Trump says he told son Eric not to testify at fraud trial
Former President Trump says he directed his second eldest son, Eric Trump, not to testify again in the New York fraud trial threatening the family's business empire.
"Eric has already testified, PERFECTLY...so there is no reason to waste any more of this Crooked Court’s time on having him say the same thing, over and over again, as a witness for the defense (us!)," Trump wrote Tuesday evening on Truth Social. "His young life has already been unfairly disturbed and disrupted enough on this corrupt Witch Hunt."
Eric Trump was expected to take the witness stand Wednesday for the second time before his counsel reversed course. His brother Donald Trump Jr. testified for a second time last month, where he painted an idyllic picture of the Trump Organization and his father's real estate ventures.
Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a Tuesday evening statement that Eric Trump's testimony is "no longer needed" after Deutsche Bank representatives and other experts showed the bank wanted to work with former President Trump and conducted its due diligence on key financial statements, a core defense argument throughout the trial.
"The record cannot be more clear," she said.
Eric Trump distanced himself from the financial statements at the heart of the case when he testified earlier in the trial, saying he “never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition.”
But state lawyer Andrew Amer later pointed to a 2013 email Eric Trump received from another company executive asking for information needed to fill out former President Trump’s financial statement, according to The Associated Press.
“So you did know about your father’s annual financial statement as of August 2013?” Amer asked.
“It appears that way,” Eric Trump said.
Former President Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives, including Trump's adult sons, were sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James last year. The lawsuit claimed they falsely adjusted the value of the business's assets to receive lower taxes and better insurance coverage.
Judge Arthur Engoron already found them liable for fraud, and the trial — which began in October — is addressing other claims of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. Former President Trump is expected to take the witness stand Monday as the defense's last witness.