There is a sharp contrast between the commentary amid trial in New York from the state’s Attorney General Letitia James and former President Donald Trump. The trial in question is working through a fraud case from James that alleges years of financial misrepresentations at the former president’s business — misstatements that were positioned to provide the Trumps and their associates with financial benefit.
The former president keeps ranting online, turning his attention to at least those political opponents he can target outside of the limited gag order imposed by the presiding judge, which blocks commentary about court staff. And James is calmly explaining some of the facts of the case and her arguments as what’s now the second week of the trial fades into history, with what could be a long rhetorical road ahead in court.
In a video that James posted this week, she went through some of the issues her team is spotlighting, like allegations of multiple different assessments of the former president’s financial condition being prepared — and claims of ostensibly artificial boosts to other assets as brazen misrepresentations about Trump’s personal residence at Trump Tower in New York City came under scrutiny. Trump himself had claimed the premises stretched for three times as much space as they actually did.
“Allen Weisselberg and Jeff McConney manipulated the methods of valuation to boost the values of certain properties,” James said. “Though they never submitted it, Weisselberg even had him try adding a so-called presidential premium, such as another 15, 25, 35 percent to Mar-a-Lago because it was Donald Trump’s summer home. The defendants continue to claim that valuations are subjective. And that they were not intentionally committing fraud. But as everyone knows, numbers don’t lie.”
Forbes (the financial news publication), meanwhile, asserted in an article that Weisselberg, named in James’ case, lied on the stand at trial, claiming he didn’t focus much on Trump’s New York City residence though he actually helped try drawing attention to the property.
Today, we wrapped up the second week of our trial against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
The numbers don’t lie: Trump engaged in years of financial fraud to enrich himself and his family. pic.twitter.com/Xg3Jr21a4T
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 13, 2023
