Besides this civil case brought by Ms. James, President Trump is facing several other civil cases and four criminal indictments with a total of 91 charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. He claimed these mounting legal attacks came from the “radical left Democrats” as he rose in the polls, beating out incumbent President Joe Biden, and that they would “stop at nothing” in trying to prevent another Trump administration.
“Regardless of Party, we cannot let this happen in the United States of America!” he stated, adding that the “highly political prosecutors and judges” were becoming “more and more desperate and dangerous.”
Fraud Case
On Tuesday, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on one of the seven complaints Ms. James had brought forth in her case. Last month, Ms. James requested a pre-trial summary judgment from the court on the complaint that President Trump had inflated his net worth between 2011 and 2021, causing insurers and lenders to give him lower prices, constituting fraud.Mar-A-Lago
President Trump said the charge of fraud is “both ridiculous and untrue.”“As an example, this Democrat Operative valued Mar-a-Lago, the most spectacular and valuable property in Palm Beach, Florida, to be worth as low as $18 million, when in actuality it could be worth almost 100 times that amount,” he wrote.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. had both taken to Twitter to weigh in on the $18 million valuation.
‘Un-American’
President Trump claimed the judge’s decision was anything but impartial.“He hated everything about me at a level that I have never seen before, even beyond the hatred of that displayed by Letitia James. There was no trial and no jury for the supposed ‘wrongdoing’ of fully paying back sophisticated Wall Street banks in full, with interest, with no defaults, and with no victims.”
The former media personality and businessman had become president of his father’s real estate business in 1971, renaming it the Trump Organization and expanding its portfolio with skyscrapers, hotels, golf courses, and other ventures. Between 1991 and 2009, he filed for six bankruptcies. Real estate wasn’t the extent of his dealings; he licensed the “Trump” name, which accounted for a great part of his business, and from 2004 to 2015 co-produced and hosted the reality series “The Apprentice.” Having spent most of his career in business, the former president championed free market policies.
President Trump indicated he would appeal the case, and that “some appellate court” should take his case and “reverse this horrible, un-American decision.”
He previously also posted on social media about the case, claiming that his net worth was more than what had been listed on the financial documents in question, not less.
“I didn’t even include my most valuable asset, my brand,” he wrote. “The banks were paid back in full, sometimes early, there were no defaults, the banks made money, were represented by the best law firms, & were very ‘happy.’ There were no victims!”
He added that all the valuation documents include the standard disclaimer, a “non-reliance” clause that tells financial institutions to do their own research and analysis, and that he had very little debt.
“It is a great company that has been slandered and maligned by this politically motivated witch hunt. It is very unfair, and I call for help from the highest courts in New York state, or the federal system, to intercede. This is not America!” he wrote.