Eric Trump overshadowed as lawyers spar with judge

Here is what happened during Eric Trump's testimony:

• On Thursday, he appeared to contradict himself when asked about his father's financial statement. He denied involvement, but emails seen in court showed him speaking about these statements

• Like his older brother Don Jr, he maintained that they trusted the accountants. Eric said he "relied on one of the biggest accounting firms" and he was "happy to sign" certifications for accuracy
• Trump's legal team spent a significant amount of time complaining about the judge's court clerk, who they felt was biased against them. There were several tense exchanges with Judge Engoron, and at one point he threatened to extend a gag order to the legal team if they continued to speak about his clerk

After this short Friday court session, former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to take the witness stand on Monday.

He will be followed by his daughter Ivanka Trump on Wednesday.

While we were leaving court today, there was talk among reporters about how early we need to line up outside the courthouse for Trump's historic day of testimony.

One reporter said they might ask someone to start lining up at 03:00, while someone else said they lined up at 08:00 on the very first day of the trial and that was fine. Court is scheduled to start at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT).

With the added security for the former president and all the international interest, it's definitely going to be a long line of people jostling to get into the courtroom

Looking at Wednesday, we reported earlier that Ivanka’s appeal to not testify was denied. In the appeal, her lawyer argued that she moved away from the state and the business in 2017.

Eric Trump’s primary defence (along with that of his brother, Don Jr) is that he didn’t know about and wasn’t involved in his father’s statements of financial condition – key documents the judge has already ruled were false.

When confronted with numerous emails and documents bearing his signature that seem to contradict his testimony, Eric has put the blame on his team.

“I relied on one of the biggest accounting firms, and I relied on a great legal team and when they gave me comfort that the statement was perfect, I was happy to sign,” he said today.

But Mitchell Epner, a lawyer who handles commercial law and white collar criminal matters, found it difficult to believe the Trump brothers truly had no understanding or involvement in such crucial financial and accounting practices given their leadership positions.

“If it was somebody who did not get his job through nepotism it would be absolutely inconceivable,” Epner told BBC News.

“This is the equivalent of an NFL football player saying, ‘I have no idea how much I can bench press,’” Epner said. It is “fundamental to the job, part of the training that everybody does”.

He believed Eric Trump’s testimony had gone badly because “he kept saying, ‘I am a guy who pours concrete, I don’t pay any attention to this stuff.' But [the attorney general’s office] were able to show detailed emails going to him.”

Eric Trump spoke to media twice after today's court session. The first time was immediately outside the courtroom doors after he finished his testimony.

He called the trial a charade and said the Trump Organization was a successful company.

You can watch his statement in the video above.

He also spoke outside on the steps of the courthouse, we wrote about that speech earlier.

Throughout the trial – but especially today – Trump’s lawyers have sparred with the judge about his law clerk. Trump attacked her on social media earlier in the trial, resulting in a gag order and $15,000 (£12,100) in fines.

Yesterday ended with the judge threatening a gag order against Trump’s lawyers if they mentioned her again.

Trump’s lawyers, particularly Christopher Kise and Alina Habba, have repeatedly stated they feel the judge is being unfair and they sensed bias from the clerk.

Why would Trump’s team antagonise the judge – who will rule on Trumps’ fate – with accusations against him and his clerk?

This could be a tactic, Mitchell Epner, an attorney who focuses on commercial litigation and white collar criminal matters, told BBC News.

“When I was in law school, a professor of mine said….’When neither the facts or the law is on your side, pound the table,’” Epner said. “This is table pounding.”

He said there are two reasons they might do this: “They might be trying to inflame the judge to say something that could lead to a mistrial.”

Or, “They have a client in Donald Trump who seems to care more about the performance than the outcome.”

But Epner said it was unlikely these accusations would matter in an appeal.

Quote Message: The idea that a law clerk passing notes to the judge is inappropriate is beyond ridiculous... (and) will be rejected out of hand by the appellate judges." from Mitchell Epner

The idea that a law clerk passing notes to the judge is inappropriate is beyond ridiculous... (and) will be rejected out of hand by the appellate judges."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Before court adjourned, we once again heard arguments about the court clerk.

Judge Engoron said he would “continue to receive notes" from his clerk, which Trump's legal team have raised concerns over.

He says he has the right to consult with his staff at any time and tells the defence that if they want to appeal, they have plenty of ammunition.

The state's lawyer, Kevin Wallace, chimes into the discussion - calling this clerk argument a "sideshow".

He says it "seems designed to interrupt our ability to put in evidence".

Wallace tells the defence to hurry up if they want to appeal, so they do not go on for another four weeks interrupting the trial.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Eric Trump has been speaking with media outside the New York courthouse after he finished giving testimony.

He says, "we haven't done a single thing wrong" and that the civil fraud trial is a "political witch hunt" against his father.

He also says the "last couple of days have gone great", referring to his testimony.

