Court watchers are unsurprised that Trump's testimony in the New York Attorney General's lawsuit appears to sink one of his most likely avenues of appeal. By agreeing the documents already declared fraudulent were used "to induce" banks to lend to him is Trump admitting to a vital facet of the lawsuit. The documents were created to help him get more and better loans; by defrauding banks, Trump made more money, and they made less.
The New York civil fraud trial has shown the Trump Organization's strategy was to create documents that serve whatever purpose they need, and now Donald has admitted one of those purposes was to garner loans from financial institutions which is again using fraudulent documents to defraud.
"BREAKING," Weissmann wrote on X. "AG GETS TRUMP TO AGREE THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TRUMP'S PERSONAL GUARANTY WERE TO INDUCE BANKS TO LEND MONEY. KEY FACT FOR THIS FRAUD CASE."
Professor of law and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance, also a former U.S. Attorney, says Trump's remarks, admitting his financial statements were created to "induce lending," is an "astonishing admission" and will hurt any chance Trump might have had on appeal.
"Not only is this an astonishing admission," Vance writes, "it will damage efforts to argue on appeal that the judge was wrong to grant judgement ahead of trial on the fraud claims. That is pretty much Trump's last gasp at saving his NY business."
