Emma Powys Maurice

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Donald Trump Sued by Lesbian Niece Mary for ‘Cheating’ her Out of Millions

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Donald Trump is being sued for fraud by his niece Mary Trump, who claims her uncle and his siblings deliberately cheated her out of tens of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Thursday (September 24) includes multiple claims of fraud, concealment and civil conspiracy, among a myriad of allegations.

The president is said to have conspired over several decades with Mary’s aunt, former federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, and uncle Robert Trump (who died last month), to squeeze her out of the family business and deprive her of her multi-million dollar inheritance.

For the Trumps, “fraud was not just the family business — it was a way of life”, the suit claims.

“They lied. Rather than protect Mary’s interests, they designed and carried out a complex scheme to siphon funds away from her interests, conceal their grift, and deceive her about the true value of what she had inherited,” it adds.

It is alleged that the family presented themselves as Mary Trump’s protectors while secretly taking her share of minority interests in the family’s extensive real estate holdings.

The suit claims Mary Trump was pressured into accepting a settlement after being led by her aunts and uncles to believe their father’s estate was worth $30 million, the Associated Press reported.

“All told, they fleeced her of tens of millions of dollars or more,” the suit states, explaining that the alleged “fraud perpetrated by Donald, Maryanne and Robert” came to light after a 2018 New York Times investigation valued said estate as being worth more than $1 billion.

Mary Trump first made her claims in her tell-all memoir.

Many of the lawsuit’s accusations were laid out in Mary Trump’s scathing tell-all memoir, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.

In the book, Mary says she was cut out of her grandfather’s will as a result of her father’s death. She claims her uncle Robert Trump told her she was excluded because her father died of alcoholism, and wasn’t around to inherit a share of the fortune. She also says her grandfather disliked her mother.

Mary Trump also accused her uncle Donald Trump of trying to “steal vast sums of money from his siblings” by secretly trying to change his dying father’s will to write his siblings out of control of the family’s fortune.

Because Mary was a teenager at the time of her father’s death in 1981, a lawyer named Irwin Durben was appointed to act on her behalf with regards to her inheritance.

But according to the lawsuit, Durben was “irredeemably conflicted” and sided with Mary’s family members over her own interests, and “ultimately acquiesced in defendants’ campaign to squeeze her out of the family business entirely.”https://lockerdome.com/lad/13296932562903654?pubid=ld-5883-3439&pubo=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinknews.co.uk&rid=www.pinknews.co.uk&width=572

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, Mary Trump says they “betrayed me… by telling lie after lie about the value of what I had inherited and by conning me into giving everything away for a fraction of its true value.”

The suit adds that the fraud “was particularly egregious and morally culpable because defendants deliberately targeted her because they disliked her“.

Trump has not publicly responded to the lawsuit but has referred to his nieceas being “unstable.”

Robert Trump attempted to secure an injunction and restraining order to block the book’s publication, but this was denied. The memoir was published in July despite the Trumps’ best efforts to quash it.

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The Merriam-Webster Updates its Definition of ‘Bisexual’ to Make it More Trans-inclusive

The definition of ‘bisexual’ in the Merriam-Webster dictionary has been updated to encompass gender as well as sex, making it more inclusive of trans identities.

The progressive move is thanks to bisexual advocate Robyn Ochs, who reached out to Merriam-Webster in January 2019 asking them to change their definition of ‘bisexual’ to a term that embraces the full gender spectrum.×

When she got no reply she asked for GLAAD’s help in lobbying the publisher, explaining that the use of the word “both” implies that sex and gender identity are simple binaries, which is inaccurate.

Merriam-Webster promptly updated the entry, and as of Bisexual Visibility Day the word now encompasses “sexual or romantic attraction to people of one’s own gender identity and of other gender identities” as well as sex.

The update was celebrated by GLAAD, which applauded the dictionary for contributing to a more “current understanding” of what it means to be bisexual today.

