Ivanka Trump testified in her father’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday, but she was not sure why. Trump was relaxed and polite, in contrast to her father, who took the stand Monday and was rambling, often erupting into emotional outbursts. Her brothers also gave defensive testimony.
In her father’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday, Ivanka Trump testified, but she was n’t sure why. In stark contrast to her father, who testified on Monday, rambling and generally erupting into emotional outbursts during his testimony, and her brothers—whose testimony was frequently defensive—Trump was courteous and laid-back. Despite how approachable she may have been, she had an incredibly poor memory.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, accused former president Donald Trump, his business, and his two adult sons of improperly inflating the values of his assets to obtain better terms from banks and insurance companies. Ivanka Trump was initially named as a defendant in the fraud case. Ivanka was dismissed from the case in June by a higher court, claiming that during the time the fraud was taking place, she had essentially severed ties with the Trump Organization. She made an effort to avoid giving any testimony, claiming that she knew very little about the business matters at the core of the case.
In fact, Trump insisted on the witness stand that she could n’t recall the specifics of almost all of James’s questions. She repeatedly drew blank when questioned about a specific deal or relationship with this or that bank, responding” I do n’t recall” at least two dozen times. Trump typically admitted to remembering just the most fundamental details when prompted by emails and letters she had written or that had been sent to her, or when confronted with accounts of her involvement from others.
” In the end, this case is about false statements about the financial situation from which she benefited.”
Trump claimed her memory was n’t jogged even after Louis Solomon, a lawyer with James ‘ office who oversaw Wednesday’s questioning, showed her copies of the relevant documents. Amazingly, she insisted that she could n’t remember receiving more than$ 4 million when her father sold his downtown hotel in Washington, DC, in 2021. She claimed that the only thing she could recall was being paid.
But, Trump was adamant that she had nothing to do with any of the Trump financial statements that Arthur Eragon, the judge, had deemed to be false. When her father’s attorneys cross-examined her about some of the exact transactions that she had just struggled to remember, her memory appeared to have significantly improved.
Consider the Miami Doral golf course, for which the Trump Organization obtained suitable interest rates from Deutsche Bank through a representative Ivanka introduced to her father. These rates were partially based on false financial disclosures. When questioned by the prosecutors, she admitted that she could n’t recall any specifics about the competing loan offers she had personally solicited from a number of lenders, not even some of them. However, she brightened and spoke enthusiastically about her father’s hopes for the golf course during the cordial cross-examination.
She remarked,” My father told me about visiting that property with his own father because he had a strong and romantic love for it.” He claimed to have taken my mother it.
She remembered exactly how much the Old Post Office building ( which was renovated to build the hotel ) had been costing taxpayers each year ($ 7.5 million ), in contrast to her claimed inability to recall the amount she made from the sale of Donald Trump’s DC hotel. She even spoke highly of her father’s connections to Deutsche Bank executives. The defense emphasized how the banks that gave Trump loans based on false financial statements ultimately received all of their money up.
Trump, however, was unable to refute any of the dozens of documents that were presented as evidence during her testimony because she claimed she could n’t recall any minor details. These included loan offers from lenders who offered interest rates that were nearly twice as high as those Deutsche Bank offered the Trump Organization and had n’t seen the fraudulent statements. The company saved hundreds of millions of dollars in interest and insurance fees because they thought James was wealthier—and therefore less of a financial risk—than he actually was, which gets right to the heart of James ‘ claim.
James, who was watching the testimony from the front row outside the courthouse, claimed that Ivanka Trump’s cordial demeanor had no impact on the case. In the end, James told reporters,” This case is about false statements about the economic situation from which she benefited.” ” Facts essentially demonstrate the truth—despite the fact that she was very, very good, and quite friendly.”
Ivanka is the last witness for James. Next week, Donald Trump’s attorneys will start making their case. Ivanka Trump testified in her father’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday, but she was n’t sure why when she heard her say it. Trump was cordial and at ease, in stark contrast to her father, who testified on Monday, rambling and often erupting into emotional outbursts, and her brothers, both of whom usually provided defensive testimony.
