New York Attorney General Letitia James says Donald Trump Jr. didn’t offer any testimony to rebut her fraud claims, as the defense started to present its case in the civil trial that accuses the Trump family of submitting fraudulent financial statements to lenders.
Ms. James responded after Mr. Trump Jr. used his second stint on the witness stand to promote the Trump Organization as a storied company with prized assets that, if anything, were undervalued and appealed to banks.
The attorney general said his Monday testimony attempted to distract the court from evidence that alleges former President Donald Trump and his oldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, misled banks to gain favorable terms on loans, such as paying lower rates of interest.
“Rather than respond to any legal claim against him and his family, or address the substantial evidence against him, Donald Trump Jr. spent his entire time on the stand talking through pictures of Trump properties,” she said in a social media video. “The defendant still did not make a single point to refute our case against them.”
“This is a courtroom, not a boardroom,” Ms. James said.
The Trump family says banks happily did business with their company and made money in the process.
Mr. Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform Tuesday, accused Ms. James of “smirking all day long from her seat in Court, as New York continues to set records in murder and other violent crimes, and businesses flee to other States.”
“You have a (Trump Hating!) Attorney General who’s seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages when not a single penny was lost by these banks,” Mr. Trump wrote.
Mr. Trump also reposted an online message that said Ms. James and Judge Arthur Engoron — who will decide whether the Trump Organization is liable and must pay penalties — should be placed under citizens’ arrest.
The judge issued a gag order restricting Mr. Trump from criticizing court staff, though it was mainly crafted to protect his law clerk.
Judge Engoron did not address the online post from Mr. Trump when the trial convened early Tuesday, according to ABC News.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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