Former President Donald Trump’s adult sons distanced themselves Thursday from business statements described by New York Attorney General Letitia James as fraudulent, testifying they relied on accountants and legal advisers to prepare the forms before signing them.
During his second day of testimony, Donald Trump Jr. said he only dealt with the financial statements in passing — signing off on them as a trustee for his father’s trust and providing them to lenders to comply with loan requirements.
He reiterated that he did so while relying on assurances from Trump Organization finance executives and an outside accounting firm that the information was accurate.
“If they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine, I would’ve been fine with that and signed off accordingly,” he said.
Likewise, Eric Trump said he didn’t work on the statements when confronted about conversations that another Trump Organization employee had with him to determine the value of an estate.
“I don’t believe I ever saw or worked on a statement of financial condition,” he said.
The brothers and their father are named as defendants in Ms. James’ lawsuit alleging the Trump Organization submitted fraudulent financial statements to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance.
The ex-president’s older daughter Ivanka Trump is scheduled to appear next week. She is not a defendant in the lawsuit however, and her attorneys are appealing the ruling that ordered her to testify.
Ms. James, a Democrat, said in a social media video that Donald Trump Jr. showed “very little understanding” of the financial machinery within the Trump Organization despite being a senior player in the family business for years.
“But we know he has been involved in running the Trump Organization for a long time,” she said, casting doubt on his testimony.
Donald Trump Jr. finished testifying by midday Thursday, clearing the way for his brother to take the stand.
A state lawyer later pointed to an email Eric Trump received as far back as 2013 from a company executive who was asking for help with information he needed for Donald Trump’s financial statement.
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“So you did know about your father’s annual financial statement as of August 2013?” state lawyer Andrew Amer asked.
“It appears that way,” Eric Trump said, later clarifying he probably didn’t register that it was for a personal statement of financial condition.
Before the trial began, Judge Arthur Engoron found Donald Trump liable for misrepresenting the value of some of his properties, handing Ms. James an early victory on one of her claims.
Judge Engoron is presiding over the trial on other claims and potential penalties and will decide the case instead of a jury.
Donald Trump Jr. testified that despite the state’s allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate.”
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, says Ms. James and Judge Engoron are politically biased against him and are part of a Democratic cabal that is trying to thwart his 2024 bid.
“So sad to see my sons being PERSECUTED in a political Witch Hunt by this out of control, publicity seeking, New York State Judge, on a case that should have NEVER been brought,” he wrote on Truth Social.
His defense team says the attorney general’s office does not understand basic real estate practices, and that banks gladly did business with the Trump Organization — and made plenty of money in the process.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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