UPDATE 25

Expert witness paid $877,500 for testimony

in the NY CIVIL financial fraud case.

@Lord of the Flies, in case you were not being facetious

The fellow I posted about in update 24, Eli Bartov, the New York University Stern School of Business research professor was paid that exorbitant sum to say that there is “no evidence here of concealment” in the tRUMP financial statements. That has no bearing on the fraud case, but it may sway the judge as this is a bench trial...

In a deposition taken in July, Bartov disclosed that Trump's PACs were paying him $1,350 an hour to work on the case. In court, he said he had now worked about 650 hours on the case, which would total $877,500 [...] he will make additional money for testifying, which typically costs the client a higher hourly rate.

Of course, charging Trump for work done and getting paid for the same are two different things (ask Rudy). However, Bartov says he has already received $400,000. So when Trump welshes on the final bill, Bartov will have a comfortable cushion to break his fall.

A trump PAC paid that tidy sum/bribe/incentive/motivation/influence. Daily Kos has more.

www.dailykos.com

Expert witnesses get paid. Fair enough. No one should have to work for free. But at some point, you have to wonder if the money they get is ‘shading’ their testimony — or perhaps just flat-out buying it. When the amount is nearly $900,000, those...

The prosecution in the DC election interference conspiracy case against Trump has told the Court that to prove criminal intent by Trump, they plan on showing the jury ALL the times that Trump in public refused to support the peaceful transfer of power and wanted to throw out voter ballots to win. 

UPDATE 24

tRUMP showed up at the NY Civil trial today for no good reason, buoyed by the fact that he is still considered the GQP nominee and his rallies are largely successful perhaps BECAUSE he is telling his MAGA Morons Minions that he will be their dictator. The clown show of tRUMP at trial will continue Monday... when tRUMP will be taking the stand. (He is under a gag order... should be interesting)

He is repeating the lies as usual...

Speaking to reporters before entering the courtroom Thursday morning, Trump decried the trial as a “witch hunt” and “very corrupt” and insisted “We did nothing wrong. There were no victims. The bank loves us. The bank testified they love us. We did absolutely nothing wrong. We never even defaulted. We never had a default letter sent to us. The bank said we were perfect customers. The bank didn’t even know why they were here.”The bank said we were perfect customers.

www.nbcnews.com

The former president is also scheduled to testify Monday as the defense’s last witness.

”The bank said we were perfect customers. " Hmm, wonder why? Let's see...

***IMPORTANT!!  “The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates. One of the Trump administration waivers was granted to Deutsche Bank — which is owed at least $130 million by President Donald Trump and his business empire, and has also been fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme.

***The waivers were issued in a little-noticed announcement published in the Federal Register during the Christmas holiday week. They come less than two years after then-candidate Trump promised “I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder.”  https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/trump-administration-waives-punishment-convicted-banks-including-deutsche-which

From January 2018, tRUMP waives punishment for 5 banks, including Deutsche https://www.democracynow.org/2018/1/10/headlines/report_trump_admin_waives_part_of_punishment_for_5_banks_convicted_in_libor_scandal

‘Deutsche Bank’s long history of criminal misconduct: manipulating markets, evading taxes, bribing foreign officials, violating international sanctions, defrauding customers, laundering money for Russian billionaires.’  But they were also stuck like glue to tRUMP…    from 2019 story about the whistleblower.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/business/val-broeksmit-deutsche-bank-trump-whistle-blower.html

tRUMP and Deutsche Bank  … https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/12/1985244/-Trump-and-Deutsche-Bank-A-Vast-Criminal-Enterprise

(I have 25 pages file of info and URLs just like this on Deutsche Bank/eRUMP)

LOSER45 was there because he knew what the paid expert would say...

"My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever for any accounting fraud," he said, adding that "my analysis shows the statements of financial condition for all the years were not materially misstated." 

The judge asked him if his expert opinion from an accounting perspective was that the AG's claims had no merit. "Absolutely," he replied.  

And about the overvaluation and tripling the size of the tRUMP Tower apartment size... that was in his expert opinion an error... that was rectified. A minor Oooooopsie!

Bartov acknowledged the valuation was wrong but said "it was an error" that was later corrected and could have been "inadvertent or accidental.

I am guessing that tRUMP will do a Giuliani and Eric and not appear on Monday, being this witness likely will stick with the judge. Sigh... Justice and the law do not prevail when it entails rich thieves.

UPDATE 23

tRUMP Tried to Start Another Riot According to the Justice Department

Jack Smith’s new evidence in a court filing : An unamed tRUMP campaign advisor tried to start a riot in Michigan to disrupt the 2020 election. Election workers and security were able to stop the swarm of people off the street pretending to be poll watchers. Reminder...

