‘Airballs and witchcraft’: Testy witness casts blame on insurance company in Trump trial
A testy expert in Donald Trump’s $250 million civil court trial testified Friday that an insurance company’s scrutiny of Trump Organization finances amounted to nothing more than hocus-pocus, reports show.
Trump’s reported business partner and golf buddy Gary Giulietti, called as an underwriting expert, cast doubt on oversight provided by Zurich Insurance Group, according to ABC News.
“Airballs and witchcraft,” Giulietti reportedly said of their due diligence efforts.
Giulietti argued Zurich’s underwriter was wrong to rely on Trump Organization assurances that its $6 billion valuation was based on appraisals, as she testified she’d done in a deposition.
"They should have asked if they wanted it," Giulietti said.
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He also questioned the Zurich group’s policy of relying on media coverage to assess value, according to a Law360 reporter covering the trial Friday.
When state attorney Andrew Amer challenged the credentials of the witness, Giulietti spat back, "You're sort of insulting me, aren't you?"
Giulietti told the court, "There's no one like me in the industry," but later apologized, saying the statement that was, “Not my style.”