A New York court has ruled that former president Donald Trump and some of his children have committed fraud for years, in part by inflating the value of Trump's properties. But Glenn has his doubts about the judge's ruling, specifically because he ruled that Mar-A-Lago is only worth $18 million. Glenn and Stu compare that ridiculous Mar-a-Lago ruling to the prices of much smaller and way less historic houses and condos in the Palm Beach area — and it only makes it more obvious that this is just another attempt to take down Trump.
TranscriptBelow is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: A New York court ruled Tuesday. Boy, I have to tell you.
If I were in New York, or I were in Washington, DC, or any of these blue states, I would be thinking, I should probably leave here.
Because I don't think I can get a fair trial.
New York court ruled Tuesday, that former President Donald Trump had committed fraud for years, to build his fortune.
New York judge Arthur Engoron, ruled in a civil case, brought by New York Attorney General James.
Now, this is the one that was like, I'm going to get him! I'm going to get him!
So --
STU: That's what she ran.
GLENN: That's what she ran on.
Not the little dog as well. But she did run --
STU: She didn't specify the size of the dog. That's true.
GLENN: That's exactly right. Okay.
So the -- the court system, and the -- the DA decided, not to prosecute. Okay?
They decided --
STU: Alvin brag.
GLENN: Yeah. Alvin brag. They decided not to prosecute.
Police, the southern district of energetic. FBI. No one took this on. Because they didn't think there was anything there.
So she decides to go to civil court, to take them on.
Now she found a judge, that will say, that he engaged in fraud.
Now, do I think that Donald Trump inflated numbers of his wealth?
Yes. Yes. I do.
STU: Really? Now, what evidence do you have?
GLENN: Well, everything. Pretty much everything.
STU: Now, it's totally fine to do that publicly. Totally fine is not the right. It's not illegal to say you have $10 billion. When you have $2 billion. Whatever.
I'm not saying that's what he did.
You can say that. You can say, you're the wealthiest person in the world. When you're not publicly, at a press conference. And there's no crime being committed.
GLENN: But I will tell you, if you're misstating things intentionally.
That is called fraud.
STU: Especially when you do it on documents, over and over and over again to banks. And insurance companies.
GLENN: Now, I don't know about you. But I've never lied on my banking statements when I go to get a loan. Because they generally check those things out.
STU: I would be terrified to do so.
GLENN: Right. Right.
STU: Now, you have the reputation.
And, again, I don't know if this was Trump specifically. This was about his organization.
It could be one of his other executives doing it.
It does seem like it was done often
When you're Donald Trump, you have a reputation of being Donald Trump. Being very wealthy. Everything is the most grandiose thing in the world. There's probably not much questioning. Right?
GLENN: Really? They will give you a $250 million loan and not check it out?
STU: Are they going to check out the square footage of his apartment?
Probably not, right?
GLENN: So -- so -- so the judge said yesterday, that Mar-a-Lago -- he overstated the price.
STU: Just a tad.
GLENN: Just a tad. He said, it's worth $18 million.
STU: I think it was the other way around. He said it was worth more for this particular.
GLENN: No. No. No.
The judge said it was only worth 18 million.
STU: Okay.
It was he --
GLENN: Yeah. No Trump said --
STU: 700 million, I think.
GLENN: Yeah. And he did put probably $100 million into that place.
And it is also a legacy property.
I mean, it's not going for $18 million.
STU: Now, I'm going to say, neither one may be correct. If I were to say, which one is closer to its actual value. I would say, $700 million.
GLENN: I would too.
I mean, it could be worth 200, 300, 500 million. It's not worth 25 million, or 7 million. There's no way.
STU: Right. No! There's no way. How many square feet, is it?
GLENN: I don't even know.
It's this entire peninsula, that goes out of this land bridge, in west palm. I don't know if you can get an apartment for $80 million. Right on the water. Both sides.
STU: Right. A normal 4,000 square foot house, which I would assume is pretty small, right?
For West Palm Beach, but probably like, the average McMansion in Florida is 4,000.
GLENN: Maybe. Maybe.
STU: I'm just guestimating here. But a 4,000 square foot house in West Palm Beach is already, got to be, 4 million, $5 million.
GLENN: Go to realtor.com. Find out.
STU: There you go. By the way, 126 rooms. He took down to 500 square feet at Mar-a-Lago. And it's a business.
GLENN: All right. 62,000 square feet. Okay.
With both sides on the ocean. This has and golf courses. Right?
GLENN: Yeah.
And it's -- it's got a banquet room.
It is -- I mean, it's crazy.
STU: Could you convince me it's only worth 300 million.
Yeah. Maybe. But it's not worth 18.
GLENN: So this is a 50-year-old movie studio. Okay?
Fifty-year-old movie studio.
I mean, it is a historic site in Texas now, but it's not like Mar-a-Lago.
STU: No. The one we're sitting in right now.
GLENN: The one we're sitting in right now. It's maybe worth $50 million. Okay? $50 million. You're telling me, I could have had Mar-a-Lago.
I think I would have taken Mar-a-Lago.
STU: Did they really say $18 million is the right number?
GLENN: That's what the judge said, $18 million.
STU: And that's completely absurd. What year were they talking about?
In 1945, maybe it's worth $18 million.
