Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to share a document that a Manhattan Supreme Court judge had refused to let him present during his court testimony. The document, entitled “Disclaimers Provided to Banks in Each Financial Statement,” was pulled from his jacket pocket during his testimony on Monday but was denied permission to be read aloud. According to Trump, the document contained a disclaimer clause that vindicated him in the fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump criticized the judge for not wanting anyone to know about the disclaimer clause.
Trump Posts Paper He Pulled Out During Testimony, Tried to Show Judge via @WestJournalism https://t.co/L5CDn41qos
— Lazarus (@As_Lazarus) November 8, 2023
The document cautioned that interpreting market data and developing related estimates of current value required considerable judgment. It concluded by stating that users of the financial statement might reach different conclusions about Trump’s financial condition. Trump had requested permission to read the document aloud during his testimony, but the judge refused, stating that such statements do not protect defendants from liability. The judge had already rejected the disclaimer as an acceptable defense argument.
In the case, Trump is being accused of inflating the value of his company’s assets to obtain better loan and insurance terms. New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing Trump, along with his sons and business associates. Trump, on the other hand, has accused James of pursuing him for political points and has emphasized that he repaid the loans in full with interest, with no alleged victims claiming they were defrauded. The case has the potential to result in a $250 million fine for Trump, and he could also be barred from running New York businesses in the future.
In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump directly addressed his social media followers, reiterating that he is worth billions of dollars more than what is on his financial statements and claiming that they are conservative, thereby refuting any allegations of fraud. He criticized the “corrupt and racist” New York State Attorney General Letitia Peekaboo James and the “Trump-hating, radical left judge” for refusing to drop the case that was brought using a statute that has never been used before. Trump ended his post with the catchphrase “MAGA!” which stands for “Make America Great Again.”