“Merriam-Webster has a strong history of expanding and updating LGBT+ words, which has a direct impact on how the world recognises marginalised communities,” said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s chief communications officer.

“By updating the definition of ‘bisexual’, Merriam-Webster took an important step in helping to create a more accurate and current understanding of bisexual+ people.”

However, bisexual activists have noted that the definition could still be refined.

In a GLAAD blog post, Ochs shared her preferred definition: “The potential to be attracted – romantically and/or sexually – to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree.”

The same definition is used by the Human Rights Campaign, while GLAAD’s own Media Resource Guide uses the following: “A person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime.”

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More than 60 Queer People Brutally Killed in Eight Months in Colombia

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At least 63 LGBT+ people were killed in Colombia in the first eight months of the year as acts of violence increased during the pandemic.

Among those killed were 17 transgender women, 12 gay men, six lesbian women and one transgender man, as well as several other members of the LGBT+ community whose sexual orientation or gender identity was not specified.

The disturbing figures were published in a report from the country’s human rights ombudsman on Tuesday (September 15), Reuters reported.

“During the pandemic prejudice and discrimination have been exacerbated while obstacles to accessing justice in the receiving of complaints increased,” the ombudsman said in a statement.SPONSORED CONTENTSee If You Are Eligible To Enroll in Savings & Save On RESTASIS® Rx TreatmentBy Allergan

In addition there were 388 cases of violence against LGBT+ people between January and August, mostly in the form of physical and psychological aggressions. This represents a considerable increase from the year before, when there were 309 cases for the whole 12-month period.

The ombudsman also cites 36 cases of aggression by police officers, a figure supported by previous reports of a rise in attacks fuelled by gender-based lockdown laws.

The policy known as pico y género (peak and gender) was introduced in the country’s capital, Bogotá, in an effort to limit the number of people on the streets. Women were permitted to go outdoors for essential tasks on even-numbered days, while men had odd-numbered days.

Colombia

The mayor assured trans people they would be treated in accordance with their gender identity and city authorities said no one would be asked to show proof of gender, but human rights groups reported that the policy triggered acts of transphobic aggression from police and the public.

In May the group Red Comunitaria Trans told Reuters it had received 18 discrimination complaints since the measure began, one being from a transgender woman who was stabbed by a man who said she was out on the wrong day.

https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.410.0_en.html#goog_75664515Read Morex

Another gender-based lockdown in Peru was lifted early after similar incidents of transphobia, violence and public humiliation were reported across the country.

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Newsreader Who ‘Liked’ Transphobic Facebook Comments Ordered to Pay Trans Woman $10,000

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A newsreader has been ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation to a trans woman for liking Facebook comments that wrongly branded her “a male bully”.

The dispute began when Canberra radio broadcaster Beth Rep misgendered Bridget Clinch, Australia’s first transgender soldier, in a string of Facebook posts in March 2018. Clinch complained to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Human Rights Commission, and mediation led to Rep writing an apology and paying Clinch AU$ 700.

However, the ACT said Rep then “added fuel to [the] conflict” by liking many of the offensive comments posted under the apology, including “Bridget Clinch is a male bully”, “I hate Bridget and I don’t even know who he is” and #istandwithbeth.

Rep argued that she didn’t write the comments and had ‘liked’ them to highlight their importance rather than show agreement, but the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal disagreed.

“The respondent could have deleted the comments made against the apology. They were rude, offensive and unacceptable,” said senior tribunal member Bryan Meagher, according to ABC. “Once she was aware of the comments and did not remove them, she is responsible for them.”

By leaving them on the post she had continued to incite hate, the ACT said, actively stirring the debate and encouraging more people to leave vilifying and victimising comments towards the trans woman.

“Even if the respondent was not minded to deactivate comments, there was no need to react to them,” Meagher said. “It was simply not necessary. To do so unnecessarily added fuel to a conflict that the apology was supposed to end.”

