Trump Organization sues New York City for canceling golf course contract after Capitol riot
22 June 2021
The Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against New York City Monday, alleging that the termination of its Bronx golf course contract following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot was politically motivated.
Why it matters: The estimated cost of the decision by NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio to end all contracts between the city and former President Trump's family business in response to the insurrection is $17 million a year in revenue.
- The Trump Organization alleges in the wrongful termination suit that the cancelation would cost the company $30 million.
What they're saying: "Mayor de Blasio had a pre-existing, politically-based predisposition to terminate Trump-related contracts, and the city used the events of January 6, 2021 as a pretext to do so," states the lawsuit, which was filed in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The other side: Per the New York Times: Bill Neidhardt, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in response: "Donald Trump directly incited a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. You do that, and you lose the privilege of doing business with the City of New York."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.