Eric Trump to continue testimony in civil fraud trial

The New York Attorney general's office asked Donald Trump's adult sons about their involvement and knowledge with his financial statements, including some of the most controversial ones.

Tension and significant days

The fraud trial

Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump, who ran the Trump Organization when their father was president of the United States, made back-to-back public appearances on Thursday ahead of former President Obama's testimony.

Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, their father Trump Org. and a number of company executives are all defendants in this case.

Here are a few

Key takeaways of the day at court

Eric Trump is confronted by emails that show his work on Trump’s finances

Andrew Amer, Assistant Attorney General of the United States, became tense during his examination of Eric Trump. He questioned him about his understanding of financial statements used by his father to support real estate deals and presented him with emails dating back as far as 2010.

Eric Trump admitted that he gave information to Jeff McConney, former Trump Organization controller and co-defendant of the trial. He tried to differentiate between the specific financial statements - his father's financial statements that are at the center of the civil lawsuit - and the general financial records of the company.

This distinction is important because the Attorney General cited Donald Trump's financial statements as proof that he had inflated the value of his properties in order to increase his net worth and to obtain favorable loan conditions.

A witness for the Attorney General testified that the Trump Organization was able to save $168 million by using fraudulent information to obtain loan rates.

Donald Trump Jr. claimed he relied upon accountants.

Donald Trump Jr. said repeatedly that he relied upon his accountants to prepare financial statements for his dad, even though they were signed as trustees of his father's trust.

He said he did not draft the financial reports, and that when he signed them as a trustee, he relied upon the legal and accounting teams of the Trump Organization, who he claimed assured him that they were accurate.

After Faherty questioned what the Trump Organization did after the investigation by the Attorney General into the company started in 2019, the attorney general’s office and Trump’s lawyers engaged in a long back-and forth over attorney-client confidentiality.

Trump Jr. stated that some internal policies and methods 'have been strengthened' since the investigation started. He said that one of the changes was the hiring of a certified public accounting chief financial officer.