On November 4, 2020, the Campaign Employee exchanged a series of text messages with an attorney supporting the Campaign’s election day operations at the TCF Center in Detroit, where votes were being counted; in the messages, the Campaign Employee encouraged rioting and other methods of obstruction when he learned that the vote count was trending in favor of the defendant’s opponent.

www.emptywheel.net

In a court filing, DOJ says it will show that Trump intended to cause a riot on November 4, 2020 at the TCF Center in Detroit.

That smacks of the Brooks Bros riot... 2000, Bush VS Gore, to stop the count. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot

Allow me to speculate who the campaign advisor in this newer case might be...

Nov 1 2020

Claim vivtory when losing.

And say on camera, "Fuck the vote; let's get right to the violence." ~ Roger Stone.

Eric was a no show for the NY Civil trial ... and we know why. His shitty first showing. Daddy makes excuses for his baby boy not being there:

UPDATE 22

"I'm very proud of the work I did for 35 years," Jeffrey McConney

“I just couldn’t do it anymore,” McConney said. “I just wanted to relax and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for.”

tRUMP Org controller with 35 years of service says he quit the organization because he was getting so many subpoenas and says tRUMP was right that his brand is worth a lot. After lying about his precious testimony in depositions that the accounting firms had the final say, and he did not know who made the changes on their report, he broke down crying knowing he would be lying under oath if he said it again...

*Correction for an error in the video.

As you watch this, remember that tRUMP paid Jeffrey McConney $500,000 when he left the company. I guess it wasn't enough to assure he would be able to lie under oath.

UPDATE 21

 tRUMP team files a motion for mistrial in the NY civil fraud trial. Lawyers explain that the judge has a lot of leeway how to conduct his courtroom and the challenge is hot air and drama. tRUMP attorneys argue 'the judge and his clerk have subjected the defendants to "tangible and overwhelming" bias and unfair treatment.' Filing the motion is not unusual, but doing so using such offensive language is...

UPDATE 20

Today was Ivanka day. She spent her testimony not recalling anything she was involved in even though she was the one negotiating interest rates and securing loans and returning late after several recesses to ensure that she made an "entrance." They dwelt a bit on the DC Hotel. That deal aways pissed me off royally and even more so when I realized most Americans could give a shit that they own it as taxpayers and the pro tRUMP GSA handed over the lease to them via Ivanka even though actual Hoteliers bid. Also, even though they were suing each other, Deutsche bank gave them the loan...

Ivanka says she just cannot recall details, but she remembers she overdelivered. I am inclined to ask WHAT SHE DELIVERED!! (*Makes naughty hand gesture as a possible delivery method)

Ivanka Trump wraps up by explaining how proud she is of the work she did at the Trump Organization—and particularly of her efforts at the hotel in D.C. and the golf resort in Miami. “They were complicated projects,” she said, “and I believe that we overdelivered on every metric.”

Ivanka...overdelivering daughter:

It is a historical building as well (It was the main post office building in DC) but tRUMP could care less about that. He was notorious for pulling down exterior work he hated even though he promised to preserve the history in his remodelling. EG: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/donald-trump-bonwit-teller-friezes-met-2132673

Ivanka has spoken multiple times today about how her father’s work on the Plaza Hotel helped give the Trump Organization credibility in working on historic properties like the Old Post Office in D.C., which he remodeled into the Trump International Hotel. She has not mentioned that, on her father’s watch, the Plaza Hotel reportedly went bankrupt.

tRUMP sold it for a loss after going bankrupt, oops, I mean his businesses were bankrupt. And hey, that's okay, because he named his bankrupt casino in Atlantic City tRUMP Plaza ... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-05-23/that-time-trump-sold-the-plaza-hotel-at-an-83-million-loss

That was about it for Daddy's POA but will add anything important I see later.

The state says it is done calling witnesses—with one exception. Allen Weisselberg was abruptly called off the stand after Forbes reported that he lied during his testimony. The attorney general’s office reserves the right to call him back to the stand. That’s it for today’s proceedings.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2023/11/08/live-from-the-courtroom-ivanka-trump-to-take-stand-in-dads-fraud-trial/?sh=27aa60b43e51

UPDATE 19

After sifting through the garbage in tRUMP's rally/testimony, more came to light:

A Redditer points out tRUMP was able to admit in court that he lost the election and that Biden became President in 2021 ...

