Top Trump Organization officials considered boosting Donald Trump’s net worth with a “presidential premium” while he was in office, according to testimony that closed the second week of a fraud trial.
Trump Org assistant vice president Patrick Birney testified in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday morning in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million civil fraud case against Trump, 77.
Birney – who began his testimony Thursday afternoon – said company executives considered adding between 15% and 35% to the value of Trump’s properties on the premise that people would value them more when Trump became a sitting president, ABC News reported.
This is reflected in a draft version of the 2017 annual Statement of Financial Condition where leadership wants to add as much as $144 million to Trump’s assets for “premiums for presidential properties,” Birney said.
That includes increasing the valuation of Mar-a-Lago, which is described on the form as the “president’s winter residence,” according to records shown in court.
Top brass at the Trump Org are considering boosting Donald Trump’s net worth with a presidential premium, a company executive testified Friday.AP
The real estate company is looking to make up for a $200 million drop in Trump’s net worth from 2016 to 2017 after a Forbes article revealed that the Trump Tower triplex was drastically overvalued.
However, the “premium” was not included in the final draft of the 2017 financial document.
Attorney AG Eric Haren asked Birney — who helped prepare these annual statements from 2016 to 2021 — “who instructed” him to add the “premium.”
Trump may appear in court again next week to face the next witness scheduled to testify, Michael Cohen.AP
“I don’t really remember, but maybe Allen Weisselberg,” Birney said of the company’s longtime CFO.
James claims Trump lied on his Statement of Financial Condition from 2011 to 2021 to get better loan and insurance terms and move up the Forbes billionaires list.
Birney was the only witness in half a day of the trial on Friday and was set to resume testimony Monday morning.
New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges Trump grossly exaggerated his net worth for a decade to gain an advantage in terms of loans and insurance.Getty Images
Trump’s personal lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is listed as the next witness to be called after Birney and is likely to testify early next week.
The former commander-in-chief — who attended the first three days of the trial last week — may reappear at the Lower Manhattan courthouse to face Cohen, sources told The Post.
Cohen is expected to be a key witness in the Attorney General’s case — which has been criticized by Trump, given that Cohen is a convicted felon and alleged liar.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
