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New York Attorney General Letitia James will be searching for any inconsistencies in evidence between the Trump children in the $250 million fraud case being taken against the Trump Organization, a federal attorney has said.
The lawsuit accuses the former president and other defendants, including his companies and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, of fraudulently inflating the value of assets to obtain favorable loans and insurance deals. Trump and his children have denied any wrongdoing in the case.
Donald Trump Jr. will be the first of the Trump siblings to give evidence on Wednesday, followed by Eric Trump on Thursday, Donald Trump on Monday and Ivanka Trump on the following Wednesday.
This collectively places the Trump Organization in a dangerous place, federal attorney Colleen Kerwick told Newsweek.
"Any inconsistencies between the testimonies of Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric and Trump will be used to impeach their respective credibility under cross examination by Letitia James and her team," Kerwick said.
"Under the maxim of 'falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus' if any of them are deemed to be untruthful about one thing, they will be presumed to be untruthful about everything."
Kerwick said that they "might also be accused of perjury, making the cover up worse than the alleged civil fraud."
As Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in the case, Kerwick expects her to adopt a "I don't recall" defense, while Donald Trump Jr. is more likely to take his father's stance in criticizing the trial as a political witch hunt.
Judge Arthur Engoron last week rejected Ivanka Trump's bid to avoid giving evidence. All are expected to face tough examination by the New York attorney general's lawyers on the inner workings of the Trump empire.
Last weekend, the former president complained on the social media site, Truth Social, that his children had to give evidence in the case.
"My daughter, Ivanka, was released from this Fake Letitia James case by the Court of Appeals," Trump wrote in one post. He also criticized the judge, Engoron, who has fined him $15,000 for breaking an order against criticizing court staff.
"I truly believe he is CRAZY, but certainly, at a minimum, CRAZED in his hatred of me," Trump wrote.
Before the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump and the other defendants were liable for fraud and that he will decide the monetary penalty at a later date.
As a consequence, Engoron canceled the business licenses that have enabled Trump to operate his companies in New York but an appeals court has stayed that part of the judge's order.
Newsweek has sought email comment from attorneys for Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more