Deposition excerpts of Trump and Trump Jr., in NY fraud probe released, Trump Jr. distances himself from Trump Org.’s financial statements

By Kara Scannell

Donald Trump Jr., a top executive at the Trump Organization, told New York investigators that he was not involved in preparing the real estate company’s financial statements at the center of a $250 million lawsuit and that his knowledge of accounting rules is limited to a college course, according to excerpts of his deposition released Thursday.

Excerpts of the testimony from Trump Jr., former President Donald Trump and others were included in the New York attorney general’s motion Thursday asking a state judge to grant a preliminary injunction to prevent the Trump Organization from continuing to use what investigators have alleged are fraudulent financial statements unless disclaimers are added and bar the company from shifting assets unless court approved.

CNN has previously reported that the former President asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and squared off with New York Attorney General Letitia James at the start of the meeting. The excerpts reveal the specific questions Trump was asked — and refused to answer — during his four hours of testimony.

Trump said he prepared “very little” for the deposition and then read a long statement, which he released publicly earlier that day, criticizing James for conducting a “bogus investigation.”

An assistant state attorney asked Trump questions ranging from whether he was currently the president of the Trump Organization, to whether he had an agreement with his then-chief financial officer to prepare years of financial statements that were intentionally overvalued. He was asked if he personally approved the valuation methods used to value properties. To each question Trump replied, “same answer.”

Last month James sued Trump, Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and the Trump Organization for allegedly using inflated financial statements to secure favorable terms on loans, insurance, and tax benefits in a decades-long fraud scheme. She is seeking to restrict their ability to conduct business in New York and recover $250 million in ill-gotten gains. The Trumps have denied any wrongdoing and have called the lawsuit politically motivated.

Trump’s refusal to answer questions can be used against him in the civil lawsuit. He said he declined to answer them because of an ongoing criminal investigation into the same conduct led by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Eric Trump and Allen Weisselberg, a long-time chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, also declined to answer most questions.

Trump Jr., who was compelled by a judge to sit for a deposition, has not publicly described his role preparing the company’s financial statements. His answers shed light on his potential defense to the allegations, distancing himself from both the documents’ preparation and accuracy. In his testimony, based on the excerpts, his tone was plain-spoken, and his demeanor appeared casual.

A source familiar tells CNN that Trump Jr. answered all questions.

Ivanka Trump also answered questions when she was deposed this summer, but no excerpt of her testimony was made public.

Trump Jr. said he began working at the Trump Organization in 2001 after taking a gap year following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He started in a low-level position on construction sites, expanded to negotiate numerous high-profile building projects, and in 2017 was named one of the three trustees overseeing the company when his father became president. He said he now works in Florida.

Despite his senior position Trump Jr. testified that from 2010 to July 2022, when he appeared for his deposition, he had limited involvement in preparing the company’s financial statements.

“I had no real involvement in the preparation of the Statement of Financial Condition and don’t really remember ever working on it with anyone,” Trump Jr. said. “Again, people may have asked me about stuff tangentially that I gave them an answer to that they may have then utilized as a basis of knowledge to come up with whatever, but, no, not specifically as it relates to, you know, knowledge about the financial statement,” he added.

He said his knowledge of US accounting rules, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, is limited to what he learned from an “Accounting 101” college course.

“Well, I’m not an accountant, but that they are generally accepted,” he said when asked what he knew about GAAP. “That’s pretty much what I remember from Accounting 101, so…You know, I’m sure I could come up with some creative stuff to kill time, but I’d be doing neither of us a favor in terms of educating ourselves.”

Trump Jr. suggested that the Trump Organization’s long-time accounting firm Mazars USA, which dropped Trump as a client earlier this year, included disclaimer language in its engagement letter to protect itself against potential future liability. In the engagement letter, Mazars said the client, Trump, was responsible for the accuracy of the information in the financial statements.

“It’s sort of seems like an odd thing all of a sudden after 30 years of doing each and every tax return probably to do that,” Trump Jr. testified. “The semantics of the language in the letter, I can’t tell if that was always the language from the engagement letters from 2011 and on, or did it become sort of a, let’s call it, you know, cover-your-ass language later on after 30 years of doing a tax return.”

Trump Jr. also distanced himself from the accuracy of the financial statements, testifying that he signed his name to bank certifications and financial statements only after conferring with people from the accounting and legal departments.

“Those people would have more intimate understanding of the specifics of those things. And whoever was bringing me a document, if it was more accounting, it was probably from accounting. If it was more legal, it would be from legal. And, ‘Hey, are we okay signing this document? Do you believe it to be honest and accurate?’ And if they were okay with it, they’d have much more knowledge than I would ever be able to amass, so I would sign it,” he testified.

He added that once his father became president, the two did not discuss Trump Organization business.

When asked about a specific reference on a spreadsheet relating to 40 Wall Street, a Trump leased building around the corner from the New York attorney general’s office where the deposition took place, Trump Jr. switched into dealmaker mode.

“I did all the leasing of the lovely building over your right shoulder. And I’d be remiss as a Trump to not point out the lovely real estate that sits right there and I get to stare at all day,” he said.

Colleen Faherty, the assistant state attorney general questioning Trump Jr., noted for the record that the window shades were down.

“They’re not that down,” Trump Jr. replied. “You know, I can still see probably about 30,000 square foot of a floor plate that — you know, have you thought about moving office buildings?:

Faherty replied, “Always a dealmaker.”

“Listen, you know, some s**t you can’t turn off, you know?” Trump Jr. replied.

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