Wednesday Open Thread: Testifyin'!

From NBC News: 

The New York attorney general's office on Friday revealed in court the dates it expects Donald Trump and his oldest children to testify in the $250 million civil trial against the former president and his company.

Kevin Wallace of Attorney General Letitia James’ office told Judge Arthur Engoron and Trump's lawyers they plan on calling Donald Trump Jr. to the stand on Wednesday, Eric Trump on Thursday, and Ivanka Trump on Friday. Her testimony will be followed by the former president, who Wallace said is expected to be their final witness.

Both of Trump’s sons are executives at their father’s company, and Ivanka Trump is a former executive and White House adviser.

Ivanka Trump had challenged the AG’s subpoena for her to testify in the case, but Engoron ruled Friday she should take the stand. He gave her time to appeal the ruling.

Trump's attorneys had argued Ivanka Trump should be spared from testifying because an appeals court ruled earlier this year that she be removed as a defendant in the case over statute of limitations issues.

The lawyers contended the AG's office was trying "to continue to harass and burden President Trump’s daughter long after" the appeals court "mandated she be dismissed from the case."

They also argued that the AG waited too long to subpoena her and that the office doesn't have jurisdiction over her because she no longer lives in the state.

The AG's office countered that Ivanka Trump, a former White House official, still has information important to their case.
"While no longer a Defendant in this action, she indisputably has personal knowledge of facts relevant to the claims against the remaining individual and entity Defendants. But even beyond that, Ms. Trump remains financially and professionally intertwined with the Trump Organization and other Defendants and can be called as a person still under their control," the AG contended in a court filing.

The office said it wanted to ask her questions about Trump's former Washington, D.C. hotel, and noted she profited from the sale.

"Ms. Trump remains under the control of the Trump Organization, including through her ongoing and substantial business ties to the organization," the AG argued, adding that she "does not seem to be averse to her involvement in the family business when it comes to owning and collecting proceeds from the OPO (hotel) sale, the Trump Organization purchasing insurance for her and her companies, managing her household staff and credit card bills, renting her apartment or even paying her legal fees in this action. It is only when she is tasked with answering for that involvement that she disclaims any connection."

The AG is suing Trump for allegedly inflating his assets in financial statements to secure more cost-effective loans and insurance policies. The judge has already found that Trump and company officials engaged in "persistent fraud."

Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which he has called a "witch hunt."

Here. We. Go.

After decades of nepotism and illegality, the Trump crime family is finally being held accountable for their actions. This is a family of grifters and con artists. The entire wealth of the Trump family in America emanates from Donald's grandfather, a German immigrant who avoided military service by running a Canadian Gold-Rush brothel. Trump's father was no better. Fred Trump was famously sued for housing discrimination in 1973 and had such a reputation that Woody Guthrie wrote a song about him titled "Old Man Trump" nearly two decades prior. Donald Trump was no genius; he simply fell upwards as so many mediocre White men do with access to money and resources. Trump's own father gave him nearly $61 million in loans, the vast majority of which was never paid back. Trump's own children, primarily Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka are simply the latest iteration to benefit from corrupt business practices. Don Jr. has admitted that the Trump family did business with Russia, Eric has been sued for diverting money from a cancer charity into his own personal business, and Ivanka parlayed her position in the White House to help secure a total of 34 trademarks from China. The apples, as they say, have not fallen far from the tree.

Which makes this week's testimony all the more intriguing.

Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka all likely witnessed and perhaps may have even participated themselves in some form of the illegality by The Trump Organization. Like any crime family, the children of the boss were not naive. They knew what was going on. But when it comes time to take the stand, what do they do? Do they lie under oath to protect Daddy dearest? Or do they save themselves and throw Daddy under the bus? We've already seen Ivanka's testimony pushed back to November 8th because the State has decided that a half-day for Daddy's dearest simply isn't enough time for them to thoroughly question her. Can Ivanka, likely the smartest (and that's not saying much) of the three, endure one, perhaps two, whole days on the stand without incriminating her father? Only time will tell.

And let's not forget the Mob Boss himself. Calling Trump a loose cannon is an insult to cannons everywhere. He's a certifiable malignant narcissist. He can't stand the idea of being less than he is in his own head. As soon as questions start to call into question Trump's wealth, you know he'll go on the defensive. He'll continue to assert misleading numbers to overinflate his own personal value. He can't help himself. Meanwhile, each and every lie Trump tells on that stand furthers the prosecution's case that Trump did, in fact, lie about the value of his properties which is the whole premise of the case in the first place. After Donald the Elder leaves the witness stand there will be zero doubt in Judge Engoron's mind that he knowingly and willingly committed fraud against the state of New York.

This is a civil case so Trump won't end up in jail. But he's likely to end up poor which for him is a fate worse than death. For a half-century plus, he was able to skirt the law but his little four-year sojourn in the White House has now brought a whole new set of eyes on his shady and illegal business dealings. That fateful escalator ride has opened up a whole world of hurt for the conman from Queens.

And the long arm of the law has caught up to him at last.

  

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