US (Washington Insider Magazine) —Donald Trump Jr took the stand on Wednesday in a New York fraud trial involving his father, Donald Trump, and the family business. Trying to distance himself from the financial statements central to the case, Trump Jr, 45, was the first family member to testify in the civil lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. His brother Eric is expected on Thursday, with Donald Trump and Ivanka scheduled for next week.
In court, Trump Jr maintained a courteous demeanor, jokingly remarking,
“I should have worn makeup” as photographers captured his arrival. Responding to a request to slow down, he quipped, “I moved to Florida but kept the New York pace.”
During questioning, Trump Jr detailed his role, along with his father and former CFO Allen Weisselberg, as trustees of the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust. When asked if Donald Trump remained a trustee, he claimed,
“I don’t recall,”
expressing similar uncertainty about why he briefly stepped down from the trust in 2021. Trump Jr said,
“The accountants worked on it. That’s why we pay them,”
when pressed on his role in preparing the disputed financial statements.
Earlier in the week, Trump Jr struck a more combative tone in a Newsmax interview, alleging that
“mainstream media and [Washington] DC want to throw Trump in jail for a thousand years… Truly sick stuff, but this is why we fight.”
Attorney General James alleges that Trump and his business associates fraudulently inflated the former president’s wealth to secure favorable loan terms. She noted, for instance, Trump’s claim that his Trump Tower apartment was 30,000 square feet, when it actually measured just 10,996 square feet. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that the Trumps committed fraud and is now determining penalties. James seeks $250 million in damages and the cancellation of Trump’s New York business licenses, which would prevent him from operating businesses in the state.
Testimony from Michiel McCarty, chair of MM Dillon & Co, estimated that Trump’s inflated asset claims cost banks over $168 million in lost interest payments. Trump’s attorney, Christopher Kise, argued that banks were not misled, but Judge Engoron dismissed this, emphasizing his own finding of
“ill-gotten gains.”
Donald Trump, not present in court, condemned the trial on social media, saying,
“Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!”
