Don Jr. to testify as Trump’s legal team starts defense case
Donald Trump Jr. is slated to take the witness stand Monday as the defense team launches its case in the fraud trial against former President Donald Trump.
Trump’s eldest son will be called to testify in Manhattan Supreme Court after the Trump legal team last week made a long-shot bid at shutting the whole trial down with a claim that New York Attorney General Tish James hasn’t provided enough evidence.
Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization are accused of having swindled banks, insurers and others by illegally inflating their worth and the value of their assets to pump up their profits on business deals and get better loans.
Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled before the trial began that Trump, his company and other defendants are liable for fraud. The trial will determine how much they’ll have to pay — James is looking to recover $250 million and bar him, his sons and the Trump Organization from operating in the state.
The judge’s pretrial ruling left open the possibility that Trump could be forced to relinquish marquee properties such as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him to remain in control of his holdings for now.
The defense team is likely to fall back on a strategy they’ve used throughout the trial already — pin the blame for any mistakes or inaccuracies in the financial statements on the Trump Organization’s former outside accounting firm, Mazars, and their former outside account, Donald Bender.
Last week, in a win for the Trump team, the AG was denied a motion to block four of the defense team’s expert witnesses from testifying.
Engoron turned down their request but specified that the witnesses will only be able speak on relevant subjects, stating that one of his goals with the case is to avoid a mistrial.