Ivanka Trump testified in her father’s civil fraud trial on Wednesday, but she was not sure why. Trump was relaxed and polite, in contrast to her father, who took the stand Monday and was rambling, often erupting into emotional outbursts. Her brothers also gave defensive testimony.
Lev Radin/Sipa USA via AP. Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.. Ivanka Trump took the stand on Wednesday in her father’s civil fraud trial, but to hear her tell it, she wasn’t sure why. Trump was polite and relaxed, in stark contrast to her father—who took the stand on Monday, rambling and frequently devolving into emotional outbursts during his testimony—and brothers, whose testimony was often defensive. But as personable as her demeanor may have been, she displayed an astonishingly bad memory.. Ivanka Trump was originally named as a defendant in the fraud case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has accused former president Donald Trump, his company, and his two adult sons of fraudulently inflating the values of his assets to get better terms from banks and insurance companies. A higher court removed Ivanka from the case in June, saying she had largely cut ties with the Trump Organization during the period in which the fraud occurred. She attempted to avoid testifying at all, claiming that she knew little about the business details at the heart of the case.. Indeed, on the stand, Trump insisted she didn’t remember the details of almost everything James’ attorneys inquired about. Over and over, asked about a particular deal or relationship with this or that bank, she drew a blank, answering “I don’t recall” at least two dozen times. When prompted with emails and letters she had written or that had been sent to her, or confronted with accounts from others about her involvement, Trump generally conceded to remembering only the most basic details.. “At the end of the day, this case is about fraudulent statements about the financial condition that she benefited from.”. Even when Louis Solomon, an attorney with James’ office who led Wednesday’s questioning, showed her copies of the documents in question, Trump said her memory wasn’t jogged. Incredibly, she claimed she couldn’t recall how much money she’d received when her father sold his downtown Washington, DC, hotel in 2021—more than $4 million. She said she remembered only that she had been paid.. Trump was, however, very firm in her insistence she had nothing to do with any of the Trump financial statements that the judge, Arthur Eragon, has deemed fraudulent. And her memory seemed much improved when her father’s attorneys cross-examined her about some of the same deals that she’d struggled to recall just a few minutes earlier.. Take the Doral golf course in Miami, for which the Trump Organization got favorable interest rates from Deutsche Bank via an executive whom Ivanka had introduced to her father—rates based in part on fraudulent statements of her father’s financial status. Under questioning by the prosecutors, she said she didn’t remember details any of the competing loan offers—and didn’t even remember some of the offers—that she’d personally solicited from a slew of lenders. But upon friendly cross-examination, she lit up and spoke warmly about her father’s hopes for the golf course.. “My father had a deep and nostalgic love for that property, telling me about going to that property with his own father,” she said. “He told me he took my mother there.”. In contrast to her professed inability to remember how much she profited from the sale of Donald Trump’s DC hotel, she remembered exactly how much the Old Post Office building (which was renovated to build the hotel) had been costing taxpayers annually ($7.5 million). She also spoke very positively of her father’s relationships with Deutsche Bank executives—the defense focused heavily on how the banks that lent money to Trump based on fraudulent financial statements did, in the end, get all of their money back.. But Trump’s claim that she couldn’t remember any of the fine details also rendered her unable to push back on any of the dozens of documents introduced as evidence during her testimony. These included loan offers from lenders who hadn’t seen the fraudulent statements and had offered interest rates nearly double what Deutsche Bank provided the Trump Organization. This goes to the heart of James’ claim: that the company saved hundreds of millions of dollars in interest and insurance fees because companies believed he was wealthier—and thus less of a financial risk—than he really was.. Outside of the courthouse, James, who watched the testimony from the front row, said that Ivanka Trump’s amicable affect didn’t change anything about the case. “At the end of the day, this case is about fraudulent statements about the financial condition that she benefited from,” James told reporters. “Despite the fact that she was very, very nice, very friendly—facts basically demonstrate the truth.”. Ivanka is James’ final witness. Donald Trump’s attorneys will begin arguing their side next week.
