Ivanka Trump, daughter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, walks down the aisle as she attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York City, Nov. 8, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
NEW YORK (AP) — Ivanka Trump began testifying Wednesday in a civil fraud trial that is publicly investigating the Trump family’s businesses, seemingly trying to protect her.
Former President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, who was part of his inner circle in business and politics, loomed large in the hearing. Her father testified Monday, while her brothers Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. testified last week.
See: How Trump sees his second term as an opportunity to promote loyalists and punish critics
Ivanka Trump, who was even angry on her testimony, answered questions about her former role in the family’s Trump Organization, unlike her father. Among other things, she was instrumental in establishing a loan relationship with Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management wing, which ultimately led to the company extending hundreds of millions in loans.
She testified that her husband, Jared Kushner, introduced her to a banker while Trump was looking for financing to buy and renovate the Doral golf resort near Miami.
“I was very happy,” she told the banker, “to show him the opportunity we really liked. . . . We bought the property because we believed it could be better.”
Unlike her father and brothers, Ivanka Trump is not a defendant in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. It shows that Donald Trump’s wealth has been around for years by falsifying financial statements that helped him get loans and insurance.
The jury will decide charges of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records — but Judge Arthur Ingoron has already dismissed the top claims of the lawsuit by ruling that Trump engaged in fraud. That ruling came with provisions that would have given the former president control over properties he owns, such as Trump Tower, although an appeals court has allowed him to retain control of the property, at least temporarily.
James, a Democrat, is seeking more than $300 million in fines and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
The former president and 2024 Republican front-runner denies any wrongdoing, as do the other defendants. In a court filing on Monday, he greatly understated his wealth, insisting that the differences were trivial, that the disclaimer exempted him from liability, and that “this case is a disgrace.”
Ivanka Trump was an executive at the Trump Organization before becoming an unpaid senior adviser in her father’s White House. Like her brothers, who are still EVPs of the Trump Organization, she has little knowledge of their father’s annual financial statements.
“In particular, I don’t know what was prepared on his behalf, separate and apart from the organization and the property I work on,” she said. charge. She said she did not know who prepared the statements or how the documents were gathered.
As a Trump Organization executive, Ivanka Trump financed the loans and leases for the Washington Hotel and the hotel and condo skyscrapers in Doral, Florida, and Chicago, according to court filings.
She announced her resignation from the Trump Organization in January 2017 as her father’s inauguration approached. After being in the administration, she moved to Florida.
The appeals court dismissed her as a defendant in the case in June, saying that the claims against her were too old.
Her lawyers argued that she should not testify. He said the state is trying to harass the family by dragging them to court.
The attorney general said her testimony would be valuable, noting that she was involved in some of the events that discussed the case and that she has financial and professional ties to the Trump Organization and its leaders. The company purchased insurance for her and her businesses, managed her housekeeping and credit card accounts, rented her an apartment and paid her legal fees, state court papers state.
Ingoron and later, the Court of Appeals ruled that she should testify.
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Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump walks down the aisle as she attends the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at the New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Nov. 8, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton