Ivanka Trump takes the stand in former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial

Ximena Bustillo

November 08, 2023 / 7:22 am

Updated November 8, 2023 at 11:37 AM ET

Ivanka Trump, daughter of former President Donald Trump, has been called to the witness stand Wednesday to answer questions regarding fraudulent financial documents filed by the Trump Organization.

Ivanka Trump, is not a defendant, is expected to be the last witness called by the state attorney general's legal team in a civil fraud trial that will determine the penalties faced by other members of the Trump family.

She had been the executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization. During questioning led by AG lawyer Louis Solomon, Trump was asked about her knowledge of her father's statements of financial conditions.

"Not that I am aware of," she said.

Trump was asked about her involvement in executing the purchase of the Trump National Doral property in Miami, Fla. The attorney general's lawsuit alleges that Donald Trump's inflated statements were used to secure a $125 million loan from Deutsche Bank and were regularly submitted to the bank to fulfill Donald Trump's financial reporting requirements as guarantor on the loan.

Ivanka Trump testified that she didn't recall if the bank asked for the statements or if she offered them.

The former president has been accused by state Attorney General Letitia James of being a part of a scheme that involved inflating or deflating the value of assets in order to secure better business, insurance and banking deals between 2011 and 2021. Trump's two older sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are also defendants in the lawsuit. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump is liable of fraud.

Ivanka Trump's attorney successfully argued that any related actions Ivanka had at the Trump Organization happened before the statute of limitations kicked in.

Outside the courtroom, James argued that Ivanka Trump personally benefited from the inflated financial statements, even as she stepped away from the Trump Organization.

Donald Trump's legal team will begin their defense next week, with the goal of being done by mid-December.

Ivanka Trump is the last in her family to testify

Earlier this week, Engoron heard testimony from the former president himself.

Trump argued he was responsible for providing information to the accounting firm Mazars, which compiled the statements. While answering questions, Trump made jabs at Engoron, James and the trial. He took long tangents when answering questions, which annoyed Engoron, called James a "political hack," and said he thought the trial was unfair.

Throughout his testimony, Trump argued that even the financial statements were conservative estimates of the value of his properties and that he relied on others to compile the statements. Still, he did acknowledge that he had a hand in reviewing some of the final numbers in the valuations.

Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are both executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization and held key leadership roles during the time their father was president.

Eric Trump at first denied having "anything to do" with the statements of financial condition. But the court was shown email correspondence between Trump and then-controller of the Trump Organization Jeffrey McConney (now co-defendant), in which Trump was asked to review and provide input on the statements and properties in the statements. Trump told the court he relied on others to ensure the statements were accurate, even if the court documents show he was privy to the process.

His brother Trump Jr. had a similar testimony. When asked directly by Engoron if he had anything to do with statements of financial condition issued by the Trump Organization, Trump Jr. said no, although he was responsible for the statements, according to documents shown in the trial.

Throughout his testimony, Trump Jr. said also he relied on others, such as co-defendant and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Wesselberg, to vet the statements of financial condition.