Donald Trump’s civil fraud case started on 2 October in New York and it is believed it will last into December. In this case, Trump is persecuted for inflating his wealth in order to gain favours from banks and insurance.
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Trump was already found guilty of fraud by Judge Engoron at the end of September. The trial currently taking place is set to determine the consequences that will follow this ruling. The former president risks paying at least $250 million in penalties, losing his business licence in the state of New York and ‘a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.’
This trial has already seen numerous controversies with testimonies coming from several witnesses. Now, Trump’s children have been asked to take the stand.
Donald Trump Jr’s baffling ask
Donald Trump Jr is testifying in his father’s trial in order to determine whether or not he had any prior knowledge of possible fraud. So far, as he is grilled by prosecutors and his father’s lawyers, Trump Jr denies any involvement or awareness of ‘financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently inflated his father's wealth and the value of the family business.’
As his father’s senior executive, Trump Jr is expected to answer questions for several days. On his second day, on Thursday 2 October, he had one surprising thing to ask. Addressing court sketch artist Jane Resenberg he told her to
make me look sexy
Before that ‘joke’, Trump Jr joked that ‘(he) should have worn makeup’ to attend the trial because of the photographers outside the courtroom.
Why are Trump’s children testifying?
The answer to that question is simple: Donald Trump always mixed family and business. As we’ve previously stated, Trump Jr is a senior executive of the Trump Organisation. His brother Eric holds the same position.
Because of that, the prosecution believes that they hold significant knowledge. The BBC reports that both Trump Jr and Eric ‘have become political surrogates for their father’ as well as have kept things running at the Trump Organisation while Trump was President. Quoting the prosecution, BBC writes:
They were aware of the true financial performance of the company
That is the same for Ivanka Trump. Even though, at first, she was not required to testify at the civil fraud trial, this decision has been revoked and she is now expected to testify soon. The decision was changed due to the prosecution’s belief that she ‘was a primary point of contact and negotiator with Deutsche Bank’. These loans are ‘at the centre of the case’.
Moreover, Ivanka Trump worked at the Trump Organisation from 2005 until 2017 when she joined her father at the White House.
Read more:
⋙ Donald Trump: How much is Mar-a-Lago really worth?
⋙ This is why Donald Trump keeps getting fined
⋙ Donald Trump is ‘acting like a petulant child’ says legal expert as he tries to get out of trouble
Sources:
AP News: Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers while building real estate empire
Reuters: Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial: What’s at stake?
Sky News: Donald Trump Jr asks courtroom sketch artist to 'make me look sexy' during $250m fraud trial.
The Standard: Donald Trump Jr cracks jokes on the stand at dad’s New York fraud trial
BBC News: Why Donald Trump's children are testifying in his civil fraud trial
