendants are involved, there can be a multi-month advocacy process that slowly makes its way up the hierarchy inside the Manhattan D.A.’s office. Grand and Naftalis decided that it would be unwise to go over the heads of the staff prosecutors. Instead, on April 18, 2012, they sent a letter to Adam Kaufmann, then chief of the investigative division (he’s now in private practice), outlining their arguments. The next day, the defense lawyers met with Moser, Kaufmann, and others from the prosecution team. The defense team acknowledged that the Trumps made some exaggerated statements in order to sell the units. But this was mere “puffery”— harmless exaggeration. Such language, they contended, didn’t amount to criminal conduct. The Trumps weren’t selling useless swampland in Florida. The condos existed. And the buyers’ money was in escrow the entire time. The defense lawyers argued that bringing such a case to trial would be wasteful and that resources would be better spent on more serious offenses. As Grand put it to us during our recent interview, “I guess in a world that is completely pure and where there is no deviation between propriety and the law, that kind of exaggeration and deliberately concentrated exaggeration can be pursued. But is that the kind of criminal law enforcement the D.A. should be doing?” Moser’s answer seemed to be “yes,” and he found support among his supervisors. Moser had prepared an elaborate PowerPoint presentation, featuring dozens of emails that prosecutors believed showed that Ivanka and Donald, Jr. had repeatedly lied to buyers. “You couldn’t have had a better email trail,” a person familiar with the investigation told us. At the meeting, Kaufmann peppered the defense team with questions, at one point raising his voice, according to a person who was there. “I believed in the case,” Kaufmann told us, though he declined to discuss the evidence. “But believing in the case doesn’t mean we had reached the point when [I had] settled on what should happen with the case.” *** White-collar criminal cases are often challenging to bring because of their complexity. And, by the time of the April meeting, prosecutors knew that they faced another impediment, this one created by legal maneuvers in the Trumps’ civil case. Five months earlier, the Trumps and their partners had reached a settlement with the disgruntled buyers. The defendants agreed to return 90 percent of the buyers’ deposits, plus their attorneys’ fees. But they extracted a rare concession in return: The plaintiffs agreed not to cooperate with prosecutors unless they were subpoenaed. (Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, noted that the settlement terms were confidential and declined to comment on them.) Adam Leitman Bailey, the attorney for the buyers, had been helping prosecutors. Now he provided aid to the Trumps, writing a letter to the district attorney that stated: “We acknowledge that the Defendants have not violated the criminal laws of the State of New York or the United States.” In our interview with Vance, he said he had never before seen a letter where plaintiffs in a civil case asserted that no crime had been committed. “I don’t think I’d ever received a letter like it,” Vance said. He calls it a “significant and important” communication. Certainly, prosecutors could subpoena the buyers of Trump condos. But they feared the witnesses would undercut the criminal case by claiming they weren’t victims of a fraud. Still, Moser, backed by his supervisors, persisted. “Peirce believed in his case,” Grand said. “We did not succeed in talking him out of it and didn’t succeed in talking one or two levels above him into dropping the case.” *** Finally, in the spring of 2012, Kasowitz joined the case. His involvement “came from out of the blue,” Grand told us. He and the other lawyers assumed Kasowitz intervened at the request of Donald Trump, Sr. In early May 2012, Kasowitz asked to see the District Attorney. Vance told us such meetings aren’t unusual — but his investigations chief at the time, Kaufmann, characterized Kasowitz’s request as “a little premature.” The Trump lawyer was going over the heads of everyone who had been working on the case. The gathering, on May 16, lasted 20 to 30 minutes, according to Vance. Kasowitz repeated the arguments the defense team had made before. Afterwards, Kasowitz didn’t seem to think his clients were in the clear. On August 1, he suggested a settlement, proposing that the Trump Organization would not admit to wrongdoing but would agree not to mislead people in the future and would submit to outside monitoring. The offer proved unnecessary. Two days later, on August 3, 2012, Moser called the Trumps’ defense attorneys and told them prosecutors were dropping the investigation. (Moser, who  still works for Vance, now as senior investigative counsel, did not respond to requests for an interview made over multiple months. Shortly before this article was published, he sent an email stating that Vance’s ultimate decision in the case “was not unreasonable” and that throughout the process, the D.A. asked “smart questions” and expressed “reasonable skepticism.”) In his interview, Vance defended his decision to drop the case with no conditions, even after Kasowitz offered a deal. “This started as a civil case,” Vance said. “It was settled as a civil case with a statement by the purchasers of luxury properties that they weren’t victims. And at the end of the day, I felt if we were not going to charge criminally, we should leave it as a civil case in the posture in which it came to us.” In September 2012, within weeks of the case being resolved, Kasowitz contacted Vance’s campaign about hosting a fundraiser, according to a spokesperson for the campaign. Kasowitz held the event that January. He personally donated almost $32,000 to Vance’s campaign, and 20 of his law firm’s partners and employees kicked in at least another $9,000. Then, in October 2013, as Election Day approached, he hosted a breakfast —“Republicans for Cy Vance” — which raised an additional $9,000. Vance defended his decision to accept the money Kasowitz sent his way. “We did the right thing,” he said, referring to the decision to drop the case. “Another five and a half months go by. Marc Kasowitz has no matter pending before the office for the Trumps or anybody else. It’s 2013 and it’s an election—and I welcome his support.” Vance noted that New York law allowed him to accept such a contribution. Still, he now intends to return the money to Kasowitz. Ivanka Trump is now an adviser to the President, with an office in the West Wing. Donald, Jr., is running much of the family empire while his father is in the White House. Kasowitz attained national prominence when he was retained to represent the president in the Russia investigation, only to be supplanted as lead counsel. Vance is running unopposed for reelection in November. The Trump SoHo went into foreclosure in 2014 and was taken over by a creditor. Only a hundred and twenty-eight of the three hundred and ninety-one units in the building have sold. That comes out to around thirty-three percent. Derek Kravitz and Leora Smith of ProPublica contributed reporting to this article, as did Keenan Chen, Alex Mierjeski, Inti Pacheco and Manuela Andreoni of Columbia Journalism Investigations. This article is a collaboration between WNYC, ProPublica and The New Yorker. 

