A rather prickly Eric Trump took to the stand on Thursday as he testified in his father, Donald's, civil fraud trial.
One of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump's real estate empire, Eric, 39, swore on Thursday he was never involved with financial statements that New York lawyers say fraudulently inflated the ex-president's wealth and worth of the family business. However, a decade-old email was brought up which asked him for information for one of his dad's financial statements.
This appeared to irk Eric Trump, who strove to clarify. He rebutted: "We're a major organisation, a massive real estate organisation - yes, I'm fairly sure I understand that we have financial statements. Absolutely."
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The Trump Organization executive vice president went on to insist: "I had no involvement and never worked on my father's statement of financial condition." His testimony comes after another Trump Organization executive took to the stand and said Eric Trump was on a video call about his father's financial statement as recently as 2021.
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"I'm on a thousand calls a day," said Trump's second oldest son, explaining that he couldn't remember this. Eric's testimony followed fellow Trump Organization executive vice president Donald Trump Jr's turn on the stand on a closely watched day of the trial.
Eric Trump, second from left, appears at the fraud trial for his father, former President Donald Trump, at New York Supreme Court (AP)The Trump brothers arrived at the Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday morning in almost identical outfits. The pair opted for dark navy blue suits, light blue ties, brown shoes, slicked-back hair, and neatly groomed facial hair. Donald Jr, 45, was spotted waving to the press cameras as the duo walked inside flanked by an entourage.
Judge threatens to expand gag order to include his staff
The day ended with Judge Arthur Engoron suggesting he may expand a gag order after defence lawyers again criticised his law clerk's role in the case. Earlier in the case, Judge Engoron barred participants in the case from smearing his staff after Donald Trump maligned the clerk on social media.
The former president has been fined twice, a total of $15,000, for what the judge said were violations. Trump's lawyers have repeatedly complained about the clerk passing notes to the judge during testimony, a practice the attorneys suggest is inappropriate and unfair to them. Engoron says he has an "absolutely unfettered right" to the clerk's advice.
As the defence complained again on Thursday. Eric Trump watched quietly from the witness stand. Meanwhile, a sometimes table-pounding Judge Engoron said he may expand the gag order to include attorneys if anyone refers to a member of his staff again.
The former president's second oldest son followed his big brother in taking to the witness stand (Getty Images)Trump, his adult sons and other defendants deny any wrongdoing in the case which was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. SHe has accused them of inflating the former president's net work on his annual "statement of financial condition" documents, which were given to banks, insurers and others to secure better loans and make deals.
"So sad to see my sons being PERSECUTED in a political Witch Hunt", wrote the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner on his Truth Social platform Thursday. Donald Trump is slated to testify on Monday, followed by his daughter Ivanka on Wednesday. An appeals court denied her request late Thursday to delay her testimony. Eric Trump is set to return to the witness stand on Friday.
Emails show Eric asked for info for Trump's financial statements
His role in the family business drew attention earlier in the trial, when an appraiser testified that the son took an active interest a decade ago in sizing up the value of the Trump National Golf Club and Seven Springs estate, in New York's suburban Westchester County. According to the lawsuit, Trump's financial statements went on to list the properties at estimated values more than twice the appraiser's rough numbers.
Eric Trump testified that he hardly remembered the appraiser's name, let alone the values he gave properties. As he began his testimony, he said he "never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition", didn't believe he'd ever seen one, "was not personally aware" of the document and "didn't know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition."
Eric Trump appeared prickly on the stands when email evidence was brought up (Louis Lanzano/UPI/REX/Shutterstock)"It's not what I did for the company," said Eric, who said he focuses on building and operating properties. State lawyer Andrew Amer then showed him 2013 emails from then-Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney.
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In one, McConney told Eric Trump - then at a different role at the company - that he was "working on your father's statement of financial condition" and needed information on one of the company's properties. In another message, McConney said he was "working on the notes to Mr Trump's annual financial statement", and asked Eric Trump and others for an update on recent major construction work.
"Yes, I know Jeff McConney does financial statements for my father," said Eric, shifting back in his chair. Soon after, he sprang into his answer about the "massive real estate organisation", his voice rising as he spoke.
Eric Trump denied having any involvement in his father's financial statements (AP)Emails and documents indicated he had answered McConney's requests. But when he was asked to concede that he was, in fact, "very familiar" with the financial statements, Eric Trump cast the messages as just answering an accounting colleague's request for a property description.
"I just don't think it would have registered" that they were for the financial statement, he said. Donald Trump Jr, during his testimony, said he dealt with the financial statements only in passing while relying on assurances from company finance executives and an outside accounting firm that the information was accurate.
Donald Jr still believes Trump's financial statements accurate
During his second day on the witness stand on Thursday, he said that despite Ms James' allegations, he still believed his father's financial statements were "materially accurate". Trump has said the documents, if anything, lowballed his wealth.
Donald Trump and other members of the Trump Organization have been accused of falsely inflating assets in order to get better deals and loans (Getty Images)Trump Jr also revealed that gaming giant Bally's recently paid the Trump Organization $60 million to buy the right to operate a public golf course in New York City. The terms of the lease transfer for the former Trump Golf Links Ferry Point in the Bronx hasn't previously been disclosed.
Outside the courthouse, Trump Jr told reporters he thought his testimony went "really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted". He added: "Unfortunately, the attorney general has brought forth a case that is purely a political persecution.
"I think it's a truly scary precedent for New York - for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I'm apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accounts to do, wait for it: accounting."
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