Donald Trump Rants He's Worth 'Billions' More Than Documents Show

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said in a social media message that he is worth "billions of dollars" more than what the financial statements at the heart of his business fraud case claim.

Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and others close to the Trump Organization have been on trial for weeks in connection to the $250 million fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused the former president and his co-defendants of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars each year to obtain more favorable financial benefits. New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron already ruled in a partial summary before trial that Trump inflated the value of his assets on financial records.

The former president has repeatedly denied James' allegations, claiming that the state attorney launched her investigation into him and his business in an effort to upset his reelection campaign ahead of November 2024. Both the defense team and prosecutors have rested their case, and the trial is set to resume on January 11 with closing arguments. Engoron is expected to make a final decision on how much Trump and his co-defendants owe in damages earlier next year.

In a post to his social media network, Truth Social, Trump claimed that the financial statements used in court understated his net worth and again bashed James for bringing on the "fake lawsuit."

"My Financial Statements were extremely 'undervalued,' as opposed to 'overvalued,' which totally disproves and nullifies the New York State Attorney General's politically biased and motivated...Fake Lawsuit against me," the former president wrote.

"In other words, I am worth Billions of Dollars more than is shown on my very Conservative Financial Statements, THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE A.G.," he added. "WITCH HUNT!!!"

The former president also reiterated his argument that he is free from blame thanks to the disclaimer clause included in his financial statements, which essentially warned lenders that the financial statements may be incorrect.

"In addition to that, I have a 100% Disclaimer and Non-reliance Clause, stating CLEARLY that the user must do their own analysis and due-diligence," Trump wrote Thursday. "That's what the banks stated IN Court that they did, and were PAID IN FULL, ON TIME AND ON SCHEDULE. NO VICTIMS, ONLY SUCCESS AND PROFITS."

"Hopefully, Judge Engoron, who should have never taken this NON JURY Trial, or should have dismissed it long ago, will show that the New York State Judicial System is ALIVE, RESPECTED, AND WELL," the former president added.

Newsweek reached out to James' office via email on Thursday for comment.

Experts brought to the witness stand by Trump's defense team have defended the former president's argument that the disclaimer clause clears him of wrongdoing. According to a report from ABC News, defense expert Jason Flemmons said on the witness stand on Thursday that the language included in the financial statements was perfectly clear, and that it essentially told lenders, "user beware."

Engoron, however, has already dismissed the argument that such disclaimer statements are enough to protect Trump from the civil suit, writing in his partial summary in September, "Defendants' reliance on these 'worthless' disclaimers is worthless."

The New York justice has also been visibly irked by Trump and his defense team during the trial, and he has issued a gag order against the former president that restricts him from publicly talking about Engoron's staff.

On Wednesday, while Trump's defense team wrapped up its arguments, attorneys for the former president again asked Engoron for a directed verdict that would dismiss James' lawsuit completely.

"There's no way I'm going to grant that, but [you can] send me something," Engoron responded.