The New York Attorney General’s office questioned Donald Trump’s two adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, regarding their knowledge and involvement in their father’s financial statements during the ongoing fraud trial. The brothers, who played active roles in the Trump Organization while their father was in office, appeared before the court consecutively on Thursday. This questioning preceded their father’s scheduled testimony on Monday. The Trump sons, along with their father, the Trump Org., and several company executives, are co-defendants in the case.
The attorney general’s lawyers presented evidence to challenge the claim that the Trump brothers were not involved in their father’s fraudulent inflation of his net worth to obtain favorable loan terms. The focus was particularly on Donald Trump’s personal financial statements, which were cited as evidence of the inflated property values.
During the questioning, Eric Trump was confronted with emails dating back to 2010 that showed his involvement in his father’s financial statements. Although Eric acknowledged providing information to a co-defendant, former Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney, he tried to distinguish between statements of financial condition and general financial records. He claimed that the specific personal statements were irrelevant to him and that he did not fully grasp their significance.
The distinction is crucial as the attorney general’s complaint alleges that the fraudulent information provided by Donald Trump helped the Trump Organization save $168 million in loan rates. The inflated property valuations contributed to obtaining favorable loan terms for the company.
The assistant attorney general also pressed Eric Trump to admit that he knew about the appraisals for certain properties, such as Seven Springs and the Doral Golf Resort, which were lower than what was reported in his father’s financial statements. The attorney general’s complaint states that Eric Trump was aware of the discrepancies. Eric emphasized that he focused on construction rather than appraisals, and he stood by his previous testimony that he had limited involvement in the appraisal process.
In Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony, he repeatedly claimed that he relied on accountants and was not involved in preparing his father’s financial statements, despite signing them as a trustee of his father’s revocable trust. He stated that he trusted the Trump Organization’s accounting and legal teams to ensure the accuracy of the statements.
The trial saw a tense moment when the judge admonished Trump attorney Chris Kise for making critical comments about the judge’s clerk. The judge emphasized that he had already placed a gag order on public comments about his staff and warned that he might extend the order to lawyers as well. He suggested that there might be a misogynistic undertone in the criticism directed toward his female law clerk.
Looking ahead, Donald Trump is expected to testify on Monday. His testimony will offer insights into his reaction and behavior, which could be relevant to the upcoming criminal trials he is facing. While Trump has attended the civil trial intermittently, he has been actively commenting on social media about the case. Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump has filed an appeal to block a previous order for her to testify, citing undue hardship due to her parental responsibilities. The appeal also requests a stay on her testimony and the trial as a whole.
