Posted on 11/12/2023 9:59:23 AM PST by John Semmens
Former President Donald Trump and Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron offered differing opinions on why this so-called fraud trial is taking place. Trump asserted that "all my loans we paid back in full. No lender lost any money. Why is this trial being held?" Engoron rebutted Trump, saying "because you're just a bad guy."
Trump's attempt to read a brief disclaimer document advising lenders to make their own assessment of the value of the property being used as collateral to secure the loans being sought was rebuffed by Engoron. "In my many years of dealing with lenders it has always been clearly understood that their decision on whether make a loan should be based on their own assessment of the value of the property for which they were lending me the money," Trump said. "No one was defrauded."
New York Attorney General Letitia James pointed out that "we got some estimates on the value of these properties that were considerably lower than the amounts that were loaned to the Trump organization. In my opinion, these discrepancies prove fraud. I reject the argument that putting a value on a property that is not up for sale is subject to a wide variance of opinion."
Trump attorney Alina Habba called James' rejection of the variances in value estimates common in the real estate business "out of touch with reality. What should be decisive in proving this case is the fact that none of the lenders filed any complaints. And why should they. They all received payment-in-full--both principal and interest. There are no damages for which my client can be held liable. The demand that Trump should pay the state $250 million is extortion, pure and simple."
"The thing that Trump and his lawyers are forgetting is that there is no jury for this trial," Engoron pointed out. "I will be the sole judge of the facts and will make the determination on the extent of liability that will be assessed against the defendant."
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) called for Judge Engoron to recuse himself. "By announcing that Trump is 'just a bad guy that Attorney General Letitia James should go after' the judge has exhibited disqualifying bias. He has imposed a 'gag order' on Trump and Trump's lawyers, but feels free to publicly disparage them. He has destroyed the illusion that Trump can get a fair trial from these rabid Democrat partisans."
In other legal news, the Department of Justice allowed Charles Littlejohn, the IRS official who illegally released the tax filings of Trump and thousands of other taxpayers, to plead guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax information. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo) called Littlejohn's crime "the largest breach of confidential tax information in American history." Attorney General Merrick Garland explained that "the fact that one of the taxpayers exposed was Donald Trump must offset what would otherwise have warranted a severe punishment. Trump is the most dangerous man in America. Any action that might help bring him down merits our thanks. Littlejohn is a hero of our democracy who deserves a light sentence."
If you missed any of the other Semi-News/Semi-Satire posts you can find them at...
https://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,517243.0.html
Was the Engmoron boy wearing clothes?
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