The defense team representing Donald Trump in a civil trial accusing him of fraud began presenting its case Monday, opening with his eldest son returning to the witness stand. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued the former president and his namesake business last year, alleging a years-long fraud that involved falsely inflating the values of assets on financial documents to get better terms from lenders and insurance firms.
Donald Trump Jr. began testifying Monday morning, where he distanced himself from the financial statements, saying that they were the work of the company’s accountants.
“If they assured me in their expert opinion that these things were fine I would have been fine with that and signed off accordingly,” Donald Trump Jr. said during his earlier testimony.
James’s side rested last week after calling both men, their sister and their father to the stand, seeking to demonstrate that the former president and other defendants purposefully goosed the values put on Trump’s annual financial statements.
The defense, in turn, has denied any wrongdoing, saying that no fraud took place and that no one was victimized. Asset valuations are subjective, they say, and no banks were duped.
In a pretrial ruling in the case, New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron concluded that the company’s financial statements were fraudulent and ordered that all of Trump’s “business certificates” be canceled.
Trump, for his part, has long attacked the trial, strongly denying wrongdoing on all fronts and claiming he is being politically targeted. He also said his wealth was higher than what was reported in the financial statements because his accountants did not factor in his “brand value.”
The outcome of this trial could have significant repercussions for Trump as he is also facing four pending criminal prosecutions. Despite these legal battles, he is running for president once again.