Donald Trump Jr asked a courtroom sketch artist to “make me look sexy” after giving testimony during a $250m fraud trial.
The former US President’s eldest son made the request after spending several hours on the witness stand during a second day of giving evidence at the civil hearing on Thursday.
MrTrump Jr, 45, insisted he was never involved or aware of financial statements that New York state lawyers say fraudulently inflated his father’s wealth and the value of the family business.
The statements were given to banks, insurers and other organisations to secure loans and broker deals.
Donald Trump, his company and senior executives – including Trump Jr and his brother, Eric, 39, who are both Trump Organization executive vice presidents and entrusted to run their father’s empire – have all denied wrongdoing.
But the presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, has already decided in favour of the prosecution – with the hearing taking place to determine the punishment.
New York’s attorney-general Letitia James is seeking a penalty of at least $250m (£205m) and a ban on Trump and his sons from running a business in New York.
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When Trump Jr finished giving evidence, court sketch artist Jane Rosenberg revealed he asked her to produce a flattering portrait, telling her “make me look sexy”.
He referred to an image she created of former cryptocurrency tycoon, Sam Bankman-Fried,who is a defendant in a criminal fraud trial.
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Bankman-Fried was depicted with a chiselled jaw and spiky hair – which Trump Jr said made him look like a “superstar”, Rosenberg told Reuters news agency.
Image: Trump Jr under questioning in a court sketch by artist Jane Rosenberg commissioned by Reuters news agency
Image: Donald Trump Jr appeared at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City
During his testimony, Trump Jr said he believed his father’s statements were “materially accurate”.
He told the court the former president maintained the documents had “lowballed” his wealth and the value of assets, including skyscrapers, golf courses and properties.
He insisted he only dealt with financial statements in passing, signing them off as a trustee and giving them to lenders to comply with loan requirements.
Image: A sketch showing Trump Jr being questioned by lawyer Colleen Faherty, watched by Judge Arthur Engoron
Image: Trump Jr, centre, and his younger brother, Eric, were entrusted to run their father’s empire
Case is ‘purely a political persecution’
And he reiterated that he relied on assurances from company finance executives before “signing off accordingly”.
Speaking outside court, Mr Trump Jr said he believed his testimony “went really well, if we were actually dealing with logic and reason, the way business is conducted.”
The case was “purely a political persecution”, he told reporters.
“I think it’s a truly scary precedent for New York for me, for example, before even having a day in court, I’m apparently guilty of fraud for relying on my accountants to do, wait for it…accounting.”
Image: Eric Trump leaving the court room on Thursday
Image: A court sketch of Eric Trump by Jane Rosenberg
Eric Trump also testified on Thursday, insisting he had “no involvement and never worked on my father’s statement of financial condition”, adding that he “didn’t know anything about it, really, until this case came into fruition”.
“That’s not what I did for the company”, he maintained – telling the court his role was focused on “pouring concrete” – constructing and operating properties.
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On Thursday, Mr Trump – the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination – said on his Truth Social platform that the trial was “RIGGED” and branded it a “Miscarriage of Justice” and “Election Interference”.
Ms James and the judge are both Democrats.
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Mr Trump posted: “The Trump Organization is Financially Strong, Powerful, Very Liquid AND HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG.”
The 45th US president – the only one to be impeached twice – faces legal cases in five different states across the country, with two separate actions in New York.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
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6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
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Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on what he calls “the worst offenders” come into effect at 5am UK time, with China facing by far the biggest levy.
The US will hit Chinese imports with 104% tariffs, marking a significant trade escalation between the world’s two largest superpowers.
At a briefing on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump “believes that China wants to make a deal with the US,” before saying: “It was a mistake for China to retaliate.
“When America is punched, he punches back harder.”
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0:54
White House announces 104% tariff on China
After Mr Trump announced sweeping levies last week – hitting some imported goods from China with 34% tariffs – Beijing officials responded with like-for-like measures.
The US president then piled on an extra 50% levy on China, taking the total to 104% unless it withdrew its retaliatory 34% tariff.
China’s commerce ministry said in turn that it would “fight to the end”, and its foreign ministry accused the US of “economic bullying” and “destabilising” the world’s economies.
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‘Worst offender’ tariffs also in effect
Alongside China’s 104% tariff, roughly 60 countries – dubbed by the US president as the “worst offenders” – will also see levies come into effect today.
The EU will be hit with 20% tariffs, while countries like Vietnam and Cambodia see a 46% levy and 49% rate respectively.
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2:03
What’s going on with the US and China?
Since the tariffs were announced last Wednesday, global stock markets have plummeted, with four days of steep losses for all three of the US’ major indexes.
As trading closed on Tuesday evening, the S&P 500 lost 1.49%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.15%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.84%.
According to LSEG data, S&P 500 companies have lost $5.8tn (£4.5tn) in stock market value since last Wednesday, the deepest four-day loss since the benchmark was created in the 1950s.
Image: Global stock markets have been reeling since Trump’s tariff announcement last week. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, the US president signed four executive orders to boost American coal mining and production.
The directives order: • keeping some coal plants that were set for retirement open; • directing the interior secretary to “acknowledge the end” of an Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands; • requiring federal agencies to rescind policies transitioning the US away from coal production, and; • directing the Department of Energy and other federal agencies to assess how coal energy can meet rising demand from artificial intelligence.
At a White House ceremony, Mr Trump said the orders end his predecessor Joe Biden’s “war on beautiful clean coal,” and miners “will be put back to work”.
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table: 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of US President Donald Trump’s term, and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
6:50
Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what could or would China do next?
There are some obvious measures that China will almost certainly enact.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) are one example. China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time.
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing.
It could, for instance, target high-profile American companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
This has been a major political issue for Mr Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of American films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all American products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic decoupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.