Former President Donald Trump’s second deposition, held in April and recently released, has shed light on the ongoing $250 million civil fraud trial against him and his strange tactics for getting through the case.
The Accusation
In this deposition, New York Attorney General Letitia James aims to prove that Trump, his two oldest sons, and his associates inflated his net worth in financial fillings made through the Trump Organization, his international real estate and golf-resort company.
By inflating his net worth, Trump could secure lower-cost loans for his properties and potentially save him hundreds of millions on interest payments,
In the first deposition set against Donald Trump by New York Attorney General Letitia James, she called the former president an “inveterate fraudster.”
In response to being called an “inveterate fraudster,” it seemed Donald Trump’s strategy was to simply plead the Fifth repeatedly to the claims set against him.
Long-Winded Responses
However, during the second deposition, the Attorney General’s office found Trump’s responses to be almost never-ending, as his answers meandered into strange anecdotes and often irrelevant details.
In the seven-hour hearing, meant as a precursor for Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial, Trump’s endless ramblings caused the lawyers from each side to start arguing.
Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise complained to one of James’ lawyers on the fraud case, Kevin Wallace, “We’re going to be here until midnight if you keep asking questions that are all over the map.”
Trump on His “Brand”
Wallace responded, “Chris, we’re going to be here until midnight if your client answers every question with an eight-minute speech.” after Trump had been talking for several minutes about his “brand.”
In his rambling, Trump said, “If I wanted to build a big statement just for the sake of a statement, I would go out and I would value the brand and — which is much more than the $3 billion… And as I said once before today, I became President of the United States because of my brand.”
Wallace tried to keep Trump focused by asking about his use of banks, and Trump claimed, “prior to [getting] sued by the Attorney General of the State of New York, banks wanted to do business with me so badly.”
Questions Trump’s Business Practices
Moreover, the deposition touched on Trump’s business practices before he became president.
Wallace questioned, “What would your considerations be when you’re deciding whether or not I’m going to use a bank or I’m going to borrow money for this project?” However, Trump’s lawyer, Kise, objected to Wallace’s question and said, “before he was president covers from the 1950s all the way to 2017.”
Then Wallace replied, “Chris, I believe the question was clear until you decided to mess it up.”
Kise responded, “No, it wasn’t.” Then Wallace snapped back with, “He understood it and was able to answer it, so if you want to object, say object. Don’t sit — don’t try to make the question more complicated.”
Trump’s Strangest Rambling
In one instance, Trump elaborated extensively on the marble bathrooms at his Miami golf resort, Trump National Doral Golf Club.
He said, “In the case of the villas, 800 rooms, they were gutted out down to the steel and rebuilt and they’re incredible,” and “I started using marble instead of carpet.”
In response to Trump’s strange series of answers, one social media user said, “Rambling is what Trump does best.”
Making light of the situation, another stated, “Folks of a certain age, like myself, have a tough time staying on topic when ‘storytelling'”
The post “Inveterate Fraudster” Trump’s Surprising Deposition Tactic: Pleading the Fifth and Boring the Prosecutors to Death, Rambling About a Bathroom Refurb first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
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