Ivanka Trump set to testify against father and brothers in NY trial
New York, New York - Ivanka Trump is set to testify under subpoena against her father and brothers on Wednesday before the state rests its civil fraud case against Donald Trump and his top company lieutenants.
Trump’s eldest daughter will be called to the stand in Manhattan Supreme Court after fighting to separate herself from the sweeping lawsuit that threatens the future of the family’s real estate empire and her dad and brothers’ business prospects in their native New York.
She was dismissed from the suit brought by state Attorney General Letitia James in June after successfully arguing, on appeal, that the claims against her were time-barred.
She left her role as the Trump Organization's executive vice president of acquisitions and development in 2017 to work as an unpaid government employee in Trump’s White House.
Ivanka, who has publicly distanced herself from her father since he left office and during his current presidential bid, fought the subpoena to testify for the government as a fact witness in vain. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron found she still avails herself of business opportunities in her hometown, where she retains property. She withdrew her appeal of his decision Friday.
James’ office describes Ivanka in court papers as a "key player" in multiple business deals at issue. She’s expected to face a grilling about her role captaining leasing negotiations and securing lucrative loan terms for Trump’s Doral golf resort in Miami and the Old Post Office hotel in Washington DC among other assets.
She’ll take the stand fresh on the heels of her father’s remarkable testimony Monday, in which the former president lobbed insults at the judge and James in the midst of conceding his involvement in financial fraud.
How does Ivanka Trump fit into the New York civil case against Donald Trump?
Trump acknowledged the DC hotel’s 2022 $375 million sale netted him $126 million and his eldest three kids $4 million apiece, with the rest being paid back to Deutsche Bank, bringing the tally of ill-gotten gains state lawyers have shown to more than $300 million.
The AG’s case lays out how Ivanka helped her father secure a $170 million loan from the bank in 2013 to develop the Pennsylvania Ave. monument after submitting statements as proof he was good for it that severely overstated his net worth.
Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner, introduced Don Jr. to the head of the team at Deutsche that served its ultrarich clients in 2011, according to court papers. Ivanka is described as primarily dealing with the bankers that lent Trump most of the hundreds of millions he borrowed between 2011 and 2022 at "unparalleled rates."
"It doesn’t get better than this," she said of one loan in an email quoted in the September 2022 lawsuit.
Trump, his eldest sons, and former top executives Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney were found liable for fraud before the trial started for inflating his net worth on financial statements to illegally maximize their profits in business deals.
Engoron’s ruling was based solely on evidence Trump and his crew provided and did not dispute. He’ll rule on the AG’s six remaining causes of action and how much Trump and his associates should have to pay at the end of the trial.
Trump’s legal team is expected to begin their case Monday and rest by mid-December.
Cover photo: ADAM GRAY / AFP