The newest evidence in Donald Trump ‘s New York civil fraud suit suggests that ‘fraud apart,’ the ex-President was a perfect borrower. According to Business Insider , a former executive at Deutsche Bank testified for a second day on Thursday as two large screens displayed years of Trump’s credit reports compiled by his old employer. As it turned out, according to the credit records and the banker’s testimony, Trump has seemingly never missed a loan payment. In other words, despite his being on trial for fraud, he has an impeccable track record as a loan borrower, never missing a payment in almost ten years—be it before, during, or after his administration was in charge.
Donald Trump obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in loans using financial statements that a court has since deemed fraudulent, a retired bank official testified Wednesday at the former president’s New York civil fraud trial. https://t.co/LHyvxXOnBT
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) October 11, 2023
At the trial of the civil fraud case launched by the state of New York, the first witness to appear was James “Nicholas” Haigh, who took the final calls on whether to grant loans to some of the bank’s richest US customers, including the former President. Financial expert Haigh departed Deutsche Bank in 2018. After working for Bank of America, he decided to retire.
When asked about the financial statements presented to him by the Trump Organization to secure a loan for a golf course and two hotels, the banker said, “I assumed the representations of the assets and liabilities were broadly accurate.” Haigh also eventually told the judge, “So far as I can recall, the loans were performing.” When Trump’s attorney Jesus M. Suarez asked, “And all the obligations of the borrower were met,” Haigh replied, “As far as I know, yes.”
“I didn’t even need the loans because you see the kind of cash I have…I have a lot of cash, a lot of everything.” ~Donald trump The twice impeached, rapist, guilty of defamation, looking at 91 felony counts in 4 pending cases, whose company was found guilty of a federal… pic.twitter.com/uOAiITXzfa
— Marla (@marla_vous) October 5, 2023
As per The New York Times , last month, a Manhattan court determined that Donald Trump committed fraud for years by misrepresenting his value to banks and insurers by as much as $3.6 billion a year. Justice Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the case, also issued a stern order dismissing Trump’s motion for many pre-trial wins, labeling the ex-president’s arguments as ‘rehashed’ and ‘erroneous.’
The court ruled in favor of New York Attorney General Letitia James and promptly suspended some of Trump’s business licenses. In the meantime, though, James is authorized to revoke ‘any certificate’ that allows the Trump Organization to function as a New York corporation. James is asking for sanctions of $250 million and wants Trump and his adult sons permanently barred from doing business in New York. For the next five years, she would want to prevent Trump and the Trump Organization from borrowing from any New York banks or buying any property in the state.
Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, will have to deal with this lawsuit—and others— while campaigning. He has been hit with 91 felony counts spread over four indictments for alleged wrongdoings, including paying an adult film actress hush money, keeping secret documents, and attempting to influence federal and state elections.