Former President Donald Trump's son and co-defendant Eric Trump appears during the Trump Organization’s civil fraud trial, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, at New York Supreme Court in New York.NEW YORK — Eric Trump, one of two sons entrusted to run Donald Trump’s real estate empire, swore Thursday that he was never involved with financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently puffed up the ex-president’s wealth and the worth of the family business.
Though another Trump Organization executive has testified that Eric Trump was on a video call about his father’s financial statement as recently as 2021, the son said he couldn’t remember it.Eric Trump followed brother and fellow Trump Organization Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr. to the stand on a closely watched and sometimes fractious day in the trial.
The former president, his adult sons and other defendants deny wrongdoing in the case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. She accuses them of inflating the ex-president’s net worth on his annual “statement of financial condition” documents, which were given to banks, insurers and others to secure loans and make deals.
“It’s not what I did for the company,” said the son, who has said he focuses on building and operating properties. In another message, McConney said he was “working on the notes to Mr. Trump’s annual financial statement” and asked Eric Trump and others for an update on recent major construction work. During his second day on the witness stand Thursday, he said that despite James’ allegations, he still believed his father’s financial statements were “materially accurate.” The former president has said that the documents, if anything, lowballed his wealth.