Ivanka Trump must testify in civil trial her father faces for fraud, judge orders

NEW YORK (CNN) — Ivanka Trump must testify in her father’s civil fraud trial in New York, the judge overseeing the case ruled this Friday.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron denied a request by Ivanka Trump’s lawyers to quash a subpoena for her testimony, though he said her testimony should not be scheduled before Wednesday to appeal the decision.

After an appeals court dismissed her as a defendant in the case, her lawyer argued that Ivanka Trump should not be compelled to appear.

“Mrs. Trump clearly embraces the privilege of doing business in New York,” Engoron said.

The judge also said Ivanka Trump should have filed an affidavit stating she does not currently live or work in the state. “She is the only one who can tell us that and it’s too late to do that now,” Nkoron said.

Following his decision, Engoron immediately denied a request from Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kiss to have Ivanka Trump testify in Florida. “We want her here in person,” said Engoron, who wants to hear testimony directly in court.

Donald Trump’s children are expected to be called to testify next week, and the former president may be called to testify next week, the attorney general’s office said in court Friday.

The New York attorney general’s team is nearing the end of its witness list for its case in a civil fraud trial against Trump and his co-defendants, including Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

The Attorney General’s team outlined the rest of their case in court on Friday. Trump’s defense will also have the opportunity to call additional witnesses in the rebuttal case after the trial.

Attorneys for the prosecution said they expect Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump to testify a day from Wednesday, although Ivanka Trump’s testimony will depend on the status of her appeal.

After that, the attorney general’s office hopes to call Trump as the final witness on Nov. 6.

The witness calendar is subject to change or change at any time, so dates are not fixed.

“Media Circus”

Attorneys for Donald and Ivanka Trump argued that Ivanka Trump has not lived or worked in New York since 2017, so the court has no jurisdiction over her, accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of seeking her testimony to create a media circus.

“President Trump’s continued harassment of children,” Kiss said.

“They want another blanket against one of President Trump’s sons,” Kiss said. “They want her in the courtroom so it can be filled with media and we can have another day of the circus.”

Ivanka Trump was first named as a co-defendant in a $250 million lawsuit filed by James last September, alleging a massive fraud along with Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and several other Trump Organization executives. The scheme lasted more than a decade for the former president and his eldest children to enrich themselves.

However, in June, a New York appeals court dismissed Ivanka Trump as a co-defendant, finding the lawsuits against Ivanka Trump too old because she was not part of the August 2021 deal between James’ office and the Trump Organization to suspend the law. limitations.

Ivanka Trump has yet to be identified by the New York Attorney General’s office as a potential witness they may call in the case.

Ivanka Trump’s attorney, Bennett Moskowitz, argued that she has not lived or worked in New York since 2017, so the court has no jurisdiction over her. He offered to file an affidavit signed by Ivanka saying the same.

Moskowitz argued that he is no longer a party to the case, and that the New York-registered businesses to which the Attorney General’s Office served the subpoena are no longer parties to the case.

Another Trump lawyer, Cliff Robert, said Eric Trump is willing to be the corporate representative for the Trump Organization because he’s going to testify at trial anyway.

Prosecuting attorney Kevin Wallace argued that Ivanka Trump is still tied to the Trump Organization and has personal knowledge of the loan for the old post office project in Washington.

The New York Attorney General’s complaint alleges Ivanka Trump was responsible for defrauding a Deutsche Bank loan made to Trump and his company for the Old Post Office project.

“He ran that program, not Eric Trump,” Wallace said.

Because she personally benefited from the deal for the old Post Office project, Wallace said, Ivanka Trump acted in her own self-interest when she negotiated the loan with Deutsche Bank.

Encoron asked the attorney general’s lawyer about the possibility of limiting the scope of his questioning to the loan related to that project with Deutsche Bank.