In New York, state Attorney General Letitia James’ team has issued reportedly multiple subpoenas that stand to push Ivanka Trump, the former president’s well-known daughter, to the stand at trial. The ongoing trial deals with a civil lawsuit from James that accuses the Trumps of business fraud. Ivanka was originally named in the lawsuit before a New York court said claims against her were covered by relevant statutes of limitations.
Ivanka is, characteristically, seeking to cut off the possibility of her appearing at trial for testimony, and reportedly, there will be a court hearing next week on this specific question. Other members of her family, including the ex-president, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump, are set to be testifying as trial proceeds, which could take months.
Ivanka held a leadership role at the Trump Organization before she joined the older Donald on his presidential team for the entirety of his time in office. Ivanka’s team now claims that she’s not been properly served (in the subpoenas context) and that she’s outside the relevant jurisdiction for enforcement, having departed New York. She now lives in Florida.
The underlying case, in which presiding Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled that former President Donald Trump had perpetrated fraud, has remaining questions stemming from James’ claims ranging to insurance fraud and falsifying business records. So far, the trial has featured testimony from figures like longtime Trump ally Allen Weisselberg, who claimed on the stand he didn’t focus all that much on a personal Trump property at Trump Tower in New York as the former president’s team worked on valuations for Trump’s corporate and personal wealth — which Forbes, the financial news publication, promptly contradicted, sharing information in an article on how Weisselberg actually had directed attention to the property.
As for the property, it’s among the contexts for the allegedly massive deception driving James’ entire case. Trump and his team claimed it was some three times larger than its actual size.
