With intrigue in the air, Birney cautiously responds, “I don’t think so.” A similarly vague response follows concerning documents that describe Trump’s property deals. But the real drama unfolds when Birney is quizzed about why he inflated the value of Trump’s properties in his spreadsheets by a staggering 35% or 15% for a “presidential premium.” The million-dollar question: Who directed him to do this?
Birney, with an air of perplexity, puffs his cheeks, exhales, and then shakes his head. “I don’t really remember, but probably Allen Weisselberg,” he confesses.
The attorney general’s office skillfully weaves a narrative that suggests number manipulation aimed at boosting Trump’s net worth.
Unraveling the Complex Web
As the clock strikes 10:00 a.m., the stage is set for a gripping half-day session. Patrick Birney’s testimony becomes a key to understanding how Trump calculated his net worth for banks and insurers. The central question is whether the defendants, including former CFO Allen Weisselberg and ex-controller Jeffrey McConney, intended to defraud these institutions and whether their misstatements held any material significance.
