Trump's children are set to take the stand at fraud trial this week
Former President Donald Trump will testify early next month in a trial that threatens the business empire that is the foundation of his public persona and fueled his run to the White House.
It stems from a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, which accuses Trump and other defendants, including his companies and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, of fraudulently inflating the value of assets to obtain favorable loans and insurance deals. Today will be the trial's 19th day.
For the past four weeks, lawyers from the attorney general's office have argued that Trump's employees had arbitrarily assigned values to assets to arrive at the former president's desired net worth. Trump's attorneys have responded that the assets had no objective value and that differing valuations are standard in real estate.
Before the trial, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and the other defendants were liable for fraud, and that the annual financial statements on which they listed their assets were filled with examples of such misconduct.
As a consequence, Engoron canceled the business licenses that have enabled Trump to operate his companies in New York, a blow to the former president's empire. An appeals court paused that part of the judge's order, meaning that while Trump's control of the companies may still be at risk, he does not immediately need to dissolve the legal entities he uses to manage his properties.
Engoron will decide whether Trump will pay a significant penalty or be subject to any other punishment. James has asked that he pay $250 million and that he and his sons be permanently barred from running a business in New York.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing.
What to expect
Sixteen witnesses have testified so far. This week, James plans to call Trump's sons and his daughter Ivanka to the witness stand. Donald Trump Jr. is expected to testify on Wednesday, Eric Trump on Thursday and Ivanka Trump on Friday.
Trump is expected to take the stand on Nov. 6. A lawyer for the attorney general's office said Friday that it would rest its case after Trump testifies.
Trump's attorneys will then start presenting their defense, offering their own witnesses and potentially recalling others for crossexamination. The trial is expected to conclude before Dec. 22.
Here's what happened in the trial last week:
• During the first week of trial, Engoron ordered Trump not to comment on the judge's staff on social media. The admonition came in response to a post by Trump showing a picture of the judge's clerk, Allison Greenfield, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and mocking her as “Schumer's girlfriend.”
Trump's post was deleted Oct. 3, but a copy remained on Trump's campaign website until last week. Engoron called it a “blatant violation” of his gag order and fined Trump $5,000.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared to criticize Greenfield again. Speaking to television cameras, Trump, a Republican, called Engoron partisan, which is allowed under the gag order. Then he added: “with a person who's very partisan sitting alongside him. Perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
That afternoon, Engoron called Trump to testify about the comment. Trump insisted that he had been referring to his former fixer, Michael Cohen, who was testifying that day. But he also said that he thought Greenfield was “maybe unfair, and I think she's very biased.”
After three minutes of questioning, Engoron ruled that Trump was “not credible” and fined him $10,000. In a written order, Engoron said that the subject of Trump's statement had been “unmistakably clear.”
Trump has paid the $15,000 in fines, but is expected to appeal the gag order.
• Cohen testified Tuesday that Trump directed him to “reverse engineer” the value of the former president's assets to reach a preestablished net worth. Cohen also testified to his own involvement in deals where the statements showcased Trump's wealth and financial power. By Wednesday, Cohen had grown flustered during cross-examination by Trump's legal team and admitted to having lied while under oath in the past.
Under questioning by Trump's lawyer, Clifford Robert, Cohen said he did not recall Trump directing him to inflate the numbers on his financial statements. Robert asked Engoron to dismiss the case. When the judge refused, Trump pushed back his chair and stormed out of the room.
Cohen later clarified that his former boss conveyed his wishes indirectly. “Donald Trump speaks like a mob boss,” Cohen said. “He tells you what he wants without telling you.”