MANHATTAN (CN) — Donald Trump wanted to see his net worth “go up” each year on his highly scrutinized statements of financial condition, a witness testified Monday at Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial in Manhattan.
“Did Allen Weisselberg ever tell you that Donald Trump wanted his net worth on his statement of financial condition to go up?” lawyer Eric Haren from the New York attorney general’s office asked witness Patrick Birney.
“Yes,” Birney replied. He said the conversation took place “between 2017 and 2019,” but couldn’t recall a specific date.
It was Haren's final question for Birney, a Trump Organization executive, who testified monotonously over three days.
The damning response confirmed an exchange that the prosecution teased during opening statements earlier this month. State attorney Kevin Wallace cited Birney telling the office that in terms of Trump’s net worth, “Allen Weisselberg told me Donald likes to see it go up.”
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise immediately objected on Monday to Birney confirming the exchange, calling it hearsay, which the attorney general’s office vehemently refuted. Judge Arthur Engoron invited both parties to turn in written arguments on the matter in an apparent effort to keep things moving.
The trial has already been riddled with delays and last minute shake-ups, the latest of which being the rescheduling of key witness and ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s testimony.
Cohen was slated to take the witness stand on Tuesday, the same day Trump is expected to appear back in the courtroom. But on Friday, Cohen revealed he had to delay his testimony, citing a health issue.
“Unfortunately I need to attend to a pre-existing medical condition that impedes my ability to testify this upcoming week,” Cohen posted to Twitter. “Rest assured, I will testify at the earliest opportunity.”
The attorney general’s office told the court on Monday that Cohen could return for his testimony as early as Oct. 23, “subject to a doctor’s note.”
Kise didn’t take the news lightly. He lambasted Cohen for delaying, calling him a key witness to the state’s case and hammering Cohen's continued social media attacks against Trump.
“He does continue to be active on social media,” Kise told Engoron. “I know you can do that in a hospital bed, but… he does not appear to be that infirm.”
Engoron made a quip about Trump’s own use of social media before the proceedings continued.
Defense attorneys declined to cross-examine Birney, whose lengthy testimony revealed the Trump Organization tried numerous strategies to artificially inflate Trump’s net worth, including adding asset premiums based on Trump’s celebrity status and using lower cap rates to add value to his properties.
Nor did they cross-examine the next witness on the stand, Mark Hawthorn, the chief accounting officer at Trump Hotels.
Fielding questions from Andrew Amer of the attorney general’s office, Hawthorn testified that he inadvertently overvalued Trump’s assets based on information from his statements of financial condition.
On those financial statements Trump listed $290 million in liquid assets under the name “Vornado cash." Those assets were from Vornado Partnerships, a company with which Trump is a limited partner. But Trump didn’t explicitly disclose that role in the financial documents, which made Hawthorn believe Trump had access to all of the money, he testified.
“It appears to have been overstated,” Hawthorn said of Trump’s share.
Amer asked Hawthorn if he would have included the $290 million in the Trump liquidity total if he knew that Trump didn’t actually have full liquidity over the cash.
“Probably not,” Hawthorn replied.
Trump Organization assistant controller Donna Kidder took the stand after Hawthorn, with just over 30 minutes until court was to be adjourned.
Kidder will resume her testimony on Tuesday during what is expected to be a far more chaotic day in court. Kise confirmed Trump will be back in the courtroom that day and is expected to be in attendance until Thursday.
Paths of metal barriers already surround the New York County Supreme Court in Manhattan, reminiscent of two weeks ago when Trump arrived for opening arguments amid waves of media and extra security.
For now, however, it appears his highly anticipated face-to-face reunion with Michael Cohen will have to wait.
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