Op-Ed: Windbag-at-law Trump missing all points in very dangerous fraud case.

Former US president Donald Trump is set to take the stand at his civil fraud trial in New York – Copyright AFP Megan JELINGER

Overall, this case is looking lethal. The New York civil fraud case is to gather information regarding the conduct of Trump’s business operations. There are a lot of specific matters for the defense to address. They’re not doing that.

Trump isn’t getting any of it. It’s very much a matter of opinion if he even understands how fatal this case could be. It’s actually much worse than his other indictments. This finding will be an official record of the legality of the conduct of Trump businesses over a long time. These will be the facts according to legal precedent. Think of it as RICO by other means.

He could lose his New York business licenses. A conviction could be a precedent for other states and other parties to raise legal actions against him and his family. His ability to raise future credit could be seriously compromised. Whatever happens will be a lot more expensive than a $250 million fine.

Trump’s bottom line has never been clear, but it’s obviously not bottomless. The net real cost of this case could be well beyond his means. If so, that’s game over.

A lot of people he’s done business with won’t be at all happy. They will be on record as parties to large-scale fraudulent business transactions if this case is decided accordingly. Some of these transactions were pretty weird business indeed. “Credibility” isn’t the first word to come to mind.

It’s hard to believe that Deutsche Bank or anyone else will be thrilled to be officially deemed patsies in their core credit business. This is a truly astonishing scale of pure incompetence on the part of lenders if any of it’s true.

The net cost to creditors is an open wound in this idyllic environment. According to Politico, the false financial statements cost $168 million in interest. Imagine that on your credit rating. Trump seems to be ignoring that, much like his near-mythical level of unpaid bills.

Trump’s ever-devolving lawyers don’t seem to get it, either. They’re calling for a “mistrial”. The judge is happy with that. Why is he happy? Given that Trump’s legal teams never seem to know a damn thing about legal processes, there must be a reason.

Trump is treating the court cases like a press conference.  If you can’t tell the difference, you’ve got far more problems than you think. Blasé commentary isn’t a good option in a court case. That’s particularly the case if you can’t even explain who did the property valuations.

The “disclaimer” motif doesn’t help. You can stick disclaimers all over anything. You can’t disclaim liability in any financial transaction to which you are a party. That applies whether you’re buying a tower block or a Happy Meal.

Trump’s lawyers have been constantly referring to the statute of limitations and getting overruled. Trump seems to think he has a point at law there. He doesn’t. The object of this case is to assess the history of business conduct. Historical references are relevant, indicating a pattern of fraud. Assuming that you know more about law than a judge isn’t a safe bet.

Time is against Trump in a much more deadly way. Never mind 2024. The fan will be hit in 2028 when he’s history politically. That source of money will be gone. The debts have to be paid. He’ll spend the rest of his life in courts with a dwindling financial base and no financial support.  

Might just add a disclaimer of my own here. I intensely dislike writing about Trump. I’d much rather write about the fascinating social life of a sewer. The sole reason for this article is the exceptionally dangerous legal situation.