Ivanka Trump began testifying Wednesday in the New York civil fraud trial against her father and brothers, describing her work on major deals that involved loans tied to former President Donald Trump’s net worth and financial statements at the heart of the case.
Lawyers for state Attorney General Letitia James dug into Ms. Trump’s work for the Trump Organization’s hotel in Washington and its Doral golf resort near Miami, plus properties in Chicago.
Among other things, Ms. Trump was the point person in establishing a lending relationship with Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management arm, which eventually extended the organization hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.
She testified that her husband, Jared Kushner, introduced her to a banker as the Trumps sought financing to buy and overhaul the Doral golf resort.
Deutsche Bank required Mr. Trump to have a net worth of $3 billion to qualify for the loan for Doral renovations. Mr. Trump listed his worth at $4 billion in a 2011 statement of financial condition, but Ms. Trump sought a lower net worth as part of the covenant and the lender settled on $2.5 billion, according to ABC News.
At the same time, Ms. Trump said it was hard to recall the particulars of those conversations so many years later.
Ms. Trump is the state’s final witness in the trial for a lawsuit that alleges the former president and his adult sons submitted fraudulent financial statements to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance.
The ex-president and his sons say they followed standard real estate practices and relied on accountants to prepare financial forms, and that statements of their financial condition had disclaimers urging banks to use their personal judgment.
Ms. Trump testified Wednesday in a soft, calm manner, a contrast to her fiery father, who irked the judge in his testimony on Monday.
Ms. Trump did not want to be in this position. She is not a defendant in the lawsuit, and she tried to avoid testifying in the case against her father and brothers.
But Judge Arthur Engoron, who will decide the case instead of a jury, said her business ties to New York made her a legitimate witness for Ms. James to call.
“Ivanka was a senior executive at the organization who secured more favorable loans by using Trump’s fraudulent statements of financial condition,” Ms. James wrote on X. “You cannot cheat for personal gain.”
Ms. Trump left the Trump Organization to work in the White House during her father’s administration. Since then, she has distanced herself from politics and her father’s 2024 campaign.
Mr. Trump said on his social media site that it is unfair to bring his daughter into the New York case.
“My wonderful and beautiful daughter, Ivanka, is going to the Lower Manhattan Courthouse, at the direction of Letitia Peekaboo James, the Corrupt and Racist New York State Attorney General, who has allowed Murder and Violent Crime in New York to flourish, and a Trump Hating, out of control Clubhouse appointed Judge, Arthur Engoron, who viciously ruled against me before the trial even started,” Mr. Trump, the GOP front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination, wrote on Truth Social.
“Sad!” he added.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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