Sons of Trump testify in a civil fraud trial in New York
In the civil fraud lawsuit filed in New York against the Trump family and their company, the Trump Organization, Eric Trump, the son of Donald Trump, is currently testifying.Earlier, questions about Donald Trump Jr.’s role in the financial records at the heart of the $250 million lawsuit filed by the attorney general’s office in New York were directed towards the father of the business. Despite signing his father’s financial accounts as a trustee of his trust, he consistently stated he trusted his accountants and had no involvement in their preparation.In the case, it is alleged that Trump’s adult sons conspired to falsify their father’s wealth in order to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance policies. Although the issue is civil rather than criminal, it poses a threat to Donald Trump’s New York business. Next week, the former president is expected to testify.Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, is currently testifying in the civil fraud case against his father.After his brother, Donald Trump Jr., concluded his testimony, Eric Trump is now testifying. The two brothers are co-defendants in this case.
Trump Jr. claims he was not involved in the financial statement preparation for his father.
Despite signing the financial statements as a trustee of the former president’s trust, Donald Trump Jr. insisted on Thursday that he was not engaged in the production of his father’s financial filings and instead relied on his accountants.Beginning in 2017, Trump Jr. signed certifications for yearly financial submittals needed for Trump Organization loans at Deutsche Bank for the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Florida, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, and the Old Post Office. Trump Jr. is a trustee of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
When Trump Jr. was questioned about whether he meant for the bank to use the information he had signed, Assistant Attorney General Colleen Faherty put him under pressure.In response, Trump Jr. stated, “I’m fine with the bank relying on that information.” “I doubt that I meant for them to take any action. I’m giving it my approval. It’s not just a case of yes or no.”Regarding the 2017 statement of financial status and the supporting data spreadsheets that went along with it, Faherty questioned Trump Jr. on a number of topics. She limited her questions about the financial statements for the years 2018 through 2020 after Trump Jr. said he was unaware of the records’ preparation.
Trump Jr. stated, “I think we can save ourselves a lot of time,” reaffirming that his responses will remain the same each year. Although he did not prepare the financial statements, he relied on the legal and accounting staff of the Trump Organization to certify them as trustees, saying that they would have given him confidence that they were accurate enough to sign.
According to Trump Jr., his testimony during the fraud trial “went really well”.
As Donald Trump Jr. left the courtroom following his closing statement in the New York civil fraud trial, he made time to talk with media.”Unfortunately, the AG has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution,” he stated, adding, “I think it went really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason in the way business is conducted.”
After over three hours spread across two days, his testimony came to a conclusion on Thursday.
Throughout his testimony, Trump Jr. insisted on his accountants’ assistance and denied any involvement in the creation of his father’s financial statements, despite having signed them as a trustee of the former president’s trust.In this case, it is alleged that Trump’s adult sons conspired to falsify their father’s wealth in order to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance policies.The Trump Organization’s proceeds from the sale of the Bronx golf course license are increased by the attorney general’s office.The Trump Organization’s 2023 sale deal with Bally’s Corporation for the business’s city license of Donald Trump’s golf club in the Bronx, New York, was introduced by Assistant Attorney General Colleen Faherty.According to Faherty, the Trump Organization submitted yearly financial attestations regarding Trump’s net worth to maintain the license based on the false financial statements, therefore, the property, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park, may be subject to disgorgement.
Chris Kise, the lawyer for Trump, was double-dipping yesterday.
The former president’s overlapping criminal and civil legal concerns are being used by Donald Trump’s Florida and Washington, DC, attorneys to push for additional delays.During Wednesday’s fraud trial in New York, Trump’s lawyer, Chris Kise, was actively participating, challenging the expert witness’s evidence on the stand and challenging a line of inquiry that was aimed at Donald Trump Jr. (the judge generally agreed with him). Kise also attended a hearing about the federal charges of document mishandling against Trump in Florida, where Trump’s legal team is attempting to postpone the trial from May to after the 2024 presidential election.
According to Kise, the concurrent trials provide an “extraordinary challenge” for both Trump and him.
Ivanka Trump is appealing a decision that requires her to appear as soon as next week in a civil fraud trial.
Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump, is contesting a court order requiring her to testify in the civil trial.Following Judge Arthur Engoron’s order for Ivanka Trump to appear last week, her attorney, Bennet Moskowitz, filed the notice of appeal in a New York appellate court on Wednesday.Since Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in the case, her counsel has been attempting to get the subpoena for her testimony quashed. However, Engoron decided last week that she had to testify, even though he allowed her time to appeal.
Ivanka Trump hasn’t lived or worked in New York since 2017, so one of the questions Moskowitz sought the appellate court to address was whether the New York civil court had jurisdiction over her.The tentative date of Ivanka Trump’s testimony is Wednesday, November 8. It’s unclear if the appeal will change that schedule.
In the $250 million lawsuit filed last September by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Ivanka Trump was initially named as a co-defendant alongside Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and several executives of the Trump Organization. The lawsuit claimed that the former president and his eldest children were involved in a vast fraud scheme that lasted over a decade and was used for personal enrichment.Ivanka Trump, on the other hand, was not included in an August 2021 deal between James’ office and the Trump Organization to tolle the statute of limitations; thus, a New York appeals court removed her as a co-defendant in June, ruling the allegations against her were too recent.
What’s at risk in New York during Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial?
On Thursday, Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to testify in the New York civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump, his eldest sons, their businesses, and executives of the Trump Organization.
Early this month, following Judge Arthur Engoron’s stunning decision in late September finding that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud, the civil trial over inflated assets in fake financial statements began.According to the attorney general’s office, Trump overstated his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion in three different years between 2011 and 2021. Trump’s lawyers have disputed the allegations, stating that asset assessments are quite arbitrary and that they are currently assessing the implications of the decision for the company’s future.
What’s at risk during the trial is that Trump and his businesses may have to pay large damages in addition to the earnings they allegedly made through dishonest business practices.The amount that the Trumps and their companies will have to pay will be taken into account by Engoron.
Now that Engoron has already made a decision about one of the claims—persistent and repetitive fraud—he will address the remaining six claims:
.Issuing false financial statements;
• Falsifying business documents;
• Conspiracy to falsify financial statements;
• Insurance fraud;
• Conspiracy to conduct insurance fraud
Engoron allocated over three months for the trial, which might last until the end of December.
