A factual response to the video posted above.
In 1995 Donald Trump signed a deed that registered Mars a Lago as a social club. He did this to gain the far lower local property valuation for tax purposes. Every subsequent valuation made that tried to pretend this could be a development site was fraudulent. The Judge went into clear detail on this in his statement.
One can also see the details for every massive fraudulent overstatement of property values in the judgement.
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In 1995, Donald Trump signed a “Deed of Conservation and Preservation” in which he gave up the right to use Mar-a-Lago for any purpose other than as a social club (the “1995 Deed”).
In 2002, Donald Trump granted a conservation easement to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and signed a deed in which, in addition to conveying the rights to develop or use Mar-a-Lago for any purpose other than a social club, the Deed further “limits changes to the Property including, without limitation, the division or subdivision of the Property for any purpose, including use as single family homes, the interior renovation of the mansion, which may be necessary and desirable for the sale of the property as a single family residential estate, the construction of new buildings and the obstruction of open vistas.” NYSCEF Doc. No. 1531 at 25-26 (emphasis added).
In exchange for executing the 2002 Deed, in which he gave away, in perpetuity, the right to develop or use the property as a single-family residence, Donald Trump paid significantly lower property taxes on Mar-a-Lago. PX 1730; TT 3533-3535
McConney had in his possession, since at least 2011, a copy of the 2002 Deed, restricting the use of Mar-a-Lago as a single-family residence. TT 773-775; PX 1013; DX 360. McConney was also aware, when he prepared the SFCs supporting data, that the entire basis of the valuations of Mar-a-Lago rested on the premise that it could be sold as a private residence to an individual.
Each and every year, he valued Mar-a-Lago as if it could be sold as a single-family residence, notwithstanding the deeded prohibitions against such use in perpetuity. TT 759, 775. Further, when Patrick Birney took over for McConney in preparing the valuations for the SFCs,
Weisselberg and McConney both concealed from Birney the 1995 and 2002 deeds. TT 1258- 1259. When valuing Mar-a-Lago on the SFCs from 2016-2021, McConney and Weisselberg selected comparables for Birney to use that were exclusively for private residences. TT 1248-
1256, 1268-1282; see, e.g., PX 3026.
There is no legal gray area surrounding the permanent nature of the deed restrictions. PX 1013.
Accordingly, there can be no mistake that Donald Trump’s valuation of Mar-a-Lago from 2011- 2021 was fraudulent.
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What Donald trump said
TT 3527-3530. When confronted with the 2002 deed (18) in which he signed away, in perpetuity, the right to use or develop Mar-a-Lago as anything other than as a social club, in exchange for a conservation easement tax benefit, he offered that “when you say, ‘intend,’ intend doesn’t mean we will do it.” PX 1730; TT 3533-3535.
Nonetheless, Donald Trump insisted that he believed Mar-a-Lago is worth “between a billion and a billion five” today, which would require not only valuing it as a private residence, which the deed prohibits,(19 )but as more than the most expensive private residence listed in the country by approximately 400%.(20) TT 3530.
18 See further discussion of Mar-a-Lago infra.
19 A fact of which he is well aware, having signed the deed himself.
20 According to a CNBC report, as of January 7, 2022, the most expensive private family residence listing in the United States was $295 million, for a newly developed 105,000 square foot mega-mansion in Los Angeles, California.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/07/most-expensive-home-in-america-lists-for-295- million-may-head-to-auction.html.
Further Legal analysis of Mars a Lago value
Siding with New York's attorney general in a lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of grossly overvaluing his assets, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump consistently exaggerated Mar-a-Lago's worth.