Donald Trump Jr to Lead Defense of His Father

Donald Trump Jr. will be the first defense witness in his family's civil fraud trial when it resumes on Monday.

The 45-year-old was compelled to give evidence over two days last week in the New York Attorney General Letitia James' fraud case against him, his brother Eric, and their father, Donald Trump.

James is suing the three Trump men and the Trump Organization for allegedly inflating their assets and net worths to deceive insurers, banks and others. Donald Trump has denied any wrongdoing and painted the case as a politically motivated stunt to block him from a second White House term. He remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Monday will mark the first time that the Trump family will get to tell their side of the story from a defense perspective. Their legal team did not ask Donald Trump Jr. any questions when he testified last week. Newsweek sought email comment on Friday from attorneys for Donald Trump Sr. and Donald Trump Jr.

His siblings Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump were also called to the stand, as was their father, former President Donald Trump. Ivanka is no longer a defendant in the case after an appeal court ruled that James is time-barred from taking a case against her.

During his testimony, Donald Trump Jr. largely distanced himself from the company accounts at the center of the case and said that he left the accounting to the Trump Organization accountants.

Trump lawyers said to Judge Engoron on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. would be the first defense witness but have not yet indicated if Donald Trump, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump will testify. Given the former president's keen interest in the case and his attendance on many days when he was not compelled to give evidence, he is likely to testify for the defense. The Trump legal team is also to call four expert witnesses who will testify about accounting and property evaluation.

In a rare victory, Engoron sided with the Trump lawyers and refused to block the four experts from testifying. Lawyers for the New York attorney general had said that the quartet would testify about issues upon which Judge Engoron had already ruled and their testimony would delay the trial.

Even in siding with the Trump team, Engoron offered a barbed reason for doing so.

"One of my goals here is I don't want a retrial in this case. I don't want to be reversed," said Engoron. He has clashed frequently with Trump and has already ruled that he has committed fraud and that some of his New York companies should be stripped of their right to do business. An appellate court has stayed that ruling pending a full hearing.

Engoron has yet to formally rule on a defense request that he issue a directed verdict and dismiss the case. A directed verdict is given when a judge finds that the evidence is too weak to allow the trial to continue. Engoron said on Thursday that he is unlikely to rule for the defense and he has rejected their two previous requests for a directed verdict. While rejecting one of those, Engoron noted: "This case has credible evidence all over the place. There is enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom." He added that the other request was "absolutely denied."

Last month, Engoron ruled that Donald Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. committed fraud in their property evaluations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy claims. Engoron himself will rule on the charges, as Trump's legal team did not opt for a jury trial.