In a discussion on MSNBC, guest and former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg predicted that former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump could be under the threat of criminal prosecution after she testifies this week in a civil trial in New York, making the stakes high.
In short, the trial deals with allegations from New York state Attorney General Letitia James of a years-long pattern of financial misrepresentation at the Trump family business that involved deception about the legitimate value of various assets. And this claimed deception set up the Trumps for financial benefits, like what an expert witness estimated was $168 million in savings on interest in connection to just four properties. Ivanka herself is no longer actually a direct target of the case because of statute of limitations concerns, but Greenberg said that if Ivanka essentially admits to the scheme, which would perhaps by necessity directly implicate herself, there could be a criminal case.
“If she were to speak the truth, and if that truth were to say, ‘Yeah, we inflated these things for these loans’ — she’s not on trial. Does she stand to have some sort of legal ramifications as a result?” Alex Witt asked.
“If she were to testify that she knew at the time that the financial statements were inaccurate and she was part of providing those to a bank, she is not a defendant in this case […] but there could be other prosecutors’ offices that are looking at this, so she would certainly have some exposure potentially criminally for those kinds of statements,” Greenberg said. “Making false statements knowingly to a bank is a federal crime.”
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump already also testified in the case, both taking a largely dismissive stance. Donald Jr., for instance, claimed he wasn’t substantially involved in statements of financial condition that are disputed. Meanwhile, Donald Trump himself is also slated to soon testify. Watch the MSNBC clip below, flagged earlier by Raw Story:
