NEW YORK (AP) — Following former President Donald Trump’s recent experience on the witness stand, the focus of his New York civil business fraud trial is now shifting to whether his daughter Ivanka will be required to testify.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The court session on Friday will commence with a hearing on this matter. Ivanka Trump has been removed from the case, and attorneys for her family and her business are contending that she should not have to take the stand. Attorneys for the state of New York, however, argue that she should, citing her previous role as executive vice president of the Trump Organization and the relevant information she possesses.
It remains uncertain when Judge Arthur Angoron will render a decision or when Ivanka Trump would testify if ordered to do so.
The civil case, initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia James, asserts that the former president, along with his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and their company, exaggerated his wealth in financial statements for several years, ultimately leading to the procurement of loans and deals from banks, insurers, and others.
Trump and his business vehemently deny these allegations, with the former president, currently viewed as the Republican front-runner for the 2024 election, dismissing the trial as a politically motivated “sham.” It is worth noting that Letitia James is a Democrat.
It is expected that the former president and his sons will testify at some point during the trial. In a surprising turn of events, the elder Trump briefly appeared on the witness stand on Wednesday to answer Engron’s questions regarding his extrajudicial remarks.
Ivanka Trump’s legal counsel argued in court documents that her testimony would be inappropriate. Bennett Moskowitz, her lawyer, highlighted that she is no longer a defendant nor a New York resident, and contended that the Attorney General’s office is attempting to “unnecessarily burden Ms. Trump and fill evident gaps” in the state’s case.
In a separate legal filing, Donald Trump’s defense team accused the state of “unnecessarily involving both Ms. Trump and her father in a highly publicized lawsuit for the sole purpose of harassing them.”
In June, a state appeals court dismissed the time-barred claims against Trump. Ivanka Trump announced her departure from the Trump Organization in January 2017, prior to her father’s inauguration, and subsequently served as an unpaid senior advisor in the Trump White House.
However, according to court documents filed by state attorneys, Ivanka Trump “played a major role” in many of the events discussed in the case and maintains financial and professional ties with the family business and its leaders.
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Contributions to this report were made by Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak.
Source: apnews.com
