Former US president, Donald Trump has praised his Ivanka as she prepares to take the stand today in the former President’s $250m fraud trial in New York City.
Writing on his own social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote that his daughter was going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse ‘at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James, the Corrupt and Racist New York State Attorney General, who has allowed Murder and Violent Crime in New York to flourish…’
He said Ivanka would also take the stand at the direction of ‘Trump-Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who ruled against me before the trial even started, wouldn’t even consider a Jury, and said that Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, is worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount.’
Ivanka Trump’s testimony on Wednesday against her father and brothers in New York state court could make or break Attorney General Letitia James’s $250m suit against the Trump family and its namesake business.
The former first daughter, 42, will take the stand under duress on Wednesday.
Last month, Ivanka asked the court in Manhattan to remove her from the prosecution’s witness list, though she ultimately rescinded the appeal.
She and her attorney fought a subpoena, arguing travelling to New York from her Florida home would place ‘undue hardship’ on her – and noted the scheduled testimony came in the middle of a school week.
But, now, under a judge’s order, Ivanka Trump will face questions about her family’s business deals and financial statements concerning the value of company assets in its golf and real estate empire.
Formerly listed as a co-defendant in the case, an appeal claims dismissed claims against Ms Trump last summer – saying her involvement with the Trump Organization had passed the statute of limitations.
But her family’s ability to keep doing business in New York state is still on the line, with Attorney General Letitia James seeking $250 million in penalties after the judge already issued a finding of fraud and put some limitations on Trump family business deals in place.
‘I expect [Ivanka] she is going to try to do as little as possible to inflame her father but also to distance herself from any questions that the AG would have,’ New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman told CNN on Tuesday morning, noting that the former first daughter has been in prep with her lawyer for her court appearance.
After Donald Trump testified in court on Monday, Attorney General Letitia James told reporters: ‘We look forward to hearing the testimony of Ivanka Trump. Justice will prevail.’
Trump took the stand on Monday, where he sparred with New York Judge Arthur Engoron and delivered long, campaign-style speeches before Engoron told him to stop and just answer the questions.
The former President called the case a ‘witch hunt’ – ostensibly mott due to a ‘worthless’ clause on the loan agreements made with banks.
Engoron already ruled that Trump’s financial statements were filled with fraud. This trial is to determine the punishment.
Part of determining that punishment is to look at the intent and determine whether the Trumps deliberately falsified business financial statements to inflate the company’s value in order to obtain favourable terms for loans and insurance coverage.
That is where the testimony of Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric comes into play.
And while Don Jr. and Eric remain part of the Trump Empire, Ivanka Trump has stepped away from the family trade. She and her husband Jared Kushner are independently wealthy and not financially dependent on the former president.
In their testimony last week, Ivanka’s brothers distanced themselves from the company. The two served as trustees of Trump Org after Donald Trump became president.
Don Jr blamed the accountants who prepared the paperwork for him to sign in his role of trustee, saying his signature attesting to the accuracy of the financials was ‘not a symbol of yes or no.’
Eric said he was not involved with preparing the financial statements and knew ‘nothing’ about them.
Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump has publicly distanced herself from her father and her Trump family since leaving the White House in January 2021.
She and Kushner live in Miami with their three children.
