Mueller, She Wrote
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4h, 24 tweets, 5 min read
THREAD PART 1 NYAG FILING: At one point, I had posited that what was most important about obtaining the Mazars documents wasn't trump's actual tax returns, but the documentation and testimony showing intent to defraud. The new filing from NYAG confirms that, in part. 1/
From page 8: "The Statements described Mr. Trump’s valuation process in broad terms and in ways which are often inaccurate or misleading to a reader WHEN COMPARED with the supporting data and documentation that the Trump Organization
submitted to Mazars." 2/
So Mazars DID have the actual information which was able to be compared to the Trump org's bullshit statements about its assets and liabilities. So, what was different in the Mazars documents? More than I imagined! 3/
1. Donald said his apartment was almost three times bigger than it actually is. Hmmm... So it wasn't just his inauguration crowd or his height or his vote count or his tiny hands or his mushroom problem? Clear pattern of overstating his value time and again. Sad. 4/
2. He overstated his liquidity by mis-categorizing assets outside his control as "cash". 3. He lied about HOW he reached his valuations. 4. He inflated certain assets by a flat percentage rate he called "brand value" and didn't tell anyone. I guess that's the "ego boost"? 5/
And by the way, we knew about a lot of this because of amazing reporting by the NYT, @MaryLTrump and testimony of @MichaelCohen212, but now there are nearly a *dozen* other witnesses atop the trump org and documents from Mazars to corroborate. 6/
So while most of this doesn't feel like breaking news, the fact that there is now considerable documentary evidence and corroborating testimony about what we pretty much knew, is legally and probably criminally devastating. Okay, back to the filing. 7/
Something I didn't know: "Ivanka Trump was a primary contact for the Trump Organization’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank. In connection with this work, Ms. Trump caused misleading financial statements to be submitted to Deutsche Bank and the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT." (P. 3) 8/
Side note: the IRS and the Federal Government are mentioned 18 times in the NYAG's supplemental. Reminds me of how Vance mentioned the feds 30 times in his indictment of Weisselberg and the Trump Org from last year. 9/
On page 9, the NYAG says her office WAS conducting this probe out of the public eye, but since Fuckface von Clownstick (
@jonstewart) decided to open his mouth about it, the NYAG is now forced to show the court her progress. I'm paraphrasing. 10/
The NYAG then list seven things she's found out about, none of which will jeopardize the investigation, and adds that there's other conduct under investigation not even mentioned in this 115 page filing. LULZ. 11/
First is Seven Springs and trump's apartment. Trump bought it in 1995 for $7.5M. In 2000, a bank valued it at $25M. In 2006, the same bank said it was worth $30M (as is/undeveloped). But trump told Mazars it was worth $200M in 2007 and $291M in 2014. Whaaaa? 12/
So donald said that if he developed the land, that's what it would be worth. That's important because of something called a "conservation easement", where you get a tax break for not developing a property based on what it *would* be worth if you did. 13/
That opens the door for fraud, meaning you could buy Devin Nunes' farm for $65 and declare that if you developed it, it would be worth MILLIONS and then you get a chunk back from the IRS for the easement. Over-estimating the developed value is tax fraud. 14/
According to the filing, they determined the value for Mazars by kind of just a gut feeling, and a phone call with Eric Trump from 2012. Trump org accountant MCCONNEY testified that he and Eric determined the value without taking into account time, materials, sales...etc 15/
When asked about this conversation, Eric Trump invoked his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. It's of note that while invoking the 5th can NOT be used against you in a criminal proceeding, it CAN in a civil one. This is a civil proceeding. 16/
In fact, Eric Trump invoked the fifth in response to over FIVE HUNDRED QUESTIONS when he testified in 2020 in this investigation. And here's the extra fun part: the guy who actually appraised 7 springs for it's developed value - David McArdle - testified. 17/
McArdle told the trumps the value of 7 Springs if it were to be developed would be between $36M and $50M. Not $291M. WHOOPS. Since trump said it was worth $291M for the previous two years, he couldn't exactly report the actual value because of the obvious drop, SO 18/
He moved the entire 7 springs to "other assets", making it look like his "cash" or liquidity had gone UP by over $200M. You're probably not supposed to do that. lol. 19/
Next: donald lied about the size of his triplex apartment AND moved it over to the "other assets" category to help HIDE the drop in the 7 Springs property while also falsely increasing its value by saying it was 30K square feet when it was actually like 11K 20/
McConney and Weisselberg helped with that lie, and Weisselberg admitted it. "Weisselberg admitted that this amounted to an overstatement of “give or take” $200 million". GIVE OR TAKE. What a dickbag. 21/
OH! And a THIRD unnamed trump org employee testified that he prepared the spreadsheets and admitted there was a large discrepancy that he probably talked to McConney and Weisselberg about. 22/
OK, so this is just WALL TO WALL CRIMES and I'm only on page 17. So I'm going to take a break, and continue in a bit with "PART 2, NYAG FILING, lest this thread get unwieldy. END (for now)
@jonstewart) decided to open his mouth about it, the NYAG is now forced to show the court her progress. I'm paraphrasing. 10/ 
