According to Newsweek, in the ongoing fraud trial involving her father, former President Donald Trump, it is anticipated that Ivanka Trump will be compelled to provide testimony, as stated by former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance. Despite her concerted efforts to avoid involvement, legal expert Vance suggests that Ivanka’s status as a crucial “fact witness,” particularly concerning the valuation of her penthouse within the Trump Park Avenue property, is likely to necessitate her testimony. Notably, Ivanka has remained closely tied to her father, having served as executive vice president of the Trump Organization and as a senior adviser in his administration.
In an attempt to evade the trial’s demands, Ivanka’s legal team recently requested that Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the case, annul a subpoena mandating her appearance. While an appeals court dismissed Ivanka from the lawsuit in June, citing statute of limitations constraints, her lawyers emphasize that as a non-defendant, she should not be obliged to provide deposition testimony.
However, Vance, in a piece on her Civil Discourse blog hosted on the Substack writing website, underscores the possibility of Ivanka’s testimony, emphasizing the centrality of her knowledge on the pricing of her father’s property. Allegations surrounding the undervaluation of Ivanka’s penthouse in Trump Park Avenue have drawn attention, with claims that she gained from “insider” pricing, although she refutes this. Given the gravity of these claims, Vance contends that the New York Attorney General may rightfully summon Ivanka for testimony, irrespective of her prior dismissal from the case.
Trial subpoenas are not a means for parties to get discovery, which they failed to obtain during pretrial proceedings,” Ivanka’s attorney argued in their legal submission. “The New York Attorney General, which never deposed Ms. Trump, is effectively trying to force her back into this case from which she was dismissed by a unanimous decision of the Appellate Division, First Department.”
“Ms. Trump is not a party in this action. Nor is Ms. Trump a New York resident. It is black-letter law that, given those two facts, Ms. Trump is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court,” they stated.
The situation has placed Ivanka in a challenging position, potentially requiring her to navigate between familial loyalty and perjury, prompting her resistance to the subpoena. Newsweek has reached out to attorneys representing both Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump for further comments.
There has been testimony at trial about the valuation of Ivanka Trump’s penthouse in her father’s Trump Park Avenue property. No longer a defendant, she is nonetheless a fact witness in this regard, and it seems likely she’ll be ordered to testify,” Vance wrote.
“The [New York] Attorney General says that although Ms. Trump has denied it, she benefitted from ‘insider’ pricing—she had an option to buy the penthouse for $8.5 million, but the Trump Organization’s financial statements valued the unit at $20,820,000. Since this type of price manipulation falls within the core allegations in the lawsuit, James should be permitted to call [Ivanka] Trump, pre-trial deposition or no.” Vance wrote.
“Ivanka Trump may well have to choose between Daddy and perjury, which is why she’s fighting the subpoena,” she added.
