Excerpts of Donald Trump's deposition in New York attorney general's fraud investigation

good morning you're going on the record at 9 38 a.m eastern Daylight Time on August June 10th 2022 please note that the microphones are sensitive and may pick up whispering and private conversations please mute your phones at this time audio and video recording will continue to take place unless all parties agree to go off the record this is Media unit one of the video recorded deposition of Donald J Trump taken by Council for in the matter of financial statements and investigation for the state of New York office of Attorney General the location of the deposition is 28 Liberty Street New York New York my name is zef Coda representing veritex and I am the videographer the court reporter is Linda Greenstein from The Firm veritex I am not authorized to administer an oath I'm not related to any party in this action nor am I financially interested in the outcome counsel and all present include including those remotely have been noted for the record will the court reporter please swear in the witness and then Council May proceed I do thank you good morning Mr Trump my name is Leticia James and I'm the Attorney General of the great state of New York before we begin if everyone please silence their cell phones we appreciate that I wanted to begin with some preliminary news some groundworks if you don't mind and then I'm going to turn it over to Kevin Wallace who will conduct this examination um Mr Trump you've testified under oath many times is that correct yes and um so I take it you're familiar with the ground rules on uh for how testimony proceeds is that correct yes so I'll skip that part of the um introduction is that okay sure okay and are you okay right now okay good good what I will do is explain some differences between the procedures in a civil deposition and the testimony we are taking today uh because this is a an investigatory proceeding you do not have a right to have an attorney with you in this investigation but I have agreed that your attendant your attorney will be present today however this examination is not the same as a deposition in ordinary civil litigation and your attorney's role will be limited to consultation with you in order to give you legal advice regarding privileged matters if any or you're right not to incriminate yourself notwithstanding any objection by your attorneys you are still required to respond to any questions unless your attorney specifically directs you not to answer anything you say in this in this examination may be used in a civil proceeding and that could include a civil enforcement proceeding or a criminal action do you understand that I think is that a yes I don't know what I did wrong but the answer is yes I do understand thank you you have the right to refuse to answer any question if a truthful answer to the question would tend to incriminate you do you understand that yes okay and any willful misstatement by you may constitute perjury do you understand that sir yes okay finally this investigation is confidential we request that you not discuss this matter your testimony here today and any documents that you have produced or may produce in connection with today's testimony with anyone other than your attorneys do you understand that sir no when you say confidential we're not allowed to talk about this to the press or correct I believe what she means is what happens in this in this room the details of what happened in this room yeah it happened okay neither you nor anyone acting on your behalf has the right to obtain a copy of the transcript of her testimony here today from the reporter and neither you nor vertex are permitted to release copies of the transcript to anyone other than representatives of this office the Office of the Attorney General extensive note-taking or any attempt to create a transcript of the proceedings here by you or your attorneys is not authorized and will not be permitted are you taking any medication or drugs of any kind that make it difficult for you to understand or answer any of the questions today sir yes and are you feeling okay today yes sick today no okay and do you have any conditions that could prevent you from giving full pleat and truthful answers to any questions today no okay um and is there any other reason why you cannot give full complete and accurate testimony here today I'll be doing that yes no no other than what I'm saying okay I'm not going to turn it over to Kevin Wallace thank you sir thank you good morning Mr Trump as the Attorney General mentioned my name is Kevin Wallace sitting next to me is Alex Finkelstein from our office and sitting next to him is Samantha Stern who's a paralegal uh with our office they're going to be assisting me during the day today I'm going to take a moment just to correct one thing from the read in is that we go off the Record not when both parties agree but when the Attorney General directs that we are off the Record during these proceedings the Attorney General controls the record um so uh Mr Trump what did you do to prepare for today's examination very little if you'd like I could read the statement but very little um well excuse me can we go yes I will now use my uh moment to go off the Record thank you sorry just read this to you you're going off the Record at 9 44 A.M we're back on the record at 9 45 A.M Mr Trump I understand you have a statement that you wanted to read into the record yes would you please feel free to start thank you very much this is the greatest Witch Hunt in the history of our country there has never been another president or perhaps even another politician who has been persecuted harassed and in every other way unfairly treated like President Donald J Trump what Leticia James has tried to do the last number of years is a disgrace to the legal system an affront to the New York State taxpayers and a violation of the solemn rights and protections afforded by the United States Constitution she developed a political platform and made a career out of maliciously attacking me and my business before she even understood or was elected or reviewed one of the millions of pages of documents we willingly produced we willingly produced these documents James proclaimed that she quote looks forward to going into the office of Attorney General every day suing me and then going home this is during her campaign she announced that she was obsessed with quote taking me on taking me on and that her eyes were set on Trump Tower quote Trump Tower she even assured her supporters as an election promise very strongly that quote we're going to definitely sue him before she even knew anything about me we're going to be a real