POLITICS
Donald Trump Jr. To Take The Stand In $250 Million Civil Fraud Trial
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The $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization resumed Wednesday, with Donald Trump Jr. on the witness list.
The trial resumed Wednesday morning with Trump Organization senior vice president David Orowitz returning to the stand briefly, followed by testimony from Michiel McCarty, the chairman and CEO of M.M. Dillon & Co., who was called as an expert witness for the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Donald Trump Jr. is expected to take the stand next on Wednesday afternoon, though an extended cross-examination of McCarty could push his testimony to Thursday.
Eric Trump is expected to testify after his brother, and their father will take the stand Monday. Ivanka Trump’s testimony will follow.
In an overnight post on the social media platform Truth Social, the former president lashed out at Judge Arthur Engoron over his children’s upcoming court appearances.
Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession, Trump posted at around 3 a.m. ET.
According to prosecutors, the Trump children were aware of, and knowingly participated in efforts to falsify financial records at the Trump Organization and related business entities to inflate the value of assets in order to secure favorable terms on loans and insurance.
Ivanka was removed as a defendant in the case, but could not get out of testifying. Defense attorneys challenged the subpoena of Ivanka Trump, on the basis that she was no longer a defendant, but the AG’s office argued she still has information relevant to the case.
Ms. Trump remains financially and professionally intertwined with the Trump Organization and other Defendants and can be called as a person still under their control, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Prosecutors argued that Ivanka Trump does not seem to be averse to her involvement in the family business when it comes to owning and collecting proceeds from the OPO (hotel) sale, the Trump Organization purchasing insurance for her and her companies, managing her household staff and credit card bills, renting her apartment or even paying her legal fees in this action. It is only when she is tasked with answering for that involvement that she disclaims any connection.
Engoron agreed, and said Friday that she would have to testify.
The trial opened earlier this month after Engoron ruled that Trump committed financial fraud for a decade by overvaluing assets, and revoked the Trump Organizations business certification in the state.
Engoron granted the motion for summary judgment, finding Trump and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, to be liable as a matter of law for persistent violations of New York state law. The state does not have to prove at trial that the financial statements are fraudulent, but several other claims are still to be decided, including allegations of conspiracy, falsifying business records and insurance fraud.
The judge found that Trump repeatedly provided false financial statements that overvalued assets and his net worth in order to deceive banks and insurers to receive favorable terms. Engoron also found that Trump repeatedly overvalued the Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Fla., by as much as 2,300%, and lied about the size of his Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan, tripling it and valuing it at $327 million.
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise said in his opening statement that the evidence would show that Trump built one of the most successful real estate empires in the world and made many billions of dollars being right about real estate investments. He argued that there was no fraud because asset valuations are subjective.
TMX contributed to this article.
