(02-22-2024, 01:54 PM)mikesez Wrote: Trump gave wrong (very wrong) numbers on forms that the government saw, that the banks were supposed to use to decide if he would be leant money at what interest rate. 

The government has a regulatory role to play to make sure that the bank is operating like a public bank and not a private club.  That's why the forms exist.  So even if the banks didn't use those numbers, Trump's actions still frustrated a legitimate government activity and should be punished.  Punished to what extent? Hard to say.

Now what numbers did the bank actually use, and are they actually the victims in all of this? Why are they not suing? Simple answer: it's Deutsche Bank, which has long been suspected of international money laundering for Russian kleptocrats and other bad actors.  They want their internals exposed as little as possible in all of this.  But it doesn't mean they weren't victims and it doesn't mean Trump shouldn't be punished.