Donald Trump Watches as Witness Dismantles His Net Worth Calculations

A witness in Donald Trump's fraud trial called the former president's statements of financial condition inappropriate and inaccurate as Trump looked on.

The $250 million civil fraud trial against Trump that continued Tuesday in New York stems from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022 alleging that Trump and other executives at the Trump Organization conspired to inflate the former president's net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers in order to make deals and secure loans.

Trump, who is dominating the GOP polls in his third presidential campaign, continues to deny any wrongdoing.

Tuesday's testimony was from appraiser Doug Larson, whose name appears multiple times over years' worth of Trump's financial documents, which allege that building valuations were determined through multiple phone conversations with Larson for Trump properties like 40 Wall Street, Trump Tower and a retail area named "Niketown."

When asked about the phone calls, Larson, a former executive at the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, testified that no such conversations occurred.

"The AG's office goes through example after example like this, where Larson is listed as a source on key figures that the Trump Org used in its valuations," Forbes editor Dan Alexander posted on X, formerly Twitter, while Larson was on the stand. "But Larson doesn't remember these conversations. The Trump Organization seems to have just made this stuff up."

Newsweek reached out to the Trump Organization by email for comment.

State attorney Mark Ladov questioned Larson about his reaction to the documents that cited him as the source for the valuation method for the Niketown building, according to an X post by Law 360 reporter Stewart Bishop.

The state then suggested that the valuation numbers were calculated after using metrics sourced from a generic email Larson sent to his clients, according to ABC News. However, Larson maintained that official appraisals should've been carried out on the buildings.

Larson responded that the document was inappropriate and inaccurate. In addition to denying that he assisted the Trump Organization in valuing the buildings, he said the Trump Organization never informed him that he would be used as a source.

Trump observed the exchange from the defense table.

"Trump is seated at the defense table between two attorneys and alternates between looking closely at the documents shown on the screen in front of him and leaning back in his chair and looking in the direction of Ladov and the witness. Blue suit, red tie today," Bishop posted on X.

As well as the civil lawsuit in New York, Trump faces 91 federal and state charges, all of which he denies. He has been indicted four times this year: March 30 on Manhattan "hush money" charges; June 8 for allegedly handling classified documents; August 1 in Washington, D.C., regarding election interference; and August 24 in Georgia on racketeering and election interference charges.

Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge presiding over the civil case, ruled that James had already proved that Trump Organization assets were inflated. The non-jury trial will determine how much is owed in penalties. Trump and two of his children—Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump—also could be barred from running businesses in New York if prosecutors are successful.