A polished Ivanka Trump reluctantly appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday to answer questions about her father’s business dealings — which she calmly claimed had nothing to do with her role in helping him secure financing for several properties.
The former first daughter, who lives in Miami, Fla., unsuccessfully tried to get out of testifying in the $250 million fraud case against her former president father and brother Don Jr. and Eric — but ended up having to appear in person for Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday morning.
When a state attorney called the mother of three to the witness stand, Judge Arthur Engoron joked, “Who is she?”
“I am not involved. I don’t know anything about it,” said Ivanka, 41, when asked about “Donald Trump’s financial statements.”
Ivanka — the last witness called by New York Attorney General Letitia James — arrived at the 60 Center St. courthouse. about an hour earlier, wearing a navy outfit including a coat, pant suit, pumps and clutching a Chanel leather handbag.
James — who watched Wednesday’s testimony from the front row — alleged in his lawsuit that Trump, 77, exaggerated his net worth by billions a year on annual statements of financial condition to save hundreds of millions in bank and insurance bills.
Ivanka Trump reluctantly appeared to testify at her father’s Manhattan fraud trial on Wednesday.Stephen Yang
Although Ivanka, a businesswoman and former vice president of the Trump Organization, denied involvement in preparing the filing, court evidence showed that she was involved in securing financing for several Trump properties and that she sent correspondence about statements with potential lenders.
In an August 2011 email to a banker – written as Ivanka was trying to secure financing for the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami – she wrote: “My father will also send his more recent financial statements by hard mail.”
In a 2011 letter with Deutsche Bank seeking a loan for Doral, he wrote, “I am pleased to include” the latest financial statements.
Ivanka’s testimony appeared less aggressive than her father’s on Monday.AP
Ivanka testified that her husband, Jared Kushner, introduced her to a private wealth manager with Deutsche Bank when the Trumps were looking for financing to buy and renovate the Doral golf resort near Miami around 2010 or 2011.
He said the family’s real estate company eventually went with Deutsche Bank to finance Doral, and in a 2011 email about the terms, he wrote, “It doesn’t get any better than this” and “let’s talk about it as soon as possible.”
“Well, we ended up doing a deal with Deutsche Bank,” Ivanka said when asked if it was a good deal. “Yes, I think generally the terms of the agreement with Deutsche Bank are positive and we are moving forward.”
Ivanka testified that she was not involved in authoring her father’s annual financial statements.REUTERS
Throughout Ivanka’s testimony, she appeared less aggressive than her father on Monday and her brother Eric last week.
A calm and composed Ivanka answered “I don’t remember” to several dozen questions by a lawyer in the Attorney General’s office about financial transactions and meetings with bankers since 2011.
Before the lunch break, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise objected to emails coming into the hearing between Ivanka and her husband, citing “spousal privilege.” Engoron said he would decide on the objection after the break.
Ivanka was previously named as a defendant in the suit, along with her brother and father, until she was dismissed from the case in June by an appeals court that found the claims against her were outside the statute of limitations.
Engoron and the appeals court both rejected his offer to withdraw from testifying in the case.
Just after midnight Wednesday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that his “beautiful, beautiful daughter” was called by “Letitia Peekaboo James, New York’s Corrupt and Racist Attorney General, who has allowed Murder and Violent Crime in New York to flourish.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
