Ivanka Trump says she remembers a number of things about a 2011 meeting to pitch her family company's plan to redevelop a historic post office into a Washington, D.C., hotel. She recalls a discussion of the overall vision and the company's experience, her father talking up his renovation of New York's famous Plaza Hotel.
But, she told a court Wednesday, November 8, she doesn't remember any mention of his annual financial statements – the documents central to the civil fraud trial that could reshape former President Donald Trump’s family business.
"I don’t recall, with specificity, any discussion over financial statements," testified his elder daughter, who has been in his inner circle in both business and politics. When pressed on how she could remember talk of the Plaza but not of the financial documents – despite documents showing they'd spurred questions before the meeting from officials overseeing the post office bidding – she explained that "the intention of the meeting was to talk about our vision for the project, so that’s what I recall."
With even-tempered testimony that provided a counterpoint to her father’s caustic turn on the stand days earlier, Ivanka Trump rounded out a major stretch in the trial that could reshape the family business. Her brothers Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. testified last week, and her father on Monday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit alleges that Donald Trump’s asset values were fraudulently pumped up for years on annual "statements of financial condition" that helped him get loans and insurance.
The non-jury trial will decide allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records – but Judge Arthur Engoron already has resolved the lawsuit’s top claim by ruling that Trump engaged in fraud. That decision came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of oversight of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him continued control of his holdings for now.
James, a Democrat, is seeking over $300 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.
The ex-president and Republican 2024 front-runner denies any wrongdoing, as do the other defendants. He insisted in court Monday that his financial statements actually greatly underestimated his net worth, that any discrepancies were minor, that a disclaimer absolved him of liability and that "this case is a disgrace."