Soon after New York Judge Arthur Engoron found Donald Trump and his adult sons liable for fraud and canceled the Trump Organization’s business certification on Tuesday, the disgraced former president freaked out about it in a lengthy all-caps rant on Truth Social that he appeared to have originally written on Monday.
Trump seems to have been most offended that the ruling calls into question his purported net worth. The fraud the Trump Organization committed is, in part, that it vastly overstated the value of several properties in order to receive favorable contracts and bank loans. But, Trump insists, the ruling didn’t put a price on his “most valuable asset, my brand.”
Said, of course, in all caps.
Trump said in part, “1) I AM WORTH MUCH MORE THAN THE NUMBERS SHOWN ON MY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. 2) I DIDN’T EVEN INCLUDE MY MOST VALUABLE ASSET, MY BRAND.”
He continued, “3) 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!”
Trump concluded by doubling down on his claim that he is worth far more than the financial statements suggest and added, “4) ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS THERE IS A STRONG ‘DISCLAIMER CLAUSE’ TELLING ALL NOT TO RELY ON THESE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THE DISCLAIMER CLAUSE TELLS ANYONE REVIEWING THE DATA, INCLUDING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, TO DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS – IT IS A NON RELIANCE CLAUSE, AND COULD NOT BE MORE CLEAR.”
“ADDITIONALLY TO MY BEING WORTH FAR MORE THAN IS SHOWN IN THE ‘FULLY DISCLAIMED’ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AGAIN NOT PUTTING DOWN A VALUE FOR MY BIGGEST ASSET, BRAND, THE COMPANY HAS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN CASH, AND VERY LITTLE DEBT,” he insisted.
The ruling against Trump comes days before the former president’s civil case brought by the New York District Attorey’s office goes to trial on Oct 2. Engoron found Trump and his sons “to be liable as a matter of law for persistent violations” and found that decades of financial statements submitted by the Trump family were false.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has never inflated the actual value of his homes, hotels, and golf courses, and has denied claims that he has exaggerated his success and net worth. Engoran directly contradicted those claims and accused Trump of overvaluing his apartment at Trump Tower by up to $207 million.
Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in damages, to ban the Trump family from working as officers for a business based in New York, and to prevent the Trump Organization from doing business for five years.
The judge wrote, “A discrepancy of this order of magnified, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space of decades, can only be considered fraud.”
The business certificates of the Trump Organization, a commercial tower at 40 Wall Street, and the family’s Seven Springs have all been canceled and Engoron noted that a third party will “manage the dissolution” of the properties. It is unclear if any of the ruling will apply to Mar-A-Lago and if Trump will have the ability to transfer any New York-based assets out of the state.
