Donald Trump’s eldest son, Don Jr., is expected to begin testifying in the civil fraud trial against the family and their business on Wednesday.
Donald Trump Jr. is named as a defendant in the $250 million lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general’s office against the former president, his company and several executives, including three of his adult children.
The lawsuit accuses Trump Jr. and his brother Eric of knowingly participating in a scheme to inflate their father’s net worth to obtain financial benefits like better loan and insurance policy terms.
“As Executive Vice Presidents, the three children were intimately involved in the operation of the Trump Organization’s business,” the complaint states.
In a deposition taken last year, Trump Jr. distanced himself from the financial statements Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled to be fraudulent in a summary judgment before the trial began.
“I had no real involvement in the preparation of the Statement of Financial Condition and don’t really remember ever working on it with anyone,” Trump Jr. said.
“Again, people may have asked me about stuff tangentially that I gave them an answer to that they may have then utilized as a basis of knowledge to come up with whatever, but, no, not specifically as it relates to, you know, knowledge about the financial statement,” he added. Donald Trump Jr. has worked in commercial leasing for the Trump Org., including the company’s 40 Wall Street property at issue in the lawsuit.
Trump Jr. became a trustee of his father’s revocable trust when he took office and certified the statements of financial condition in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
He testified in his deposition that he relied on the accounting and legal departments at Trump Org. when he signed the paperwork.
“Those people would have more intimate understanding of the specifics of those things. And whoever was bringing me a document, if it was more accounting, it was probably from accounting. If it was more legal, it would be from legal. And, ‘Hey, are we okay signing this document? Do you believe it to be honest and accurate?’ And if they were okay with it, they’d have much more knowledge than I would ever be able to amass, so I would sign it,” he testified.
Eric Trump, whose name has been invoked at trial in relation to valuations for New York properties like Seven Springs and Briarcliff Manor, is expected to testify after his brother later this week.
Ivanka Trump was originally named in the lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, but an appeals court dismissed the claims, saying they were too old. However, the AG’s office is still seeking to question Ivanka Trump about her involvement in a number of properties, among other matters, and she is tentatively set to appear in court next week.
Read the full article here
