Ivanka Trump must testify in father Donald Trump’s $395m fraud case
Ivanka Trump has been ordered by a judge to testify at her father’s fraud trial, but lawyers for the former US President are arguing she be left out of it.
World
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Ivanka Trump must take the witness stand in the $395 million civil fraud case against her father, her brothers and their family business, a New York judge has ruled.
The ruling came weeks into the trial of New York Attorney-General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former US President Donald Trump, sons Don Jr and Eric, the Trump Organisation and some executives.
Judge Arthur Engoron said that Ivanka Trump could not be called as a witness before November 1, giving her time to appeal the ruling if she chooses.
Mr Trump’s lawyers had challenged New York Attorney-General Letitia James’ subpoena to Ivanka Trump, noting an appeals court had ruled earlier this year that she should be dropped as a defendant in the case over statute of limitations issues.
They argued the Attorney-General’s office was trying “to continue to harass and burden President Trump’s daughter long after” the appeals court “mandated she be dismissed from the case.”
After Ivanka Trump was initially dismissed as a defendant months ago, defence lawyers and her lawyer claimed that she shouldn’t have to testify, noting that she moved out of New York and left her Trump Organisation job in 2017. The state’s lawyers argued that the former Trump Organization executive vice president has relevant information.
Judge Engoron sided with the state, citing documents showing that Ivanka Trump continued to have ties to some businesses in New York and still owns Manhattan apartments.
“Ms Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York,” Judge Engoron said.
The Attorney-General is suing Mr Trump for allegedly inflating his assets in financial statements to secure more cost-effective loans and insurance policies. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which he has called a “witch hunt.”
The ex-president and his sons are expected to testify. In a surprise preview, Mr Trump ended up briefly on the witness stand on Wednesday to answer Judge Engoron’s questions about an out-of-court comment.
Ivanka Trump’s lawyer, Bennet Moskowitz, told the judge that state lawyers “just don’t have jurisdiction over her”.
A state appeals court in June tossed the claims against her as too old. Ivanka Trump announced in January 2017, ahead of her father’s inauguration, that she was stepping away from her Trump Organisation job. She soon became an unpaid senior adviser in the Trump White House. After her father’s term ended, she moved to Florida.
“The idea that somehow Ms Trump is under the control of the Trump Organisation or any of the defendants, her father — anyone who has raised a daughter past the age of 13 knows that they’re not under their control,” said Christopher Kise, a lawyer for the ex-president.
Mr Kise maintained that state lawyers “just want another free-for-all on another of President Trump’s children”.
State lawyers, however, argued that Ivanka Trump was a key participant in some events discussed in the case and remains financially and professionally intertwined with the family business and its leaders.
“She is 100 per cent someone who can come in and testify,” said Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the Attorney-General’s office.
– with wires
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