Trump's Giving Prosecutors Evidence to Use Against Him in Court

Former President Donald Trump may have provided evidence that could be used against him as House Democrats will soon decide whether to make his tax return documents public.

Last month, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal obtained Trump's federal income tax return documents; however, they were not released to the public. This could change this week as the committee is set to meet to privately vote whether to make the documents public.

In a post to his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump appeared to say that his tax returns won't show the full picture of his company's financials.

"All of the so-called experts who think that they know so much about my very successful private company, actually know almost nothing. It is a GREAT COMPANY, with lots of cash, some of the greatest assets anywhere in the World, and very little debt. Also, strong on deductions and depreciation," Trump wrote.

"You will be seeing these numbers soon, but not all from my tax returns, which show relatively little. EVERYONE will be impressed, but the Fake News Media will not be happy, so against their narrative!" he added.

In addition to the possible public release of his tax return documents, Trump is also facing a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused the former president of financial fraud in connection to the Trump Organization.

Shortly after Trump's post on Truth Social, several lawyers and legal experts informed Newsweek that the comments could potentially be used as evidence against the former president in court.

Neama Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek that Trump's post "can be used against him in court," including in the lawsuit brought by James.

"Trump's lawyers have probably told him to keep his mouth shut, but he isn't listening. These statements are especially problematic from a legal perspective because they are evidence of Trump's knowledge and intent. They get inside Trump's head and show jurors what he was thinking and intending when he filed his tax returns," Rahmani said.

"Most tax crimes have a willfulness requirement. Innocent mistakes aren't enough. Trump admitting he knew he was misstating his income satisfies that knowledge and intent requirement," he added.

Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney, made similar comments to Newsweek, saying that "the general expectation was, and is, that the tax returns will show his income and liabilities do not match his public statements. That is, the returns likely will show a company and a person not as rich or successful as he claims."

"His statements on social media yesterday about his tax returns not being accurate are more about perpetuating an image of a supposedly successful businessman. Trump's recent statements could be interpreted as an admission of filing untrue (i.e., false) tax returns, or it could reflect a tax reporting system that doesn't match the operating realities of a private company," McAuliffe told Newsweek.

Attorney Andrew Lieb told Newsweek that Trump's comments may not lead to any "further legal trouble," but he noted that "it sure could be the nail in the coffin on his current cases."

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Trump for comment.