Another topic brought up is Mar-a-Lago.

Trump says people in Miami are laughing that the judge valued Mar-a-Lago at $18m.

After another fiery exchange between Trump attorneys, Judge Engoron and prosecutors, court has adjourned for the day.

It seems Eric Trump's testimony is finished. His father will take the stand when court reconvenes on Monday.

He is now speaking outside on the steps of the courthouse. We will bring you his comments shortly.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

We've been hearing about Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization.

His name has been brought up frequently throughout the trial and he also testified prior to Michael Cohen, telling the court he knew that Donald Trump was inflating the size of his Manhattan penthouse in his signature Trump Tower.

And last week Cohen testified that he and Weisselberg would "reverse engineer" assets to increase values based on a number the former president"arbitrarily" picked.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 2022 and served about three months.

Just before a short court break, prosecutors have brought up Allen Weisselberg.

He is the former Trump Organization chief financial officer who served time for tax fraud related to Trump's businesses.

Prosecutors are showing a severance agreement with Weisselberg. They're asking Eric if it was he or his father who was responsible for it. Eric says it was him.

“I did the agreement with Mr Weisselberg," he says. "I was the person who signed it, I was the person who negotiated it."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The state is now asking Eric Trump if he knew that in 2019, Mar-a-Lago was being assessed at a tax rate for residential properties - not commercial.

Mar-a-Lago is one of Donald Trump's residences, but it is also a private club in Florida with paying customers.

Eric is being asked whether he knew residential and commercial properties are evaluated at different rates.

Eric somewhat evades the line of questioning and says Mar-a-Lago could be sold to a private individual, adding "we have right to do so".

Eric Trump is now being shown a certification for a Deutsche Bank loan from 2021.

Trump tells the court the banks can rely on what they want to rely on.

He is responding to a question about whether he intended for banks to rely on his certifications for the accuracy of financial statements.

“I relied on one of the biggest accounting firms, and I relied on a great legal team and when they gave me comfort that the statement was perfect, I was happy to sign.”

After a couple of fiery exchanges between prosecutors and Eric Trump, we're back to reviewing a slew of documents.

These include email exchanges between Eric and Trump Organization accountants, as well as legal counsel.

Prosecutors have relied heavily so far on a series of documents to link Eric Trump to his father's financial statements.

We're just minutes into Eric Trump's second day of testimony and already there have been some tense exchanges.

Prosecutors are asking if Eric remembers a specific video call he had several years ago about the New York Attorney General's fraud investigation. They ask him several times if he can recall the conversation.

“I have thousands of calls a day. I don’t remember specific calls," he says, already showing clear signs of frustration.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

After nearly 30 minutes of arguing, Eric Trump has at last been called back to the witness stand.

The prosecution is beginning their questioning.

We're still hearing from Trump attorney Christopher Kise, who's giving lengthy remarks about his concerns the judge is biased.

Kise claims there were reports of someone from New York Judge Engoron's staff making political contributions the same day the judge imposed a gag order on Trump not to speak about his staff.

He says his worries about biases are "legitimate concerns that need to be addressed".

“It is incumbent upon us as lawyers and the court to take this very seriously," he says.

It's a similar tactic that Donald Trump himself has been employing since the trial started. Voluntarily attending days in court, Trump has used recesses to rail against the New York judge to reporters, calling Engoron "vicious, biased and mean".

This morning's argument has so far lasted 25 minutes. Eric Trump is yet to take the stand.

Eric Trump is sitting next to his lawyers, watching and listening as attorney Chris Kise addresses Judge Engoron about what he calls “demonstrable bias”.

Eric has been taking glances at Kise and the prosecution table.

More now on the opening remarks from Judge Engoron, who tells the court a story about a New York judge and his clerk who presided over a high-profile case years ago.

Engoron says that several days ago the defence lawyers claimed they had never seen a judge be so "intertwined" with their law clerk.

Engoron says he told this to a judge he clerked for, and it had reminded him of a case "decades ago".

The clerk in that old case apparently said that they "sit on the bench everyday with the judge and tell him how to rule”.

Judge Engoron says his clerk does not tell him "how to rule".

New York Judge Arthur Engoron is starting today's session by addressing the controversy from the end of court yesterday.

Sparks flew at the end of the day when Trump attorney Christopher Kise accused the judge and his law clerk of being biased against him. Engoron suggested there might be some "misogyny" behind Kise's criticisms of his female law clerk.

“I hope I made myself clear yesterday," Judge Engoron says this morning, adding that he remains concerned for the safety of his staff. He has already fined Donald Trump for social media posts insulting the law clerk and has threatened to expand a gag order to his attorneys.

Kise continues to push back, saying "I certainly heard you yesterday" but adds that he should be allowed to raise concerns about biases.

Engoron defends himself, saying he has the "right" to get advice from his law clerk. “How that shows bias - I don’t see it," he says.