First of former president’s children takes stand, says he relied on the expertise of hired accountants.
Donald Trump Jr. was the first of the Trump children to take the witness stand in the fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against Trump Organization executives.
“I should have worn makeup,” he said on Nov. 1 as pool photographers snapped multiple shots of him.
At the center of the case are the statements of financial condition (SFC) for the Trump Organization, which list the family’s assets and President Trump’s total net worth each year. When Donald Trump took office in 2017, he transferred ownership of the Trump Organization to a trust, and Mr. Trump served as a trustee.
Prosecutors asked Mr. Trump about his positions and responsibilities within the “Trump Organization,” which he described as an umbrella term for the family’s businesses. He also was questioned about documents and accounting standards used by the firm.
Mr. Trump said he didn’t have knowledge of the accounting standards and relied on the expertise of the accountants hired by the Trump Organization to prepare the SFCs.
“These people had incredibly intimate knowledge. I relied on them,” he said. “The accountants worked on it. That’s what we paid them for.”
Mr. Trump said that while he wasn’t involved in compiling the SFCs, he could have been involved in discussions that led to coming up with particular numbers, without knowing it was for an SFC.
Mr. Trump was indicted alongside his father, former President Donald Trump, in the multimillion-dollar case that may prohibit them from holding executive business positions in New York state for five years.
New York Justice Arthur Engoron is presiding over the trial, which began on Oct. 2, and has already ruled in a summary judgment that President Trump is liable for fraud because he had submitted “fraudulent valuations” for his assets.
Mr. Trump’s testimony will continue on Nov. 2, and his brother, Eric Trump, will take the witness stand next.
By Catherine Yang and Michael Washburn