The deed for Maralago explicity states tRUMP can only use the property as a club and NOT as residential, and negotiated he could legally live at the club under the town's zoning code as long as he's considered an employee. Disregarding all of that, the family still based its value as though it were 14 different residential lots in Palm Beach.

tRUMP's answer as to whp in the organizarion was responsible for internal fraud:

No one would ever be able to freely attack a judge in the US courts of law as tRUMP did yesterday.

UPDATE 18

I chose Forbes to get the live coverage of tRUMP on trial in NY, mostly because you can read it top down to get the timeline, but they were also witness to the tRUMP fraud when cooking books to also get on the Forbes top billionaires list.

I love that after patiently listening to tRUMP's first rant, that the judge told him to quit speechifying and just answer the question, as he i in a courtroom, not a rally! It is also noted that tRUMP is scowling, dour and demured sitting in the hotseat, unlike his heated rants and name calling before, during and after the trial days he attends. IE:

I also love that the documents that were signed by tRUMP and his boys reminded them they were ultimately liable and so throws all their defense out of the window... IE:

As LOSER45 rants and raves eather than answering, the judge asked,

“Mr. Kise,can you control your client?”

Instead of answering"NO," which is the truth, the lawyers insist tRUMP's rants are valuable and relevant, clearly with intent to piss off the judge.

Trump’s measured tone, which he carried onto the witness stand, is now completely gone. “You knew nothing about me!” he yells at the judge. “You believed this political hack back there,” he says, referring to the attorney general.

News nuggets from tRUMP for the media to jump on and for Americans to TUT TUT about, then forget...

The attorney general’s office breaks some news in his questioning, suggesting that the loan against Trump’s Chicago property was paid off last week. “I had heard that it was, yes,” Trump confirms. This was the last Deutsche Bank loan left in Trump’s portfolio. Trump had previously paid off the loan in D.C. when he sold the hotel, and he refinanced the one in Miami in 2022. The timing of this Chicago payoff is striking, apparently coming in the middle of a massive fraud case involving Deutsche Bank. [I have 12 pages on the corrupt Deutsche relationship and I have 7 pages on that corrupt DC Hotel deal so the DOJ must have hundreds and yet... crickets]

He also revealed there were individual disbursements of funds to tRUMP and his 3 children in his business from the tRUMP DC Hotel deal, which is actually a US Taxpayer owned former Post office. Each got 4 million.

After a day of lying, tRUMP is done... but his repeated financial lies should have done him in in many more fraud cases. The hogwash and denial fools only the fools.

“The numbers of my net worth are substantially more than the numbers reflected on the financial statements.”

AG James summed it up afterward:

"Today we heard from Donald Trump... He rambled, he hurled insults. But we expected that. Documentary evidence" shows that tRUMP "falsely inflated his assets to basically enrich himself and his family." and "The numbers don't lie. And Mr. Trump obviously can engage in all of these distractions and that what is what exactly what he did, what he committed on the stand today, engaging in distractions and engaging in name-calling," James said.

Follow along here:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2023/11/06/inside-the-courtroom-donald-trump-slated-to-testify-in-fraud-case/ 

@historydoctor found a litany of today's rants against judge. EG: “How do you do that? How do you rule against somebody and call them a fraud, as the president of the united states who did a great job…” https://www.sorryantivaxxer.com/post/laura-loomer-28-mar-a-lago-ish-fl-hate-speech-artist-has-covid-is-death-looming?commentId=2040bcdd-f464-4699-a378-7f271486cb44

FYI: Ivanka is slated to testify on Wednesday after losing 2 appeals

Midas Touch 32 year NY lawyer Michael Popok explains how the tRUMP family abused the NY brand for his own... and discusses the tRUMP son's fraud they admitted to last week.

UPDATE 17

Daily Kos was live updating the NY Civil fraud case. It started much as it ended yesterday, with tRUMP lawyer Kise pissing off the judge and complaning about Judge  Engoron’s law clerk. The tRUMP defense has nothing so are "pounding the table." As tRUMP lawyer Kise has been hounding the judge, and the judge does not want a mistrial... he is seems to be far too willing to acquiesce.

I hope that works because it makes the judge look weak, and thtat is all tRUMP needs to garner favour with his MAGA crowd. That tRUMP somehow manages to look strong while whimpering and whining that he is a victim is pitiful, but his MAGA Minions lap it up.

It reminds me of this ... (And the NYT, getting it wrong and coddling insurrectionists, terrorists and authoritarians since 1924...)

Mark Sumner, Daily Kos Staff, summed up the morning:

The trial day ended at lunch break. On Monday, tRUMP takes the stand. Ivanka just lost her appeal, so she will be testifying next week as well...

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/3/2203357/-Live-coverage-Eric-Trump-continues-his-testimony-in-New-York-fraud-trial

Outside the courthouse after Eric Trump testified, Trump's lawyer Alina Habba went on a wild rant knowing her boss was watching. 

Perhaps the most comical moment was when she complained about Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr. having to testify: "These children were brought in away from their families for doing nothing wrong."

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/alina-habba-melts-down-outside-courthouse

Meanwhile, in the DC election fraud case... Judge Chutkan has reinstated her gag order to protect the case, staff and jury. the orders are reasonable... and thus far, the judges have been extremely lenient in enforcing them. tRUMP, meanwhile, insists it is restricting his right of free speech and his campaign even though it does neither.

Trump is appealing a gag order imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, which prohibits him from making public statements that “target” Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith or his staff; defense counsel and their staff; any court staff or “any reasonably foreseeable witness or the substance of their testimony.”

tRUMP insists he will take it to the SCOTUS if it is not lifted, of course. (Many of the RW partisan judges still owe him for their life-long comfortable bench seats with Leo Leonard's appointed rich "sitters" who offer them a life full of bribes...by bribes, I mean free vacations, RVs, home upgrades and private jet travel... and who the hell else knows what. A rose by any other name...)

Meanwhile, that trial is scheduled to begin in March 2024, with jury selection starting in February. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/11/03/trump-suggests-hell-take-gag-order-fight-to-supreme-court/?sh=6e63778f36bf

TRUMP's "Truth" Social posts are full of Stochastic terrorism and witness intimidation. Public Notice reminds why a gag order is necessary: https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-witness-intimidation-gag-order-explained

UPDATE 16

A reminder that the trial I am referring to is the tRUMP Org fraud case. It is civil, not criminal, and the judge already made 2 decisions: There was fraud; the monetary decision for that fraud is 250k. The trial continues to determine how much MORE fraud was perpetrated to deceive on taxes, Insurance and loans and the total amount owed, beyond the 250k. Daily Kos has live updates from a few sources who are in court.https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/2/2203155/-Live-coverage-Donald-Trump-Jr-and-Eric-Trump-testify-in-New-York-fraud-trial#comment_87354016

Ivanka does not want to testify and is appealing for a second time. She says the judge cannot order her ttestify. https://www.axios.com/2023/11/01/ivanka-trump-appeal-testimony-fraud-trial There will be soo many questions! https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2023/10/30/ivanka-trump-helped-her-dad-lie-about-his-net-worth/?sh=5fe34bc9109b

Lowlights:

Diaper Don Jr testifies that he remembers little, that he acted on the advice of attorneys and accountants and he doesn't know anything about the actual figures and had nothing to do with them. He also said he signed off on financial documents without reading them. Yes, he actually said that! IOW, he did not do the job that came with his title.

It seems his business degree and accounting classes were wasted on him...

Eric takes the stand. He made the mistake of using email to discuss the valuation of the Seven Springs estate where he and his family lived for 7 years. He is easily wrapped around the prosecution's finger as he is reminded of earlier testimony and his depositons.

Why they are homing in on this property:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2023/11/02/live-from-the-trump-trial-don-jr-testifies-with-eric-trump-expected-next/

OOOOPSIE Daisy! Eric said outloud that their "trust" when tRUMP was 'president' was a sham.

This little gem is a reminder, and even more evidence, that tRUMP knew he lost.

Twasn't me! Twas everyone else. I had nothing to do with it! I know nothing, NOTHING... (then they replay his deposition)

The problem with relying on the appraisals is that any firm hired to appraise were "let go" if the numbers were not closer to tRUMP's evaluation. OR, in a couple of cases, the numbers were just ignored. With the stacks of signed documents and emails, tRUMP's own self-appraised net worth statements and actual property appraisals at hand... Eric has been reduced to nodding.

Eric: “I really haven’t been involved in appraisal work on this property.” State shows evidence Eric says he stands by his testimony, but , “I was clearly involved...in small points” but not in any of those pesky financial details?!?!

The end of the day was a shouting match between tRUMP lawyer Kise, and judge... with Eric still on the stand. The clerk had passed the judge a note; tRUMP's lawyers get pissy and remark.

"Judge Warns Trump’s Lawyer Against Swiping at Clerk: ‘Do Not Refer to My Staff Again’" The admonishment prompts Kise to level new criticism of the interactions between the judge and his law clerk.The judge doesn’t appreciate those comments. “Your points are not well-taken,” he says.

The day ends with the judge in a fuming huff... saying he will reinstate the gag order if they do this again. (Sounds restrained to me... far too restrained) https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2023/11/02/live-from-the-trump-trial-don-jr-testifies-with-eric-trump-expected-next

SNL or the real thing?

