Ivanka Trump is scheduled to take the witness stand in the New York courtroom of Judge Arthur Engoron at 10 AM ET. Daily Kos will be providing live coverage of her testimony.
Ivanka was a part of negotiations for several of the properties and deals involved in the case. In particular, she was key to connecting with Deutsche Bank and negotiating terms of loans. Ivanka was originally named as a defendant in the fraud case filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with her brothers. However, a state appeals court dismissed her from the case in June because Ivanka’s early actions were protected by the statute of limitations, and the state missed a deadline in addressing her later involvement.
When Ivanka leaves the stand, the state is expected to rest its case against Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
Based on her testimony in other cases, Ivanka is expected to be much more subdued in her responses than either her father or brothers. Her answers are likely to be brief, as nonspecific as possible, and aimed at avoiding a chance of perjury.
In his testimony, Donald Trump Jr. was haughty and dismissive, mostly responding to questions by claiming he never read the documents he was signing, laughing off queries about his responsibilities as a corporate officer, and claiming no knowledge of the details of Trump Organization finances. Eric Trump was questioned more specifically about deals in which he personally engaged with experts who provided valuations for Trump properties, then ignored the results of those evaluations to greatly inflate theoretical values. On several occasions, Eric was led reluctantly through a series of documents showing his close involvement with projects and companies he claimed to not remember.
When Donald Trump took the stand on Monday, his testimony quickly devolved into a series of rambling, angry rants, many of them much closer to statements from Trump’s political rallies that didn’t begin to address the questions he was being asked. Both Engoron and members of James’ prosecution team largely gave Trump his head, allowing him to ramble on, though Engoron did make several appeals for Trump’s attorneys to get their client under control.
A good portion of Trump’s testimony was centered on the loans provided to the Trump Organization by Deutsche Bank. State attorney Kevin Wallace went through a series of documents showing how Trump had systematically inflated the value of properties reported to the bank when seeking loans. There were also questions about whether Trump met the stated levels of personal wealth and liquid assets given on the loan applications. Trump angrily replied that he “always had plenty of money” and sniped at both Wallace and Engoron before leaving the stand.
Those loans are likely to be a central focus of Ivanka’s testimony. In 2017, Ivanka was listed as executive vice president of the Trump Organization. According to the state’s lawsuit, she was in charge of negotiating financing for new projects and “directed all areas of the company’s real estate and hotel management platform.”
Following Ivanka’s testimony, Trump’s defense attorneys can be expected to file several motions, including a motion to dismiss the case. Lead attorney Chris Kise has been warning for several days that he may also file a motion for a mistrial. This motion may also be made today.
Ivanka was a part of negotiations for several of the properties and deals involved in the case. In particular, she was key to connecting with Deutsche Bank and negotiating terms of loans. Ivanka was originally named as a defendant in the fraud case filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with her brothers. However, a state appeals court dismissed her from the case in June because Ivanka’s early actions were protected by the statute of limitations, and the state missed a deadline in addressing her later involvement.
When Ivanka leaves the stand, the state is expected to rest its case against Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
Based on her testimony in other cases, Ivanka is expected to be much more subdued in her responses than either her father or brothers. Her answers are likely to be brief, as nonspecific as possible, and aimed at avoiding a chance of perjury.
In his testimony, Donald Trump Jr. was haughty and dismissive, mostly responding to questions by claiming he never read the documents he was signing, laughing off queries about his responsibilities as a corporate officer, and claiming no knowledge of the details of Trump Organization finances. Eric Trump was questioned more specifically about deals in which he personally engaged with experts who provided valuations for Trump properties, then ignored the results of those evaluations to greatly inflate theoretical values. On several occasions, Eric was led reluctantly through a series of documents showing his close involvement with projects and companies he claimed to not remember.
When Donald Trump took the stand on Monday, his testimony quickly devolved into a series of rambling, angry rants, many of them much closer to statements from Trump’s political rallies that didn’t begin to address the questions he was being asked. Both Engoron and members of James’ prosecution team largely gave Trump his head, allowing him to ramble on, though Engoron did make several appeals for Trump’s attorneys to get their client under control.
A good portion of Trump’s testimony was centered on the loans provided to the Trump Organization by Deutsche Bank. State attorney Kevin Wallace went through a series of documents showing how Trump had systematically inflated the value of properties reported to the bank when seeking loans. There were also questions about whether Trump met the stated levels of personal wealth and liquid assets given on the loan applications. Trump angrily replied that he “always had plenty of money” and sniped at both Wallace and Engoron before leaving the stand.
Those loans are likely to be a central focus of Ivanka’s testimony. In 2017, Ivanka was listed as executive vice president of the Trump Organization. According to the state’s lawsuit, she was in charge of negotiating financing for new projects and “directed all areas of the company’s real estate and hotel management platform.”
Following Ivanka’s testimony, Trump’s defense attorneys can be expected to file several motions, including a motion to dismiss the case. Lead attorney Chris Kise has been warning for several days that he may also file a motion for a mistrial. This motion may also be made today.