GLENN: It's crazy.
STU: That's really, legitimately nuts.
West Palm Beach is one of the most expensive areas in the entire country.
It is obviously like, this is a place where super wealthy people run away from other wealthy people.
When they're annoyed with low class wealthy people, they go to west Palm Beach.
GLENN: Right. So let me go to any price listing. Where can I get rooms -- I mean, I could get from high to low.
It doesn't necessarily do that. That's ridiculous. High to low.
STU: I love how Glenn's head is attempting tasks. This is how it will work.
GLENN: Thank you. I will put a minimum of 5 million. $5 million is the minimum I want to see.
Okay. So let's -- all right.
So I have a three-bedroom. Three and a half bath for 7.8 million. That's a condo overlooking, okay?
I have another condo for 6.1.
STU: Do they have the footage listed or no?
GLENN: Yeah. 2000 square feet.
STU: 2000 square feet. And how many millions --
GLENN: 6.1.
STU: But you can get Mar-a-Lago for three times the cost? Wow.
GLENN: Yeah. I have a 1-acre lot. Okay?
It has -- it shows a picture of the house. But I have a feeling, the house is so horrible.
You know how they do that. Look at this. And they're selling it as a lot, and not a house.
8.4. A 1 acre lot. How many acres is Mar-a-Lago.
STU: That's a good question.
GLENN: A lot.
STU: It was 1980. The cost.
Let's see. Looking here. 17-acre state.
That's the federal foundation.
Yeah. It's hard to -- looks like 17 acres.
But there's a 3.2-acre plot. Which has nothing on it. It's just grass.
Currently listed for $200 million. It is -- it is a --
GLENN: Oh, yeah.
STU: It's a very nice plot of land.
GLENN: Right.
STU: However, you know, you wouldn't think that just land would be 240 -- they haven't sold it yet.
It could be one of those e Bay things where it hasn't sold.
GLENN: Where I have a five-bedroom, five and a half bath, five thousand square feet, and half an acre.
STU: Okay. So this is what you might throw at, as a McMansion. Right? A very nice, big house. Not a ton of land.
GLENN: Right. A half an acre.
STU: The house fits, but barely.
GLENN: Uh-huh. Yes.
STU: How much are they asking for that?
GLENN: 11.9.
I'm -- I'm just saying.
STU: It's an expensive area.
GLENN: There's a condo here for five thousands of individuals square feet. Four bedroom. Five and a half bath. No land.
8.4. There is a condo. Six bedroom condo.
Six bedroom, seven and a half bath. 9,232 square feet.
And that's 39 million.
STU: I mean, come on. The claim is that the Palm Beach county assessor had appraised Mar-a-Lago between 18 million and 27.6 million.
Now, the assessors a lot of times, have strange values on homes, right? Have you ever noticed that? Again, you're not doing this yourself.
You're looking at someone else, assessing your home.
And it doesn't always align with what Zillow says.
So that would necessarily be fraud. You have to believe, it's much, much closer -- I mean, $426.5 for Mar-a-Lago, which was their low -- low end value that Trump had put it at.
GLENN: Is reasonable. Reasonable.
STU: Seems reasonable. Again, I've never bought anything in the nine figures. Never made a 9-figure purchase.
GLENN: Really?
STU: But I would assume.
GLENN: I make them all the time.
STU: Yeah, you might make them all the time. I'm trying to -- you have to understand. I'm saying to the audience, you have to understand. So the audience understands. Trying to get Glenn to understand, not everyone makes -- you know, a nine-figure purchase, look, the difference between 100 and 400 million for the average person. Might be difficult to -- how would you even figure that out, without going to some expert?
I have to believe, just back at the envelope. $400 million seems pretty reasonable for Mar-a-Lago. It's probably around where it is.
It couldn't possibly be 18 million. That is bonkers!
And anyone who knows anything about real estate would say that.
Yet, everybody in the media, I have heard talk about this story, as quoted in the overstatement of 2300 percent -- from -- from Letitia James.
Which is kind of -- it's bonkers.
GLENN: So, anyway, they are breaking his companies up now. The -- the court has taken control.
And has assigned people to take over the company. And break it apart.
And I don't know. Sell the assets off. I guess that's what you do.
If anybody is in the -- in the market for a really huge, really huge house, that also has beachfront property on both sides of it, you might be able to get a deal soon.
STU: Well, this is a no longer based ruling. What is in danger, are his New York properties.
Which is the gulf in Westchester. Trump Tower.
GLENN: It's unbelievable. Unbelievable.
STU: They're really going after all of it. And trying to get him to force his control to be gone.
Eric is the one to run the company right now. And he would be out.
GLENN: This is why we have always, always done well, in America.
Because you could count automate law to be consistent.
Nobody -- in my lifetime, I never heard, you know, stories, day after day. Where I went, wow. Never heard that done before.
Never. And that's why people invested in America.
That's why companies were built here in America. Because somebody just couldn't take it away from you.
STU: That's why you don't want to do business in Venezuela.
GLENN: Exactly right.
They can take it away. They can accuse you of something, and take it away.
And the law did not really matter. The law was just a player, in somebody's curio cabinet.
And that's exactly what's happening now in America. You want to destroy somebody.
No, you can destroy them. Destroy their whole life.
It's really sick.