pain in his ass he's going to know my name personally and she claimed I was on an illegitimate and that it was an illegitimate president quote illegitimate president in our AG speech she promised to quote shine a bright light into every dark corner of Trump's real estate holdings shortly thereafter she vowed to quote use every area of the law to investigate president Trump and his business transactions and that his that of his family as well she knows nothing about us this is when she knew absolutely nothing about us it was very unfair this whole thing is very unfair as a pretense for commencing her bogus investigation Leticia James relied on the testimony of Michael Cohen a convicted felon and liar the southern district of New York astutely described Cohen as a man who quote repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive Ends by engaging in quote extensive deliberate and serious criminal conduct consistent with a quote pattern of deception that permeated his professional life this was in a long many page statement by him it only gets worse this is the witness a stone called Loser a real loser that she used to justify her obsessive work her obsessive investigation of me even though he got in civil and criminal trouble for representing himself on a taxi cab company that he had and other things and also others as a lawyer I once asked if you're innocent why are you taking the Fifth Amendment I was asking that question now I know the answer to that question when your family your company and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers prosecutors and even the fake news media you really have no choice we cannot permit a renegade and out of control prosecutor to use this investigation as a means of advancing her political career New York deserves better in this country deserves better being a prosecutor is a very important thing this is a vindictive and self-serving fishing Expedition the likes of which this country has perhaps never seen before if there was any question in my mind the rate on my home two days ago Mar-A-Lago Palm Beach Florida by the FBI just two days prior to this deposition think of it wiped out any of that uncertainty I have absolutely no choice because the current Administration and many prosecutors in this country have lost all moral and ethical bounds of decency anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool an absolute fool one statement or answer that is ever so slightly off just ever so slightly by accident by mistake such as it was a sunny a beautiful day when actually it was slightly overcast would be met by law enforcement at a level seldom seen in this country because I've experienced it the United States Constitution exists for this very purpose and I will utilize it to the fullest extent and defend myself against this malicious attack by this Administration this Attorney General's office and all other attacks on my family my business and our country accordingly under the advice of my Council and for all of the above reasons I respectfully declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution this will be my answer to any further questions um include among the rights and privileges afforded every citizen under the United States Constitution does that include the Fifth Amendment right to avoid incrimination yes so your Council yes okay okay um I will just note for the record that was a lengthy statement uh obviously we disagree with all of the characterizations but to keep the today's proceedings moving um I'm going to move on to my questioning um so Mr Trump I take it you are are not going to answer any questions about your preparation today with your council is that correct then should they say this or should I respond to that just read that for all of the reasons provided in my answer which is Incorporated herein in its entirety I declined to answer the question uh Mr Trump the focus of our investigation and what we are primarily going to cover today involves a presentation of your statements of financial condition between 2011 and the present I take it you're generally familiar with those statements is that correct for all of the reasons provided in my answer which is incorporated herein in its entirety I declined to answer the question um did you review any of those statements from the period 2011 to 2021 during your preparation for today's testimony for all of the reasons provided in my answer which is Incorporated herein in its entirety I declined to answer the question Council I think we can all stipulate that if he says same answer we will all understand it to be the same invocation to speed things up no problem uh with that note sir um you are currently the president of the Trump organization is that correct same answer and when I refer to the Trump organization is it accurate to describe that as the trade name for an umbrella organization that holds uh assets beneficially owned by you same answer uh is it fair to say the Trump organization sits on top of several hundred different legal entities same answer are the assets of the Trump organization currently held in irrevocable trust same answer is that revocable trust the Donald J Trump revocable trust dated April 7 2014. same answer uh and you are the donor of the Assets in that trust is that correct same answer uh and you are the sole beneficiary of the Assets in that trust is that correct why did you form that trust in April 2014. same answer who were the trustees when the trust was first founded at some point Alan weisselberg and your son Don Jr were the trustees is that correct did you ever consider retaining independent trustees to oversee the trust hey man sir um at present your son Don Jr is the sole trustee is that correct the same answer okay thank you thank you [Music] Trump the court reporters handed you a document it is a printout of an Excel spreadsheet so it doesn't have a document number on it but I'll represent to you that it is the supporting spreadsheet for your statement of financial condition for the year June 30 2011. um do you recognize the form of this document same answer this is the supporting data spreadsheet that was used to prepare your 2011 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer the spreadsheet is used to calculate the valuations contained in the statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed this document with Alan weisselberg before it was finalized as part of the 2011 statement of financial condition you reviewed this document with Jeff mcconnie before the 2011 statement of financial condition was issued is that correct same answer you reviewed and approved evaluations and valuation methods contained in this document before it was finalized is