Donald Trump Jr laughs about accounting skills in video shown at father’s fraud trial

A judge recently ruled that former president is liable for fraud for overvaluing his assets

Donald Trump Jr made it clear accounting wasn't his forte during a deposition relating to the New YorkAttorney General’s civil fraud investigation of Donald Trump.

Mr Trump's eldest son, who serves as an executive of the Trump Organization, laughed off his lack of knowledge of accounting during a deposition that was recorded in July 2022. The video was shown at the opening of the trial.

During the deposition Mr Trump Jr acknowledged that he was familiar with the acronym GAAP — standing for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles — but admitted that was the extent of his knowledge on the subject.

The interviewer asked him how he became familiar with the term, to which he replied "probably in Accounting 101 at Wharton."

The interviewer then asked what he was taught about the generally accepted accounting principles, which he answered by saying "that they are generally accepted."

That earned a laugh from the interviewer.

When pressed for anything else he might know, Mr Trump Jr said that was "pretty much" all he remembered.

The interviewer pressed again, asking if that was everything he knew.

"Basically. You know, I’m sure I could come up with some creative stuff to kill time, but I’d be doing neither of us a favour in terms of educating ourselves," Mr Trump Jr replied.

He then confirmed to the interviewer that he had never been employed in a position requiring him to understand GAAP to carry out his work.

The deposition is part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the Trump Organization. She has accused Mr Trump of overvaluing his assets in order to secure loans and solidify deals.

A judge ruled last week that Mr Trump was liable for fraud and dissolved some of his companies.

Mr Trump, his two eldest sons — Don Jr and Eric — and several others were named as defendants in the legal action.

He has denied the allegations that he overvalued his assets.

“I am worth much more than the numbers shown on my financial statements. I didn’t even include my most valuable asset, my brand,” Mr Trump said. “There were no victims!”

The former president insisted that the "crazy KILL TRUMP decision" was politically motivated in a series of Truth Social posts after the judgement.

“It is a terrible reminder that the radical left Democrats will stop at nothing in trying to prevent me, and the American people, from winning the 2024 presidential election,” Mr Trump said. “Regardless of party, we can not let this happen in the United States of America.”