Donald Trump has fumed about his “beautiful daughter” Ivanka Trump being forced to give testimony at his civil fraud trial, as the former first daughter heads to New York for her day in court.
Taking to Truth Social on Tuesday night, Mr Trump once again lashed out at “corrupt” New York Attorney General Letitia James and “Trump hating” Judge Arthur Engoron as he said that calling his daughter to the stand is “sad”.
“Tomorrow 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, wouldn’t even consider a Jury, and said that Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, is worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount,” he said.
“Other properties likewise. Based on this information, which is so ridiculous, he said that I was a Fraud, when in fact it is Letitia James and the Judge who are Fraudulent for setting such LOW VALUATIONS in order to undermine and discredit my Financial Statements, thereby making me look bad - Election Interference!
“Now they are trying to bring Ivanka into the case, despite the Court of Appeals ruling that she cannot be charged. Sad!”
Ivanka is slated to appear for testimony in court on Wednesday – hours before the third Republican primary debate and days after her last-ditch bid to avoid testimony was rejected by the judge.
Ivanka succeeded in having herself removed as a defendant in the $250m civil fraud case earlier this year but is still required to give testimony under oath after the AG’s office said she played a key role in some of the issues at play in the case due to her time working for the Trump Organization.
Ivanka Trump is slated to testify in the trial today— (AFP via Getty Images)
Last week, Ivanka – who worked as a senior adviser to her father in the Trump White House – sought to avoid testifying by claiming that she would suffer “undue hardship” if she were forced to testify “in the middle of a school week”.
The request was rejected by the judge, paving the way for her to be the last person to testify in the state’s case. Mr Trump’s team will then begin its defence.
Her testimony comes after her brothers Eric and Don Jr testified last week and their father took the stand on Monday.
New York AG James filed a civil lawsuit back in September 2022 accusing Mr Trump, his adult sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives of widespread business fraud including overinflating the company’s value for years.
Mr Trump has already been found liable for fraud – in a bombshell ruling from the judge just days before the case was headed to trial.
Judge Engoron ruled that Mr Trump, his adult sons, businesses and some of their executives “grossly and materially inflated” the value of the Trump Organization’s assets for more than a decade.
By deceiving banks, insurers and others by exaggerating the value of assets, the company was able to secure more favourable business deals and loans, the judge found.
Now, the judge will determine what penalties Mr Trump should face.
Former President Donald Trump speaks outside the courtroom after testifying on Monday— (AP)
AG James is seeking $250m in penalties from Mr Trump and for him to be banned from doing business in New York – something that would be a major blow to his business empire and see his namesake buildings like Trump Tower shutter.
During his testimony, Mr Trump repeatedly lashed out at AG James and the judge himself.
After repeated warnings to answer the questions rather than launch into monologues hitting out at the case, the judge warned the former president’s legal team to “control your client”.
“I do not want to hear everything this witness has to say. He has a lot to say that has nothing to do with the case or the questions,” he said at one point, warning Mr Trump to stop using the courtroom as a “political rally”.
Amid his claims that he had been targeted for “political reasons”, Mr Trump told the court that he believes Mar-a-Lago is worth between $1bn and $5bn – grossly higher than the $350m estimate by Forbes.
He also downplayed the fraudulent financial statements which inflated his business assets – statements at the heart of the case – as “worthless” while also downplaying his involvement in them.
