Trump admits his assets valuations were 'too high' as he is roasted in court
Donald Trump admitted in court that he thought the valuations for some of his assets were "too high" while testifying and defending himself against allegations he dramatically inflated his net worth.
On Monday, when asked during his testimony about the valuations of his assets, the disgraced former president said that he indeed thought that some of them were "too high," including that of his Trump Tower triplex in 2014. Asked why the valuation was too high, Trump said that a broker assessed the total area as 30,000 square feet, "and I have access to the roof, and when you add the roof, you’re not that far off."
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He continued: "I see how it was done." He then told the court that "they took 10,000 per floor" and "times three" and didn’t take out the elevator shaft and other areas.
He added that there is a disclaimer clause included in the company's financial statements, so that "if there is a mistake ... you don't get sued by the attorney general's office." Trump spoke of the disclaimer clause earlier in his deposition, which, he said, "says, don’t believe the statement, go out and do your own work. This statement is 'worthless.' It means nothing."
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However, in the ruling prior to the trial in late September, Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the civil fraud trial, dismissed Trump’s excuse of the disclaimer, stating: "The clause does not use the words 'worthless' or 'useless' or 'ignore' or any similar words. It does not say 'the values herein are what I think the properties will be worth in ten or more years'."
Trump also faces criminal indictments while vying to reclaim the White House in 2024 (AP)Earlier in his testimony, Trump said a Palm Beach assessor, who valued his Mar-a-Lago property at $18 million, was underestimating it. Trump claimed that the property is worth "50 to 100 times that". He said he doesn't know how the lower estimation was arrived at, calling it "absolutely crazy."
The atmosphere was tense in the courtroom with the judge later admonishing a ranting Trump to keep his answers concise, reminding him that “this is not a political rally”. The Supreme Court Judge said: "We don't have time to waste. We have one day to do this. In addition to the answers being non-responsive, they're repetitive."
Tensions between Engeron and Trump, already on display last month when the judge fined him $10,000 for incendiary outside-of-court comments, were evident Monday when the ex-president was repeatedly scolded about the length and content of his answers.
Trump sits in the courtroom with attorneys Christopher Kise and Alina Habba (Getty Images)“Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally. This is a courtroom,” Engeron told Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, who himself has clashed with the judge. The judge later added: "I do not want to hear everything this witness has to say. He has a lot to say that has nothing to do with the case or the questions.”
Trump walked slowly to the witness stand, tugging at his suit coat as he settled in for hours of questions in a lawsuit by the New York state attorney general that accuses him and his company of inflating his property values and deceiving banks and insurers in the pursuit of business deals and loans.
Echoing the stance taken by two of his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, in their own testimony last month, Trump sought to downplay his direct involvement in preparing and assessing the financial statements that the attorney general claims were grossly inflated and fraudulent.
“All I did was authorize and tell people to give whatever is necessary for the accountants to do the statements,” he said. As for the results, “I would look at them, I would see them, and maybe on some occasions, I would have some suggestions.”
Trump stands accused of fraudulently inflating those famous assets to advance his real estate empire (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)He also downplayed the significance of the statements, which went to banks and others to secure financing and deals. As he has in the lead-up to testifying, Trump downplayed the statements’ significance, pointing to a disclaimer that he says amounted to telling recipients to do their own calculating.
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“Banks didn’t find them very relevant, and they had a disclaimer clause -- you would call it a worthless statement clause,” he said, insisting that after decades in real estate, “I probably know banks as well as anybody … I know what they look at. They look at the deal, they look at the location.
Trump complained in court that his 2014 financial statements shouldn't be a subject of the lawsuit at all. "First of all it’s so long ago, it’s well beyond the statute of limitations,” Trump said before turning on the judge, saying he allowed state lawyers to pursue claims involving such years-old documents “because he always rules against me.” Engoron said: “You can attack me in whichever way you want but please answer the questions.”
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