Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric Trump arrive at the New York Supreme Court for the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump on November 2, 2023 in New York City.
David Dee Delgado | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump’s two eldest sons are scheduled to testify Thursday in New York’s $250 million fraud trial against the Trump family and company.
Donald Trump Jr., who began his testimony Wednesday afternoon, is expected to resume his speech in the morning. On his first day on the witness stand, Trump Jr. said he relied largely on the expertise of accountants and did not recall working on financial documents that were at the heart of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case.
Eric Trump, described in the lawsuit as “responsible for all aspects of the administration and operations of the Trump Organization,” is expected to be called to the stand later Thursday.
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James’ civil suit accuses a decades-long scheme to falsely inflate Trump’s net worth by billions of dollars in order to obtain various financial benefits, including tax breaks and better loan terms.
The case poses a massive threat to Trump’s ability to do business in New York, the longtime headquarters of the Queens native’s businesses. James not only wants to demand damages of around a quarter of a billion dollars, but also wants to permanently ban Trump and his sons from running a New York company.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron has already held Trump and the other defendants liable for fraudulently misrepresenting the value of his assets in financial statements. The trial, which is being held without a jury, centers on six other allegations made by James. The defendants are appealing Engoron’s interim sentence.
The brothers and co-defendants, who took over the Trump Organization as executive vice presidents after their father moved into the White House in 2017, arrived together at Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday morning.
They are the first of four members of the Trump family expected to testify in the trial. The former president himself is expected to be summoned on Monday, and his daughter Ivanka Trump is expected to take the stand on November 8.
Ivanka Trump was originally listed as a co-defendant, but was removed by a New York appeals court earlier this year on statute of limitations grounds.
Trump, who is not expected to attend Thursday’s trial, attacked Engoron as a “Trump-hating” judge in a Truth Social post before the trial day began. He also claimed, without evidence, that James’ lawyers wanted to “settle” the case.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.