Jon Stewart lashes out after being accused of hypocrisy over Trump criticism — and it doesn't go well

A Democratic judge sided with New York Attorney General Letitia James last year, claiming former President Donald Trump and his company committed fraud by overstating the value of their assets.

On "The Daily Show" Monday, former comedian Jon Stewart discussed where Trump's civil fraud case presently stands, zeroing in on the Republican front-runner's appeal and corresponding multi-million-dollar bond.

Stewart argued that Trump's supposed overvaluation of his properties was "not victimless," intimating further that those who do likewise in pursuit of profit are immoral if not outright criminal.

The New York Post and critics online intimated this week that Stewart might have some phantasmal victims of his own.

In response to accusations of hypocrisy, Stewart lashed out Wednesday; however, his defense fell flat absent an adoring audience ready to laugh on cue.

Stewart's critique

"What did Trump actually do to earn this penalty?" Stewart said Monday, referencing Trump's $454 million appeal bond, which a state appeals court knocked down to $175 million this week.

"Well, it turns out that for a decade, whenever Trump wanted to get a loan or make a deal, he would illegally inflate the value of his real estate. For instance, suggesting that his 11,000-square-foot penthouse was a 30,000-square-foot-penthouse," continued Stewart. "We all do it. I mean, on my license I'm not listed as 5'7''. I'm listed as 30,000 square feet."

Stewart said that Letitia James "knew that Trump's property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties. It was all part of a very sophisticated real estate practice known as lying."

The host stressed that overvaluations "are not victimless crimes."

Stewart suggested that the banks were victimized, having apparently been paid back at lower interest rates. He also suggested that since "money isn't infinite," persons seeking loans who might have given "a more honest evaluation" could hypothetically have lost out.

According to the host, when it comes to the investment community, "In pursuit of profit, there is no rule that cannot be bent, there is no principle that cannot be undercut, as long as you and your f**king friends [are] making money."

Stewart, criticized

On Tuesday, podcast host Tim Pool dug up a 2014 New York Times article concerning Stewart's sale of a 6,280-square-foot New York City penthouse to financier Parag Pande for $17.5 million. The article noted that Stewart bought the apartment for $5.8 million in 2005.

Pool tweeted, "Did @jonstewart commit fraud when he sold his penthouse for $17.5M? NY listed its market value at $1.8M [and] AV around 800k."

The New York Post seized upon Pool's suggestion and obtained assessor records from the year of sale, which indicated the property's estimated market value was only $1.88 million. According to the Post, the actual assessor valuation was even lower, at $847,174.

The Post alleged that Stewart had done precisely what he accused Trump Monday of doing: paying "significantly lower property taxes, which were calculated based on that assessor valuation price."

The Post noted that the New York assessor valuation on Stewart's former penthouse "is the exact same citation method and metric that New York Attorney General Letitia James used to value Trump's private and personal properties, and then sued him for inflating those assets."

Parag Pande apparently sold the property in 2021 at just over $13 million at roughly a 26% loss.

Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite suggested that it was unfair to suggest Stewart had "overvalued his property," certainly not by "a staggering 829%."

Rumpf claimed the Post and other critics were conflating different types of real estate values — the actual market value of a property, the property's taxable value, and "documentation about a property's value submitted to a lender for the purposes of securing a loan" — perhaps with the intention to mislead.

Rumpf argued further that it is common for there to be a significant delta between assessed and actual market values, stressing that in Stewart's case, a buyer was willing to pay $17.5 million.

The Post has since changed the title of its article from "Jon Stewart found to have overvalued his NYC home by 829% after slamming Trump's civil case as 'not victimless'" to "Jon Stewart benefited by 829% 'overvalue' of his NYC home even as he labels Trump’s civil case 'not victimless.'"

Stewart lashes out

While "The Daily Show" host's representatives did not respond to the Post's requests for comment, Stewart tweeted Wednesday evening, "OMG!! I've been caught doing something not remotely similar to Trump!"

"I guess all I need to do now is start a fraud college, steal classified docs, bankrupt casinos, pay hush money, grab pussies, discriminate in housing, cheat at golf and foment insurrection and you'll revere me!" added Stewart.

After Stewart threw more rocks from his glass house, critics pounced.

Tim Pool doubled down, writing, "My brother[.] You sold a property NY valued at 1.8M to someone for 17.5M and they lost 4M because of it[.] And you paid taxes on a valuation of 748k. 'When it came time to pay taxes he undervalued his property.'"

Blaze TV host Mark Levintweeted, "Caught red-handed and you make a dumb-ass argument. According to YOU, you are a liar, a fraud, a hypocrite, and you're arrogant about it. Sound familiar, Johnny?"

"They told us that others need to pay their 'fair share,'" wrote investigative reporter James O'Keefe. "Oh what a tangled web they weave!"

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