Trump kids' blame claims don't match with fraud case facts: reporter
Former President Donald Trump's children's claims that Trump Organization accountants are to blame for fraudulently inflated estimates of the company's value don't comport with the known facts of the case, a New York Times investigative reporter argued Monday.
Russ Buettner took to MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" to argue that Eric and Donald Trump Jr. contradicted evidence presented in the $250 million civil fraud trial when they said they'd relied on accountants to appraise company holdings.
"The problem with his kids's testimony, I think, is that it doesn't match with what happened," Buettner said. "They actually provided information to the accountant."
Donald Bender, the accountant, later quit when he discovered property valuations had been withheld, Buettner noted.
"I think that's very strong evidence," Buettner said. "His kids's testimony has its own internal problems."
When Anchor Nicolle Wallace asked Buettner if Trump's testimony hurt the case against his sons (Ivanka Trump is no longer named in the civil case but is slated to give testimony Wednesday), Buettner admitted frankly he was baffled.
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"I don't understand what he's trying to say, how he's trying to say things work," Buettner said. "He's trying to say I'm an expert in real estate, except for when it comes to valuations."
Buettner noted the conflicting Trump family testimony might not constitute perjury, but it wouldn't much help their efforts to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron's ultimate ruling, should they chose to do so.
"If they are trying to make a presentation to an appellate court that the judge didn't decide this cases based on the facts," Buettner said, "it doesn't create a clean record."
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