Don Jr and Eric Trump shirk responsibility while testifying in civil fraud trial
Sons of former President Donald Trump, Eric and Donald Trump Jr, testified in a New York courtroom today.
The civil trial involves a case against Trump, sued by Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James, and his top executives including Eric and Donald. James is alleging they conspired to exaggerate his wealth on financial statements that were used to secure loans and make deals.
Donald Jr was the first to take the stand and was shown financial statements from 2016, which he said he did not recall despite being a trustee of the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust at the time. Much of today's questioning involved a lengthy email inquiry sent by reported Noah Kirsch, then with Forbes, to Alan Garten in March 2017, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer.
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Forbes said the Trump Organization had said Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan was three times bigger than it was (AP)Prosecutor Colleen Faherty asked Trump after the fact-checking email that was forwarded to Trump Jr. Forbes said the Trump Organization had said Trump’s triplex apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan was 33,000 sq ft, but documents were cited that said it was actually 11,000 sq ft.
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Trump Jr said the Forbes inquiry had an "insane amount of stuff." Faherty then presented letters sent to the accounting firm Mazars USA.
The first letter, from March 10, 2017, said the Trump Organization said the company had conducted "fair presentation." This was after the Forbes inquiry had been sent to Trump Jr, who said Mazars had been “intimately involved” in its preparation.
"Again, for purposes of accounting, I relied upon the accountants," Trump Jr said, before being shown a document that he signed a loan document from Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas dated March 13, 2017 as "attorney in fact" on behalf of his dad.
Trump Jr agreed he was generally familiar with the overall finances of the Trump Organization from 2011 (AFP via Getty Images)Trump Jr said he was sure he had signed the document but did not recall doing so and that he would be happy with the banks relying on it. He later said he assumed banks would carry out their own checks on documents in relation to certifications given to Deutsche and that he tended to approve documents on the advice of a network of accountants and lawyers.
At least one of the annual financial statements bore language saying the trustees “are responsible” for the document. But Donald Trump Jr. said he didn't recall ever working on any of the financial statements and had “no specific knowledge” of them.
Today, Trump Jr also agreed he was generally familiar with the overall finances of the Trump Organization from 2011. Later prosecutors cited an email from then-Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney on August 20, 2013 that said the former was "working on your Dads annual financial statement."
Also taking the stand, Eric Trump said he didn't work on the company's statement of financial condition. He said: "I don’t believe I would have known about it... not what I did."
Questioning from prosecutors involved the matter of a deal to buy the Point Lake & Golf Club in North Carolina in 2012. Like his brother, Eric Trump denied any involvement in his father’s financial statements, testifying: “I never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition.
A state lawyer later pointed to an email Eric Trump received as far back as 2013 from a company executive who was asking for help with information he needed for Donald Trump’s financial statement.
“So you did know about your father’s annual financial statement as of August 2013?” state lawyer Andrew Amer asked. “It appears that way,” Eric Trump said.
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Donald Trump Jr. said that, despite the state’s allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate." His father has said that, if anything, the numbers listed on the documents low-balled his wealth and the value of his skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties.
Donald Trump lashed out at the process once again and branded Justice Arthur Engoron, also a Democrat, as a person with a vendetta against him. “He is just doing this out of his personal ‘Hatred of TRUMP,’ his love of the publicity that this case is getting him, & his lack of respect for the Appeals Court (He is in total violation of their order ending much of this Witch Hunt right now," He said on Truth Social.
" He refuses to do what they say he must!). “Engoron is a wacko who is having a great time endlessly sanctioning, fining, & pushing around ‘TRUMP,’ hurting my very good children, & working to damage & defame me for purposes of Interfering with the 2024 Presidential Election, all this while never admonishing our failed & corrupt Attorney General, whose “Star Witness” admitted he lied, & that I did NOT tell him to inflate values, a total reversal. Their whole case was based on this single LOSER, so it should be dismissed!"
In a hearing yesterday, Trump Jr said he didn't recall answers to questions about his role as a trustee of Donald J Trump Revocable Trust along with his father and chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. He said he never worked on his father's financial statements and the documents at the heart of the case.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr testified in court today (AP)After the hearing, James said Trump Jr "claimed to have very little understanding of the accounting and legal mechanics of the family business," but that "we know he’s been involved in running the Trump Organization for a long time."
At least one of the annual financial statements bore language saying the trustees “are responsible” for the document. But Trump Jr said he didn't recall ever working on any of the financial statements and had “no specific knowledge” of them.
The lawsuit centers on whether the former president and his business misled banks and insurers by inflating his net worth on the financial statements. He and other defendants, including sons Donald Jr. and Eric, deny wrongdoing.
Trump Jr. said he signed off on statements as a trustee, but had left the work to outside accountants to Weisselberg. “As a trustee, I have an obligation to listen those who are expert — who have an expertise of these things," he said.
“I wasn’t working on the document, but if they tell me that it’s accurate, based on their accounting assessment of all of the materials,” he stated, “these people had an incredible intimate knowledge, and I relied on them.”
Daughter Ivanka, due to testify on November 8, is not a defendant in the case. She was originally listed as a defendant in James’ lawsuit, but an appeals court dismissed her from the case in June, saying claims against her were too old.
The 45th president is due to testify on November 6 and continues to call the trial a sham. He other defendants have denied wrongdoing. The case could strip Trump of some of his corporate holdings and marquee properties such as Trump Tower.
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