For starters, the square footage of an apartment is not a matter of opinion, and Trump lied about the square footage.
The average New Yorker was harmed by Trump in the same way that the average New Yorker is harmed by a drunk driver who makes it home without hitting anyone.
square footage is routinely fudged. some people go by exterior square footage, some people count the possible square footage of nonstructural walls. and some people go by interior, usable square feet.
So you don't understand why drunk drivers are punished? Or why you would be punished for driving 100 mph in a school zone without hitting anyone? Or why you would go to jail if you shot a few rounds into a crowd without hurting anyone?
In that case, you simply don't understand the point of public safety laws. Fortunately, prosecutors do understand.
To summarize: There are laws. Even if you can't understand why they exist, you have to obey them.
They are punished to prevent them from driving drunk in the present and the future, there is not actual harm from them being drunk and making it home save.
If people are convicted by what could have been that is a very slippery slope.
He is being punished for running for president, that should be obvious. So again, please very directly tell me how people were harmed by trump. I can tell you how they benefitted.
I already told you. He broke a law designed to keep New Yorkers safe. That means he put New Yorkers at unnecessary risk.
It doesn't matter if any particular person was harmed, just like it doesn't matter if a drunk driver actually harms someone or if a person who shoots into a crowd actually harms anyone.
It also doesn't matter if anyone benefited from his illegal actions. If you put on an illegal fireworks show, maybe people benefit and maybe nobody gets hurt. You get punished nevertheless.
The law is the law. When you break it, you face punishment. End of story. Even if nobody was actually harmed, even if some people benefited.
When Trump lied on his loan documents, his NY lenders assumed unnecessary risk. Along with any NY institutions that dealt with those lenders.
Are you suggesting that lying on loan documents is okay as long as you pay the loan back? Do you routinely lie on your credit card and mortgage applications to get a better rate?
Again, in underwriting they look at the properties and make a decision on their own. And what was the risk to New Yorkers? Who exactly was defrauded by trump?
Is the only thing that was wrong the square footage on an apartment?
The square footage was not the only thing that he lied about, you can read the court docs for the whole list.
The entire basis of finance is that lenders get paid more when borrowers have more risk. If you have a low credit score, lenders get paid more even if you make all your payments on time. But Trump lied, in order to avoid paying what they would have charged him if they knew the truth.
It really sounds like you are admitting to lying on credit card and loan applications in order to get better rates. How much money have you saved that way? Increase that by several orders of magnitude, and that's what New York lenders should have gotten from Trump.