Trump’s $287M loans that he did not pay were forgiven
The New York Times obtained the tax records of Donald Trump and most of the debt had to do with a Chicago real estate deal
President Donald Trump’s federal income taxes have revealed that Deutsche Bank and other lenders have forgiven about $287 million in debt that he did not pay for the first time since 2010. The New York Times obtained the documents that confirmed it.
The vast majority of this unpaid debt was related to a 92-floor skyscraper in Chicago that was completed in 2008. Trump had hoped to turn the property into another one of his real estate marquee dwellings.
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“We’re in love with the building,” Trump spoke at the time. “We’re very, very happy with what’s happened with respect to this building and how fast we put it up.”
However, the investment soon became a disappointment in the throes of the financial crisis. Trump attempted to back out of paying what he owed to the financial institutions that loaned him money. He owed Deutsche Bank $334 million. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump was given an extended grace period to pay on the defaulted loans after asking for extensions.
Trump sued Deutsche Bank and Fortress in 2008 for “predatory lending practices” and demanded $3 Billion in damages. Deutsche Bank countersued but a private settlement was reached in 2010.
Trump still owed Deutsche Bank $99 million in 2012. Ultimately, the loans were forgiven rather than continue to fight Trump in court. The outlet described the president’s ability to forgo making payments on loans but convincing lenders to go easy on him.
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“These were all arm’s length transactions that were voluntarily entered into between sophisticated parties many years ago in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and the resulting collapse of the real estate markets,” Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, said.
Garten insisted that the law and proper protocol was followed for the debt of the loans to be forgiven.
However, the transaction is now part of an investigation by the New York Attorney General Letitia James who initiated the probe last year. It does not appear Trump paid any federal taxes on the loans according to the analysis of Trump’s tax records by the NYT.
“[The Office of Attorney General] is currently investigating whether the Trump Organization and Donald J. Trump … improperly inflated the value of Mr. Trump’s assets on annual financial statements in order to secure loans and obtain economic and tax benefits. One particular focus of this inquiry, as relevant here, is whether the Trump Organization and its agents improperly inflated, or caused to be improperly inflated, the value of the Seven Springs estate,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Colangelo wrote at the time.
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