Eric Trump blasted the non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against the Trump Organization as “disgusting” and called it a “charade,” adding he believes “the truth” will come out “at the end” and expressing confidence his family will “win this thing.”
The former president’s son made the comments after day two of his testimony in a Lower Manhattan courthouse.
Eric Trump said he is hopeful his family is “afforded the same level of fairness” of anyone else who “doesn’t wear the Trump name.”
Eric Trump arrives at New York Supreme Court Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
“What New York state is trying to do to my father is truly awful. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump said. “We have an unbelievable company. We have some of the best assets anywhere in the world. We’ve never had a default, we’ve never missed a loan payment.”
The Trump Organization employs thousands of people who “rely on our company every single day to put food in our mouths in the state of New York,” Trump said, adding it manages “the most significant buildings, some of the best golf courses, so many other great properties.”
The former president’s son said state prosecutors were conducting a “witch hunt” and have dragged out the case.
“They only want our names in this thing because it sensationalizes the case,” he said. “We’ve done absolutely nothing wrong.”
Donald Trump Jr. steps out for a break at former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Trump said his family has “a better company than they could have ever imagined.
“And this is a big charade that’s a huge waste of taxpayer money,” he continued. “And it’s the very reason everybody’s moving out of New York state. And I was actually one of them.
“I love this state. The state is absolutely going to hell. And it’s because of people like the attorney general of New York.”
Trump said state prosecutors should start “focusing on crime.”
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“New York is failing, and we’ve got to bring our state back to life,” he said. “Charades like this have to stop because the only reason she’s doing this is you want to run for another political position, or she wants to fundraise for her own political campaigns.
“It’s a joke. It’s an absolute joke.”
Trump said his family will prevail.
“I promise you, we’re going to win it because we haven’t done a damn thing wrong,” he said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James arrives outside New York Supreme Court ahead of former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
Former President Trump is expected to take the stand Monday. His son said the former president will be “very fired up to be here.”
“He thinks that this is one of the most incredible injustices that he’s ever seen — and it truly is,” Eric Trump said of his father.
“I’ve always believed that the truth comes out at the end. It will hear that. I think we’re winning it. We have a fair system. This thing will be over very, very soon,” he said. “And I hope we’re afforded the same level of fairness that anybody else that didn’t wear the Trump name would have.”
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Eric Trump’s comments come after he testified Thursday and Friday morning, telling the court he was never involved with financial statements for the Trump Organization. His testimony echoed what his older brother and co-Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr. said at the trial earlier this week.
Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are listed as defendants in James’ suit along with their father, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner.
Ivanka Trump was dismissed as a defendant from the case over the summer after a decision by a New York appeals court, but she was scheduled to appear for testimony. Her attorneys on filed a notice of appeal to the decision requiring her to testify at her father’s civil fraud trial.
The appeal was denied and Ivanka Trump is expected to testify Wednesday.
Donald Trump is facing off against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a contentious civil trial that threatens his control over his real estate empire in the state. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The trial comes after James, a Democrat, sued Trump last year, alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. James claimed Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, as well as other Trump Organization associates and businesses, committed “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” on their financial statements.
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Judge Arthur Engoron in September ruled Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
James alleged Trump “inflated his net worth by billions of dollars” and said his children helped him do it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.