(Bloomberg) -- Sean O'Shea, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, and Justin Elliott, a reporter for ProPublica, discuss a new report that shows how Trump family lawyer Marc Kasowitz used his political connections in New York City to help Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. avoid charges for misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo building. They speak with Bloomberg's Greg Stohr on Bloomberg Radio's Bloomberg Law.

(Bloomberg) -- Sean O'Shea, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, and Justin Elliott, a reporter for ProPublica, discuss a new report that shows how Trump family lawyer Marc Kasowitz used his political connections in New York City to help Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. avoid charges for misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo building. They speak with Bloomberg's Greg Stohr on Bloomberg Radio's Bloomberg Law. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

06-08-2017 - President Donald Trump's attorney (Mark Kasowitz) Press Conference after James Comey's testimony - audio English

President Trump’s personal attorney Marc Kasowitz response to the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey Testimony at the Senate 0-00 ladies and gentlemen I'm mark Kassovitz 0-03 president Trump's personal lawyer 0-06 contrary to numerous false press 0-09 accounts leading up to today's hearing 0-12 Comey has now finally confirmed 0-15 publicly what he repeatedly told 0-18 President Trump privately that is that 0-22 the president was not under 0-24 investigation as part of any probe into 0-28 Russian interference the president he 0-32 Comey also admitted that there is no 0-34 evidence that a single vote change as a 0-38 result of any Russian interference 0-40 commies testimony also makes clear 0-44 that the president never sought to 0-47 impede the investigation into attempted 0-50 Russian interference in the 2016 0-53 election and in fact according to mr. 0-57 Comey the president told mr. Comey quote 1-00 it would be good to find out close quote 1-04 in that investigation if there was quote 1-07 some satellite Associates of his who did 1-11 something wrong 1-12 close quote and he President Trump did 1-17 not exclude anyone from that statement 1-21 consistent with that statement the 1-24 president never in form or substance 1-27 directed or suggested that mr. Comey 1-31 stop investigating anyone including the 1-36 president never suggested that mr. Comey 1-39 quote let Flynn go close quote as the 1-45 president publicly stated the next day 1-46 he did say to mr. Comey quote general 1-51 Flynn is a good guy he has been through 1-54 a lot close quote and also quote asked 1-58 how general Flynn is doing close quote 2-01 Admiral Rogers testified today that the 2-05 president never quote directed him to do 2-09 anything illegal immoral 2-13 unethical or inappropriate close quote 2-17 and never never quote pressured him to 2-22 do so 2-22 close quote director Coates said the 2-25 same thing the president likewise 2-29 never pressured mr. Comey the president 2-33 also never told mr. Comey quote I need 2-38 loyalty I expect loyalty close quote 2-41 he never said it in form and he never 2-44 said it in substance of course the 2-47 office of the president is entitled to 2-50 expect loyalty from those who are 2-52 serving the administration and from 2-55 before this president it and from before 2-58 this President took office to this day 3-01 it is overwhelmingly clear that there 3-04 have been and continue to be those in 3-07 government who are actively attempting 3-10 to undermine this administration with 3-13 selective and illegal leaks of 3-17 classified information and privileged 3-20 communications mr. Comey has now 3-23 admitted that he is one of these leakers 3-27 today mr. Comey admitted that he 3-31 unilaterally and surreptitiously made 3-35 unauthorized disclosures to the press of 3-38 privileged communications with the 3-41 president the leaks of this privileged 3-44 information began no later than March 3-47 2017 when friends of mr. Comey have 3-51 stated that he disclosed to them the 3-55 conversations that he had with the 3-57 president during their January 27th 2017 4-02 dinner and February 14th 2017 White 4-06 House meeting today mr. Comey admitted 4-10 that he leaked to friends of his 4-13 purported memos of those privileged 4-16 communications one of which he testified 4-19 was classified mr. Comey also testified 4-24 that immediately after 4-26 was terminated he authorized his friends 4-29 to leak the contents of those memos to 4-33 the press in order to in mr. commis 4-36 words quote prompt the appointment of a 4-40 special counsel close quote although mr. 4-43 Comey testified that he only leaked the 4-46 memos in response to a tweet the public 4-50 record reveals that the New York Times 4-52 was quoting from those memos the day 4-55 before the referenced tweet which belies 4-58 commis excuse for this unauthorized 5-01 disclosure of privileged