New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office responded to testimony by a Deutsche Bank executive that could have torpedoed her civil fraud case against Trump.
Radical Marxist New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in ‘damages’ when there is no victim in this fraud case and she is also seeking to ban Trump and his sons from operating any businesses in New York. She accused Trump of inflating his assets and defrauding lenders and insurance companies.
A Deutsche Bank executive who worked to approve at least one of Trump’s loans testified on Tuesday that it is “atypical, but not entirely unusual” to reduce a client’s asset values and still approve a loan.
“A Deutsche Bank AG executive gave testimony that could bolster Donald Trump’s defense in his civil fraud trial, telling a New York judge that prospective clients can get loans even after reporting a net worth far higher than the lender’s own calculations.” Bloomberg reported.
“David Williams, who worked on at least one of three loans Deutsche Bank made to Trump in the years before he was elected president, testified Tuesday that it’s “atypical, but not entirely unusual” for the bank to cut a client’s stated asset value by 50% and approve a loan anyway, as it did with Trump,” Bloomberg reported.
Williams testified that Trump’s stated assets are merely an opinion and a difference of opinion in asset values does not disqualify the potential borrower from a loan.
“It’s just a difference of opinion,” Williams said, according to Bloomberg.
Trump’s defense attorney argued that Deutsche Bank conducted its own due diligence and made their own decision to loan Trump money.
“The bank conducted its own due diligence. The bank had no problem with a $2 billion or a $3 billion difference,” Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise said.
Kise also argued that the German bank wasn’t harmed because it “didn’t change what it did based on what President Trump submitted.”
Kevin Wallace, a lawyer from Letitia James’s office hit back at the defense lawyer.
“I think the idea that you can’t lie to a bank is pretty well established,” Wallace said.
Judge Arthur Engoron sided with the attorney in Letitia James’ office and said, “that the mere fact that lenders were happy doesn’t mean that the statute wasn’t violated.”
