Attention shifts to Trump’s kids as third week of fraud trial wraps up

MANHATTAN (CN) — While Donald Trump stole headlines for his out-of-court antics on Friday, it was actually his son Eric that was at the center of witness testimony at the end of the week.

David McArdle, Senior Managing Director at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, returned to the stand on Friday morning after recounting at length his experience working with Eric Trump, the executive vice president at the Trump Organization.

The day prior, McArdle said his firm was hired to do appraisals of multiple Trump Organization properties. Among them was Trump National Golf Club in Westchester, New York, which Cushman & Wakefield was commissioned to appraise in 2013.

The Trump Family was looking to build 71 luxury residential units on the golf club’s property. In emails shown by the attorney general’s office, McArdle repeatedly referenced Eric as a frontman of sorts behind the development and its valuation.

“Eric loved this project,” McArdle said, referring to the club. “He thought it was very special.”

After some back and forth, McArdle said Cushman & Wakefield eventually landed on a valuation of around $45 million. Evidently, that wasn’t enough for Eric. The attorney general’s office showed multiple emails between McArdle and his colleagues referencing the fact that Eric wanted a higher valuation for the property.

McArdle said he wanted to remain “respectful” to Eric and acknowledged his enthusiasm on the project, but wasn’t comfortable valuing the property much higher.

“Beyond that, I was afraid we’d lose credibility,” McArdle said.

Emails between McArdle and some of his colleagues referenced that Eric had “more lofty” aspirations of the property’s value than the one that Cushman & Wakefield settled on. Despite Eric Trump’s best efforts, McArdle said his firm stuck close to their initial valuation number.

“I’m perfectly willing to listen,” McArdle said. “But ultimately, I come up with my own conclusions.”

McArdle said a final appraisal was never submitted, per the instructions of Eric, who requested not to send it in.

But the firm was later hired for a similar project. This time, it was an appraisal of Seven Springs, a mansion-clad estate on more than 200 acres of land.

Similar to the Trump National Golf Club, the Trump Organization was looking to build luxury homes on the property, and wanted Cushman & Wakefield to give them an appraisal based on that fact.

McArdle said Eric suggested that each lot should go for around $3 million. McArdle’s findings were not as generous. He priced each lot at around $2 million a piece, eventually advising that the entire Seven Springs estate could be worth up to $50 million.

According to the attorney general’s lawsuit, Donald Trump’s financial statements had the property listed for more than three times that amount.

Eric was involved throughout the appraisal process, according to McArdle. But Eric recalled things a bit differently.

The attorney general’s office played a clip of Eric’s deposition, on which he claimed to only “vaguely” recognize McArdle’s name and denied involvement in valuing the Seven Springs property.

“It’s extremely inconsistent with what my role is at the company,” Eric said. “To the best of my knowledge I really haven’t been involved in appraisal work on this property.”

Eric added that focusing on appraisals is “just not what I do.”

“I pour concrete, I operate properties,” he said. “I don’t focus on appraisals between a law firm and Cushman. It’s just not what I do in my day-to-day responsibilities.”

McArdle was asked if Eric’s claims in his deposition were consistent with his own recollection.

“No,” McArdle said.

Ivanka Trump looks to bail on fraud trial testimony

Unlike Eric, Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in the $250 million fraud lawsuit. The attorney general’s office still wants her to testify, though, a request that she is now trying to evade.

In a motion filed late Thursday night, Ivanka Trump asked Judge Arthur Engoron to quash her trial subpoenas to testify, citing the fact that she was removed from the lawsuit and no longer lives in New York City.

“Trial subpoenas are not a means for parties to get discovery, which they failed to obtain during pretrial proceedings,” Ivanka Trump’s attorney Bennett Moskowitz wrote in the 12-page letter. “The NYAG, which never deposed Ms. Trump, is effectively trying to force her back into this case from which she was dismissed.”

As a result, Moskowitz argues that Ivanka Trump is “beyond the jurisdiction of this court.” He claims the subpoenas are simply a result of the attorney general’s office “seeking unlimited testimony not sought in discovery.”

Ivanka Trump was initially a co-defendant in Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million fraud lawsuit against her family. But thanks to a June ruling from the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, she was dropped on statute of limitations grounds.

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