Rep was ordered to pay $10,000 to Clinch in compensation, to delete “all posts, statements, information, suggestions or implications” on the matter and to refrain from sharing similar posts in future.

It will likely be a tough blow to Rep, who described herself to the tribunal as a “radical feminist” who believes in resisting what she called “aggressive trans activism”.

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Russian ‘Cossack Soldiers’ Hunted Down LGBT+ Folk During Pride

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Groups of men in Cossack military uniforms have been filmed roaming the Russian city of Yekaterinburg during Pride week in “anti-LGBT patrols”.

According to the Russian news outlet E1RU, the men were on the look out for LGBT+ activists, but succeeded in targeting straight people who they thought looked queer.

The group briefly detained at least one “absolutely heterosexual” student, 19-year-old Alexander Zinovyev, because he had dyed hair and wore an earring.

“Why’d you dress up like this? Are you one of them?” Zinovyev recounted one of the men saying to him. “Do you even know that we control the propaganda of gayness among the people?”

He said the men who intimidated him carried certificates declaring themselves to be “Ural Voluntary Cossack Corps”. While most of the group were dressed in military camouflage, others were patrolling in civilian clothes.

The men reportedly intended to detain LGBT+ people whom they deemed to be in violation of Russia’s gay propaganda laws, and turn them in to law enforcement.

“The prosecutor’s office issued a warning to them about the inadmissibility of propaganda. We’ll be checking how the LGBT movement representatives comply with Russian legislation,” Oleg Bogunevich, the deputy head of a local Cossack organisation, told URA News.

He claimed that around fifty people were participating in the patrols, with some Cossacks travelling over 200km from Chelyabinsk to support their Yekaterinburg “brothers”.

Opponents of the LGBT+ activists have also organised a rival “traditional values” week that includes a family parade and an Orthodox Christian fair.

The patrols come after Russia adopted a set of wide-ranging constitutional changes, including a provision that defines marriage solely as a “union between a man and a woman”.

Same-sex marriage is already banned, but the constitutional re-write means marriages registered abroad will no longer be recognised, and makes the prospect of it ever being legalised dimmer than ever for Russian activists.

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Maltese Gay Couple Shot Dead in their Own Home

Maltese police are investigating the shocking murder of a gay couple shot dead in their own home when three gunmen stormed in and raided the property.

Ivor Maciejowski, a British art dealer, and Christian Pandolfino, a Maltese doctor, were described by friends as two “beautiful souls” who were “always together”.

Police were called to their Sliema home at around 10.30pm on 18 August following reports of gunfire. Both men were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds, Maciejowski on the top floor of the property and Pandolfino on the lower floor.

Officers are now hunting three gunmen who were seen on CCTV entering the house at 10.19pm and leaving at 10.23pm. They are said to have been driven away from the scene by a fourth person who waited in a white car nearby.

Police have not yet disclosed a motive for the crime, but the LGBT+ group Malta Pride suggested that it could have been a “botched hold up”.

“Tragic is an understatement,” they said in a statement on Facebook. “Although details of the case are still emerging, it seems that this was a botched hold up and not necessarily related to being a homophobic hate crime.

“It would be sensible to wait and see at this point without making any rash conclusions.”

The couple were known to keep a large amount of fine art in their home, which Maciejowski sometimes posted to his Instagram account. Officers say there are signs of a struggle inside the property but have not revealed whether any valuables were taken.

According to the Times of Malta the gay couple had been together for at least four years, enjoyed working out and were regulars at MedAsia Playa beach club in Sliema.

Tributes are pouring in for the gay couple as their loved ones process their shocking and sudden deaths. Jordan Munn, who has known the couple for years, said friends were stunned by the news.

“They were just really, really great people. Selfless and funny and just friendly and fantastic and fabulous in every way,” he said.

