On Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr testified before the courtroom in the civil fraud trial of the Trump family and Trump Organization.
Trump Jr, Trump Organization executive vice president and also a co-defendant in the case, is the first of three Trump children to testify, with Eric and Ivanka Trump to follow, according to Reuters.
Trump Jr told the courtroom that he and brother Eric took over much of the management of the company when their father became president in 2017, and said that he had little involvement in the financial matters that lie at the center of the case.
The lawsuit, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses Trump, his two eldest sons, and some of their family businesses of inflating their assets to secure better loan terms.
The judge in the case put a gag order on Donald Trump to prevent him from critiquing those prosecuting the case on social media.
Trump Jr said that the Trump Organization “relied heavily” on former accountant Donald Benter, saying, Bender “worked for us for decades. He handled practically everything. He was an outside accountant that we relied heavily on for our accounting needs,” according to NBC News.
Leticia’s office questioned Trump Jr’s knowledge of accounting standards, such as the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), to which Trump Jr replied that his knowledge of GAAP was limited to what he learned in an accounting 101 class in college.
“I know nothing about GAAP — I leave it to my accountants,” Trump Jr said, according to CNN. “I rely on their opinions and their assessments to make those decisions.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