information and 5-05 appears to be entirely retaliatory we 5-09 will leave it to the appropriate 5-12 authorities to determine whether these 5-14 leaks should be investigated along with 5-17 all the others that are being 5-19 investigated in some it is now 5-22 established that the president was not 5-25 being investigated for colluding with or 5-28 attempting to obstruct any investigation 5-32 as the committee pointed out today these 5-35 important facts for the country to know 5-37 are virtually the only facts that have 5-40 not been leaked during the course of 5-42 these events as he said yesterday the 5-46 president feels completely vindicated 5-48 and is eager to continue moving forward 5-51 with his agenda with the business of 5-55 this country and with this public cloud 5-57 removed thank you   LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM MARC KASOWITZ. PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL LAWYER. CONTRARY TO NUMEROUS FALSE PRESS ACCOUNTS LEADING UP TO TODAY'S HEARING, MR. COMEY HAS NOW CONFIRMED PUBLICLY WHAT HE REPEATEDLY TOLD THE PRESIDENT TRUMP PRIVATELY THAT IS, THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION AS PART OF ANY PROBE INTO RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE. THE PRESIDENT -- MR. COMEY ADMITTED THAT THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT A SINGLE VOTE CHANGE AS A RESULT OF ANY RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE. MR. COMEY'S SYSTEM TESTIMONY ALSO MAKES CLEAR THAT THE PRESIDENT NEVER SOUGHT TO IMPEDE THE INVESTIGATION INTO ATTEMPTED RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 ELECTION. IN FACT, ACCORDING TO MR. COMEY, THE PRESIDENT TOLD MR. COMEY, QUOTE, "IT WOULD BE GOOD TO FIND OUT" IN THAT INVESTIGATION IF THERE WERE SOME SATELLITE ASSOCIATES OF HIM WHO DID SOMETHING WRONG. AND HE, PRESIDENT TRUMP, DID NOT EXCLUDE ANYONE FROM THAT STATEMENT. CONSISTENT WITH THAT STATEMENT, THE PRESIDENT NEVER INFORMED OR SUBSTANCE DIRECTED OR SUGGESTED THAT MR. COMEY STOP INVESTIGATING ANYONE INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT NEVER SUGGESTED THAT MR. COMEY "LET FLYNN GO." AS THE PRESIDENT PUBLICLY STATED THE NEXT DAY, HE DID SAY TO MR. COMEY, QUOTE, "GENERAL FLYNN IS A GOOD GUY AND HE'S BEEN THROUGH A LOT" AND ALSO "ASK HOW GENERAL FLYNN IS DOING." THE PRESIDENT NEVER DIRECTED HIM TO DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL, IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL OR INAPPROPRIATE CLOSED QUOTE AND NEVER, NEVER, QUOTE, PRESSURED HIM TO DO SO." DIRECTOR COATS SAID THE SAME THING. THE PRESIDENT LIKE WISE NEVER PRESSURED MR. COMEY. THE PRESIDENT ALSO NEVER TOLD MR. COMEY, QUOTE, "I NEED LOYALTY, I EXPECT LOYALTY." HE NEVER SAID IT IN FORM OR SUBSTANCE. OF COURSE, THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT IS ENTITLED TO EXPECT LOYALTY FROM THOSE WHO ARE SERVING THE ADMINISTRATION. BEFORE THIS, PRESIDENT TOOK OFFICE TO THIS DAY, IT IS OVERWHELMINGLY CLEAR THAT THERE HAVE BEEN AND CONTINUED TO BE THOSE IN GOVERNMENT WHO ARE ACTIVELY ATTEMPTING URN MIND THIS ADMINISTRATION WITH SELECTIVE AND ILLEGAL LEAKS OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION AND PRIVILEGE COMMUNICATION IS. MR. COMEY HAS NOW ADMITTED THAT HE IS ONE OF THESE LEAKERS. TODAY, MR. COMEY ADMITTED THAT HE UNILATERALLY MADE UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURES TO THE PRESS OF PRIVILEGE COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE PRESIDENT. THE LEAK OF THIS PRIVILEGE BEGAN NO LATER THAN MARCH OF 2017 WHEN FRIENDS OF MR. COMEY STATED THAT HE DISCLOSED TO THEM THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HE HAD WITH THE PRESIDENT DURING THEIR JANUARY 27TH, 2017 DINNER AND FEBRUARY 14TH, 2017 WHITE HOUSE MEETING. TODAY, MR. COMEY ADMITTED THAT HE LEAKED TO FRIENDS OF HIS PROPORTED MEMOS OF THOSE PRIVILEGED IMMUNE COMMUNICATIONS. ONE OF WHICH HE TESTIFIED WAS CLASSIFIED. MR. COMEY ALSO TESTIFIED THAT AFTER HE WAS TERMINATED, HE AUTHORIZED HIS FRIENDS TO LEAK THE CONTENTS OF THOSE MEMOS TO THE PRESS IN ORDER TO MR. COMEY'S WORDS PROMPT THE APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL. ALTHOUGH MR. COMEY TESTIFIED THAT HE ONLY LEAKED THE MEMO IN RESPONSE TO A TWEET. THE NEW YORK TIMES WAS QUOTING FROM THOSE MEMOS, THE DAY BEFORE THE REFERENCE TWEETS WHICH -- IT APPEARS TO BE ENTIRELY RETALIATORY. WE'LL LEAVE IT TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE LEAKS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHERS THAT ARE BEING INVESTIGATED. IN SOME, IT IS NOW A ESTABLISHES THAT THE PRESIDENT WAS NOT BEING INVESTIGATED FOR COLLUDING WITH OR ATTEMPTING TO OBSTRUCT ANY INVESTIGATION. AS THE COMMITTEE POINTED OUT TODAY OF THESE IMPORTANT FACTS FOR R THE THE COUNTRY TO KNOW ARE VIRTUALLY THE ONLY FACTS THAT'S NOT BEEN LEAKED DURING THE COURSE OF THESE EVENTS. YESTERDAY, THE PRESIDENT FEELS INDICATE VITAMIN VINDICATED AND EAGER TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE BUSINESS OF THIS COUNTRY AND HIS PUBLIC CLOUD REMOVED. MR. MARC