that correct same age uh and you approved the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before was finalized is that correct same answer the valuations contain this document reflect false misleading valuation statements is that correct the same answer uh you're aware the time this is finalized that the statement of financial condition for 2011 contained false and misleading statements is that correct same answer in preparing the 2011 statement of financial conditions uh Alan weisselberg and Jeff mcconney worked at your direction and followed your instructions an inflated asset valuations on the statement of financial conditions by employing false or misleading assumptions is that correct same answer from at least 2005 through the present you've had an ongoing agreement with Mr weisselberg and Mr mcconny that they would prepare the statement of financial condition in a manner that included valuations that depended on false misleading assumptions as a means of inflating reported values is that correct same answer from at least 2005 through the present you have had an ongoing agreement with Mr weisselberg and Mr mcconny and others that they would prepare the statement of financial condition in a manner that included intentional overvaluations is that correct same answer from at least 2005 through the present you have had an ongoing agreement with Mr weiselberg and Mr mcconney and others that they would prepare the statement of financial condition in a manner that included false and misleading valuation statements is that correct same answer quick off the record for one sec we're going off the Record at one we're at 29 right we're back on the record at 1 53 P.M um Mr Trump uh we don't have a hard copy of the next document but I'm going to designate the document that is up on the screen as exhibit 29 uh this is an electronic copy of uh the supporting spreadsheet for your statement of financial condition it Bears the production number let me say the document Bears the production number mazar's nyag00161836 um do you recognize the form of this document same answer this is the supporting data spreadsheet for the 2019 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer this spreadsheet was used to calculate the valuations contained in the statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed this document with Alan weisselberg and your son Don Trump Jr before it was finalized as part of the 2019 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed and approved the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before it was finalized is that correct answer the 2019 statement of financial condition contained false and misleading valuations and statements is that correct same answer you knew at the time it was finalized that the year 2019 statement of financial condition contained false and misleading statements is that correct same answer in preparing the 2019 statement of financial condition uh Mr weisselberg and Mr mcconnie worked at your direction and followed your instructions to inflate asset valuations on the statement of financial condition by employing false misleading assumptions is that correct same answer others in the accounting department also worked with Mr weisselberg and Mr mcconny to follow your instructions and inflate asset valuations on the statement of financial condition by employing false or misleading assumptions is that correct same answer um Mr Trump the court reporter has handed you a document that has been designated exhibit 30 it Bears the production number DB nyag 2 4 8537 has a title Donald J Trump statement of financial condition June 30 2020. this is your statement of financial condition for the year 2020 is that correct same answer you approved this document before it was issued is that correct same answer you reviewed the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before was issued is that correct same answer this is um we'll stop there actually and let me get another document oh Samantha could you put up Samantha has put up on the screen a document that there's the production number mazar's nyag00162291 do you recognize the form of this document same answer this is the supporting data spreadsheet for the 2020 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer this spreadsheet was used to calculate the valuations contained in the statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed this document with Alan weisselberg before it was finalized as part of the 2020 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed and approved the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before it was finalized is that correct same answer so the 2020 statement of financial condition contained false misleading valuations and statements is that correct same answer you knew at the time it was finalized that the 2020 statement of financial condition contained false and misleading statements is that correct same answer in preparing the 2020 statement of financial condition Alan weisselberg Jeff mcconnie and others worked at your direction and followed your instructions to inflate asset valuations on the statement of financial condition by employing false or misleading assumptions is that correct same answer that's 31 yeah oh okay Mr Trump the court reporter has handed you a document that has been designated as exhibit 32. it is has the production number DB nyag 405-109 it is entitled Donald J Trump statement of financial condition June 30 2021 this is your two and 2021 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you approved this document before it was issued is that correct same answer you reviewed the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before it was issued is that correct amen Sue um Sam would you pull up the next document please yep Mr Trump Samantha has pulled up onto the screen uh document that has the production number tto zero six one six six four zero seven and we will designate this as exhibit 33. uh this is the supporting data spreadsheet for the year 2021 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer this spreadsheet was used to calculate the valuations contained in the statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed this document with Alan weisselberg and your son Don Trump Jr before it was finalized as part of the 2021 statement of financial condition is that correct same answer you reviewed and approved the valuations and valuation methods contained in this document before it was finalized is that correct same answer the 2021 statement of financial condition contained false and misleading valuations and statements is that correct same answer you knew at the time it was finalized at the 2021 statement of financial