Category Archives: Donald Trump Jr

Trump claims financial statements at heart of $250m fraud trial are ‘worthless’

Posted on by

Former president takes stand in New York Trump Organization trial as judge asks lawyer to ‘control your client’

Donald Trump took the stand in a Manhattan federal courthouse on Monday and angrily claimed the financial statements at the heart of his $250m civil fraud lawsuit were “worthless” and the trial was a political “witch-hunt”.

In a day of sometimes heated, sometimes meandering testimony, Trump maintained he had done nothing wrong and accused his prosecutors of playing politics. “We sit here all day – it’s election interference because you want to keep me in the courthouse!” said Trump.

Continue reading...

Ivanka Trump must testify in Trump Organization fraud trial, court rules

Posted on by

Court rejects claim she was too busy raising her children to fly to New York to testify in the $250m fraud trial

Ivanka Trump’s argument that she should be spared giving midweek testimony in her father Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York because she is a busy mother of school-aged children in Florida was given short shrift by an appeals court.

The former president’s daughter, a senior adviser during his single term of office, asked the panel to set aside a ruling by a district court judge compelling her to testify next Wednesday, 8 November.

Continue reading...

Eric Trump testifies ‘I don’t recall’ when asked about involvement in Trump Organization valuation – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. For more on this trial, read our latest report:

Prosecutor Colleen Faherty asked Donald Trump Jr whether it’s a fair statement that he was generally familiar with the overall finances of the Trump Organization between 2011 and the present.

“I would think so, yes,” Trump Jr replied, Law360’s Stewart Bishop reports.

Continue reading...

Trump Jr distances himself from documents at center of fraud trial: ‘I don’t recall’

Posted on by

Donald Trump’s eldest son testifies in New York civil trial, claiming repeatedly: ‘I don’t recall’

Donald Trump Jr took the stand in the ongoing fraud trial against his father and the family business on Wednesday and tried to distance himself from the financial statements at the center of the case.

Trump’s eldest son, 45, is the first family member to testify in the civil trial brought by the New York attorney general, Letitia James. His younger brother Eric is expected to testify on Thursday, with Trump and his daughter Ivanka expected in court next week.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump Jr tells court ‘I don’t recall’ in response to questions at Trump family fraud trial – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. You can see our latest full report below:

The state’s expert witness, Michiel McCarty, is still on the stand. Prosecutors pulled up a report McCarty compiled where he calculated banks lost out on $168m because the Trump Organization had inflated the value of four of their properties, including 40 Wall Street, Trump Doral in Miami and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago.

Here’s an image of what was shown in the courtroom:

Continue reading...

‘Expect the unexpected’: Trump fraud trial becomes family affair

Posted on by

Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka scheduled to give evidence with father this week in case against Trump Organization

Donald Trump’s fraud trial becomes a family affair this week as three of his children, and the former president himself, prepare to be called to the witness stand in New York.

Trump’s appearances in court so far have been controversial, to say the least. The former president has railed against the prosecution, calling it a “witch-hunt”, and has been threatened with jail for attacking one of the court’s clerks on social media.

Continue reading...

Trump real estate empire under threat after fraud ruling; Senate leader urges House to pass funding bill – US politics live

Posted on by

Even a short shutdown would jeopardize the work of potentially thousands of air traffic controllers and other key employees, secretary Buttigieg says

US soldier Travis King, who fled to North Korea in July, is in American custody after being expelled by Pyongyang into China, according to US officials.

North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said King had been expelled after he confessed to illegally entering the country. It said the soldier harboured ill feelings over inhumane treatment and racial discrimination within the US army.

This is genuinely new – I don’t think it’s ever happened before, a president on a picket line. Candidates do it frequently and prominent senators, but not a president.

Continue reading...

Senator says she has been ‘excluded’ from writing pamphlet – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Patricia Karvelas challenges Littleproud’s Covid reasoning behind the Murray-Darling Basin delays on ABC RN this morning.

“This isn’t a new problem … Your government was in power when a 2019 Productivity Commission report warned that there had been limited progress returning the water to the environment,” she says. “Why didn’t you change course?”

This is a very technical piece of legislation … The 450 is additional to the 2,750 gigalitres of water in the plan, the Productivity Commission looked at the 450 gigalitres, there’s only been 2 gigalitres recovered on the 450 …

Because the neutrality test on social and economic impact on rural communities have not been passed to get more water back out of it – that’s a test the Labor government put in place, that we adhere to that the states agreed to.

He [is] going down a path that’s divided the country and meant that the attention has been taken away from managing people’s cost-of-living crisis, and focused on trying to win a referendum in which he has overreached in conflating a voice with constitutional recognition.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump Jr’s Australian speaking tour delayed, promoter says

Posted on by

Turning Point Australia says appearances of former president’s son in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne postponed ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’

A speaking tour from the son of the former US president Donald Trump has been delayed, the tour promoter announced on Wednesday.

Donald Trump Jr was to speak at events in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, kicking off this Sunday. However Turning Point Australia announced on Wednesday that “due to unforeseen circumstances” the appearances would be postponed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Republicans crying wolf over Hunter Biden have hurt their own cause

Posted on by

The GOP is obsessed with the president’s son, but the party’s attacks make it difficult to discern legitimate concern from crazy conspiracies

“Sweetheart deal!” “Two-tiered justice!” “Mere traffic ticket!”