The tRUMP family financial acumen in a nutshell:

UPDATE 15

Judge Engoron earlier ordered Trump and his lawyers to stop holding impromptu "press conferences" inside the courthouse, and fined him 5k. Today he did it again, fining tRUMP 10k this time for a disparaging comment about the judge's law clerk. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/oct/25/michael-cohen-testimony-trump-trial-latest-updates-new-york-fraud-case

Popok of Legal AF /Midas Touch

Today, Donald Trump was not only found to have violated the gag order in the New York fraud case for a second time and fined again, but the presiding judge also forced Trump to testify under oath about whether he was attacking the court’s law clerk, for a second time, and concluded that Trump LIED under oath. Michael Popok of Legal AF analyzes how a finding by the judge the Donald Trump can’t be trusted as a witness will impact the rest of the fraud case against him, seeking to take a fair share of Trump’s money and buildings away from him.

How about disparaging a judge?

tRUMP's lawyers spent yesterday and today soley trying to discredit Michael Cohen on the withness stand. Because he is the liar's liar, he had to admit he was a liar over and over again... so it was a pounding and rightly deserved. How odd that the head liar for whom Cohen lied is their client... And even odder that tRUMP thinks this exonerates him.

tRUMP huffed out of court muttering after this exchange to end the day's proceedings:

UPDATE 14

In the 250m+++ NY Civil trial, Judge Engoron warned Trump against violating the gag order again.

“Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him,” Engoron wrote.

Ooh, here is some COVID related news that concerns the court...

Trump attorney Chris Kise told Judge Arthur Engoron that he objects to the trial proceeding on Tuesday despite multiple members from the AG's legal team apparently testing positive for Covid. He said a "total of four team members" from the AG's office had tested positive, and "this is beyond irresponsible." The trial was out on Monday because of Covid-related issues. "Another day or two days would not have made a difference," Kise said. "We have the leading candidate for the president of the United States" in court and are "exposing him to risk," he continued.

And yet... tRUMP is not wearing a mask. Why not? Oh right, it spoils his makeup....

tRUMP's former accounting/tax law firm Mazars was asked why they just dumped poor old tRUMP Org rather than discussing the subpoena and giving them time to respond?!?!?

"You just kicked them to the curb?" Suarez asked.

... ummm.... Mazars' lawyer answered that it was not the subpoena that triggered that reponse. It was the internal investigation into the allegations of the subpoena that promped them dropping tRUMP Org as a client.

Weisselberg was the main contact with them; if his representations were compromised, they could not rely on him as CFO for information related to the statements of financial condition and Trump’s tax returns. And without that reliance, they could not go forward with those engagements, Kelly explained.

As Cohen testifies, tRUMP's account on his badly misnomered "Truth" social is adding snippets of unsourced articles where Cohen is praising his former crime boss...

Cohen:

While recounting the crimes he pleaded guilty to, Cohen noted that one of the charges was lying to Congress about Trump's efforts to land a property in Russia. "I did that at the direction and benefit of Mr. Trump," Cohen said.

Cohen on fraudulently cooking the books:

"I was asked to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected," Cohen testified about Trump's 2011 financial statement. "My responsibility along with Allen Weisselberg predominantly was to reverse engineer the various different asset classes and increase those assets in order to achieve a number that Mr. Trump asked us" for, he said.

Asked what number that would be, Cohen replied, "Whatever number he told us."

You can follow along here. I need to get something done this morning: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/live-blog/trump-fraud-trial-michael-cohen-live-updates-rcna121470

(PS: I do not like Michael Cohen, even if he does take tRUMP down. He seems to have some crime boss links other than tRUMP... He watched and aided tRUMP committing FELONY tax fraud, bank fraud, and mortgage fraud by lying about his assets. He payoffs and bribes, He threatened anyone who dared to say anything denigrating about tRUMP. he threatened schookl not to disclose tRUMP's info. He also did some HUD deals with Hannity and real estate, ripping off the poor who are supposed to be the ones benefitting from HUD! )

UPDATE 13

Former Trump Org. accountant, controller, and now CFO and recent felon, Allen Weisselberg, gave damaging testimony against tRUMP today. This is treat because it shows and tells the list of tweets from Adam Klasfeld who is taking trial notes and we don't have to link to twatter!

Weisselburg has a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Pace University and yet says he knows NOTHING about GAAP; GAAP is a set of generally accepted accounting principles, standards, and procedures that all US companies are required to use when accounting. For that and his other lies and loyalty and tight lips on matters NOT brought up in the indictment... let's say - money laundering and corruption like... https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal

Weisselberg got a 2 million severance in 2022 to prepare him for his depositions and jail time as he took one fall for tRUMP thus far..