Jbrick is run by a husband and wife team. Yitzy, with a background in fine wood working and engineering and currently professionally employed as an Expert LEGO® Builder, designs the custom LEGO® sets. His wife Channie, who has a degree in finance, is the business manager.Yitzy has always dreamed of creating Jewish custom LEGO® sets. After our first product, a 3-in-1 Menorah set, sold out in just one week after launch, we were inundated with requests for more. With nothing else like it on the market, we realized that the demand for high quality Jewish toys is huge! Because we are committed to designing the highest quality sets, we only use genuine LEGO® parts. Our goal is to bring children and adults closer to their Jewish heritage through our fun products. As a father of three and a martial arts instructor, Yitzy understands the importance of connecting with learners using visually stimulating, exciting, and hands-on techniques. Jbrick uses genuine LEGO® elements for all our builds, and it is exciting for children to open a new toy knowing it's a quality, brand name product. With Jbrick custom LEGO® sets, children will receive detailed color instructions that will teach them advanced LEGO® building techniques. Be it a 3-in-1 Menorah for Chanukah or a 2-in-1 Seder Plate for Passover, our kits will occupy the recipient for hours while they build and rebuild each of the models. What's more, once built, the completed model will be a piece of art that can be displayed proudly year round. At Jbrick, our vision goes beyond creating Jewish Custom LEGO® sets. We want to use Yitzy's building skills to create large scale Jewish Custom LEGO models, such as a replica of the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) to LEGO® minifig size, about 1/35 scale, a replica of the kotel, or Noah's Ark. The more this business grows, the more we will be able to create new fun and exciting custom Jewish custom LEGO® sets and models that will not only enhance Jewish learning, but will make it really fun too! Please feel free to let us know what YOU would like to see jbrick create. We love feedback!