Republicans had their applause lines ready on Tuesday when Joe Biden’s son Hunter struck a plea deal over unpaid taxes, and gun possession while being a drug user, that is likely to keep him out of prison.

Continue reading...

CPAC: Nikki Haley calls out Republicans’ failure to win voters’ confidence – as it happened

Posted on by

2024 contender points out in speech the party has lost popular vote in seven of last eight presidential elections

Politico has the scoop on a policy proposal of sorts from Donald Trump, in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

The former president, who of course made his name in real estate, wants to hold a contest to design and build “up to 10 new ‘Freedom Cities’, built from the ground up on federal land”.

… an investment in the development of vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles; the creation of ‘hives of industry’ sparked by cutting off imports from China; and a population surge sparked by ‘baby bonuses’ to encourage would-be-parents to get on with procreation.

It is all, his team says, part of a larger nationwide beautification campaign meant to inspire forward-looking visions of America’s future.

Continue reading...

Trump Organization to face criminal tax fraud charges in New York court on Monday

Posted on by

Former CFO is expected to testify about off-the-books compensation scheme to evade paying payroll taxes

The Trump Organization is set to face criminal tax fraud charges on Monday in New York in a trial that could start to tease out the many allegations against the company and by extension its patriarch, Donald J Trump.

It comes as the former US president faces a maze of legal troubles and mounting costs – by some estimates running at close to $4m a month to his leadership PAC – over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, the removal of government documents from the White House when he left office and a defamation case relating to a rape allegation.

Continue reading...

New York attorney general lawsuit accuses Trump of ‘staggering’ fraud

Posted on by

Letitia James’s civil suit accuses ex-president of inflating his net worth by billions in order to ‘enrich himself and cheat the system’

The attorney general of New York state has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his children involved in the family real-estate business, for falsely inflating his net worth by billions in order to enrich himself and secure favorable loans.

Announcing the suit in New York on Wednesday, Letitia James also said referrals had been made to federal prosecutors and the Internal Revenue Service – a move sure to anger the former US president and increase consternation among his inner circle about the depth of his legal predicament.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Continue reading...

January 6 committee focuses on phone calls among Trump’s children and aides

Posted on by

Footage captured by documentary film-maker understood to show ex-president’s children privately discussing election strategies

The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack is closely focused on phone calls and conversations among Donald Trump’s children and top aides captured by a documentary film-maker weeks before the 2020 election, say sources familiar with the matter.

The calls among Trump’s children and top aides took place at an invitation-only event at the Trump International hotel in Washington that took place the night of the first presidential debate on 29 September 2020, the sources said.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump to testify in New York investigation into his business practices

Posted on by

Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr will also testify in attorney general Letitia James’ inquiry into Trump Organization

Former president Donald Trump will testify under oath on 15 July in New York attorney general Letitia Jame’s investigation into his business practices, according to a court filing released Wednesday.

His daughter Ivanka Trump and son Donald Trump Jr will also testify.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump Jr testifies before the committee on the events of January 6

Posted on by

House panel also released text messages in which Donald Trump’s son begged the White House to get his father to condemn the riot

Donald Trump’s oldest son has met with the congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The interview Tuesday with Donald Trump Jr comes as the bipartisan House committee moves closer to the former president’s inner circle of family members and political advisers.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump Jr to appear before House Capitol attack panel – report

Posted on by

The meeting comes in the wake of other family members such as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner testifying to the committee

Donald Trump Jr. has agreed to meet in the near future with the US House of Representatives panel that is investigating the 6 January 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing a source.

Trump, the eldest son of former president Donald Trump, is set to meet with the House committee of his own will and without the threat of a subpoena, the outlet said without reporting when the testimony was scheduled.

Continue reading...

‘Smoking rifle’: Trump Jr texted Meadows strategies to overturn election – report

Posted on by

CNN reports Trump’s eldest son texted chief of staff two days after 2020 election to say ‘we have multiple paths … we control them all’

Two days after the 2020 election, Donald Trump Jr texted the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, with strategies for overturning the result, CNN reported.

“This is what we need to do please read it and please get it to everyone that needs to see it because I’m not sure we’re doing it,” Trump Jr reportedly wrote, adding: “It’s very simple … We have multiple paths[.] We control them all.”

Continue reading...

New York court urged to uphold order for Donald Trump to face questioning

Posted on by

State attorney general Letitia James says her office has every right to question Trump and his two oldest children over possible fraud

The attorney general of New York state is asking an appeals court to uphold a lower-court ruling requiring Donald Trump to answer questions under oath, after a civil investigation uncovered evidence he may have misstated the value of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers on financial statements for more than a decade.

In papers filed late on Monday, the office of Letitia James said it had every right to question Trump, who is appealing against the lower-court ruling, as it seeks to determine whether the misrepresented values shown to lenders, taxing authorities and other business interests constituted fraud and, if so, who committed that fraud.

Continue reading...