Ivanka Trump, daughter of current GOP 2024 candidate frontrunner and former President Donald Trump, was ordered to testify in her father’s civil fraud trial.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, the organization’s senior management and others for being engaged in years of financial fraud last year.
According to CNN, New York Judge Arthur Engoron denied a motion from Ivanka Trump’s attorneys to quash a subpoena for her testimony. Axios reported that Ivanka was dismissed from the $250 million lawsuit.
“A New York appeals court said that James’ claims against Ivanka Trump were outdated because she left the Trump Organization to join her father in the White House in 2017,” said the outlet.
Ivanka was a former executive in her father’s company and her brothers, Eric and Donald Jr., are currently executives in the company, per NBC News. While Ivanka’s attorneys attempted to quash a subpoena for her testimony, Engoron denied the motion. He did, however, give her time to appeal the decision.
“For years, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth to enrich himself and cheat the system. We won the foundation of our case last week and proved that his purported net worth has long been rooted in incredible fraud,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James Oct. 2, when the trial case began.
“In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial.”
Attorneys for Ivanka argued that she should not be ordered to appear since she was removed as a defendant in the case. Engoron said Ivanka Trump should have submitted an affidavit asserting that she does not live or work in the state presently, but that it is now too late to do so.
Ivanka has not mentioned the trial on social media, where she has been promoting her husband Jared Kushner’s discussion regarding the Hamas attacks in Israel. She also posted a Father’s Day message from Trump in June.
“Following his decision, Engoron quickly denied a follow-up request from Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise to entertain a deposition from Ivanka Trump taken in Florida,” said CNN. The judge said he wants Ivanka to give testimony in person, live in court. Questions for Ivanka are expected to cover information regarding her father’s former Washington, D.C. hotel. She allegedly profited from its sale, said NBC.
Trump’s children are expected to be called for testimony next week, according to the outlet. Trump himself could also be called to testify the following week.