In the ongoing fraud trial on claims against the Trumps and their family business from New York state Attorney General Letitia James, the state team is pursuing the trial testimony of Ivanka Trump, a daughter to the former president. She was originally named in James’ underlying lawsuit before a state court found statutes of limitations shielded her from inclusion.
James’ team evidently issued already three subpoenas naming corporate entities tied to the former president’s daughter, and late last week, they indicated intentions to file a court motion to compel Ivanka’s appearance. Seeking to secure a judicial demand for Ivanka’s evident compliance with the subpoenas is in contrast to the other option of pushing for her to be held in contempt, with potentially serious consequences to follow, in the event of her refusing to show up.
A lawyer on James’ team “indicated they do not plan to request Judge Arthur Engoron hold Ivanka Trump in contempt,” ABC said in a Friday report. “They instead plan to file a motion today to compel her to appear in court, according to the email.” Ivanka’s team has already been challenging the underlying subpoenas, arguing that she is now outside the relevant procedural reach because she’s no longer a resident of New York. She evidently was not ever deposed earlier in the case, unlike family members of hers including Eric Trump and their father, Donald. A hearing on the dispute over Ivanka’s potential testimony was reportedly scheduled for this week, though proceedings were delayed Monday because of COVID-19 concerns.
Earlier testimony at trial called into question what Eric said during his deposition. An executive from the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield said the former president’s son had argued to him for a high valuation on a certain Trump property, despite Eric claiming earlier that he wasn’t involved in such communications with similar professionals. Allegations of misrepresented value for various Trump assets underlie James’ case.