The lies and fraudulent numbers are exposed and it is delicious. Weisselberg did not recall cooking the books for Diaper Don and his dad since 1973 but suddenly DID recall when shown statements and actual evaluations he signed off on. Question. Does playing dumb work when you are a CFO? See above in boldened red...

'We never talk about subs!': Loose lips Trump is said to have blurted U.S. secrets (again)

MSNBC outlines the times tRUMP blurted out classified info. Imagine what he discussed behind closed foors! (3 days old but good to have handy...)

UPDATE 12 - Day 4 and 5

Addendum 1: If I had read about Trump Organization II I had forgotten about it. Damn that company family are the sleaziest...

The order this week by New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron requiring Donald Trump and other defendants in the civil trial over his business practices to report any asset changes to a court-appointed monitor appeared to come out of the blue, but it didn’t.

A year ago, on the day New York Attorney General Letitia James filed her lawsuit against Trump, the company created a new entity, Trump Organization II LLC, a foreign corporation incorporated in Delaware, which James in a motion for a preliminary injunction last year said could be used to hide his assets from seizure.

“The Trump Organization appears to be taking steps to restructure its business to evade the reach of OAG’s lawsuit,” James said in the motion. “The Trump Organization has since refused to provide any assurance that it will not seek to move assets out of New York to evade legal accountability.”

Addendum 2: tRUMP has filed a 1154 page appeal of Judge Engoron’s pretrial ruling in the New York civil case. https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=orAgZVDsD3flAIW1eksEpQ==

tRUMP has also designated himself above the law with absolute immunity in the Georgia election case.

NY Civil Business fraud trial, Day 4: October 5, 2023

The defence is saying that tRUMP's worth and property values are whatever he says they are. Yet tRUMP in his deposition said not to trust him... and adds disclaimers in his contracts.

tRUMP insists his celebrity is all he needs to appraise his own real estate value... and this accountant agreed, FFS.October 5, 2023  https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-fraud-trial-property-valuations-1.6988524

www.cbc.ca

Donald Trump's corporate executives once boosted the estimated worth of his Trump Tower penthouse by $20 million US partly because of the value of his celebrity, according to trial testimony Thursday.

NY Civil Business fraud trial, Day 5: October 6, 2023

https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-fraud-trial/estates-valuation-included-7-mansions-that-werent-yet-built-103785210?id=103642561

Trump Organization controllerJeff McConney continued to remind the court he's a stinking liar... forgetting perhaps his previous testomony in the tRUMP Org case... https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-fraud-trial/estates-valuation-included-7-mansions-that-werent-yet-built-103785210?id=103642561

UPDATE 11

On day 2, tRUMP shared a picture that a MAGA Minion Moron made for him... Dumb artists looking to make ther fortune via LOSER45 should remember that tRUMP only wants to use and abuse others for his own end. If there was an attribution, the MAGA minions have already cut it off when reposting , like this puke who sterotypes Mexicans in a LOSER45 parody.... https://twitter.com/PapiTrumpo/status/1708877637886550176

Jesus is always with tRUMP? And in the courtroom? Ahahahahaaaaaaaa! The depiction on the right seems a 'wee bit' more accurate than the fake religious moron's original.

tRUMP things it is okay to inflate his properties up to 2000% for evaluations other than taxes. Speaking of taxes... the IRS will pay you to be a tax whistleblower. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5241.pdf

EVERY AMERICAN should be filling in the form and mailing it in , even though they may not have to pay unless you meet certain criteria of useful info... Go on - Do it! I am Canadian or I surely would... tRUMP's AG and IRS KNEW all of this years ago and failed to act... and there is no way they chould continue to fail American taxpayers fleeced by these shysters.

Here are the numbers...and just add the documents provided... and more will likely be revealed. You can make an addendum later... https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/09/27/donald-trumps-fantasy-self-worth/

Engoran went one by one, describing the properties that Tish James had demonstrated Trump Organization had overvalued:

• Trump Tower Triplex: 200% inflation of the square footage of Trump’s own residence

• Seven Springs Estate: value inflated by 400%

• Trump Park Avenue: 64 to 700% inflation

• 40 Wall Street: $200 million overvaluation

• Mar-a-Lago: at least 2,300% overvaluation on Palm Beach’s assessment

• Aberdeen: overvaluation by £164,196

• TNGC Briarcliff: 300% inflation

• TTNGLA: 200% inflation

If you feel you have any information that could lead to the IRS collecting additional tax revenue, then you should fill out this form. The document, known as Form 211, must be mailed in with supporting documentation and evidence to the following address:

Internal Revenue Service

Whistleblower Office – ICE

1973 N Rulon White Blvd.

M/S 4110

Ogden, UT 84404

ca.sports.yahoo.com

It has been stated that death and taxes are the only guarantees in life. While these aren't the most appealing topics, it turns out that you can make money if you share certain information about the...

