Donald Trump Jr.’s Testimony Could Come Back to Bite Him

Donald Trump Jr. could face a criminal case after admitting that he didn’t know about the Trump Organization’s accounts, a legal expert has said.

Donald Jr. testified at the New York fraud trial against the Trump Organization, in which he denied knowing about the widespread accounting fraud that inflated the Trump Organization’s property valuations, saying, “That’s what CPAs are for.”

Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said Donald Trump Jr. could now face a criminal investigation.

“What I think is really crucial to note about the testimony that Donald Trump Jr. gave … is he did not try to argue that these valuations were actually accurate, that they were legitimate,” said Honig. “Instead … he tried to argue: ‘I didn’t really know about them, I wasn’t part of this.’ He tried to distance himself from the actual valuations,” Honig told Wolf Blitzer on CNN on Wednesday.

Honig added that there “certainly is a risk” for Donald Trump Jr. in testifying, rather than pleading the Fifth amendment.

“Donald Trump Jr. would have had the option of taking the Fifth Amendment,” said Honig. “This is a civil case, but he still could say, I refuse to testify because my testimony could be used against me. He’s decided not to do that, and so now as a result, everything that he’s testifying to is fair game for prosecutors to consider.”

Honig said that prosecutors “have looked at this case” and have “chosen not to charge it as a criminal case thus far but that could change based on Donald Trump Jr.’s testimony.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization for $250 million, accusing them of inflating their net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills. Trump maintains his innocence in the case and has accused prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes.

James compelled testimony from Trump’s three eldest children in the business fraud lawsuit. Trump Jr., who has served as an executive vice president of The Trump Organization after joining in 2001, was the first of the former president’s children to testify in the civil trial.

During his testimony, Trump Jr. insisted that he did not recall the answer to more than one question involving his father and the family business. When asked whether he worked on his father’s statement of financial condition—a document central to the fraud case—he responded, “not that I recall.”

Trump Jr. was also uncertain about the timeline of events concerning the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, which holds the former president’s assets. He claimed to have no memory of a brief period in 2021 when he was removed, then restored as a trustee.

Prosecutors responded by producing a 2014 document showing that Trump Jr., his father and former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were listed as trustees and responsible for the contents of the financial statement.

After being directly asked whether his father was still a trustee, Trump Jr. said, “I don’t recall.” He also said that he had “no understanding” of accounting practices and heavily relied on company accountants in business dealings.

Trump Jr. is expected to continue his testimony on Thursday. Eric Trump is expected to testify at the trial as early as Thursday and Ivanka Trump next week.

In addition to the New York trial and other civil cases, the former president is facing 91 felony charges across four criminal indictments. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and claims that all of his legal troubles amount to “election interference” as he campaigns in the 2024 presidential election.

Newsweek has sought comment from attorneys for Donald Trump Sr. and Donald Trump Jr.