Donald Trump Jr. returned to the stand Thursday to continue testifying under oath in the Trumps’ New York civil fraud trial, and said he is “fine with” banks relying on financial statements that a judge has already determined use fraudulent data.
Trump Jr. and his family have denied the fraud they’ve been found liable for. On Thursday, Trump Jr. blamed both his company’s own accounting department and an outside firm for any inaccurate information they presented to banks and insurers.
“I’m fine with the bank relying on that information,” Trump Jr. said.
Trump Jr. is the first of four Trumps who will testify under oath in the civil trial, in which they’re squaring off with New York Attorney General Letitia James. Eric Trump is expected to begin testifying later Thursday. Donald Trump will testify Monday, and Ivanka Trump is scheduled to appear two days later.
The judge in the case found the Trumps and their company liable for fraud before the trial began, determining that they inflated Trump’s wealth and the value of many properties to obtain favorable deals with banks and insurers. James’ office says the Trumps profited by at least $250 million through the scheme.
The trial is proceeding over other allegations related to falsification of business records, conspiracy and insurance fraud, as well as to determine what, if any, penalties the Trumps and their companies will face.
As he arrived at court Thursday, a CBS News reporter asked Trump Jr. what he expected from day two of his testimony. He put two thumbs up and said, “I’ll tell you in an hour.”
Trump Jr.’s second day of testimony
Trump Jr.’s work at the family business, where he is an executive vice president, has involved many of the properties and deals that are a focus of the case, including the financing and development of Trump International Hotel & Tower, Chicago, and Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen, Scotland, as well as commercial leasing deals at properties including Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street in Manhattan.
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Thursday’s testimony began with the attorney general’s lawyer asking Trump Jr. about an inquiry from Forbes magazine in March 2017 as the publication was compiling data for its annual list of richest Americans. The first question from Forbes focused on the square footage of the elder Trump’s penthouse apartment in Trump Tower, noting that Trump previously told the magazine that it encompassed 33,000 square feet, when in reality it was roughly 11,000 square feet.
The state presented evidence that Trump Jr. passed along the questions to an attorney for the Trump Organization, showing an email from Trump Jr. noting there was an “[i]nsane amount of stuff there.” On the stand, Trump Jr. said he did not remember receiving the questions, saying “I have no specific recollection of doing anything with [the email].”
One week later, Trump Jr. signed off a statement of financial condition — essentially a snapshot of his father’s wealth — that said the penthouse was 30,000 square feet, valuing it at $10,900 per square foot, for a total of $327 million.
Trump Jr. reiterated his earlier testimony and said he relied on the company’s accountants to vouch for the accuracy of the statements.
“I relied on Mazars and our accounting team to tell me what is accurate in regards to accounting. That’s why we have accountants,” he said.
The first day
Trump Jr. was first called to the stand Wednesday afternoon, when he testified for just under 90 minutes.
Though mostly serious, he peppered his responses with occasional jokes, at one point apologizing for talking too fast.
“I apologize, Your Honor, I moved to Florida, but I kept the New York pace,” he said.
Seth Wenig / AP
Trump Jr. said he worked in “an all-encompassing developmental role,” but also said he couldn’t recall much about a key moment in the company’s history: when Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer and one of his father’s most trusted employees for nearly 50 years, agreed to a $2 million severance earlier this year just before going to jail for fraud.
Trump Jr. ultimately laid the blame for the fraud the company is accused of — the decade-long scheme that enriched the family by more than $250 million, according to James’ office — at the feet of Weisselberg and the company’s outside accountants.
“I signed off on a document that Mazars prepared with intimate knowledge, and as a trustee I have an obligation to listen to those who are experts, who have an expertise of these things,” Trump Jr. said. “So I trust in Allen Weisselberg who is an accountant. I trust Mazars who is a CPA and a big five accounting firm to put together a document of this nature.”
“These people had an incredible, intimate knowledge and I relied on them,” he added later.
On Wednesday, he said he viewed his primary responsibility as overseeing the company’s overseas branding and hotel deals, which he said were largely put on ice during his father’s presidency.
After his father was elected president, Trump Jr. was also given the task of signing off on his father’s statements of financial condition — documents the attorney general claims, and the judge has agreed, were key to fraudulently inflating the values of company properties and the size of Donald Trump’s wealth.
The defendants have all denied wrongdoing in the case, and the Trumps have all accused James — an elected Democratic official — of pursuing them for political gain.
The lawsuit against the Trumps and their company is seeking $250 million and sanctions designed to limit their ability to do business in New York, including permanently barring Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director in any business in the state.
