Donald Trump has different sets of revolving financial records to suit his various purposes. According to his longtime personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, those records were as slick as the man who generated them. Cohen’s testimony about Trump’s money before the House Oversight and Reform committee is riveting.
Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO) asked Cohen if there were times in his employment with the Trump Organization where CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Allen Weisselberg spoke to the media. To put a finer point on the question, did Weisselberg talk to a Forbes Magazine reporter:
‘…because Mr. Trump wanted each year to have his net worth rise on the Forbes wealthiest individuals list?’
Cohen testified that Trump listed his property assets by the highest price per square foot on other financial records. The president also used the gross rent-roll and multiplied it by a fictitious multiple.
Cohen provided the House Oversight committee with samples of the president’s financial statements. Then, he said:
‘It’s based upon what he wanted to value the asset at.’
Cohen said that Trump had a fluctuating set of financial documents. He would send one set to news outlets, i.e. Forbes Magazine, indicating that the president’s net worth was higher. Then for insurance purposes, he would send a set of numbers. That would get Trump lower premiums.
‘I believe these numbers are inflated.’
Clay then asked Cohen whether POTUS ever sent inflated numbers to banks in order to get a better loan. The former personal attorney said that Trump had given Deutsche Bank higher numbers so that he could buy the Buffalo Bills football team.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
