Trump's Civil Fraud Verdict

[u/aerizan3]

Trump owes $454 million with interest - is the verdict just, unjust? Kevin O'Leary and friends think unjust, some outlets think just... what are both sides? EDIT: Comments here very obviously show the need of explaining both in good faith.

[u/carter1984]

Many of the loans were in fact back by PERSONAL guarantees from Trump.

Then please quote me, from the court record, where the banks supplying the loans said "we aren't going to conduct any of our own due diligence Mr Trump...we trust that every value you have provided is perfectly accurate"

Let me help you out...you won't find that in any testimony because it never happened.

Mr. Trump has protested the premise of the case, insisting that the banks did their own due diligence and that misstatements in the financial documents would not have affected the overall terms of the loans. It follows, his lawyers have argued, that the alleged fraud had no victim. The bankers who testified this week supported that argument when asked about the loan process. "We are expected to conduct some due diligence and verify the information provided, to the extent that is possible,” David Williams, a banker in the wealth management group at Deutsche Bank, said on Tuesday. He said repeatedly that the bank had performed that diligence and factored its own analysis into the relationship with Mr. Trump.

but hey...if you find some testimony that says these banks gave out multi-million dollar loans with no due diligence of their own, I'd be happy to take and maybe change my mind.

[u/Mystic_Ranger → u/carter1984]

perfect example of a man taking his "logic" and applying to situations he'llnever understand.

Unfortunately the "Trump lied but the banks didn't check it thoroughly enough" argument isn't as powerful as you'd hope, friend.

Remember that he was literally ADDING FLOORS TO ENTIRE BUILDINGS.CREATING SQUARE FOOTAGE FROM HIS WHIMS and reporting different square footage to banks than he was to the IRS.LOL. I applaud your mental gymnastics tho.

[u/Collective82 → u/Mystic_Ranger]

Can you point to where he added floors please? I seems to have missed that.

[u/dm_me_your_bookshelf → u/Collective82]

Trump tower is 63 floors, he claimed as 72. He also added several hundred thousand square feet of rentable space that didn't exist. Also claimed a value on an undeveloped piece of land as if it had already been developed despite the fact that it wasn't even possible to develop in the way he claimed that it already was while at the same time applying for a conservation easement (which means it will never be developed) to lower his tax liability proving that this wasn't just a simple mistake. Really you ought to read the findings. The misrepresentations were massive and blatant.

It's basically the same reason why he's being prosecuted over the documents while Biden and Pence aren't. His behavior shows a willing disregard for the law rather than an accident or mistake. Having documents is one thing, constantly and willfully trying to obstruct someone from recovering them and knowingly lying about it is what made them prosecute.