Donald Trump Jr. took the witness stand in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday to defend himself in the $250 million civil fraud trial threatening his father’s real estate empire, cracking several jokes while denying he worked on the financial statements. which are key to the case.
Don Jr., 45, is accused along with his father, brother Eric and the family real estate company in the ongoing trial before New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging that Donald Trump inflated the value of their assets for years to get better loans and insurance. bank terms, saving you hundreds of millions of dollars.
“I didn’t do it,” the former president’s eldest son said when asked if he had ever worked on his father’s “disclosure of financial condition,” documents that James alleges Trump falsified between 2011 and 2017 by increasing his net worth by a sum of billions. by year.
“The accountants worked on it, that’s what we paid them for,” Don Jr. said.
“I was not involved in the preparation of this statement of financial position,” he later added.
Donald Trump Jr. took the witness stand in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
During the testimony, which lasted about 75 minutes Wednesday and in which James watched from the front row, Don Jr. joked that he “doesn’t understand” accounting jargon.
“I trust professionals and public accountants. We paid millions of dollars and [they] “I have great degrees,” he said, drawing laughter from the courtroom gallery.
He also engaged in a round of banter with Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and the attorney general’s lawyer, Colleen Faherty, over the pronunciation of the word “revocable.”
Faherty asked Don Jr. what the “Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust” was, prompting Engoron to intervene: “Now that we finally have a trustee in the courtroom, we can finally ask if it is revocable.”voicecarrycot Revobleable.”
“Your Honor, that’s a good question, but I’m not sure which one is correct,” Don Jr. responded.
Don Jr. had no shortage of jokes on the stand Wednesday. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Faherty then asked a question using the pronunciation revoicecapable, to which Don Jr. joked: “I’m not sure what that is, I just understand Revocable”, causing even more laughter in the gallery.
At one point, the judge asked Faherty and Don Jr., who was speaking at a mile a minute, to slow down so the court reporter could keep up.
“I apologize, your honor, I moved to Florida but kept up with New York,” Don Jr. jovially responded.
“We noticed,” Engoron responded.
The lawsuit alleges that Donald Trump inflated the value of his assets to obtain better loan and insurance terms from banks. Anadolu via Getty Images
Don Jr. delivered his first joke before taking the stand around 2:50 p.m., saying, “I should have put makeup on” as a group of news photographers took his photo.
He answered many questions about the hierarchy of power in the Trump Organization, including explaining that he and his brother Eric were on equal footing in the family real estate empire from 2011 to 2017.
“We were on a similar plane,” said Trump Jr. “We had our own silos and we tried to stick to them.”
“I focused a lot on our international business, our hotel business, developing new licensing agreements and so on. “I could have done anything,” he added.
Then in 2017, when Trump, 77, took over as president, power was completely transferred to the two older brothers and Trump Org’s then-chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, Trump Jr. explained.
Weisselberg ultimately left the company because of “some legal trouble he got into,” Trump Jr. said, referring to Weisselberg’s arrest, eventual conviction and brief stay in prison for tax fraud.
Don Jr. started joking about the pronunciation of the word “revocable.” AFP via Getty Images
The trial is in its fifth week and is expected to last until December.
Eric is expected to take the stand Thursday after concluding questioning of his brother.
The former president will be called to testify on Monday and his daughter Ivanka is scheduled for Wednesday as the last witness before the prosecutor.
Trump’s side has 128 potential witnesses on the list, although it is not known how many of them will actually be called.
Ivanka had also previously been charged until an appeals court dismissed it due to the statute of limitations.
The trial is in its fifth week and is expected to last until December. AFP via Getty Images
Engoron did not let her leave the witness stand, discovering that her testimony was still relevant. She could try to appeal that ruling before Wednesday to try to avoid having to appear in court in person.
Earlier on Wednesday, two other witnesses were called, including the former Trump Org. Vice President David Orowitz and a state investment banker.
Michiel McCarty, president and CEO of an investment bank and the state’s only expert witness, said the banks lost $168 million due to Trump’s alleged dumping of their assets.
He said that because of this, the banks gave Trump lower interest rates, which saved him $168 million and therefore caused the banks to lose the same amount.
The courtroom was tense as Trump’s lawyers questioned McCarty, with Engoron repeatedly urging them to move forward with the questioning and repeatedly reminding them to phrase questions positively rather than negatively.
“I can see why this line of questioning is going to take two or three hours,” Engoron said. “Please stop turning one question into four or five.”
But Trump attorney Christopher Kise objected to Engoron’s interruptions and said McCarty is a crucial witness for cross-examination.
“This witness is the only one they have that even hints at ill-gotten gains,” Kise said. “We need to challenge his credibility and memory. I don’t understand why they always interrupt us, he is becoming a boss, with all due respect.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn