'Smoke and mirrors': Trump biographer spills insider details on ex-president's finances

Trump may need to put his money where his mouth is.

David Johnston, the author who penned the biography "The Making Of Donald Trump," suspects the $83.3 million a nine-member jury verdict in the second defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump will force him to prove he has the coin.

"We may discover just how many smoke and mirrors [there are]," said Johnston during an appearance on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360."

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Carroll's attorneys made it clear before the jury that they were seeking the kind of award that will "make him stop."

And to prove Trump was flush with cash, they jogged their memory to footage of a deposition Trump gave in a separate civil fraud case talking up his finances, claiming he had $400 million in liquid assets and boasting that his "brand" is worth billions of dollars.

Johnston believes Trump now might regret being so braggadocious.

"I wouldn't trust that for two seconds," he said.

He claims Trump tried to tell the world he paid cash for Mar-a-Lago, his 126-room, 62,500-square-foot Palm Beach, Florida mansion and club.

"When Donald, to give you a good example, bought Mar-a-Lago, he told everybody he paid cash for it," he said.

Johnston noted that isn't true.

"I have in my home the letter from Chase Bank promising to never reveal he took out a mortgage for 120% of the purchase price."

So Johnston claims Trump puts up a facade when it comes to his finances.

"What he says about his finances in reality are not connected..."

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