This week, $mart Women is looking into YOUR future, with savvy advice on estate planning on prenuptial agreements. And to help us out, we are delighted to welcome Emily Pollock to the show. Emily is a partner at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. Her practice focuses on disputes involving divorce, equitable distribution, custody, visitation, child and spousal support, paternity, and other areas of matrimonial law. Then, host Michelle McKinnon tackles the ongoing concerns over a possible raising of the Fed interest rates and a question on Roth IRAs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה‎‎, literally "head [of] the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Hebrew: יוֹם תְּרוּעָה‎‎), literally "day [of] shouting/blasting", sometimes translated as the Feast of Trumpets.

Get your "Jew" on, as we cook like crazy people and dress to the 9's and enjoy the splendor of the Jewish New Year!Let Sterna blow your mind with her amazing knowledge.

As we inch closer to the birth of the Jewish Calendar, we learn of some important fact.

The month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tradition teaches that the month of Elul is a particularly propitious time for repentance. This mood of repentance builds through the month of Elul to the period of Selichot, to Rosh Hashanah, and finally to Yom Kippur.The name of the month (spelled Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed) is said to be an acronym of "Ani l'dodi v'dodi li," "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine," a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is G-d and the "I" is the Jewish people. In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word "Elul" means "search," which is appropriate, because this is a time of year when we search our hearts.According to tradition, the month of Elul is the time that Moses spent on Mount Sinai preparing the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 32; 34:27-28). He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. Other sources say that Elul is the beginning of a period of 40 days that Moses prayed for G-d to forgive the people after the Golden Calf incident, after which the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.

Sterna brings the fascinating beauty of Shabbat candle lighting!

Ever wonder why we separate a small amount of dough from our unbaked challah, let Sterna tell you all about it-the "go to girl" on all things Jewish!

The 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe it's clearly a day set aside by G‑d for suffering.Picture this: The year is 1313 BCE. The Israelites are in the desert, recently having experienced the miraculous Exodus, and are now poised to enter the Promised Land. But first they dispatch a reconnaissance mission to assist in formulating a prudent battle strategy. The spies return on the eighth day of Av and report that the land is unconquerable. That night, the 9th of Av, the people cry. They insist that they'd rather go back. G‑d is highly displeased by this public demonstration of distrust in His power, and consequently that generation of Israelites never enters the Holy Land. Only their children have that privilege, after wandering in the desert for another 38 years.The First Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av (423 BCE). Five centuries later (in 69 CE), as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first.When the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, they believed that their leader, Simon bar Kochba, would fulfill their messianic longings. But their hopes were cruelly dashed in 133 CE as the Jewish rebels were brutally butchered in the final battle at Betar. The date of the massacre? Of course—the 9th of Av!One year after their conquest of Betar, the Romans plowed over the Temple Mount, our nation's holiest site.The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b'Av. In 1492, the Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from the land. The edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, and the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave the country. The Hebrew date on which no Jew was allowed any longer to remain in the land where he had enjoyed welcome and prosperity? Oh, by now you know it—the 9th of Av.The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b'AvReady for just one more? World War II and the Holocaust, historians conclude, was actually the long drawn-out conclusion of World War I that began in 1914. And yes, amazingly enough, Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion, on the 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av.What do you make of all this? Jews see this as another confirmation of the deeply held conviction that history isn't haphazard; events – even terrible ones – are part of a Divine plan and have spiritual meaning. The message of time is that everything has a rational purpose, even though we don't understand it.

GUESTS: Dr. Patrick Moore: co-founder of Greenpeace, author, Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout History of Greenpeace and the transformation from a group that originally wanted to help, to an extortion racket; Michael J. Bowe: Partner, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP The Resolute RICO lawsuit Jaana Woiceshyn: Professor, Business Ethics, University of Calgary, Author, How to Be Profitable and Moral Resolute’s moral high ground; and Peter Foster: Columnist Financial Post, Author, Why we bite the invisible hand The Resolute shakedown story.

Learn about Shauvot from a top notch teacher, Sterna Kasowitz!

As the month Iyyar approaches this weekend it gets blinged with Rosh Chodesh. Learn about Pesach Sheni!!

Listen to Part One of the Story of Purim, from Sterna Kasowitz!

When it comes to Jewish knowledge this is your woman. Enjoy the words that only Sterna can teach. Be Happy its Adar!

Allison Josephs interviews Yitzy Kasowitz, a Chabad chassid and Lego Engineer (it's a real job) who founded JBrick (a Jewish-themed Lego company). Plus exciting developments on ending the agunah crisis.