Former President Donald Trump shared a document on Truth Social Tuesday that a Manhattan Supreme Court judge had refused to let him share in court.
Trump confirmed in the post that the paper he pulled from his jacket pocket during his court testimony Monday — but was denied permission to read aloud — was a disclaimer document, which he said vindicated him in the fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“This is the Paper that I wanted to submit that the Judge refused to take, because he doesn’t want anybody to know about the Disclaimer Clause at the beginning of each Financial Statement,” Trump wrote in his social media post.
Trump attached to the post a document entitled “Disclaimers Provided to Banks in Each Financial Statement.”
It cautioned the reader that “considerable judgment is necessary to interpret market data and develop the related estimates of current value.”
It concluded that “Users of this financial statement should recognize that they might reach different conclusions about the financial condition of Donald J. Trump.”
Trump had pulled out the disclaimer during his testimony Monday, asking Justice Arthur Engoron for permission to share it aloud.
“I would love to read this, Your Honor, if I could? Am I allowed to do that?” he asked, according to a New York Post report.
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Engoron refused to grant permission, saying he had already rejected the disclaimer as an acceptable defense argument, ruling that such statements “do not insulate defendants from liability.”
“Read my opinion again — or for the first time, perhaps,” Engoron told Trump, according to the Post.
Trump is accused of inflating the value of his company’s assets to get better terms on loans and insurance.
James is suing Trump along with the former president’s sons and business associates, Forbes reported.
Trump, in turn, has accused James of going after him to score political points.
He has pointed out that he has repaid the loans in full, with interest, and that there are no alleged victims claiming they were defrauded.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, was scheduled to take the stand Wednesday.
At stake for Trump is a potential $250 million fine, Forbes reported. He also could be barred from running New York businesses in the future.
“Engoron has already ruled that Trump’s business certificates should be canceled as part of the judge’s pretrial ruling, but an appeals court has put that on hold,” the news outlet reported.
In a subsequent Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump laid his case directly before his social media followers.
“I am worth Billions of Dollars more than what is on my financial Statements,” he insisted. “[T]hey are very conservative (Therefore, NO FRAUD!) – and the CORRUPT & RACIST NEW YORK STATE A.G., Letitia Peekaboo James, working in close coordination with the TRUMP HATING, RADICAL LEFT JUDGE, and the Biden White House, refuses to drop the NO JURY ALLOWED CASE that was brought using a Statute never used for this before.
“In fact, no such lawsuit has ever been brought by the Attorney General’s Office!” he added. “It is a mockery of our Judicial and Legal System. Something must be done to stop the Fascists.”
Trump ended with the catchphrase he made famous during his campaign for the 2016 presidential election: “MAGA!” which stands for “Make America Great Again.”
