Trump empire is ‘mom and pop firm’, Donald Jr tells court

Donald Trump’s eldest son offered a glowing account of the family business, describing it as a ‘mom and pop’ firm.

Donald Trump Junior returned to the stand, describing his father as a visionary during the New York civil fraud trial. Picture: Twitter/@Forbes

Donald Trump JR described his father’s multibillion-dollar company as a “mom and pop” firm as he testified on the witness stand for a second time in a New York fraud trial.

The eldest child of the former president, who is named alongside his father and his brother Eric in the $390 million lawsuit filed by the New York attorney-general, was the first witness called by the defence.

“I’d say it’s good to be here, your honour,” he told Judge Arthur Engoron after being sworn in, “but I have a feeling the Attorney-General would sue me for perjury.”

Trump Jr, 45, had been a relaxed witness during his previous turn on the witness stand and in his second outing, under friendly questioning, he offered an expansive and glowing account of the family business.

He said his great-grandfather, an immigrant, had developed hotels in Yukon during the gold rush there in the late 19th century. A historian of the family has written that the hotel menu frequently featured creatures that had met their end on a freezing trail, including “fresh-slaughtered, quick-frozen horse”.

Trump Jr said his grandfather Frederick had begun developing garages and flats in the New York borough of Queens, steadily building a property empire there. “My father learnt a lot of the business from him,” he said. His father, though, regarded Manhattan as “the ultimate frontier”.

He described his father as a visionary, saying that he did things, such as placing gyms inside his buildings, that were new at the time. He boasted that the vaults of the Trump building on Wall Street were once used by the Federal Reserve to store some of the nation’s gold reserves.

The Trumps and their company are accused of falsely overvaluing their assets to secure better deals with lenders and insurance firms. They deny the allegations, but the judge, a Democrat, has already found that they did commit fraud, making the trial about the damages awarded. They are appealing against a ruling ordering the dissolution of some Trump companies.

The trial continues.

The Times

Special counsel opposes bid to televise Trump election conspiracy trial

US prosecutors Monday opposed a bid by Donald Trump to have television cameras broadcast his trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, saying the former president wants to turn it into a “media event.” Trump’s lawyers, in a filing last week with US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is to preside over the trial, asked that it be televised live.

“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” they said.

“Every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand and watch as, if there is a trial, President Trump exonerates himself of these baseless and politically motivated charges,” they said.

The prosecution “wishes to continue this travesty in darkness,” they added. “President Trump calls for sunlight.” Special Counsel Jack Smith urged the judge to reject Trump’s request to televise the trial, calling it a “transparent effort to demand special treatment, try his case in the courtroom of public opinion, and turn his trial into a media event.” Trump is seeking to “create a carnival atmosphere from which he hopes to profit by distracting, like many fraud defendants try to do, from the charges against him,” Smith said.

This combination picture shows (from left) Judge Tanya Chutkan, former US President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith. Picture: AFP

“The Court should reject this attempted distraction and deny the applications.” A number of US media outlets have also asked the judge to allow a live broadcast of what they called a “historic and unprecedented prosecution.” Federal criminal trials are generally not televised in the United States and it is not clear that Chutkan has the authority to allow it even if she was inclined to do so.

At a pre-trial hearing in August, the judge said she would seek to prevent a “carnival atmosphere of unchecked publicity and trial by media.” Cameras have not been allowed so far in the downtown Washington courtroom for the pre-trial hearings in the case.

Trump’s other legal woes

Trump was indicted for seeking to upend the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden in a concerted effort that led to the violent January 6, 2021 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.

The twice-impeached former president is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims that he won the November 2020 election.

Chutkan has set March 4, 2024 for the start of the trial, which could interfere with Trump’s campaign to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Trump and his sons Eric and Don Jr are currently facing a civil fraud trial in New York, accused of inflating the value of their real estate assets to receive more favourable bank loans and insurance terms.

Trump also faces federal charges for alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House and has been charged with racketeering in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state.

AFP