Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump distance themselves from financial statements in NY fraud trial
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump distanced themselves in court on Thursday from financial statements that a New York judge has ruled fraudulently inflated their father's assets.
Don Jr. testified that that he relies on others when it comes to accounting. "That's why we have accountants," he said.
Eric testified later in the day that he wasn't very familiar with the statements, despite the New York Attorney General's Office showing him emails he was on in 2015 that discussed a statement of financial condition.
At the end of the day, New York Attorney General Letitia James posted a video on the X social media site (formerly Twitter) saying that the Trump sons' testimony wound up bolstering her fraud case against the family.
"They pretend that they were not involved in their family's fraudulent business," James said in the post. "But the facts tell a very different story."
It was the second time in two days that Don Jr. took the stand as members of the Trump family defend against a lawsuit seeking an estimated $250 million in damages and the shutting down of the iconic Trump Organization in New York. The testimony largely echoed Don Jr.'s responses when the state began questioning him the previous day about work on financial statements.
The state has claimed the 2011-2021 statements included a "staggering" number of inflated valuations of Donald Trump's assets used to get better insurance and loans. New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in late September that Trump engaged in fraud by submitting inflated financial statements to banks and insurers. The trial is focused on what repercussions Engoron might order.
'Rinse and repeat'
On Thursday, the state took Don Jr. through several certifications he had signed that were sent to Deutsche Bank and included financial statement attachments.
Don Jr. declined to say whether he intended for Deutsche Bank to rely on such certifications. He said he would be fine with their relying on it, and added that he knows a lot of bankers that do their own due diligence.
Don Jr. also testified that he didn't have any specific knowledge about a spreadsheet the state displayed that supported his father's financial statements. When the state asked if he would have the same answer for other years of supporting spreadsheets, he replied, "Rinse and repeat."
While on the campaign trail, Trump found time to attack the civil trial on his Truth Social media site, again accusing the judge and the attorney general of political motives. "This is a great Miscarriage of Justice," he said in a post.
Trump also claimed, without providing evidence, that the state wants to settle the dispute. "Why should I be forced to settle when I did nothing wrong?" he said.
Eric Trump testifies
Eric Trump took the stand Thursday, after the state finished questioning his brother and the defense declined to ask questions. Early in its questioning of the younger brother, the state also focused on Trump financial statements.
The state played portions of a prior deposition Eric gave, in which he said it was possible he had heard of a statement of financial condition before, but it wasn't something he ever saw to the best of his knowledge. He said his father's financial statements "are accounting," and that's not something he does.
Those prior statements were tested against emails Eric received in 2015 that discussed his father's financial statement. He confirmed he understood by sometime in 2015 that his father had a financial statement that included both the father's liquidity and net worth, and that a financial statement was used to secure a line of credit from a bank.
But when the state asked if he would now concede that he was in fact "very familiar" with his father's financial statement at least since 2013, he said no.
Donald Trump, potentially Ivanka, to testify next week
Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka are slated to take the stand next week. The lawsuit initially included Ivanka Trump as a defendant, but an appeals court tossed out the case against her, ruling too much time had passed since she was involved in the Trump Organization.
On Wednesday, Ivanka Trump appealed Engoron's ruling from last week that she still needs to testify pursuant to a state subpoena.
Donald Trump will not be attending the trial in New York City on Thursday, as he is in Texas on a 2024 fundraising and campaign trip.
The former president, and current frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, is scheduled to speak in the afternoon at an oil and gas service company in Houston.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Don Jr. and Eric Trump pointed to accountants in New York civil fraud trial
