(NewsReady.com) – In September, New York Judge Arthur Engoron determined that former President Donald Trump and his company repeatedly deceived insurers, banks, and others by exaggerating the value of his assets and net worth in order to secure loans. Now, the court is trying to determine how much the company will pay for the scheme. As part of the trial, Trump took the stand on November 6.
One of the issues the court is trying to get to the bottom of is how much Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida is worth. New York Attorney General Letitia James claims Trump’s valuation of the property where he now resides violated the restrictions of its deed because its estimate was based on the fact that it couldn’t be sold as a private residence. The deed for the property reportedly stated the former president and his company “intend[ed]” to terminate their rights “to develop or use the property for any purpose other than club use.”
The former president responded to the language in the deed, saying, “Intend doesn’t mean we will do it.”
NYAG's counsel confronts Trump with the deed stating that "the Club and Trump intend to forever extinguish their right to develop or use the Property for any purpose other than club use."
Trump parses: "'Intend' doesn’t mean we will do it."
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) November 6, 2023
The prosecution played an interview with the former president, where he said that “the Mar-a-Lago Club […] will forever be a club.” Trump responded, saying the interview was just “bravado” and wasn’t “legal intent.” The prosecution asked him if he received tax benefits from labeling the property a club, and he said yes.
Trump spent the day testifying, and it was explosive. The former president, his attorneys, and Judge Engoron repeatedly got into arguments throughout the day. At one point, the judge said his courtroom wasn’t a “political rally.” In another instance, Engoron told the former president’s attorneys to “control [Trump]” or he was going to do it for them.
The judge said that he didn’t “want to hear everything” Trump had to say because much of it had “nothing to do with the case of the questions.” The former president repeatedly said that he thought the trial was unfair.
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