Another friend, Rebecca Dimech, described the couple as “beautiful, kind souls” and “amazing people that loved each other very much”.

Pandolfino’s nephew, Luca Pandolfino, said his family had lost two “gentle giants”.

“We all are still trying to make sense of things during these tragic times,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Yesterday the world lost two gentle giants who were the two nicest people you could ever meet, keep your loved ones close because you never know when they could be taken away from you. Rest in peace uncle Chris and Ivor.”

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Powerful Memorial Remembers the Black Trans Lives

Hundreds of Black trans people lost to violence have been honoured in a powerful street mural painted by local artists in Chicago.

The words ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ stretch across the street in Catalpa Avenue, Andersonville. It was created by 22 artists or art groups, with the help of neighbours who donated $4,000 to pay the artists for their time and materials.

Last weekend the whole community came together to add names and portraits to the artwork, giving faces to those who have died.

“It is vital that when folks see that Black Trans Lives Matter [mural] they understand the context of why it matters,” said David Oakes of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce, speaking to Block Club Chicago.

Each participating artist decorated an individual letter in the mural. One artist, Bailey Funk, painted the words “say their names” in the letter B, prompting the chamber to consider giving more prominence to the names of the dead.

Now the names encircle the mural, each one colour-coded to give context to the deaths.

The names in pink are people whom police killed in the last five years, while the names in yellow identify unarmed people of colour killed by police since 1975. More names are being added this week, according to the chamber.

Among those honoured in portraits are Merci Mack, a Black trans woman killed by a gunshot to the head, Tony McDade, a Black trans man shot by police, and Marsha P Johnson, a Black queer rights activist instrumental in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.

“Transgender women of colour were leaders in LGBT+ activism and throughout time, but they have been erased,” Laura Austin, associate director of the Andersonville chamber, said in a statement.

“We wanted to give them space. We wanted to make them a priority. It is long overdue.”

The Black Lives Matter movement gave rise to several memorials to the trans community, including a huge art installation on Hollywood Boulevard. Last week it was announced that the huge letters reading ‘All Black Lives Matter’ will remain there permanently.

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Hungary’s Viktor Orbán Launches New Attack on LGBT+ Folks

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Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has used an event commemorating the end of WWI as an opportunity to launch yet another barb at LGBT+ people.

The far-right leader made the comments at a national event to inaugurate a monument commemorating the Treaty of Trianon, which was signed after the end of the war.

He called upon Hungary’s neighbouring countries to unite to preserve their Christian roots as western Europe “experiments” with same-sex families, immigration and atheism.

“Western Europe had given up on … a Christian Europe, and instead experiments with a godless cosmos, rainbow families, migration and open societies,” Orbán said in a speech.

He declared that the new monument, a 100-metre long and 4-metre wide ramp carved into a street near Budapest’s parliament building, was a call to central European nations to strengthen their alliance and rally around what he called the “Polish flagship”.

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His speech will have reaffirmed the country’s close relationship with Poland, Hungary’s main ally in central Europe and equally conservative in its opposition to LGBT+ people.

In parallel with Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), Orbán’s administration has pursued policies that persistently erode LGBT+ rights and freedoms.

One of his very first acts after his pandemic power grab was to strip away the ability for trans people to legally change gender, an act that drew fierce condemnation from international human rights groups.

The move had the effect of legally erasing the Hungarian trans people, and it is already driving them to suicide.

Unfortunately the homophobic sentiment has shown no sign of improving as the lockdown eases; Last weekend, two rainbow flags were torn down from municipal buildings in Budapest.

Among the culprits was a Hungarian politician, who was seen using a ladder to climb Budapest City Hall to reach the flag.

He was filmed by the far-right Our Homeland Movement, which proudly shared the video online declaring that “this anti-family symbol has no place on the street, especially on the facade of the capital’s local government”.

It prompted a warning from the US Embassy that neo-Nazi groups should not be tolerated.

