Former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” Wednesday evening to discuss a number of things including a lawsuit filed against him, his business, and some of his children earlier in the day by the state of New York.
At one point, Trump addressed the Aug. 8 raid by the FBI at his Mar-a-Lago estate and the items that agents seized, including one that “could cause a lot of problems” down the road. The former president made his first trip back to his home on Sunday and took stock of what was taken.
First, host Sean Hannity, a known friend of Trump’s, noted that the FBI seized around 500 documents that allegedly fall under attorney-client privilege before Trump mentioned one document in particular.
“They took a lot. I think they took my will. I found out yesterday,” the former president said. “I said, ‘Where is it?’”
“Am I in it?” Hannity asked before Trump repeated, “I think they took my will.”
“That could cause a lot of problems,” he said before smiling at Hannity’s question.
“That could cause a lot of problems if that gets published for people who won’t be so happy, or maybe will be very happy,” Trump added.
Trump was not at his palatial Palm Beach residence when the raid too place but told Hannity where he was and how he found out.
“I was in New Jersey. I got a call in the morning from somebody that’s here. … ‘Sir, the FBI just came in.’ I said, ‘What? The FBA? Who?’ And they go, ‘The FBI.’ And I said, ‘How many people?’ And he said, ‘Many, many people, sir. Many, many people,’” he said.
The interview came on the heels of a lawsuit against the Trump Organization New York Attorney General Letitia James, which she announced Wednesday morning.
“The NY AG is suing Trump and two of his kids, alleging a massive campaign of fraudulent business practices by the Trump Org. She’s also urging federal prosecutors and the IRS to pursue criminal probes,” Pplitico senior legal reporter Kyle Cheney noted on Twitter.
The wide-ranging lawsuit alleges decades of deception and relies on a statute for repeat violations of law. The suit stems from a 3.5 year investigation that began with Michael Cohen's tesimony to Congress alleging Trump inflated value of assets to win favorable financial deals.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 21, 2022
“The wide-ranging lawsuit alleges decades of deception and relies on a statute for repeat violations of law. The suit stems from a 3.5 year investigation that began with Michael Cohen’s testimony to Congress alleging Trump inflated value of assets to win favorable financial deals,” he said.
The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $250 million in damages.
It said that Trump’s personal financial statements “for the period 2011 through 2021 were fraudulent and misleading in both their composition and presentation.”
″The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year. All told, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and the other Defendants, as part of a repeated pattern and common scheme, derived more than 200 false and misleading valuations of assets included in the 11 Statements covering 2011 through 2021,” James said.
She had previously indicated that she could sue Trump after rejecting an offer to resolve the civil investigation into his family business last week, The Washington Examiner reported.
“The Trump Organization has sought to reach a deal with James’s office for months after the office told a court in January it had uncovered evidence the company used “fraudulent or misleading” asset valuations to secure loans and other tax benefits. James has been leading the investigation for three years,” the report said.
James has been on a crusade against Trump since before she was elected to the office of Attorney General, literally running on a pledge to allegedly hold him accountable. Her lawsuit comes after criminal investigations into Trump and his businesses by other New York investigators failed to turn up any prosecutable evidence.
In August, immediately following the Mar-a-Lago raid, Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly during a deposition with James’ office and refused to answer questions.
“I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” the former president said at the time. “When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors, and the Fake News Media, you have no choice.”