Trump ‘Inflated His Total Assets When It Served His Purposes,’ Cohen Alleges In His Hearing, Citing Financial Documents

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Publish Date:
February 27, 2019
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Source:
The Washington Post
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Summary

President Trump exaggerated his personal wealth repeatedly in financial documents he provided to banks and insurers, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen told Congress Wednesday, citing documents that Cohen said support his contention that Trump is “a con man.”

Before a dramatic hearing on Capitol Hill, Cohen submitted to the House Oversight Committee portions of these documents, called “statements of financial condition,” for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013. The Washington Post independently obtained a complete copy of the 2012 statement, as well as those for several previous years.

“Michael Cohen’s testimony opens another line of inquiry — into bank fraud,” said Stanford University law professor Joseph A. Grundfest, a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. “But to determine whether fraud occurred requires a careful look at the text of the statute and at the documents submitted to the bank.”

“The question,” Grundfest said, “is whether there was a knowing attempt” to defraud the bank.

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