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Conversion Therapy Survivors are Turning to TikTok to Share Their Trauma

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A growing number of conversion therapy survivors are sharing their trauma on TikTok amid growing efforts to outlaw the discredited practice.

Nearly 700,000 Americans have undergone conversion therapy, half when under 18, according to the UCLA’s Williams Institute. The so-called therapycan range from counselling or “praying away the gay” to torturous electric shocks, but all forms have been rejected by every mainstream health organisation for decades.

Now survivors are shedding light on the secretive practice, sharing support and advice for others who may be forced to undergo what they did.

30-year-old Mike Dorn began talking about his experience when the US went into lockdown. “I was going through a pretty dark time being at home all the time and I knew that I needed to talk about it,” they told Reuters.

They were forced to endure conversion therapy at age 15 when their conservative Christian parents shipped them off to a “disciplinary camp” in California.

In a series of six videos they recounted how they were isolated, broken down, told they would go to hell, forced to dig holes and shoved if they disobeyed orders.

“I was physically abused if I said anything or did anything they didn’t approve of,” they said. “I was verbally abused almost every second of every day, because if they weren’t going to put the fear of God into you, you weren’t going to change.”

Mike’s videos have been viewed 1 million times and they’ve been overwhelmed with thousands of messages of support. Roughly half were from countries including Britain, Mexico and Indonesia, most of whom went through conversion therapy as teens.

“A lot of people were messaging me, and it was this form of love and support and family that I’ve never experienced before,” they said.

Another conversion therapy victim, 20-year-old Merry, shared her story in hopes she could help others. One of her videos, “How to survive conversion therapy”, has been watched more than 500,000 times since December.

“Don’t tell them anything about your past,” she warns in the video. “Anything traumatic in your life, you do not get to tell them about… They are going to get inside your head and convince you that that is why you are gay.”

Her videos instantly resonated with viewers and after she posted the first one she began receiving five or six messages a day. She now estimates she’s been contacted by about 50 at-risk people and 20 survivors from their teens to late 40s.

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Ugandan Officials Charged with Torture after Flogging 20 Queer Men

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Two officials in Uganda are facing charges of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment in connection with the arrest of 20 men from an LGBT+ shelter.

In March harrowing footage emerged of a “bogus” coronavirus raid on the the Children of the Sun Foundation LGBT+ shelter in Kampala. The men were seen being whipped, chained, interrogated and publicly humiliated by a municipal mayor.

While some were released on health grounds, the majority spent almost 50 days in jail, during which time they were denied HIV medicine, legal counsel, and the ability to apply for bail.

The case attracted the attention of international human rights activists, and after sustained pressure the men were finally freed with all charges dropped and an order to be compensated US$1,341 each by the Ugandan government.

A criminal case is now underway thanks to the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), which initiated private proceedings after local police refused to take it on.

In a press release, the group decried the “myriad of forms of violence, ranging from taunting, flogging, scalding, subjection to corporal punishment, as well as denial of access to food, sanitary facilities and medication”.

According to 76 Crimes the Chief Magistrates Court of Wakiso has now issued a summons to the town councilman who headed the raid and beatings, Hajj Abdul Kiyimba, as well as prison officer Philimon Woniala.

“We believe that because the [prisoners] were perceived as LGBT+, the accused chairman and prisons officer and others who may torture, believe they can get away with such acts with impunity,” said Melanie Nathan, executive director of the African Human Rights Coalition.

“It is time to set an example – that even though LGBT+ people are criminalised under the penal codes of Uganda, there is no exception or excuse to torture any individual under any circumstances.”

She reiterated the unwarranted nature of the arrests, stating that while the men weren’t technically arrested for being gay, “if they were not perceived as such, they would not have been targets for arrest at all.”

She continued: “All said and done if ever there is a case exposing the exploitation of criminalisation of gay people, [this] is that case.”

The civil case against Kiyimba, Woniala and the state will be heard on September 23.

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