#Trump attorney Chris #Kise argued to NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur #Engoron, that regardless of what was in Trump's #financial statements, they did not make a material difference to bankers who approved #loans to Trump.
Kise says there was no testimony presented at trial by anyone at Trump #lender#DeutscheBank or other lenders that said they would have proceeded differently had they known Trump's accurate financial condition.
#Kise: “Ultimately what matters is the decision-making process of the bank, & if it would have made a difference to them,"
Kise said the #banks considered many factors when deciding whether to lend to #Trump, including the nature of the collateral, the quality of the collateral, Trump's experience & performance in the industry, his liquidity & other factors.
(All of which were misrepresented; & the banks’ decision is not the issue. The issue is the #fraud & Trump’s #intent. Not the banks’.)
#Kise started by arguing the standard of proof on the 6 claims at issue requires "clear & convincing evidence," which he says the #NYAG didn’t provide.
Kise: “The attorney general has converted standard commercial real estate loan transactions into fraud not based on what the bank says but what she says.”
(#fraud was already decided, as a matter-of-#law, before this trial.)
Thankfully, Justice #Engoron agreed w/ #Kise as well & said he's only going to base his #ruling on what's in front of him, meaning the #evidence presented in this #trial.
#Trump atty moved on to #disgorgement (the #NYAG is seeking $250M in purportedly ill-gotten gains from Trump et al).
Kise: “There's no demonstration of a [connection] between the purported ill-gotten gains & the defendants' (conduct).”
#Kise argued any transaction before July 2014 cannot form the basis for any of the #NYAG's claims, since they're outside of the statute of limitations.
Kise also argued that subsequent certifications by #Trump et al regarding compliance w/the terms of loans from that time cannot be used to support the allegations either.
(re SOL, Trump attys may be banking on the appeals court stay, but that wasn’t based on SOL, but procedural & still undecided.)
I skipped an interesting bit from #Kise’s presentation; he argued that #Trump would qualify in "any court in this country" as an expert on real estate, & then displayed a slide that said:
"The Court stated it is 'not here to hear what [President Trump] has to say!'
This is a word for word duplicate of a Trump social media post.
They’re not even trying to dress up their arguments for court at this point. It’s all for the court of public opinion & Trump. Disgraceful really.
Didn’t finish the #TrumpTrial thread, cuz, stuff, here’s the rest:
#Kise concluded by reiterating claim that there was no proof the loans would not have been made if the #banks had different (accurate) info or that the #loan terms would have been different.
(Moot. See earlier in thread)
"This is what happens in the real world, not the world of make believe, not the attorney general's world," Kise says
#Now it’s #Ivanka Trump’s turn to face questioning in the #civil#fraud#trial that is publicly probing into the family business. #Trump’s eldest daughter, who has been in his inner circle in both #business & #politics, is due on the stand Wed, after trying unsuccessfully to block her #testimony.
#Engoron: "For me, the reasons for all the rulings on statute of limitations from pre-2014 & 2016 deals...these deals, at least some of them, were required for updated financials, year after year.… It doesn't make sense to talk about the follow up documentation w/o [referencing] the original loan.”
#Trump atty #Kise: "Nothing that was done by way of certification (affects) a decision that was made years before the statute of limitations expired.”
#Kise: "While there is some contextual latitude...we're asking about things that are well-barred.”
#Engoron: “I agree w/your logic that a certification in 2016 doesn't affect anything about original loan, however (some loans) require as a condition of a loan the #TrumpOrganization or whoever…certify things in the future. I believe those certifications are at issue."
#NYAG showed an email from #JaredKushner to #Ivanka on June 17, 2013:
"You can get better pricing for such LTV. Nativixis will give you 140MM at that rate most likely. Show i show it to them?" (sic) (#LTV=Loan to Value)
Solomon countered that it's "night-&-day different" because the state used #Ivanka Trump's communications w/the GSA, not the agency's internal docs.
Engoron to Kise:
"Your constant insinuations that I have different set of standards. It's just not true. …You can keep saying it if it makes you happy, that I'm favoring one side over the other. …I just make the rulings as I see them."
#NYAG asked about 40 Wall Street (Trump Tower) & its valuation at $550.1M on the 2014 SFC. #Trump gave a speech about the statute of limitations, possibly converting it to condominiums, & how developing condos for that property "was perfect."
Trump: "I got a lollipop in the lease. It's a legal term, believe it or not." (So now he knows the law? I thought he didn’t even know what a subpoena was)
#Engoron: "I beseech you to control him, if you can,” he warned he will control #Trump if the lawyers don’t.
#Kise & #lHabba jumped up to defend Trump, calling his answers “responsive”.
Habba said Engoron's here to "hear what he has to say.”
Engoron: "I'm not here to hear what he has to say. HE’s here to ANSWER questions!"
He ordered them to sit down.
Kise said the judge should want to hear EVERYTHING Trump has to say.
Engoron: “No I do not want to hear ‘everything’ this witness has to say.”
Apparently it looked like #Trump was l going to start another tangent because, #NYAG said: “ I think we'll take our break now," & said he'd appreciate it if #Kise would talk w/his client.
At one point, #Engoron said he would excuse the witness if he didn't respond to the questions he was asked.
After the break:
NYAG asked Trump about valuations of his New York penthouse in 2014, which inaccurately tripled its size.
Justice #Engoron tells the #NYAG that he's following his lead, & if he wants to let the witness "ramble" on w/ "unresponsive" answers, he'll do that.
#Kise defends what he describes as Trump's "brilliant" response.
#Trump: “I have a lot of money, a lot more money than you thought."
Trump goes on to say that since his financial statements have disclaimer clauses, telling parties to do their own due diligence, there can be no #fraud. He’s totally off topic.
Trump scoffed: "Forbes. They're owned by China. Now, they sold to Russia."
The article says that #Trump was very much involved in inflating his #assets,
Trump: “I have very little respect for Forbes."
(Forbes broke the news that Trump inflated the size of his apt & recently knocked him off the billionaires list.)
The article cited a recorded conversation at the time. Trump atty #Kise objected & called the recording inaudible. #Engoron agreed re quality.
#Kise made his usual statute of limitations objection on a term loan agreement from late 2012, which Judge #Engoron overruled - Trump smiled at the ruling.
When it was entered into evidence, Trump shook his head.
#Trump: “The number[s] of my net worth are substantially more than reflected in my financial statements, so therefore you have no case. I think this case is a disgrace
#AlinaHabba made clear that the motion would be in part about Justice Engoron's principal #LawClerk.
#Engoron: "Don't file that motion, please. I think it's important for the safety of my staff. I am 1,000% convinced, & you don't have any right or reason to complain about my confidential communication."
#Kise: “There's no way to file that motion without referencing the subject matter.”
Engoron: “I'm directing you not to make that motion [...] I'm going to protect my staff, okay."
The day began w/ yesterday’s drama. Trump attys accused #NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur #Engoron's #LawClerk, #AllisonGreefield, of bias, & the asserted she influences the judge.
Yesterday, Engoron warned Trump atty #Kise not to speak about court staff, & noted a pattern of #misogyny in Kise’s behavior toward women in the courtroom.
“Thus, for the reasons stated herein, I hereby order that all #counsel are prohibited from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff & me.
“Failure to abide by this directive shall result in serious #sanctions.”