Judge denies motion to block Ivanka Trump testimony in New York civil fraud trial.

Updated 12:06 PM EDT October 27, 2023
New York (CNN) — Ivanka Trump must testify at her father’s New York civil fraud trial, the judge overseeing the case ruled on Friday.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron denied a motion from Ivanka Trump’s attorneys to quash a subpoena for her testimony, though he said her testimony should not be scheduled before Wednesday to give her time to appeal his ruling.

Ivanka Trump’s attorney had argued that she should not be forced to appear after an appellate court removed her as a defendant in the case.
“Ms. Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York,” Engoron said.

The judge also said Ivanka Trump should have submitted an affidavit asserting that she does not live or work in the state presently. “Only she can tell us that, and it’s too late to do that now,” Engoron said.

Following his decision, Engoron quickly denied a follow-up request from Donald Trump’s attorney Chris Kise to entertain a deposition from Ivanka Trump taken in Florida. “We want her here in person,” Engoron said, noting that he prefers to hear
testimony live in court.

Attorneys for Donald and Ivanka Trump argued that Ivanka Trump has not lived or worked in New York since 2017, so the court does not have jurisdiction over her, accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of seeking her testimony to create a media
spectacle.

Kise called the subpoena “continued harassment of President Trump’s children.”

“They just want another free-for-all on one of President Trump’s children,” Kise said. “They want her in the courtroom so it can be filled with media and we can have another circus day.”

Ivanka Trump had initially been listed as a co-defendant – along with Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and several Trump Organization executives – in the $250 million lawsuit filed last September by James, alleging they were involved in
an expansive fraud scheme lasting over a decade that the former president and his eldest children used to enrich themselves.

In June, however, a New York appeals court dismissed Ivanka Trump as a co-defendant, finding the claims against Ivanka Trump were too old, because she was not part of an August 2021 agreement between James’ office and the Trump Organization to toll
the statute of limitations.
Ivanka Trump was still identified by the New York attorney general’s office as a potential witness they could call in the case.

Bennet Moskowitz, an attorney for Ivanka Trump, argued that she has not lived or worked regularly in New York since 2017, so the court does not have jurisdiction over her. He offered to file an affidavit signed by Ivanka saying as much.

She is no longer a party in this case and the business entities registered in New York where the AG’s office sent the subpoena are not parties in this case either, Moskowitz argued.

Another Trump attorney, Cliff Robert, said Eric Trump is willing to be the corporate representative for the Trump Organization because he’s going to be testifying at trial anyway.

An attorney for the attorney general’s office, Kevin Wallace, argued that Ivanka Trump is still intertwined with Trump Organization, and that she has personal knowledge of a loan for the Old Post Office project in Washington, DC.

The attorney general’s complaint alleged that Ivanka Trump was liable for the fraud committed on a Deutsche Bank loan issued to Trump and his company for the Old Post Office project.

“She ran that project, not Eric Trump,” Wallace said.
Because she personally profited from the Old Post Office deal, Wallace said, Ivanka Trump was acting for her own interest when she negotiated the loan with Deutsche Bank.

Engoron asked the attorney general’s lawyer about the prospect of limiting the scope of her questioning to the Old Post Office loan with Deutsche Bank.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

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