Judge rejects Ivanka Trump’s argument against testifying at father’s fraud trial
A New York judge has rejected Ivanka Trump’s argument that she should not have to testify at her father Donald Trump’s fraud trial.
Ivanka Trump’s lawyers – she has hired a separate legal team from her father – showed up to court on Friday to argue against a subpoena to testify from the New York attorney general Letitia James’s office, which brought the $250m fraud case against the former president, his eldest sons and other Trump executives.
“At the end of the day, your honor, they just don’t have jurisdiction over her,” Ivanka Trump’s attorney, Bennet Moskowitz, told the judge. Her lawyers argued that Trump no longer lives in New York and stepped down from her role at the Trump Organization in 2017.
Ivanka Trump had been a defendant in the case until the summer when an appellate court said the specific claims against her were too old. Her brothers Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump are still listed as defendants in the case.
The judge, Arthur Engoron, told the court that he rejected her arguments, saying that she “clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York”, he said, citing documents that show Trump still has property and business ties in New York.
The former president and his adult children are all on the state’s witness list. Trump said that he plans to testify. While Trump and his children will not face jail time if they refuse to testify, the judge will be able to use any absences against him when deciding the case. Because it is a bench trial, there is no jury, and the judge is the sole decider of the case.
Christopher Kise, one of the former president’s main lawyers, said in court on Friday that the attorney general’s office “just want another free-for-all on another of President Trump’s children”, and accused the attorney general’s office of creating a “media event”.
The trial wrapped up its fourth week in court on Friday and is scheduled to run until 22 December, though it could end sooner. The former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen delivered closely watched testimony this week, his first time taking the stand in court against his former employer.
Trump has been accused of inflating the value of his assets on financial statements to boost the appearance of his net worth. Engoron found Trump guilty of fraud in a pre-trial judgment, ordering the cancellation of his business license and ending Trump’s ability to do business in the state, though Trump is appealing the ruling. The rest of the trial is being used to determine whether Trump will have to pay a fine of at least $250m.