The lying dufus is contradicting his own company assessment of Maralago:

"This highly partisan Democrat 'Judge' (All the Clubs, etc.) just ruled that Mar-a-Lago was WORTH just 18 Million Dollars when, in fact, it may be worth 100 times that amount," Trump wrote. In fact, the judge had cited Palm Beach County Property Appraiser valuations putting the property at between $18 million and $28 million, depending on the year, from 2011 to 2021.

Trump might think Mar-a-Lago is worth $1.8 billion, but in 2020, his own company said the Palm Beach appraiser was right. That year, the county valued Mar-a-Lago at $27 million.   

"The Petitioner agrees with the determination of the property appraiser or tax collector," a real estate broker representing Mar-a-Lago acknowledged on a form filed with the local Value Adjustment Board, and obtained by CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mar-a-lago-1-8-billion-own-company-said-it-was-too-high/

The only one who agreed with that whopper was his lawyer, Alina Habba, "There is a person out there who will buy that (Mar-A-Lago) for over $1 billion. That’s not fraud, that’s real estate."  That's Putin and Prince MBS bribery.

UPDATE 10

Monday Monday, it's fraud trial day... Monday Monday, tRUMP can't get away-ay, *With apologies to the Mama's and papas...

And this iconic picture made so many love this Monday Morning...

tRUMP. appearing in the NY AG Letitia James Business Fraud Civil Trial; Judge Arthur Engoron presiding in this bench trial (no Jury), prosecutor Kevin Wallace for the AG's office and representing LOSER45, Alina Habba and Chris Kise, and with son Eric tRUMP and advisor Jason Miller for some fucking insane reason...

(An image search does not yet show attribution. It was taken from the image pool provided in the few pretrial moments where cameras were allowed.)

How did I miss this, sigh...

The MAGA MORON LOSER45 made a verbal statement to the press that he could not make in court and made it right outside COURT HOUSE before entering. He also made one on the break (below) and then made another similar speech just outside court when it ended. They are courthouse fundraising and stochastic terrorism rallies at the courthouse...

Prosecutors say they will prove that

"each defendant engaged in repeated, persistent, illegal acts in conduct of business," according to the opening statement from Kevin Wallace of the attorney general's office. [Then referring to] Judge Engoron's partial summary judgment last week, Wallace said that "the people have already proven" that former President Trump used "false, misleading" statements that were "repeatedly [and] persistently used in the conduct of business."

Oddly, the defense made a statement that was twice previously rejected as a defence that helped spur Judge Engoron's decision to make his prior partial ruling.

"We think the evidence is going to establish … President Trump has made billions of dollars building one of the most successful real estate empires in the world," Kise said, reiterating sentiments he conveyed in pretrial motions.

You can follow along with fraud trial live updates here: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-fraud-trial/the-attorney-general-has-no-case-defense-counsel-says-103660584?id=103642561

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million. That is the minimum! Here is AG James statement: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/statement-attorney-general-james-trial-against-donald-trump

Here is tRUMP's statement from last night.. on his 'Lie Social.' Calling the judge's ruling and the case fraudulent, deameaning the judge with petty name-calling and the court a sham ought to play well in tRUMP's trial!

How weird is it that tRUMP did not attend the rape trials to defend his name and reputation? https://www.reuters.com/world/us/closing-arguments-set-rape-defamation-suit-against-trump-2023-05-08/

Just some thoughts of mine about thoughts of tRUMP today...

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd tRUMP, who is not allowed to discuss the cases in the press, had this to say to the press on his break... with his dumbfuklawyers allowing it all: https://t.co/KNmIu1SHpU

Midas Touch talks about tRUMP speeches before during and after the trial... and also WHY it was a bench trial with no jury.

Emptywheel gives an outline of the fantasy real estate deals tRUMP plays... https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/09/27/donald-trumps-fantasy-self-worth/

tRUMP admitting that Saudi Prince MBS and Putin will happily pay for "services rendered" by overpaying for property, was displayedwith a high 5 as tRUMP arrives.

