Ivanka Trump has made it very clear that she really, really, really does NOT want to testify in her dad’s civil fraud trial, which has been going pretty terribly for the ex-president so far.
Donald Trump is accused of lying about the value of his real estate portfolio to secure cheaper rates from banks and insurers. He is facing a $250 million penalty and may have to auction off his properties, including his cherished Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago.
Ivanka, who worked as an executive vice president for the Trump Organization before quitting to become a senior advisor in the Trump White House in 2017, was scheduled to take the stand on Friday, November 3.
But Judge Arthur Engoron, who’s been overseeing the trial, just bumped the date to Wednesday, November 8, and the reason why is, well, not good for the former first daughter.
Last week, she tried to have the subpoena for her testimony squashed by saying it hadn’t been properly served by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. Meanwhile, he dad’s lawyers accused the AG of trying to “harass and burden President Trump’s daughter” by making her testify under oath.
James responded with her own filing that detailed exactly why Ivanka should have to take the stand.
“Ms. Trump was served properly at the New York addresses and actual place of business of multiple entities that are under her control; she should be compelled to testify in this proceeding,” she said.
“But even beyond that, Ms. Trump remains financially and professionally intertwined with the Trump Organization and other Defendants and can be called as a person still under their control.”
According to James, Ivanka has maintained a financial interest in Trump Organization operations even after quitting the family business in 2017.
Court docs show the company has paid for her insurance, managed her household staff and credit card bills, covered her rent, and fronted her legal expenses. And federal disclosures show she earned $2.6 million from Trump entities in 2021.
Ultimately, Engoron sided with James and ordered Ivanka to take the stand, although he gave her a week to appeal his ruling. Then yesterday, he moved her court date from this Friday to next Wednesday.
But it wasn’t to give her more time for her potential appeal, which has yet to be filed, to work its way through the court system. Instead, he switched dates because he thinks prosecutors are going to need more time to get through all the questions they have.
Court sessions usually only last half a day on Fridays, but Engoron thinks they’re going to need a full day to get through Ivanka’s testimony now that her name has been evoked by numerous other witnesses.
😬 😬 😬
Per AP:
The scheduling change now puts Ivanka Trump on the witness stand at the end of a blockbuster stretch in a case that threatens to disrupt her family’s real estate empire.
She’ll be testifying hours before her father, the 2024 Republican front-runner, holds a campaign rally in Miami near the televised debate he’s skipping with rivals for the party’s presidential nomination…
…Originally scheduled to precede her father on the witness stand, Ivanka Trump will now follow him as the final witness called by James’ lawyers. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are scheduled to testify on Wednesday and Thursday. Donald Trump is expected on the witness stand on Nov. 6.
Last week, while leaving an L.A. restaurant, Ivanka dodged paparazzi and ignored questions about her father’s trial.
The Daily Mail published video of her leaving Kim Kardashian’s 43rd birthday party at Funke’s in Beverly Hills. When a cameraman asked, “Are you afraid to testify?”, she refused to acknowledge him as she quickly slipped into the back of a waiting SUV and took off down the street.
The ex-president, who has so far been fined $15,000 for gag order violations in the trail, continues to maintain his innocent and has called the whole thing “a disgrace.” Meanwhile, James quipped to reporters earlier this month, “The Donald Trump show is over.”
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abfab
Ew.
COTTONTOP
My sentiment exactly. She makes my skin crawl
LumpyPillows
I’m guessing she will say nothing. Swear she knows nothing. Wouldn’t it be nice if she did say something juicy? I mean, if she did know something, I do think she would turn Don in cold to save herself. I’m just not sure she was that involved.
abfab
I think she tried to get involved. And she failed each time. Recall that messy scene in Europe when she stuck her nose into a group of world leaders and they were like….who is this?
LumpyPillows
I do remember that. This has more to do with their real estate business shenanigans. I think she was smartly doing her own thing with her “fashion” business. Of course her best deal was marrying the vapid but rich Jared “I can bring peace to the middle east” Kushner.
Kangol2
Ivanka’s a fraudster, just like her corrupt treasonous psychopath daddy Don the Con.
OhHellNo
On one level, you’d think the way she looks now would be punishment enough, but…
abfab
And she’s doing everything in her powers not to resemble the brothers or the father. She’ll morph into those unattractive creatures soon enough.
COTTONTOP
She better be careful out in the heat; plastic melts.
abfab
And that salty water! The other reason why she won’t be photographed walking out of the Atlantic Ocean.