Ivanka Trump Testifies: Ex-President’s Daughter Distances Herself From Fraud Allegations As Emails Show Concerns About Trump’s Net Worth

Topline

Former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump took the stand at her father’s ongoing civil fraud trial Wednesday, repeatedly claiming she couldn’t recall any involvement with business deals at the heart of the New York Attorney General’s allegations about the case—as emails show she played a key role.

Ivanka Trump arrives at the courtroom during a civil fraud trial against former President Donald … [+] Trump at New York Supreme Court on Nov. 8 in New York.

Associated Press

Key Facts

Ivanka Trump, formerly an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, testified Wednesday in the civil case, in which the attorney general alleges her father, brothers and the Trump Organization committed fraud by misstating valuations on financial statements prepared for financial institutions, which were used to obtain more favorable business deals and reflect a higher net worth for the ex-president.

Ivanka Trump—who was previously a defendant before being dismissed from the case—distanced herself from those statements of financial condition, denying she played a role in preparing them or had any recollection of them, and repeatedly denied any recollection of email exchanges shown at the trial that show her playing significant roles in deals that involved the financial statements, including at Trump National Doral resort in Miami and the company’s former hotel in Washington, D.C.

Her husband Jared Kushner introduced the ex-president to the head of Deutsche Bank’s Private Wealth Management division, which ultimately lent the company and ex-president money at a better rate than its commercial real estate, though Ivanka Trump claimed she “[didn’t]

Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management division required Trump to have a net worth of at least $3 billion in order to secure a loan with favorable rates through them for the Doral resort—which Trump Organization attorney Jason Greenblatt had concerns about, according to an email shown at trial, writing to Ivanka Trump that the requirement “would seem to be a problem?”

“That we have known from day one,” Ivanka Trump responded in an email, saying guaranteeing the deal was “the only way to get proceeds/term and principle where we want them,” though she asked Deutsche Bank to lower the requirement from $3 billion to $2 billion—even as the company claimed on its financial statement the ex-president’s net worth was over $4 billion.

Deutsche Bank also expressed concerns with a request from Ivanka Trump in 2016 for a $50 million unsecured loan—which would not require any collateral—writing in an email that the request suggests that “liquidity is an issue for your Dad” and former President Donald Trump didn’t have sufficient cash flow.

Tangent

The attorney general’s office also suggested that Trump’s presidential candidacy played a role in Deutsche Bank’s consideration over whether to expand its loan to the Trump Organization. Emails showed that bankers were wary of approving an unsecured loan for the company during the election, writing the bank’s decision against extending the loan was “a global corporate decision to maintain neutrality to any political situation and not lend money to a highly politically exposed person.” (Deutsche Bank declined to comment to Forbes on the emails.)

Chief Critic

Attorneys for the former president strongly opposed the state’s questioning of Ivanka Trump Wednesday morning, claiming it went beyond the scope of the attorney general’s subpoena for her testimony and the statute of limitations, with the ex-president’s daughter at one point being briefly excused from the courtroom as lawyers quarreled with the judge over what they believed was an irrelevant question. Former President Donald Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise argued Ivanka Trump had been “dragged here to testify,” after she tried to fight her subpoena. After saying the Trump Organization transformed a “hulking relic” into its D.C. hotel, Judge Arthur Engoron responded he was “starting to sound like your client.”

What To Watch For

Ivanka Trump’s testimony is scheduled to continue on Wednesday and potentially into Thursday, with the defendants’ attorneys slated to question her once the state has wrapped up. The former president’s daughter marks the state’s final witness before Trump’s attorneys present their case to the court, and the trial is scheduled to continue through mid-December. The trial carries potentially high stakes for the Trumps if Judge Arthur Engoron rules against them, with consequences including a $250 million fine and barring Trump and his sons from running New York businesses.

Key Background

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his children—including Ivanka Trump prior to her dismissal from the case—other business associates and the Trump Organization, arguing the ex-president and his co-defendants misstated the values of assets on financial documents more than 200 times between 2011 and 2021. The legal complaint includes allegations over false numbers regarding Mar-A-Lago, the Washington, D.C., hotel and the ex-president’s Manhattan penthouse, among other properties. Ivanka Trump’s testimony caps off a week of the Trump family taking the stand, with brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testifying in the trial last week and the ex-president testifying on Monday. Similarly to Ivanka, her brothers—who also served as executive vice presidents at the company—denied any involvement with statements of financial condition, even as they signed off on the documents and attested to their accuracy. The former president spent his testimony downplaying his involvement with the financial statements, falsely claiming a disclaimer in them made them “worthless,” as well as sparring with the judge.

Surprising Fact

Ivanka Trump has kept a fairly low profile since her father left the White House. She hasn’t attended high-profile events like the Met Gala and declined to join the Trump 2024 campaign.

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