Newsmax Predictably Complains On Trump’s Behalf About Real Estate Ruling Against Him

The Trump-fluffers at Newsmax were unsurprisingly upset on his behalf that the former president was ordered to pay more than $364 million in penalties for deliberately overvaluing his properties in order to gain more favorable loan rates. Newsmax started things off with a balanced wire story on the ruling, then another one on what the ruling means for Trump’s businesses. The first article on the ruling itself came from Michael Katz, who prominently featured Trump’s ranting about the ruling but waited until later in the article to quote prosecutors praising the ruling. Then came the usual parade of right-wing talking heads and Trump toadies decrying the ruling:

• Joe diGenova to Newsmax: Choose Fla. Over N.Y. for Business
• Trump Jr. to Newsmax: N.Y. Ruling ‘Absolute Insanity, Disgusting’
• Matthew Whitaker to Newsmax: ‘Ridiculous Judgment,’ ‘Ridiculous Judge’
• Alina Habba to Newsmax: Trump Victim of AG’s Campaign Vow

Then there was this guy, who tried to liken Trump facing justice to Alexei Navalny dying in a Russian prison under mysterious circumstances, presumably on the orders of Vladimir Putin:

It’s surprising to see the Biden administration pursue a policy similar to the one Russian President Vladimir Putin employed against political foe Alexei Navalny to “get rid of” former President Donald Trump, says retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer.

Navalny, Putin’s most formidable domestic opponent, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence, authorities said.

[…]

“I am surprised that you see the Biden administration who would correctly pursue a similar policy to get rid of Trump,” Shaffer added, referring to the four criminal indictments Trump faces in four cities as he vies to reclaim the White House.

“They would see Trump in prison to do the same thing. So, the fact that Biden is speaking out after Putin endorsed him, by the way … I think that this is a tragedy. Putin is still a thug. But with that said, we have our own system of problems that we have to look at.”

That was followed by a Feb. 19 column by Michael Busler fretting that expecting rich real estate investors to tell the truth about their investments might destroy the economy:

Recently a New York state judge ordered Donald Trump to pay $364 million as part of a fraud trial against him and his companies. They say the verdict is a result of Trump over-valuing his properties to obtain more favorable terms from a lender. The charges were bogus, and the verdict is even more bogus. The verdict is intended to damage Trump. It could damage the entire economy.

The New York court concluded that Trump defrauded somebody by overstating property values. While the lender said that there was no fraud and the lender suffered no damages, the judge found Trump guilty anyway. The basis of these charges will mean that real estate developers must change their business practices.

The result will be less business expansion and damage to the New York and possibly the U.S. economies.

[…]

Based on the recent Trump verdict, developers will be hesitant to refinance debt when they believe the value of the property has increased. A developer may say that if he submits a value of $2,000,000 and later some politically motivated court says that the property is still worth $1,000,000, the developer could face the same fate that Trump faced. That is massive fines and severe restrictions on their business activities.

That hesitancy will result in less capital available to developers and less economic growth.

The full impact of the ridiculous Trump verdict may be even worse. Virtually every developer could be guilty of overvaluing existing properties. Also, many homeowners may similarly be guilty of overvaluing their home to get more favorable rates when refinancing a mortgage or seeking a home equity loan.

[…]

Trump will likely appeal the verdict and even if the liberal appellate court in New York upholds the verdict, an objective higher court will reverse it. And they should. Any transaction where both parties agree to terms and no party is hurt should not be subject to a fraud conviction. Period.

Of course, a lack of victims doesn’t negate the fact that fraud happened.

Only in the circles of right-wing media bubbles and rich-guy real estate is telling the truth considered not just a bad thing but actually harmful to business.

Newsmax even called on an old friend of both Trump and Newsmax to denounce the ruling:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Newsmax on Monday that the New York Court of Appeals should “unanimously” reverse the $355 million judgment levied against former President Donald Trump on Friday in the New York civil fraud trial brought by Attorney General Letitia James.

“Oh, my goodness, I can’t imagine if the Court of Appeals is anywhere near a straight court — that’s the highest court in New York — that this wouldn’t be reversed unanimously,” Giuliani said during an appearance on “Wake Up America.” “We’ve seen some Democrat courts now turn on their distortion of the Constitution. … [Judge Arthur] Engoron, for example, went so far that, I think, to reclaim its honor, the New York court system is going to have to reverse that case. The man acted like a … I don’t know what he acted like. He didn’t act like a judge, let’s put it that way.”

“Also the number bears no relationship to reality,” he continued. “When you put a judgment against someone, there’s got to be some reality to it, to be upheld on appeal.

“Where did the number come from? Nobody lost money. Nobody had any claims against him. In fact, you might argue he should get money because he made money for the banks. So, maybe they didn’t pay him the right amount. He made up that number, literally pulled it out of his … you know.”

Writer Nicole Wells made no mention of the fact that Giuliani was fined $148 million in a defamation lawsuit in which he literally pulled a false claim that two Georgia election workers committed election fraud out of his … you know.