Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr both testified on Thursday that they had no involvement with documents that a judge has ruled were fraudulently manipulated to inflate the value of trophy properties and other assets owned by their father Donald Trump.
In back-to-back appearances in a New York courtroom, Mr Trump’s adult sons both said they were not involved in the questionable valuations that now threaten to hobble the real estate empire that vaulted Mr Trump to prominence. Mr Trump put the two in charge of the business while he served as US president from 2017 to 2021.
Donald Jr blamed accountants, both inside and outside the company, who assembled the financial statements that were used to secure loans and insurance that allowed the company to keep functioning. “They had more information and details on all of this than I would have,” he said on the witness stand.
Eric Trump said he was not even aware that such documents existed. “I didn’t know anything about it, until this case came to fruition,” he told the court.
Eric Trump’s assertion was undercut by emails showing that he was sent underlying data used to compile his father’s annual financial statements and was asked to weigh in. Neither son vouched for the accuracy of the documents in question.
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Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Mr Trump, his two adult sons and the company fraudulently inflated asset values to win favourable financing terms.
Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has testified that Mr Trump directed them to exaggerate the value of assets such as Trump Tower in Manhattan in order to win better financing terms and bolster his reported net worth.
Mr Trump himself is scheduled to testify on Monday – the latest in many courtroom appearances by the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
New York attorney general Letitia James is seeking at least $250 million (€235 million) in damages, as well as a permanent ban on Mr Trump, Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in the state.
Judge Engoron has ordered the dissolution of companies that control pillars of Mr Trump’s property portfolio, including Trump Tower. That ruling is on hold while Mr Trump appeals.
The trial is expected to last until December.
The former president has appeared several times to observe the proceedings and complain about the case to the television cameras assembled in the hallway outside. Last week, he sat glowering during Mr Cohen’s testimony.
The trial is one of many legal troubles Mr Trump must contend with as he campaigns to retake the White House. He faces a total of 91 felony charges in four separate criminal prosecutions, including two cases stemming from his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Nevertheless, Mr Trump holds a commanding lead over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination to face Democratic president Joe Biden in the November 2024 election.
Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing in all of his criminal and civil cases and has kept up a steady stream of attacks in person and online, accusing Ms James and Judge Engoron of political bias. “This is a great Miscarriage of Justice,” he wrote on social media as the trial resumed on Thursday.
Mr Trump has not faced sanctions for those attacks, but Judge Engoron has fined him $15,000 for twice violating a limited gag order that bars him from speaking publicly about court staff. He is also under a limited gag order for the federal election subversion trial in Washington. Mr Trump has alleged that both violate his right to free speech. – Reuters