NEW YORK: Donald Trump defended his real estate empire and his presidency in a face-to-face clash with the New York attorney general suing him for fraud, testifying at a closed-door grilling in April that his company is flush with cash — and claiming he saved “millions of lives” by deterring nuclear war when he was president.
Trump, in testimony made public Wednesday, said it was a “terrible thing” that Attorney General Letitia James was suing him over claims he made on annual financial statements about his net worth and the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses and other assets.
James sued Trump last September, alleging he inflated the value of assets like his Mar-a-Lago estate for at least a decade. Her lawsuit seeks $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
In documents filed in support of civil suit, claimed that Trump and some of his associates submitted “grossly inflated” numbers to banks and insurers “to secure and maintain loans and insurance on more favorable terms.”
She said Trump routinely overvalued his net worth by billions of dollars each year between 2011 and 2021..
The scheme resulted in “hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings and profits,” the documents alleged.
James’ lawsuit against the current Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race dates back to last year, when she accused Trump, some of his children and the Trump Organization business of tax and financial fraud.
Trump and his children also stand accused of deflating the value of certain Trump Organization assets — including golf clubs, luxury hotels and other properties — to reduce taxes.
The trial is due to start October 2, with a preliminary hearing September 22, though James, a Democrat, is seeking to have the court resolve the case before it goes to trial based on the documents submitted Wednesday.
They allege Trump overstated his wealth each year between 2011 and 2021, including the years he was president, between 17 and 39 percent — amounting to $812 million and $2.2 billion each year.
“Based on the undisputed evidence, no trial is required for the Court to determine that Defendants presented grossly and materially inflated asset values,” to help them conduct “business transactions and defraud banks and insurers,” prosecutors argued.
In January, the Trump Organization was fined $1.6 million by a New York judge in a criminal tax and financial fraud case.
If James’ civil case against Trump goes to trial, it will be one more for the candidate to have to juggle while also zipping across the country on the campaign trail.
Trump is facing four criminal trials for actions allegedly taken before, during and after his presidency — state cases in New York and Georgia and two federal cases in Florida and Washington.
