Donald Trump Jr. Deposed By D.C. Attorney General - Forbes

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Topline

Donald Trump Jr. was deposed in a lawsuit over President Trump’s inaugural funds earlier this month, according to a new court filing, and his testimony raised additional questions about allegations that former President Trump’s Inaugural Committee “coordinated” with the Trump family to “grossly overpay for event space” in the Trump International Hotel.

Key Facts

According to a court filing released Wednesday and first reported by CNN, Trump Jr. was deposed on February 11 as part of a lawsuit brought by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine against the Trump Organization and President Trump’s Inaugural Committee for “abusing nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family” by racking up unnecessarily high bills at the family’s hotel (Trump International Hotel in D.C.).

The new filing alleges Trump Jr.’s deposition testimony “raised further questions about the nature” of a hotel invoice Racine’s office has been investigating.

The AG alleges that in the course of his investigation, his office uncovered proof that the Inaugural Committee signed a contract with the Loews Madison hotel for $49,358.92 for a block of rooms during the 2017 inauguration.

Trump Jr.’s former executive assistant was reportedly the point of contact for the contract.

The filing states Racine’s office has requested additional time to obtain discovery materials and conduct depositions, as the AG’s office claims it has dealt with “repeated obstacles, including misleading testimony” and “new information revealed after the deadline for issuing discovery requests.”

The AG’s suit seeks to recover the money improperly paid to the hotel and direct those funds to “suitable nonprofit purposes.”

Key Background:

Racine initially announced the lawsuit back in January 2020. The total amount of allegedly improperly used funds sums to more than $1 million. Tom Barrack, chairman of the Inaugural Committee, sat for a deposition in mid-November. Ivanka Trump, the former President’s daughter, was deposed by investigators in early December. On December 3, Ms. Trump tweeted: “This ‘inquiry’ is another politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness & waste of taxpayer dollars." According to court filings, the attorney general’s office has subpoenaed records from Barrack, Ivanka Trump, former First Lady Melania Trump, and Rick Gates, the former inaugural committee deputy chairman. The attorney general's office confirmed in mid-January that they had sent a deposition request to Trump Jr.

Tangent:

The Daily Beast reported Tuesday that as part of the Manhattan district attorney's investigation into possible tax- and bank-related fraud committed by the former President, prosecutors with the D.A.’s office have recently questioned Don Jr. According to the Wall Street Journal, prosecutors are examining loans that Trump had taken out on multiple buildings, including the Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Big Number:

$118 million. According to Forbes reporting, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. sold $118 million worth of the former President's real estate holdings from January 2017 through October of 2020.