And the “no victims” defense is garbage anyway. He still committed fraud.
Suppose I steal $100 from you. I take that $100 and use it to bet on horse racing. My bets pay off and I win $1,000. Now, I return your $100. Can I be arrested for theft? After all, you got your money back so you (by Trump’s “logic”) aren’t a victim. So I should be allowed to walk free with my $900 profit, right?
Of course not. I still committed theft. Returning the money later doesn’t absolve me of my crime. Maybe, I’d get a lighter sentence for returning the money, but that’s up to the judge.
So maybe Trump gets off slightly easier because the banks got their money back, but he still got loans based on fraudulent information and profited off of his fraud. No amount of loan repayment absolves him of the fraud that got him those loans.
And the “no victims” defense is garbage anyway. He still committed fraud.
Suppose I steal $100 from you. I take that $100 and use it to bet on horse racing. My bets pay off and I win $1,000. Now, I return your $100. Can I be arrested for theft? After all, you got your money back so you (by Trump’s “logic”) aren’t a victim. So I should be allowed to walk free with my $900 profit, right?
Of course not. I still committed theft. Returning the money later doesn’t absolve me of my crime. Maybe, I’d get a lighter sentence for returning the money, but that’s up to the judge.
So maybe Trump gets off slightly easier because the banks got their money back, but he still got loans based on fraudulent information and profited off of his fraud. No amount of loan repayment absolves him of the fraud that got him those loans.