“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary ripped New York Attorney General Letitia James’ business fraud trial against former President Donald Trump on Thursday.
O’Leary, known as “Mr. Wonderful,” was asked about the case by CNN host Laura Coates, and he immediately attacked it as nonsense.
James has alleged that Trump and his business inflated the worth of their assets to secure loans with favorable interest rates.
The former president and leading GOP contender in this year’s presidential race has disputed that any assets were inflated and pointed out that each of the loans was paid back.
One question critics of James’ civil lawsuit have asked is, if the loans were paid back, who has been victimized?
Trending:
On CNN, O’Leary said that what Trump has been accused of doing is so common in real estate that every developer in the country would also need to be sued.
Coates asked the TV host and businessman whether the Trump real estate case struck him as “odd.”
O’Leary said he wanted to discuss the issue broadly and explained how companies secure loans.
“If you’re a developer,” he said, “and you’ve got a building on a block anywhere in America and it’s worth, let’s say, $500 million, and you want to build a building right beside it, you’d go to the bank and say, ‘This building is worth $500 million. I’d like to borrow a construction finance loan against this asset. And I want you to tell me it’s worth $500 million too.’”
Do you agree with Kevin O’Leary?
O’Leary said the bank would then haggle with the real estate owner about the value of the property.
“You’re always trying to show your assets in the brightest light with the sunshine you can possibly determine for them,” he said. “You want them to be worth the very most.”
“By the way,” he said. “Forget about Trump — every single real estate developer everywhere on Earth does this. They always talk about their asset being worth a lot, and the bank says no. That’s just the way it is.”
“Who lost money? Nobody.”
O’Leary then pointed out all of Trump’s loans were paid back.
He added, “If you’re gonna sue this case and win, you gotta sue every real estate developer everywhere. This is all they do. This is what they do all day long, every day.”
The “Shark Tank” star then predicted the case against Trump is ultimately doomed.
“So, I don’t think this thing will ever survive appeal, regardless of what the fine is. This doesn’t even make sense,” he said.
O’Leary concluded the civil lawsuit is “ridiculous” and argued that real estate developers across the country are waiting to see the outcome.
James is attempting to bar Trump from practicing business in his home state of New York and also wants him to pay a fine of $370 million, NBC News reported.
