Eric Trump, son of former US President Donald Trump, attends the fraud trial of the Trump Organization in New York City on November 2, 2023. Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump testified on Thursday in the New York case against the family real estate business and blamed accountants for company financial statements the authorities say were fraudulent.
His testimony was followed by that of his younger brother Eric, 39, who had a more difficult time under intense questioning from Andrew Amer, a lawyer with the New York attorney general’s office, which brought the case.“I don’t think I ever saw or worked on a statement of financial condition,” Eric Trump said at the outset.
Like his brother, Eric Trump went on say that he relied on accounting firms to vouch for the information in financial records provided to lenders and others.Former president Trump is expected to testify on Monday, a day shy of the one-year mark before the November 5, 2024, presidential election that he hopes will sweep him back into the White House.
Speaking to reporters after his testimony, Don Jr denounced the case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, as a “political persecution.” Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the case, has already ruled that Trump, his sons and other senior executives of the Trump Organization committed fraud and the trial is being held to determine penalties and potential sanctions.
Trump is not required to attend the trial, but he has shown up sporadically, using his appearances to portray himself as the victim of what he claims is a Democratic plot to derail his White House campaign.