What to watch for when Ivanka Trump testifies in the Trump Org. fraud trial

By CNN

Published November 8, 2023 3:33 AM

CNN

By Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN

New York (CNN) — Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump is testifying Wednesday in the former president’s civil fraud trial as the final witness for the New York attorney general’s office.

While Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant in Attorney General Letitia James’ case after an appellate court removed her as a defendant earlier this year, she is still likely to be pressed about her role securing financing for properties when she worked at the Trump Organization, as well as the valuation of an apartment she leased in one of her father’s Manhattan buildings.

Her testimony comes after her father’s Monday appearance on the witness stand, in which the former president badgered the judge and the attorney general with political attacks that frequently irked Judge Arthur Engoron.

There may not be as many fireworks with Ivanka Trump’s appearance Wednesday, but there has been plenty of drama surrounding her testimony. She had filed a motion to quash the subpoena requiring her testimony, but Engoron ruled she was required to testify. An appellate court denied her motion for a stay, despite her saying it would be difficult to appear during a school week.

Ivanka Trump’s brothers, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., who are co-defendants in the case, testified last week.

Here’s what to watch for during her testimony:

Ivanka’s role securing loans

Ivanka Trump is knowledgeable about allegations included in the civil fraud trial, where the attorney general is seeking $250 million in damages and to bar Trump from doing business in the state.

She worked at the Trump Organization as an executive before moving to the White House as a senior aide along with her husband, Jared Kushner, in 2017.

The initial lawsuit filed by the attorney general last September pointed to Ivanka Trump’s involvement in securing a loan for purchasing Trump’s Doral golf course in Florida and Chicago properties in 2012, which the attorney general alleges were extended in part because of Trump’s personal financial statements that inflated his assets.

“On each of those transactions with Deutsche Bank, Ms. Trump was aware that the transactions included a personal guaranty from Mr. Trump that required him to provide annual Statements of Financial Condition and certifications,” the complaint states.

Trump was asked Monday to verify that he signed those loan agreements and he understood they included clauses requiring a minimum net worth and annual financial statements.

Ivanka was also involved in the bidding on the Old Post Office in Washington, DC, which Trump converted to a hotel before selling the property last year.

“Mr. Trump and Ivanka Trump participated personally in the bidding process in 2011,” the attorney general’s office wrote. “In particular, Ivanka Trump was involved in crafting communications to the GSA in connection with the bid and in responding to deficiency comments raised by the GSA.”

Engoron ruled before the start of the trial that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud. The judge is now considering how much the Trumps will have to pay in damages for the profits they’ve allegedly garnered through fraudulent business practices. The attorney general is also seeking to prove additional claims, including falsifying business records, issuing false financial statements and insurance fraud.

Last year in a deposition related to this investigation, Ivanka Trump distanced herself from the financial statements, saying she knew the companies had financial statements but that she had no “specific” recollection that her father had personal statements of financial condition.

“Sure he has accountants who have all sorts of stuff who have all sorts of statement but no, sorry, I don’t specifically know what was prepared on his behalf for him as a person separate and distinct from the organization and the properties that I was working on so no, I don’t know how they did that and who prepared that and the mechanisms like that,” she testified.

Asked whether as a graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania if she knew that financial statements list all the assets of liabilities and accurately portray entitles’ financial condition, she said, “I’ve never prepared one. I don’t know. I’ve never made one. I’m not an accountant.”

Ivanka is no longer a co-defendant

While she will be asked questions about her role at the Trump Organization, she is no longer part of the case thanks to an appellate court ruling in June.

The court order dismissed the claims against Ivanka Trump after finding that she was not a party to an August 2021 agreement between James’ office and the Trump Organization to toll the statute of limitations.

“The record before us…indicates that defendant Ivanka Trump was no longer within the agreement’s definition of ‘Trump Organization’ by the date the tolling agreement was executed,” the order states. “The allegations against defendant Ivanka Trump do not support any claims that accrued after February 6, 2016. Thus, all claims against her should have been dismissed as untimely.”

Trump and his attorneys have argued that claims against the former president should also be dismissed because of the statute of limitations, but Engoron has dismissed those claims.

Ivanka Trump tried to use the appellate court’s ruling to prevent her testimony in the case. Her attorney, Bennet Moskowitz, argued she was no longer a New York resident and had not worked in the state since 2017, so the court did not have jurisdiction over her.

Trump’s attorneys said the subpoena for Ivanka’s testimony was “continued harassment of President Trump’s children.”

“They want her in the courtroom so it can be filled with media, and we can have another circus day,” attorney Chris Kise said.

Ivanka’s penthouse apartment

Another issue Ivanka Trump is likely to get questions about is a Penthouse apartment in Trump Park Avenue that she leased.

According to the attorney general’s complaint, her rental agreement included an option to purchase the unit for $8.5 million. But in Trump’s 2011 and 2012 statements of financial condition, the unit was valued at $20.8 million. In 2013, it was valued at $25 million.

The complaint also alleged that she was given an option in 2014 to purchase a different, larger penthouse unit in the building for $14.3 million – but the unit was listed in the 2014 statement of financial condition for $45 million.

“In that year, Ms. Trump’s option to purchase the unit at a steep discount was included in a lease in which she was charged a rental payment substantially below the market rent for similar units in the same building,” the complaint states.

Donald Bender, Trump’s former accountant at Mazars, testified that his job was not to audit the financial statements, but “from time to time,” he would point out errors to Trump Organization officials.

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