On Thursday night, October 19, in New York City, Ivanka Trump, daughter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, asked the court to throw out the subpoena issued to her by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Ivanka has been making efforts to steer clear of testifying in an ongoing civil fraud trial involving her father and the Trump Organization.
The charges against them come from Attorney General James, accusing them of falsely enhancing the worth of their assets on financial records for improved business dealings.
Originally, Ivanka was a defendant in this case. However, her status was dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Attorney General James’ office has issued subpoenas to her and several connected corporate bodies to testify in the trial.
At the center of this trial are allegations of inflated property valuations. According to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Trump would assign arbitrary figures to his holdings, numbers much greater than the actual valuations. These allegations have been further bolstered by other testimonies suggesting manipulations of financial statements to meet Trump’s desired numbers.
A particular property has been under close scrutiny: the Trump Park Avenue penthouse in Manhattan. Former Trump accountant, Donald Bender, in his testimony, highlighted an evident discrepancy. While the Trump Organization valued this penthouse at a whopping $20.8 million, Ivanka Trump was given an option to purchase it for a mere $8.5 million. This large valuation gap is just one example of the alleged fraudulent activities under investigation.
These inflated values are not limited to the penthouse alone. Other properties like Mar-a-Lago in Florida and 40 Wall Street in Manhattan were also allegedly overvalued. A recent civil fraud ruling against Donald Trump emphasized the manipulation of property values between 2014 and 2021.
This entire episode has severe implications for the former president’s legacy. Donald Trump’s real estate empire, which he has frequently boasted about, could face significant damage if the allegations hold true in court. The repercussions could not only tarnish his business reputation but also lead to hefty financial penalties.