Donald Trump allegedly inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2bn in 2014
GuardianSep 02, 2023
The Facts
On Wednesday, a court filing by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office as part of a $250M civil fraud suit revealed that former Pres. Donald Trump is accused of overstating his net worth by billions over the course of several years.
According to James, Trump’s net worth between 2011 and 2021 was never more than $2.6B, as opposed to his claims of being worth up to $6.1B.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
With all the indictments Trump is facing, it’s easy to forget he’s also facing this civil fraud case in which the evidence against him is overwhelming. Trump’s fraud was blatant, and when he finally stopped invoking the Fifth Amendment and actually tried to make his case in his deposition, he could barely make a coherent argument in his own defense.
Pro-Trump narrative
James’ case is the flimsiest part of the Democrats’ witch hunt against the former president in their attempts to stop him from winning the GOP nomination for 2024. No one was injured by this so-called fraud, and Trump had little to no involvement in his companies' financial statements anyway. A civil case is just an excuse for James to up her political profile.