'Patience is wearing thin': Here are 5 key takeaways from Trump’s civil fraud trial
Although Donald Trump is facing four criminal indictments, one case that won't send him to jail is New York State Attorney General Letitia James' fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization. The case, assigned to Justice Arthur Engoron, is strictly civil, not criminal.
Yet its outcome, depending on the sanctions that are ultimately imposed, could have devastating effects for Trump's company. So far, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and attorney Michael Cohen (the former president's ex-personal attorney and fixer) have testified during the bench trial. Former President Trump himself testified on Monday, November 6, and
Ivanka Trump is scheduled to testify on November 8.
In a listicle published on November 4, The Guardian's Lauren Aratani lays out five key takeaways from the trial.
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Aratani's takeaway's are: (1) "The Trump family's strategy: blame game," (2) "Trump's elder sons signed multiple documents saying the company was giving fair and accurate information in its financial statements," (3) "The paper trail is thicker for Eric Trump," (4) "Trump Organization lenders lost out on an estimated $168m because of fudged financial statements," and (5) "Patience is wearing thin in the courtroom."
"Over the three days that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified on the witness stand," Aratani explains, "both brothers pointed to the company's accountants and lawyers as responsible for handling the financial statements at the center of the case. This is despite multiple e-mails and signed documents that show the brothers, who serve as top executives of their father's company, were consulted by employees preparing the statements and brokered deals in which the statements were used to confirm Trump's net worth."
READ MORE: Combative Trump on witness stand admonished after lashing out at judge
Read Lauren Aratani's full listicle for The Guardian at this link.
