At trial this week in the New York fraud case brought by the state’s Attorney General Letitia James challenging former President Donald Trump and interests close to him including two adult children of his, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, a witness called into question basic statements from an earlier deposition for which Eric sat.
“He explained that Eric Trump had lofty ideas of what the property was worth,” James summarized in a video online, referring to an executive from the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. “In a deposition, Eric Trump claimed he had nothing to do with valuations and property development. He said he did not sign documents or speak to real estate professionals. He said he just poured concrete. But we know that is not the truth.” The Trump property at issue was seemingly Trump National Golf Club Westchester.
There is obviously a stark contrast between what the executive was saying about his communications with Eric Trump and what that member of the Trump family himself had been claiming about the actual contours of his involvement in the family’s real estate operation. Claimed values that were higher than appropriate — and positioned to provide the Trumps with financial benefits — are at the core of James’ underlying case, which alleges a lengthy, years-long pattern of such behavior. And this isn’t the first time during trial that revelations coming out have in some manner pointed to Eric.
Earlier, Jeffrey McConney — a now former financial executive at the Trump Organization who remains also named in the case — said he’d received information from Eric that certain developments on another Trump property in Westchester County, New York, were not moving forward at the time… though the idea of that development was still used in claims of value! And it was specifically following a conversation with Eric Trump that claims of value for the property increased.
Meanwhile, James — via multiple subpoenas — is notably pursuing trial testimony from Ivanka Trump, a daughter of the former president, who was dismissed as a target of the case after a state court ruled she was shielded by relevant statutes of limitations. A hearing on Ivanka’s challenge to appearing at trial is scheduled for next week.
Today, we wrapped up the third week of our trial against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
Trump can keep spreading rumors.
Trump can keep lying.
But the truth always prevails.⤵️ pic.twitter.com/UCPeVZ4nYf
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 20, 2023
