Trump’s Lawyers Argue He Can’t Be Taken Literally

The Daily Beast reports:

With the former president sitting in the courtroom, Donald Trump’s lawyers moved into their next phase of attack at his bank fraud trial on Tuesday, arguing that his vastly inflated property values were never official appraisals—and weren’t ever meant to be.

The tactic centers on the idea that prices are totally relative, and Trump’s guess is as good as any. This doesn’t explain how Trump could blatantly lie about space—like tripling the size of his New York City penthouse on paper.

During a break in the trial, Trump Organization chief legal officer Alan Garten told The Daily Beast he thinks no assessment of Trump buildings could possibly be grounded in anything concrete—because there’s nothing like them. “These are unicorn properties,” he said, pointing to Trump Tower.

Read the full article.

Donald Trump’s lawyers moved into their next phase of attack at his bank fraud trial on Tuesday, arguing that his vastly inflated property values were never official appraisals—and weren’t ever meant to be. https://t.co/K0NqOCpcE2

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 17, 2023