Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, Donald Trump Jr. was forced to testify in his father's trial. Dad has been accused of giving false documents to banks, insurance companies, and tax authorities. Junior is the first Trump to testify, but his sibs Eric and Ivanka will also testify. Junior's father didn't show up to listen to his son. He knows Junior is a doofus and has nothing to say worth listening to.
When questioned by an attorney from AG Letitia James' office, Junior said he knew nothing about the accounting standards known as GAAP. That is not surprising, since financial statements prepared by the Trump Organization did not comply with them. They were supposed to. Among other things, GAAP says you are not allowed to lie on financial statements. Since Junior is running the company along with Eric Trump, one might have thought he would at least be aware of the concept of not lying on financial statements, but Junior apparently didn't handle that part of the business. He wore a pink tie and joked with photographers that he should have worn makeup.
The defense is arguing that banks and others are supposed to do their own due diligence and not rely on what would-be borrowers tell them. In other words, it is fine to lie to them because they are supposedly smart enough to know you are lying. The next step up is to claim that lying to IRS on your 1040 form is OK because IRS has smart revenue agents who can detect all the lies. Remember, there is no jury in this trial, only a judge. Good luck with this defense before an experienced judge. (V)