Ivanka Trump set to testify in civil business fraud case: Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear on November 6 in the civil business fraud case against him. New York state lawyers announced this following testimonies from his three eldest children. It was already expected that Trump along with his sons Donald Jr. and Eric would testify. The timing became clear on Friday when the judge ruled that Ivanka Trump must also appear for testimony.
This sets the stage for a crucial phase in the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the former president who is now the Republican front-runner for 2024 had consistently overstated his wealth on financial statements provided to banks insurers and others to secure loans and business deals. Trump vehemently denies any wrongdoing and has characterized the trial as a politically motivated sham.
In the lawsuit Donald Trump and his two sons are named as defendants but the state has called them as witnesses before the defense presents its case. Subsequently the defense may also call them to testify.
In a surprise development Donald Trump briefly testified on Wednesday to address questions from Judge Arthur Engoron regarding an out-of-court comment. The judge had previously prohibited trial participants from publicly discussing court staffers. Trump’s response to the judge’s query was deemed “not credible” resulting in a $10000 fine in addition to a $5000 fine imposed earlier for an online post about the court clerk. Trump’s legal team paid both fines on his behalf but may still consider appealing.
Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to testify next Wednesday followed by Eric Trump on Thursday and Ivanka Trump on November 3 although her lawyers may seek to block her testimony. An appeals court had dismissed her as a defendant in the lawsuit in June citing claims that were deemed too old. Ivanka Trump had distanced herself from the Trump Organization and served as an unpaid senior adviser in the Trump White House. Following her father’s presidential term she relocated to Florida.
Ivanka’s lawyer argued that state lawyers lacked jurisdiction over her while one of Donald Trump’s attorneys contended that they sought another legal battle involving one of the former president’s children. The state’s lawyers maintained that Ivanka Trump was a significant participant in events relevant to the case and maintained financial and professional ties to the Trump family business and its leaders.
Judge Engoron ruled in favor of the state citing documents that showed Ivanka Trump’s ongoing ties to businesses in New York and her ownership of Manhattan apartments. During her tenure at the Trump Organization Ivanka was involved in securing financing for various properties including a Washington hotel lease loans for Trump’s Doral golf resort near Miami and a Trump-owned hotel and condo skyscraper in Chicago.
The New York attorney general’s office presented evidence showing that Ivanka Trump retained a financial interest in Trump Organization operations even after leaving for the White House. This included an interest in a Washington hotel that was subsequently sold. Court documents including emails and other records indicated that the Trump Organization and its staff had provided services for Ivanka Trump including managing her household staff and credit card bills renting her apartment and covering her legal fees.
In her 2021 federal disclosures she reported $2.6 million in income from Trump entities including revenue from a company known as TTT Consulting LLC set up for her and her brothers to share in fees from licensing agreements.
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