Eric Trump no longer testifying in Trump’s civil fraud trial

By Kara Scannell and Jeremy Herb, CNN

(CNN) — Eric Trump is no longer testifying as part of the defense case in Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial, Trump attorney Chris Kise said in court Tuesday.

Eric Trump, a defendant along with his father, brother Donald Jr., and the Trump Organization, had been scheduled to appear on Wednesday as part of the defense presentation, but Kise told Judge Arthur Engoron that the defense was streamlining its case.

There are two remaining witnesses for the defense: accounting expert Eli Bartov, a professor at NYU, will testify on Thursday, and the former president is scheduled to appear on Monday.

Donald Trump and his three adult children were all called as witnesses by the attorney general’s office during its case. The New York attorney general’s $250 million lawsuit against Trump, his sons and his company accuses them of committing repeated fraud by inflating the values of Trump’s properties.

When Eric Trump was questioned by the attorney general’s office, he was pressed about his understanding of his father’s financial statements that were used to support real estate transactions in tense testimony.

Donald Trump Jr. was the first witness called by the defense, one of several who have returned for a second round of testimony during the defense presentation.

In court Tuesday, Kise asked Engoron to postpone Trump’s testimony until the New York appeals court resolved the gag order issue. Trump’s lawyers were unsuccessful in their latest effort to fight the order barring Donald Trump from talking about the judge’s staff, after they sought Monday to kick their appeal up to the state’s highest court.

Engoron quickly rejected Kise’s request.

“Absolutely not. No way. No how. That’s a non-starter. He will testify Monday and that’s that,” Engoron said.

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