An expert witness called by former President Donald Trump at his own civil fraud trial in New York may have made things worse for him by pointing out "glaring" problems with his company's financial statements, reported Business Insider — even as he tried to say the Trumps weren't to blame for them.
"On Wednesday, an expert accountant took the stand in Trump's defense for a second day at the former president's Manhattan fraud trial, and used these very words to describe the creative math at the center of the case. 'It's certainly a red flag for me,' testified the expert, Jason Flemmons, referring to an internal, Trump Organization spreadsheet from 2016 displayed on overhead screens in the lower Manhattan courtroom," reported Laura Italiano. "'I'd want to know more,' Flemmons said of the spreadsheet, in which Trump claimed some $200 million in ready cash. State officials say those millions were actually locked in a partnership that Trump did not have sole authority to withdraw from."
Flemmons did add that he believed accountants within the Trump Organization were responsible, not Trump himself.
ALSO READ: What is Trump planning if he gets a second term? Be worried. Be really worried.
"Led through a decade of statements and underlying internal Trump Org spreadsheets by defense lawyer Jesus Suarez, Flemmons described numerous 'discrepancies' and 'inconsistencies,'" said the report. "These included Trump tripling the actual square footage of his Manhattan penthouse, his secretly adding a Trump 'brand premium' to his total worth, and his inflating the value of Trump Park Avenue by valuing rent-stabilized condo units at market rate."
This comes after Flemmons also told the court that lenders for the Trump Organization should have got a "buyer beware" warning.
New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges in the suit that Trump and his two adult sons have systematically inflated and deflated the valuation of assets to get more favorable loan and tax arrangements. She is seeking hundreds of millions in fines and the dissolution of the Trump Organization. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled against Trump on most of the merits in summary judgment, making the remainder of the trial primarily about an assessment of quantified damages.
