Lenders Could Move To Seize Whatever Collateral Trump Use For Loans After Accounting Firm Disavows Financial Docs https://dailyboulder.com/lenders-co...fter-accounting-firm-disavows-financial-docs/
Trump is no longer relevant, he doesn't even have clearance. His minions, however, are trying to scare folks away.
I didn’t think legitimate banks have been dealing with Trump for some time now, because of the trail of misery and tears he habitually leaves behind. Deutsche Bank has been pretty much the only bank willing to lend to the liar and cheat for some years now, no?
Not a surprise: Trump just posted something stupid. The twist: The NY Attorney General immediately files it as an exhibit in their case.
NY attorney general fires back at Trump's defense of financial statements https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ny...umps-defense-financial-statements-2022-02-16/ New York's attorney general on Wednesday pounced on former President Donald Trump's defense of company's financial statements, saying the five-page statement Trump issued a day earlier contradicted a court filing by his attorneys. "It is not unusual for parties to a legal proceeding to disagree about the facts," the attorney general's office wrote in a letter filed in New York state court. "But it is truly rare for a party to publicly disagree with statements submitted by his own attorneys in a signed pleading -- let alone one day after the pleading was filed." Attorney General Letitia James is conducting a probe into whether the Trumps inflated real estate values to obtain bank loans, and reduced values to lower tax bills. Trump's attorneys repeatedly stated that he did not know enough to respond to allegations of inaccurate valuations. But the former president's five-page statement got into detail about possible discrepancies, implying that he had more knowledge than his lawyers said. On Monday, the attorney general's office made public a Feb. 9 letter from Trump's longtime accountant, Mazars, which said the Trump Organization's financial statements for 2011 through 2020 should no longer be relied on and that it would no longer do work for the former president's New York-based real estate business. On Tuesday, Trump issued a five-page statement disparaging the attorney general and other New York officials, calling the investigation a political and racist attack, claiming Mazars had essentially been forced to resign, and defending the financial statements. "Remember when the attorney general and or District Attorney say they think my financial statements may be high, I don't even include these branding numbers in them, which is far more than any discrepancy they may have," Trump wrote. Instead of the "sham investigation" of his business, Trump said in another part of the five-page diatribe, law enforcement and the "fake news media" should look into former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as well as "murderers, drug dealers and rapists." In a court filing on Monday in response to the attorney general's allegations of misleading financial statements, Trump, through his attorneys, repeatedly denied he had knowledge or information to form a belief as to the claims. The attorney general is seeking testimony from Trump and two of his adult children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, as part of her civil probe of the company's business practices. Justice Arthur Engoron in New York state court in Manhattan will hear arguments on Thursday on whether subpoenas for the testimony should be enforced. A separate but overlapping criminal case involving the company's business practices is being conducted by the Manhattan District Attorney, which the attorney general joined in May.
Trump must testify in New York investigation, judge rules https://apnews.com/article/business...mp-subpoenas-0aa45e4644b13f7a3ef76d9c00491298 Former President Donald Trump must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices, a judge ruled Thursday. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., to comply with subpoenas issued in December by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump and his two children must sit for a deposition within 21 days, Engoron said. Engoron issued the ruling after a two-hour hearing with lawyers for the Trumps and James’ office. “In the final analysis, a State Attorney General commences investigating a business entity, uncovers copious evidence of possible financial fraud, and wants to question, under oath, several of the entities’ principals, including its namesake. She has the clear right to do so.” Engoron wrote in his decision. The ruling is almost certain to be appealed, but if upheld it could force the former president into a tough decision about whether to answer questions, or stay silent, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. Spokespeople for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. James, a Democrat, said her investigation has uncovered evidence Trump’s company used “fraudulent or misleading” valuations of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits. Trump’s lawyers told Engoron during the hearing that having him sit for a civil deposition now, while his company is also the subject of a parallel criminal investigation, is an improper attempt to get around a state law barring prosecutors from calling someone to testify before a criminal grand jury without giving them immunity. “If she wants sworn testimony from my client, he’s entitled to immunity. He gets immunity for what he says, or he says nothing,” Trump’s criminal defense lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, said in the hearing, which was conducted by video conference. If Trump were to testify in the civil probe, anything he says could be used against him in the criminal investigation being overseen by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Trump could invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent in a deposition — something he’s criticized others for doing in the past. But Fischetti said if Trump did so, it could still hurt a potential criminal defense. “If he goes in and follows my advice, which will be you cannot answer these questions without ... immunity because that’s what the law provides, and take the Fifth Amendment, that’ll be on every front page in the newspaper in the world. And how can I possibly pick a jury in that case?” Fischetti said. A lawyer for the attorney general’s office, Kevin Wallace, told the judge that it wasn’t unusual to have civil and criminal investigations proceeding at the same time. “Mr. Trump is a high profile individual, yes. That’s unique,” Wallace said. “It’s unique that so many people are paying attention to a rather dry hearing about subpoena enforcement. But the the legal issues that we’re dealing with here are pretty standard.” Another Trump son, Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization’s finance chief Allen Weisselberg, have previously sat for depositions in the civil investigation — and invoked their Fifth Amendment rights hundreds of times when they were questioned by investigators in 2020. Another lawyer for Donald Trump, Alina Habba, accused James of trying to use the civil investigation to gather evidence for the criminal probe. She said the civil investigation should be stayed until the criminal matter is over, claiming James’ office is putting the Trumps “in a position where they either disclose evidence in a civil investigation or they have to invoke the constitutional right not to testify, thereby triggering an adverse inference in the civil action.” “How is that fair, your Honor? We have to stop one,” she said. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., both of whom have been executives in their family’s Trump Organization, said during the court hearing that so far he had no reason to believe either are targets of the district attorney’s criminal investigation. In a statement Tuesday, Trump railed against what he called a “sham investigation of a great company that has done a spectacular job for New York and beyond” and a racially motivated “continuation of a Witch Hunt the likes of which has never been seen in this Country before.” Habba argued at Thursday’s hearing that James’ investigation is “selective prosecution” and that the attorney general is “engaging in viewpoint discrimination” motivated by her political ambitions and disdain for the Republican former president, evinced by comments she made over the years about going after Trump. “We have an extraordinary rare case where we can prove selective prosecution because she’s put her words out there so much and taken every opportunity to voice her vendetta against Donald Trump and his family to take him down,” Habba said. Wallace noted the state attorney general’s office was investigating Trump-related matters as far back as 2013, including probes into his charitable foundation and a Trump University real estate training program that started long before James was elected. In a court filing this week, James included a letter from Trump’s longtime accounting firm advising him to no longer rely on years of financial statements it prepared based on his company’s valuations, given the questions about their accuracy. James tweeted after the ruling Thursday: “No one will be permitted to stand in the way of the pursuit of justice, no matter how powerful they are.” Last summer, spurred by evidence uncovered in James’ civil investigation, the Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Weisselberg and the Trump Organization with tax fraud, alleging he collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation. Weisselberg and the company have pleaded not guilty. Engoron previously sided with James on other matters relating to the probe, including making Eric Trump testify after his lawyers abruptly canceled a scheduled deposition.
