Ivanka Trump Loses Bid to Block Subpoena Forcing Her Testimony in Her Father’s New York Civil Fraud Case

Mod: Interesting choice. Can Ivanka protect her Daddy Donald without

committing perjury?

Ivanka Trump Loses Bid to Block Subpoena Forcing Her Testimony in Her Father’s New York Civil Fraud Case (The Messenger link): Ivanka Trump cannot block a subpoena forcing her to testify in her father's ongoing civil fraud trial, a New York state judge ruled on Friday.

"A trial is a search for the truth," said Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who added in issuing his opinion from the bench that the public has the right to "every person's evidence."

Engoron also ruled that former President Donald Trump's daughter would not take the witness stand before Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, in order to give her the opportunity to appeal.

Donald Trump and his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have been on trial for the better part of four weeks over claims that they fraudulently inflated assets on statements of financial condition submitted to banks and insurers. Ivanka Trump was originally named as a defendant, until she succeeded in dismissing the claims against her on appeal under the statute of limitations.

That victory, Ivanka Trump's lawyers argued, should also allow her to avoid taking the witness stand because she is no longer a New York resident.

New York Attorney General Letitia James disagreed, submitting a legal brief arguing that the former president's daughter “remains financially and professionally intertwined” with her father’s company and “can be called as a person still under their control.”

During oral arguments Friday, Trump's attorney Christopher Kise denied that proposition.

In his ruling, Engoron noted that Ivanka's attorneys were too late. The time to submit such an affidavit was with his moving papers, not in replying to the attorney general's arguments. That is "black-letter law," the judge noted.

From the existing record, the judge noted: "Ms. Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York."

One of her companies, Ivanka OPO LLC, was a vehicle for her interest in the Old Post Office property, which was sold in May 2022, according to the attorney general's memo.

"Moreover she does not seem to be averse to her involvement in the family business when it comes to owning and collecting proceeds from the OPO sale, the Trump Organization purchasing insurance for her and her companies, managing her household staff and credit card bills, renting her apartment or even paying her legal fees in this action," the AG's memo states.

Mod: More at the link.

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