New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. of lying under oath in the fraud trial she has taken against the Trump organization. She also warned Donald Trump Sr. that "taunts, threats [and] name calling" will not work when he gives evidence next week.
In a video statement released on X, formerly Twitter, she said Donald Jr. and Eric "pretend that they were not involved in their family's fraudulent business. But the facts tell a very different story." "As a trustee of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, Donald Trump Jr. often made financial and business decisions on behalf of his father," James said. "He testified that he signed multiple documents confirming the accuracy of Donald Trump's statements of financial condition and the Trump Organization's compliance with loan terms. But those documents were not accurate. And he knew it." James accused Donald Jr. of continuing to lie even after he was confronted with the truth. Eric Trump steps out for a lunch break during his testimony at former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York City on November 2, 2023. New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Eric and his brother, Donald Jr., of lying under oath.DAVID DEE DELGADO/GETTY IMAGES "In fact, just a week after he was confronted with the truth that his father's triplex was three times smaller than the statement of financial conditions that it was, Donald Trump Jr. continued to lie," she said. "He certified to the family's accountants that all the information he sent them was accurate, including the value of the falsely enlarged triplex." NEWSLETTER The Bulletin Your daily briefing of everything you need to know In her video, James then reviewed Eric Trump's evidence, in which she said he had "insisted that he had never heard about his father's statements of financial condition before our investigation." "He told us his job was just to pour concrete. But his emails tell a different story," James said. "On multiple occasions over the years, Eric Trump worked on his father's statements of financial condition. And he was intimately involved in lying about the values of properties, like Seven Springs and Briarcliff, to make his father appear richer than he actually was." She finished her statement with a warning to Donald Trump Sr., who is expected to give evidence early next week.
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"Next week, Donald Trump himself will take the stand. And while I am sure he will try to hide his wrongdoing behind taunts, threats, name calling, we will not be bullied out of uncovering the truth," James said. SIGN UP FOR NEWSWEEK’S DAILY HEADLINES She spoke after Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump distanced themselves from financial statements that the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, has ruled fraudulently inflated their father's assets. Donald Jr. testified that he relies on others to do the accounting. "That's why we have accountants," he said. Eric testified later in the day that he wasn't very familiar with the statements. James' lawyers have claimed in court the 2011-2021 statements included a large number of inflated valuations of Donald Trump's assets that were then used to get better insurance and loans. Trump and his adult sons, as well as the Trump Organization, were found liable for fraud in the New York case on September 26, when Judge Engoron sided with James to find that the former president had inflated the value of his assets by as much as $2.2 billion. According to the judge, there was "conclusive evidence" that Trump had overvalued many of his properties, including Mar-a-Lago and his Trump Tower penthouse. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, is appealing the refusal to dismiss the civil lawsuit altogether. His lawyers wrote in their appeal submissions that they were contesting "each and every part" of Engoron's September 26 ruling. Trump is the front runner in the Republican primary and has accused James of launching the case against him to weaken his position at the 2024 presidential election. Engoron rescinded the corporate certifications of the New York corporations at the centre of the case, limiting Trump's ability to run his real estate business.
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