Trump admits to inflating assets in court…”There’s a disclaimer in the financial statements”

ORIGINAL LINK : https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/29X55AI4VU

Former President Donald Trump appeared in a New York civil trial on the 6th (local time). Photo=AP Yonhap News

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared in a civil trial on the 6th (local time) over allegations of asset value manipulation, admitting partial involvement in the valuation process during past financial statement preparation, while reiterating the claim that this lawsuit is a witch hunt, according to AP and The New York Times (NYT).

This trial is a separate civil case unrelated to the four criminal trials faced by former President Trump. New York State Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Trump’s side inflated the value of numerous assets, including mansions and top-tier apartments in New York, buildings, and golf courses in the UK and New York, by about $2.2 billion (3 trillion won) to facilitate bank loans and other transactions, and filed a civil lawsuit in a New York state court last September.

In the trial held at the New York Manhattan District Court on the 6th (local time), Trump responded to the prosecution’s inquiry about whether he was directly involved in the preparation of the company’s financial statements by saying, “All I did was tell people to provide what the accountants needed to prepare the financial statements and approve it.” He then said about the financial statement records prepared by the accountants, “I reviewed it, and in some cases, made a few suggestions.” He also admitted to lowering the value on the financial statement of a massive real estate property in northern Manhattan called ‘Seven Springs’ because he thought the previously assessed value “was too high.”

The NYT pointed out that Trump’s statements could weaken his previous claims that he had no involvement in preparing the financial statements. However, Trump defended the allegations of asset manipulation by citing the disclaimer recorded in the financial statements.

He responded to the prosecution’s question about whether he knew there were inflated assets in the financial statements from 2011 to 2017 by mentioning the disclaimer, “One of the reasons I don’t focus too much on this statement is because that (disclaimer) clause is on the first page of the (financial statement).”

He further claimed that any court would recognize the disclaimer, and therefore, “we should not be litigating here.”

In response to the prosecution’s question about why the Trump Tower penthouse was listed as three times its actual size in the financial statement, he initially said, “We could have made a mistake,” then changed his words, saying it could be because they added the area of the building’s roof.

He added, “We have a disclaimer that should exempt us from being sued by the New York State Attorney General.”

However, the prosecution argued in the complaint filed with the court that while the disclaimer in this financial statement could exempt accountants from certain obligations to perform more rigorous audit tasks, it does not permit Trump and others to submit asset valuations that are false or misleading.

Meanwhile, Trump continued his aggressive rhetoric against the prosecution and the judge during the trial.

At the beginning of the trial, he criticized New York State Attorney General and Attorney General James, saying, “This is a political witch hunt, and I think she should be ashamed of herself.”

Regarding Arthur Engoron, the Manhattan District Court judge in charge of this trial, he claimed, “He called me a scammer and knew nothing about me,” and “The scam is in the court, not me.”

Judge Engoron had previously admitted some charges that Trump’s side had committed fraudulent acts of inflating the value of their assets for bank loans and other transactions before the official trial began in September.

As Trump’s grandstanding continued, Judge Engoron repeatedly cautioned him to keep his statements brief and even ordered some of his almost monologue-like testimonies to be erased from the record.

Judge Engoron said, “This is not a political rally,” and “We don’t have time to waste,” trying to restrain Trump’s remarks.