EXPLAINER: How Trump testifying about his business hurts him https://apnews.com/article/ivanka-t...donald-trump-ec52b005b0bb41ae6148fbf5a32e9982 NEW YORK (AP) — A judge’s refusal Thursday to throw out a subpoena seeking former President Donald Trump’s testimony in an investigation of his business affairs won’t be the last word in the matter. Trump’s lawyers can appeal Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision, a process that could take some time. If the ruling holds up, though, Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, would have to meet with investigators from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office and answer (or refuse to answer) their questions. Here’s a look at what this is all about and why it is likely to be a headache for the Trumps, no matter what happens next: WHAT IS THIS INVESTIGATION ABOUT? James, a Democrat, is considering whether to sue Trump or his company, the Trump Organization, over the way they have valued his assets over the years. Essentially, her investigators contend Trump and his company had a “fraudulent or misleading” pattern of saying properties they own such as golf courses and skyscrapers were worth more when they wanted better deals on loans, and less when they wanted tax breaks. Earlier this month, Trump’s longtime accounting firm cut ties with him, saying that a decade’s worth of financial statements they’d prepared for his company, using information Trump and his people provided, were no longer reliable. Trump has bristled at allegations that he lied about his wealth. He and his lawyers have pointed out that asset valuations can be subjective. They’ve repeatedly ripped the investigation as purely political, and even sued James to try to stop her probe. IS THERE A CRIMINAL PROBE, TOO? Yes. The Manhattan district attorney is also investigating. A grand jury has been hearing testimony and reviewing documents covering much of the same subject material as James’ civil probe. WHAT IS A DEPOSITION? A deposition is like an interview, usually held in a law office or conference room, except witnesses must swear an oath and could be subject to penalties if they commit perjury. They’re typically recorded. Depositions, frequently depicted in legal dramas as pitting one side against the other across a table, are most common in civil litigation and are often used to obtain information or get someone’s answers on the record. WILL TRUMP HAVE TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS? Since anything a person says in a civil deposition could also be used against them in a criminal investigation, witnesses are free to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent at any time. So if he chooses, Trump could simply refuse to answer many questions. This protection isn’t absolute. A person’s fear of prosecution has to be reasonable. And the fear must apply to the question that has been asked. For example, Trump likely couldn’t refuse to answer a question like, “How old are you?” Refusing to answer the toughest questions could hurt Trump in any civil trial. A jury is allowed to know if a person has refused to answer, and is also allowed to infer that if the person had answered the question, it might make them look bad. HAS TRUMP BEEN DEPOSED BEFORE? Yes, he’s been involved in many lawsuits over his business career and has experience with depositions. He sat for one just last October in a lawsuit filed by protesters who claim they were roughed up by Trump security personnel. Some Trump Organization executives have already given depositions in James’ investigation, including the former president’s son, Eric Trump, and the company’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump have also been executives in the family’s business. IS THIS LIKE TESTIFYING BEFORE A GRAND JURY? There are some similarities, but in New York, anyone who testifies before a grand jury automatically gets immunity from prosecution for any crimes they discuss. For this reason, New York prosecutors are unlikely to call Trump before a grand jury. Trump’s lawyers have complained that in seeking civil testimony, James is trying to get around those protections for potential criminal defendants. WHY IS THIS BAD FOR TRUMP? Experts say a fraud case against Trump is no slam dunk. For Trump, though, nothing good can come out of testifying, even if he has done nothing wrong. At best, it generates embarrassing headlines about a former president having to answer questions about his business practices. He could get further embarrassed if he refuses to answer questions on the grounds that it might incriminate him. Some people will assume — perhaps wrongly — that it means he’s guilty. For those loyal to Trump, the prospect of his being forced to submit to questioning by James’ team will fuel the narrative he’s long pushed that all of this amounts to a political persecution. On the other hand, it isn’t likely to tamp down the growing pushback within a Republican Party he’s ruled almost singlehandedly for years. And the longer this takes to play out, the closer it gets to primaries for this year’s midterm elections. The worst case scenario is that he reveals wrongdoing in the deposition that becomes the basis of either a lawsuit or a criminal charge. He could also get prosecuted for perjury if he lies.