Here is a reminder why and how tRUMP plays the game. Foreign entities overpay for tRUMP properties to keep him not only on their hook... but in line and to launder money. In 2008 they did it in the open and tRUMP played it as a savvy deal on his behalf... being he bought it for 41m and sold it 4 years later for 95m. https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/business/real-estate/2019/02/17/trump-in-palm-beach-did-russian-mansion-buyer-make-money/5934528007/

The official deed on that deal says that Trump Properties sold the property to County Road Property LLC. But that's just a front. The real buyer of the property was Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/27/news/donald-trump-russian-deal-mansion/index.html

Deutche Bank will also be a witness in the trial... as will tRUMP. I dearly hope they ask about the SCOTUS connection... (Kennedy's son and Deutche Bank loans, and Kennedy's sudden "retirement")

Three current and three former employees of Deutsche Bank AG, which arranged hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to Trump, appeared on a list of witnesses filed with the court by New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose lawsuit against Trump heads to trial in Manhattan on Oct. 2.

In a twist, Trump and his two sons who are named in the suit, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will also testify at some point during the trial, appearing on the witness lists for both sides. Ivanka Trump, who was dismissed from the suit by an appeals court in June, appears on the state’s list. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/deutsche-bank-executives-trump-set-to-testify-in-ny-civil-trial-1.1977788

Sadly, none of the DB employees who committed suicide will be witnesses... (See next URLs)

and this:

Trump and Deutsche Bank: A Vast Criminal Enterprise

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/10/12/1985244/-Trump-and-Deutsche-Bank-A-Vast-Criminal-Enterprise

www.dailykos.com

In previous posts, I have explored Trump’s associations with organized crime ( here and here ), and I have tried to puncture what I call The Trump Myth, the belief that Trump is some kind of great,

and this:

‘Deutsche Bank’s long history of criminal misconduct: manipulating markets, evading taxes, bribing foreign officials, violating international sanctions, defrauding customers, laundering money for Russian billionaires.’  But they were also stuck like glue to tRUMP…    from 2019 story about the whistleblower. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/business/val-broeksmit-deutsche-bank-trump-whistle-blower.html

and this!! ***IMPORTANT!! 

“The Trump administration has waived part of the punishment for five megabanks whose affiliates were convicted and fined for manipulating global interest rates. One of the Trump administration waivers was granted to Deutsche Bank — which is owed at least $130 million by President Donald Trump and his business empire, and has also been fined for its role in a Russian money laundering scheme.

***The waivers were issued in a little-noticed announcement published in the Federal Register during the Christmas holiday week. They come less than two years after then-candidate Trump promised “I'm not going to let Wall Street get away with murder.”  https://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/trump-administration-waives-punishment-convicted-banks-including-deutsche-which

***From January 2018, tRUMP waives punishment for 5 banks, including Deutsche https://www.democracynow.org/2018/1/10/headlines/report_trump_admin_waives_part_of_punishment_for_5_banks_convicted_in_libor_scandal

Those are just a couple of excerpts from my 28 page file on tRUMP and Deutsche Bank ... long lost down the never ending tRUMP family criminal org. memory hole...

After Habba concluded her remarks, Judge Engeron engaged her in a series of follow-up questions, asking about her claim that the property appraisals at issue were "undervalued" by prosecutors.

Habba replied that "the Trump brand is worth something." https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/trump-fraud-trial/?id=103642561#103663806

💩 This is not my shitty work... but I added some poop to it anyway💩

UPDATE 9

At some point, a real gag order will be in order. NOW seems right... although 'at birth' is even more so...

Milley should have had the last word on that, especially for the supposed Constitution loving CONservatives... 'Milley defends democracy, swipes at Trump in his farewell address':

Bail bondsman Scott Hall becomes first Fulton County Trump co-defendant to take plea deal. He was part of the Coffee County voting equipment tampering scheme with Sidney Powell. If his co-defendants are not all calling their lawyers to see what the deal is for his cooperation, I would be most surprised...

His indictments shows he was ensconsed

Want to watch a gleeful explanation, with video of the crimes, from a lawyer who is happy to tell you more? I did ... and it was soooooo satisfying...

UPDATE 8

Donald Trump's Fantasy Self Worth

September 27, 2023

emptywheel has more: https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/09/27/donald-trumps-fantasy-self-worth/

'Trump confessed, in a sworn deposition, that if he can't make objective reality match his own inflated self-worth, he's sure the Saudis will bail him out.'  From the Judge's ruling:

Eric , in trying to protect Daddy, forgot that Mar-a-Lardo Is not to be used as a residential property and has tax breaks because it is a resort.

Among the tax avoidance revealed in a New York Times investigation of two decades worth of President Donald Trump's tax returns are acts of "charity" — one involving Mar-a-Lago — that have saved the president over $100 million and sparked an investigation by the New York attorney general.