Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former US President Donald Trump, is testifying in a civil fraud case that could result in the loss of valuable New York properties, including Trump Tower. A judge has already found Donald Trump and his two adult sons, Eric and Donald Jr, liable for fraud, ruling that they inflated assets to secure favorable loans. Initially, Ivanka Trump was also a co-defendant in the case, but an appeals court ruling in her favor removed her from that position.
Ivanka Trump had been fighting to avoid testifying, claiming that she had distanced herself from the Trump Organization and could not leave her children during a school week to give evidence. However, both a New York judge and an appeals court ruled that she must take the stand. On Wednesday morning, she began her testimony in New York Supreme Court in lower Manhattan.
During her testimony, lawyers for the attorney general’s office showed Ivanka Trump a series of emails intended to support their case, asking her if she recognized the messages. In her composed and succinct responses, she stated that she did not recall.
The stakes are high for the Trump family in this non-jury trial, as the judge will decide allegations of falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in fines and significant restrictions on how the Trump business operates in New York. James stated that Ivanka Trump was “very much involved” in the family business and was an executive vice-president of the Trump Organization until 2017. As head of development and acquisitions, she was involved in the real estate deals and loans central to the attorney general’s case.
State attorneys argue that Ivanka Trump played a lead role in securing financing with Deutsche Bank for properties such as Trump National Doral Miami, Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, and the Old Post Office in Washington DC. They claim that Mr. Trump’s annual financial statements were crucial to obtaining these loans and saved him over $100 million.
Since her father left the White House in 2021, Ivanka Trump has maintained a low profile, moving to a Miami island enclave and staying out of his 2024 presidential campaign. Her testimony comes after her father also took the stand for over four hours on Monday, acknowledging that valuations for his real estate were not always accurate but arguing that the errors were irrelevant to the financial institutions using them for pricing deals.
The trial is expected to continue until mid-December, and the four Trump family members are the final witnesses to be called by the prosecution.
