Former President Trump said he averted a ā€œnuclear holocaustā€ with North Korea and ā€œsaved millions of livesā€ during his time as president, according to his newly released April deposition in his New York civil fraud case.

For nearly seven hours, lawyers with the New York attorney generalā€™s office grilled Trump over his companyā€™s business practices and his childrenā€™s roles within the Trump Organization. When asked about how his position changed within the Trump Organization when elected president, Trump said he was ā€œvery busyā€ and considered the presidency ā€œthe most important job in the world, saving millions of lives.ā€

ā€œI think you would have nuclear holocaust, if I didnā€™t deal with North Korea,ā€ Trump said. ā€œI think you would have a nuclear war, if I werenā€™t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.ā€

Trump said his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, both of whom currently serve as executive vice presidents at the Trump organization and are named in the suit, saw their roles change once he came president.

ā€œThey became more intensely involved with the company, I was virtually not involved at all,ā€ Trump said. ā€œI rarely ā€” Iā€™d rarely have anything to do with anything having to do with the company.ā€

The testimony is part of New York Attorney General Letitia Jamesā€™s (D) lawsuit against Trump, the Trump Organization and two of the former presidentā€™s children over allegations of major fraud. Trumpā€™s daughter, Ivanka, was previously included in the lawsuit but later dismissed from it by a state appeals judge.

Trumpā€™s lawyers released Trumpā€™s 479-page deposition transcript Wednesday ahead of a Sept. 22 hearing where a judge could resolve part or all of the lawsuit before it goes to trial in October.

In a separate court document filed Wednesday, James alleges Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $2.2 billion in 2014, and from 2011-21 defrauded lenders, insurers and others.

  • athos77@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    23
    Ā·
    10 months ago

    A) I believe most of the false valuations happened before he became president.

    B) It sure didnā€™t take very much for him to throw his sons under the bus.

    • ArugulaZ@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      Ā·
      10 months ago

      Eric was probably happy just to have that interaction. ā€œHe NOTICED me! Also, ouch!ā€