Trump Jr. seems to been much more relaxed than his father in the courtroom at the civil trial case which could ened up costing $250 Million in fines….
Donald Trump’s eldest son and co-chief of his business empire, Donald Trump Jr., denied in court Wednesday that he was involved in preparing financial documents that exaggerated his father’s net worth.
His testimony came in the $250 million civil trial in which both men stand accused of widespread corporate fraud….
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“I wasn’t involved in the compilation of the statement of financial condition,” Trump Jr. said in response to questioning from a lawyer from James’ office who pressed him on a key 2017 financial statement. That document said it was prepared in consultation with trustees for his father’s revocable trust, one of whom is Trump Jr.
Trump Jr. allowed that he advised the accountants about the value of individual deals that he had worked on, but he said those conversations weren’t for the specific purpose of preparing the statements of financial condition.
“I could have sat there and gone through each of the deals individually … not even knowing that it was for the purpose of this,” he said of the document.
“It doesn’t mean that I used that to put this together,” he said. “They did that,” he said, referring to the accountants.
Though the former president has attended the trial a few days a week since it started at the beginning of October, he wasn’t in the courtroom to see Donald Trump Jr. testify.
During much of his appearance Wednesday, Trump Jr. struck a lighthearted and casual tone, eliciting laughter at times…..
Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻
@AWeissmann_
Don Jr and Eric Trump’s “defense” in the NY civil AG financial fraud case appears so far to be that they were derelict in their duties as executives and trustees. Denying they knew what was going on.
Trump Sons Give Inconsistent Testimony at Fraud Trial
“Donald Trump’s two eldest sons took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday in a civil fraud case against them and their father that threatens the family empire,” the New York Times reports.
“Donald Trump Jr. was calm but defensive, seeking to blame accountants for errors on financial statements that a judge has already found were fraudulent. His younger brother Eric was more combative — he acknowledged his place at the center of the business, but denied involvement in the financial statements.”
“Eric Trump — who will continue his testimony on Friday — lost his temper after lengthy questioning about his knowledge of the company’s annual financial statements.”