condition contained false misleading statements is that correct the same answer in preparing the 2021 statement of financial condition Mr weisselberg Mr mcconny and others worked at your direction and followed your instructions to inflate asset valuations on the statement of financial condition by employing false and misleading assumptions is that correct so here we assume can we go off the Record we're going off the Record we're back on the record at 204 pm uh Mr Trump for each year from 2011 to 2021 did you or someone acting at your direction sign actually let's strike that question um Mr Trump for each year 2011 to 2020 you or someone acting in your direction sign an engagement letter with the mazarus firm to prepare the statement of financial condition same answer in the year 2021 did some did you or someone acting in your direction sign an engagement letter with Whitley Penn to prepare your statement of financial condition same answer thank you for the years 2011 through 2020 did you or someone acting in your direction sign a representation letter to the mazar's firm concerning the accuracy of the statements in the statement of financial condition same answer for the year 2021 did you or someone acting in your direction sign a certification letter attesting to the accuracy of the statement of financial condition for the Whitley Penn firm same answer created a do we want to do them foreign foreign thank you Mr Trump the court reporter has handed you a document that has been designated as exhibit 34. it is a certification to Deutsche Bank from you Donald J Trump updated November 11 2014 if you could take a look at the second page of this document is that your signature on page two same answer if you look at the first bullet point under Point number one it says attached here two is guarantor's statement of financial condition as of June 30 2014. were you aware that this submission of your statement of a financial condition was a material term of your loan with Deutsche Bank same answer if you turn to the second page under 0.6 it states all of the representations and warranties made by guarantor under section 9 little I to nine little four six and sections false assumptions is that correct same answer you knew at the time the valuation was submitted to the IRS that the Seven Springs appraisal Incorporated intentionally false assumptions about the development timeline for the site is that correct same answer you knew at the time the valuation was submitted to the IRS that the cushion appraisers adopted these assumptions intentionally to inflate the value of the easement donation is that correct same answer you knew that inflating the appraised value would increase the tax deduction available to you is that correct same answer you knew that your attorney Sherry Dillon asked the Cushman and Wakefield appraisers to inflate the value of the easement is that correct same answer did you instruct her to get them to reach a higher value same answer you're aware that approvals you would receive from the town of Bedford let's write that you were aware of the appraisals you'd received from the town of Bedford and its agencies for the development of the Seven Springs site is that correct same answer you were aware of the restrictions that these approvals Incorporated is that correct amen you're aware that the approvals restricted the number of lots that could be accessed from the town of Bedford is that correct same answer you knew that the valuation submitted to the IRS incorporate assumptions that failed to acknowledge development restrictions imposed by the town of Bedford is that correct same answer you submitted evaluation on the Seven Springs easement to the IRS knowing that the devaluation depended on an inflated number of lots is that correct same answer you knew that Miss Dillon would seek to conceal Communications related to her work on the Seven Springs appraisal is that correct same answer looks like when we were transcribing I may have talked about approvals from the town of Bedford I may have muddled it and said appraisals from the town of Bedford that's right I meant to say approvals okay thank you um Trump going back to your Doral loan is it correct that through the use of the inflated statement of financial condition to obtain a favorable interest rate that you are able to save approximately six percent per annum on interest payments owing on your 125 million dollars in loans from Deutsche Bank same answer regarding your Chicago property is it correct that through the use of the inflated statement of financial condition you were able to save at least four percent per annum in the interest payments on loans from Deutsche Bank originating in 2012 in connection with the Trump International Hotel and Tower Chicago same answer with regards to your old post office property is it correct that through the use of the inflated statement of financial condition to obtain a favorable interest rate you were able to save at least five percent per annum in interest payments on the construction loan of up to 170 million dollars from Deutsche Bank same answer is it correct that absent the 170 million dollar construction loan from Deutsche Bank you would not have obtained the ground lease on the Old Post Office property or been able to provide the renovation to the property that occurred same answer um next question is about uh Apartments held by your daughter at 502 Park Avenue um do you know if the below Market rent that she had on her rental apartments at 502 Park Avenue were provided in exchange for work performed as part of her responsibilities with the Trump organization same answer do you know if the below markets purchase options that you provided your daughter on 502 Park Avenue Apartments was made in exchange for work performed as part of her job at the Trump organizations do you know if the benefits from any below Market rents were reflected in any tax forms at the Trump organization same answer do you know if the value of any below market purchase options were reflected as either gifts or compensation on any tax forms at the Trump organization same answer we can go off the Record okay they're going off the Record at 3 12 p.m well we're off the records we're back on the record at 3 12 P.M uh Mr Trump just back on the record and we're sorry as I was saying we are back on the record to confirm that we have completed Our Testimony today thank you for your appearance thank you thank you Kevin record at 3 30 3 13 p.m and this concludes that today's testimony given by Donald J Trump support

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Id: p26ZcSAAK3Q

Length: 37min 36sec (2256 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 31 2023