What Don Jr. & Eric's Fraud Trial Testimonies Reveal About Their Role In Trump Family Business
It's a family affair! Donald Trump is back in court for his civil fraud case. While the former president has handled a lot of his run-ins with the law on his own, this time around, it's slightly different. Members of the Trump family have been heavily involved in the case, and Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were two of the latest people to take the stand.
The case was brought forth by New York Attorney General Letitia James after she claimed that Donald, several of his kids, and some members of the Trump Organization took part in overvaluing several of the former president's New York estates and assets over a 10-year period, per The New Yorker. James shared, "The number of grossly inflated asset values is staggering, affecting most if not all of the real estate holdings in any given year." The documents alleged that Donald and his co-defendants financially benefited from inflating assets and earned a reported $250 million in the years the fraud took place.
Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump were initially named as co-defendants in the case, but Ivanka was later dismissed. However, Don Jr. and Eric could not escape the case. From the beginning, Don Jr. claimed the situation was James' way of gaining political ground. He tweeted, "This is all about politics. Weaponizing her office to go after her political opponents!" Despite Don Jr.'s claim, however, it didn't prevent him and his brother from having to testify in court, thereby revealing their true roles in the family business.
Don Jr. and Eric Trump were presented with incriminating evidence
Donald Trump's civil fraud case is heating up. The former president's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have both taken the stand and shown how heavily involved they were in the Trump Organization during the years the alleged fraud took place.
When Don Jr. took the stand, he was presented evidence that showed he signed off on financial documents with the inflated values of estates, per The New Yorker. One of these documents included a "management representation" letter to Mazars, the accounting company the Trumps used, that "assured" the Trump Organization had filed "valuation estimates [that] were reasonable and contained no material inaccuracies." When presented with this damning piece of evidence, Don Jr. simply said it was a "cover-your-butt" letter. Throughout his time in court, he was presented with several documents that seemed to prove he was aware of the fraud going on.
According to CNN, when Eric testified after Don Jr., he was also shown documents that implied he was "aware of the $45 million value" of the Briarcliff Manor estate which, according to Letitia James, ended up being worth much less than what was listed. The following day, Eric took the stand once more and was presented with even more incriminating evidence that showed him signing off on several loans during 2020 and 2021 that "contained inflated valuations," per The New Yorker. All the evidence seemed to point to Don Jr. and Eric having knowledge of the alleged fraud, but they continued to deny they had anything to do with it.
Don Jr. and Eric Trump denied any involvement
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump seemed to have one plan when testifying in court — deny, deny, deny. According to BBC, Don Jr. was "at ease" during his time in court, and even joked with the judge and the rest of those in the courtroom. When it came down to his involvement in the alleged fraud, Don Jr. blamed his accountants at the company Mazar for missing the overvaluation of the former president's New York assets, per The New Yorker. Responding to the finances, he shared, "These people had incredible intimate knowledge and I relied on them." Throughout his time in court, Don Jr. reiterated that he depended on his accountants to make the correct valuations and take charge of the financial documents involved with Donald Trump's assets. His brother, Eric, seemed to piggyback off this idea when he took the stand after Don Jr.
Unlike Don Jr., Eric was more tense about being questioned in court, per BBC. Eric took over as chief executive of the Trump Organization when his father took office and was heavily involved in the company. Despite viewing damning evidence of his alleged involvement, Eric denied knowing that the fraud was going on, per The New Yorker. At one point, Eric shared, "I pour concrete. I operate properties. I don't focus on appraisals." Eric and Don Jr. appear to be unwilling to go down in the civil fraud case, as they continue to deny their involvement despite what has been presented in court.