“I should have worn make-up,” Donald Trump Jr. joked with photographers as they snapped his picture inside the courtroom of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan. 

The 45th president’s first-born son was there on Wednesday afternoon to testify in the civil fraud case that could strip the Trump family of its signature real estate empire. 

New York’s Attorney General, Leitita James, whose office brought the lawsuit, accuses Donald Trump, his two adult sons and various associates of “repeated” and “persistent” business fraud. They allegedly inflated the value of Trump real estate holdings on applications for loans and insurance policies by as much as $3.6 billion a year, according to Ms. James. The scheme, she claims, both saved and made them money.

There’s “mountains of evidence,” Ms. James said to reporters outside the courthouse last week, that “in fact, Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization and the other defendants committed widespread fraud.”

Donald Trump denies wrongdoing, as do his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, both of whom are senior Trump Organization executives. Hours before Mr. Trump Jr.’s court appearance, his father, the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, called the trial “rigged” on his Truth Social account and told the presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, to “leave my children alone.”  

Judge Engoron has already found that the Trump organization demonstrated a “propensity to engage in persistent fraud” in a September 26 decision. Specifically, years of financial documents submitted by Trump and his sons “clearly contain fraudulent valuations,” the judge found. The fraud was so pervasive that the Trumps were living “in a fantasy world, not the real world,” the judge wrote.   

Judge Engoron revoked the Trumps’ New York state business licenses, but an appeals court stayed the revocations on October 6, pending the outcome of Mr. Trump’s appeal. For now, Mr. Trump gets to keep his premier properties, including Trump Tower. He could lose them if he loses his appeal. If Trump loses that appeal, he would need special permission from New York’s highest court to appeal again.   

Meanwhile, Judge Engoron must set the size of the fine James’ lawsuit asks him to impose. She is seeking $250 million, and, she hopes, for Mr. Trump to never be able to do business in New York again.

On Wednesday, after the testimonies of the Trump Organization’s former senior vice president David Orowitz and Michiel McCarty, an expert witness for the state attorney general’s office, had wrapped up, Donald Trump Jr. was called to the witness stand at 3:00 pm.  

Justice Engoron’s September 26 decision had found that Donald Trump Jr. “certified the accuracy” of fraudulent financial documents called Statements of Financial Condition, or “SFCs.” SFCs are statements the Trump Organization is required to file annually. From 2016 to 2020, Donald Jr. certified the accuracy of the organization’s SFCs with Allen Weisselberg, its former Chief Financial Officer, and in 2021, Donald Trump Jr. certified the organization’s SFC by himself, Judge Engoron found.

On Monday, Donald Jr., in a cable news appearance, responded to the judge’s decision finding his family guilty of fraud by accusing Judge Engoron of running “a kangaroo court.” 

“It doesn’t matter what general practices and business would be,” he told Eric Bolling on Newsmax. “They have a narrative, they have an end goal, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

But on Wednesday, the 45-year-old heir, who wore a bright pink tie and a navy suit, seemed more calm and even-keeled, even, at times, friendly. On the stand, he sought to downplay his personal involvement in the family company, testifying that he didn’t pay much attention to general accounting principles, called GAAP. He hadn’t given them much thought since college, he said, more than two decades ago. 

“It was accounting 101 in the late 1990s,” Donald Jr. told the court. “Otherwise I know nothing about GAAP.” 

“I leave it to my accountants,” he further explained. “I rely on their opinions and their assessments to make those decisions. They get paid millions of dollars, and they have the understanding.” He signed off on statements as a trustee, but left the mathematics to CPAs and Allen Weisselberg, the company’s former finance chief, who served five months in prison earlier this year for tax fraud after becoming entangled in the various investigations into his boss. 

“The accountants worked on it,” he repeated. “I did not.” He added later that “they had incredible intimate knowledge, and I relied on them.” 

Responding to Assistant Attorney General Colleen Faherty, who is prosecuting the civil fraud case for Ms. James’ office, Donald Jr. acknowledged to the court that he held significant responsibilities, especially after his father moved into the White House in January of 2017. To separate his personal business from his presidential duties, Mr. Trump placed his holdings into The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. His eldest son, Donald Jr., along with Weisselberg, were named trustees and given legal authority over the assets.    

When Ms. Faherty asked about Donald Jr.’s role in The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the judge interrupted. “We finally have the opportunity to ask a real trustee,” he joked.  “Is it: revocable or reeevocable?” 

“I don’t know what revocable is, I only know what reeevocable is,” Donald Jr. answered playfully. He turned more serious, however, when asked if Weisselberg was still a trustee. “No, because of legal issues he got himself into,” Doald Jr. replied.

But in spite of the continuously contentious courtroom exchanges between the prosecution and defense lawyers, the atmosphere remained rather jovial. Donald Jr. remarked, after being instructed to slow down his speech, that though he had moved to Florida, “I keep the New York pace.” 

The court was adjourned 85 minutes into Mr. Trump Jr.’s examination, and will resume on Thursday morning. In addition to Donald Jr., his younger brother Eric is expected to be called to testify later on Thursday, or on Friday morning, depending on the pace of the questioning. Donald Trump himself is scheduled to take the witness stand the following Monday, November 6. His eldest daughter, Ivanka, has been going to great lengths to avoid testifying and is appealing Ms. James’ subpoena of her to a higher court.