Today we look at the latest news from Donald Trump’s ongoing trial in New York.
This Is The Evidence Forbes Has That Trump’s Former CFO Lied Under Oath
Donald Trump’s former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, testified last week in a fraud case that the New York attorney general is waging against the former president and his associates, including Weisselberg, reports Dan Alexander. During that testimony, Weisselberg lied about Trump’s penthouse apartment at Trump Tower, saying “That was never a concern of mine. I never even thought about the apartment.”
Forbes published a story last week laying out the truth. “A review of old emails and notes, some of which the attorney general’s office does not possess, show that Weisselberg absolutely thought about Trump’s apartment—and played a key role in trying to convince Forbes over the course of several years that it was worth more than it really was,” the story said.
Weisselberg’s testimony abruptly stopped after the article came out. Citing the story, the attorney general’s office explained to a judge in a letter dated October 18th that it identified “likely omissions from production around inquiries from Forbes in 2016.” The attorney general’s office went on to suggest that a monitor should conduct a forensic examination of Trump Organization data to make sure that the real estate firm produced all required documents.
Forbes does not know whether the Trump Organization produced all of its documents. The evidence that Forbes has that Weisselberg lied, which the attorney general’s office certainly does not have, is a collection of notes taken by Forbes reporters who were in touch with the Trump Organization over the years while estimating the size of Trump’s fortune. It is those notes that show Weisselberg thought about his boss’ penthouse a lot—contrary to his testimony—and that he consistently pushed Forbes to overvalue it.
Tracking Trump
How Trump Fooled Deutsche Bank
The New York attorney general is suing Donald Trump and his associates for allegedly lying about his net worth to financial institutions, something he also did for years when speaking with reporters. Why would someone so rich care so much about what people thought he was worth? “It was good for financing,” Trump said in a 2015 interview with Forbes.
But despite Trump’s bluster, it long remained unclear whether his lies actually were good for financing. After all, banks conduct due diligence on borrowers. But documents submitted into evidence during the trial last week show that Trump’s longtime go-to lender, Deutsche Bank, fell for many of his lies, giving the bank a distorted view of its most famous client, reports Dan Alexander.
Trump Told CFO He Wanted Net Worth To ‘Go Up’ On Financial Statements, Exec Testifies At Trial
Former President Donald Trump told his ex-CFO Allen Weisselberg he wanted his net worth to “go up” on financial statements, a Trump Organization executive testified in court Monday, reports Alison Durkee. New York Attorney General Letitia James is arguing that the ex-president and his company committed fraud by intentionally inflating the value of their assets.
Trump’s SPAC Now Says Its 2021 Financial Statements ‘Should No Longer Be Relied Upon’
The company planning to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of the Truth Social platform, has now walked away from two years of financial statements after informing the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday that its audited financials for 2021 “should no longer be relied upon.”
In May, Digital World Acquisition Corp issued a similar notice to the SEC regarding its financial statements for the year ending Dec. 31, 2022.
By The Numbers
$526.08
The amount the campaign of Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) spent at the Amarillo Club in July and August, according to filings made last week. In December 2021, the Office of Congressional Ethics found “substantial reason to believe” that Jackson violated the law by previously spending campaign funds at the club. The investigation moved on to the House Ethics Committee. In May 2022, that panel disclosed that it’s still investigating the matter. It has not provided another update.
Hundreds
The number of NDAs that were scrapped after a federal judge formalized a settlement agreement last week between Trump’s 2016 campaign and staffers.
1
The number of accounts the Biden campaign is following on Truth Social—just Donald Trump’s.
House Democratic Lawmaker Floats George W. Bush For Next Speaker Of The House
On “Forbes Newsroom,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) floated the idea of electing former President George W. Bush the next Speaker of the House.
From The News Desk
Here’s How Much Chris Christie Is Worth
Plenty of politicians make big money after leaving office: Just ask Nikki Haley, Mike Pence or Joe Biden, who all tapped into tried-and-true moneymaking methods for political figures—writing books, giving speeches, doing consulting or sitting on boards. But of all the people running for president today, nobody has played the game better than Chris Christie, reports Kyle Mullins.
The former New Jersey governor and his wife, Mary Pat, reported $1 million to $2 million in assets when Christie left office in 2018, plus a $1.3 million house in Morris County, New Jersey. Today, the couple is worth $15 million, according to Forbes’ estimates, meaning their net worth has roughly quadrupled. The Christies now have two homes in the Garden State, worth roughly $6 million total, plus a sizable portfolio of investments, a large pension from Christie’s law firm and two smaller ones from his time in government.
How’d they build such a big fortune in such a short period of time? By doing what Haley, Pence and Biden did, but on a bigger scale. Christie, a lifelong public servant who was among the poorest 2015 presidential hopefuls, is now one of the richest people vying for the Oval Office in 2024.
Here’s How Much House Majority Leader Steve Scalise Is Worth
House majority leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) came up short in his battle to secure the 217 votes needed to replace ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). But with the GOP still unable to coalesce behind a colleague, who knows what’s next? The New Orleans native has never run from a fight, rapidly returning to Congress after he was shot by a left-wing extremist in 2017—and again in September, after announcing he was diagnosed with cancer in August.
If Scalise does come back to claim the speakership, he will earn his second pay raise in less than a year, a $30,100 bump from his current $193,400 Congressional salary, reports Matt Durot. That would be substantial for the 58-year-old Scalise, whose nearly 30-year government career has yielded him a net worth of about $350,000, according to Forbes’ estimates.
Quiz
Digital World Acquisition Corp. announced plans to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group in October 2021. In the two years since the intended deal was made public, what has not happened?
a. The SEC charged a former Digital World board member and two others with insider trading of the stock.
b. Digital World settled fraud charges with the commission for “making material misrepresentations” in its pre-IPO filings.
c. Investors backed out of $467 million in commitments.
d. The merger was finalized.
Check if you got it right here.
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