Fraud trial in New York
Even the judge has to laugh: Donald Trump Jr. uses statement for charm offensive
Donald Trump Jr., son of the former US President, in the courtroom of the New York Supreme Court
© Stefan Jeremiah / AP / DPA
It was his second appearance in the fraud trial against former President Donald Trump and his sons: Donald Trump Jr. testified again in court in New York – with plenty of jokes and praise for his “genius” father.
Donald Trump Jr. is not exactly known for verbal restraint. On social media, in interviews and during campaign appearances, the eldest son of former US President Donald Trump uses sharp words to rail against the political left and everything it stands for. When it comes to dealing with his legal opponents, the junior also takes after his father, who already had to pay hefty fines in the New York fraud trial against himself and his son and his brother Eric because he had denigrated court staff. In an appearance on the ultra-right US broadcaster Newsmax Trump Jr. the proceedings in New York as a “sham” and called the negotiating chamber around Judge Arthur Engoron a “kangaroo court”.
Trump Jr. makes funny jokes in court
The 45-year-old showed a completely different side on Monday in his second appearance in this “kangaroo court”. This time Trump Jr. Invited as a witness for the defense and was particularly noticeable because of his funny sayings. The defendant told his first joke before the session opened. As a group of cameramen and photographers took pictures of him, he said: “I should have worn makeup.”
Trump Jr. also sat on the witness stand. continued his charm offensive. When Judge Engoron greeted him, he jokingly replied, “You thought you were rid of me, your honor.” And shortly after being sworn in, he drew laughs by declaring, “I would say it’s nice to be here, but I have a feeling the attorney general is going to sue me for perjury.”
After Trump Jr. During his last statement two weeks ago, the court illustrator asked: “Make me look sexy!”, he now explained that he had already had a conversation with the artist who was in the room this time and wanted a version of himself with a strong chin and broad shoulders.
Even Engoron had to laugh when the defendant, whose father is known to be a passionate golfer, said: “I’m the non-golfer in the family, so to speak, which has forever banished me to the children’s table.”
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But in addition to all the jokes and sayings, Trump Jr. also commented on the allegations against himself, his father and his brother. Attorney General Letitia James accuses the Trumps and employees of the Trump Organization of manipulating the value of the company for years in order to get better conditions for loans and insurance. Judge Engoron had already confirmed this before the trial – the civil proceedings are therefore primarily about determining possible penalties.
During his first testimony earlier this month, Trump Jr. has already stated that he never worked for the family company on the balance sheets that are at the center of James’ lawsuit. He relied on the company’s long-time chief financial officer and external accountants to verify their accuracy. Now the defendant confirmed that he “doesn’t understand anything” about accounting language and relies on experts. “We pay millions of dollars and they have great degrees,” Trump Jr. said. and received laughter from the audience.
Song of praise for the father
Trump Jr. used most of his time on the witness stand. but, to retell the development of the Trump Organization as a success story and to praise his father highly. Questioned by his own lawyer, he commented for more than an hour on a slide show entitled “The Trump Story” of photos of golf courses, hotels and other major projects of the holding company. He enthused about his father’s early years as a developer of skyscrapers in Manhattan and the “vision he had for doing things differently.”
“He’s an artist in real estate. He sees things that other people don’t see,” Trump Jr. said. – without mentioning his casino bankruptcies and other business failures.
Trump Jr. was the defense’s first witness. The family’s lawyers said they would likely call Eric Trump and the former US president to the stand again. Donald Trump wants to be re-elected to the White House next year. According to many observers, he is using the process as election advertising. The Republican is not threatened with a prison sentence in this case, but a conviction could cause him great business damage.
Sources: Associated Press, BBC, CNN, USA Today, “New York Post”