Ivanka Trump was questioned Monday during her blockbuster testimony in the New York fraud trial about husband Jared Kushner helping her obtain loans for the Trump Organization.
The former first daughter took the stand again on Wednesday after Judge Arthur Engoron rejected a bid by Trump’s lawyers to block an email chain between the married couple.
The 42-year-old is the latest witness before New York in the case that could sink her family’s business empire in the Big Apple.
Attorney Chris Kise had argued that the emails were protected by marital privilege, and that “the witness cannot be compelled to speak about the communications with her husband.”
But Engoron sided with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office after they claimed the emails came from work emails.
In the emails, Ivanka appeared to share details about Trump Organization loans with her businessman husband. In return, he told her how to get better deals.
Ivanka Trump was questioned about how often he spoke to husband Jared Kushner about her work for the Trump Organization during her testimony in the fraud trial in New York on Monday
“My husband was also in the real estate industry,” she said from the witness stand, “every now and then we would discuss what we were doing.
Kushner interfered with Trump’s family projects, prosecutors’ emails show.
A message he sent in June 2013 about financing the old post office in Washington DC said: “You can get better prices.”
He also agreed to show the terms of the deal to investment bank Natixis because he thought the Trump Organization would give them better terms.
“It wasn’t unusual for me to ask my husband for his opinion on something I was working on,” Ivanka said in defense of the emails.
In the first half of her testimony, Ivanka insisted she didn’t “remember” asking bank executives to reduce the $3 billion net worth her father needed to get the money, while being peppered with questions about her role when obtaining loans.
She said she has not worked for her father’s business empire since 2017, when she entered the White House as one of her father’s advisers and distanced herself from the financial statements at the heart of the case.
There was a brief clash with the judge when he asked her to be more direct with her answers while she was being questioned about the favorable rates the Trump Organization received on loans between 2011 and 2017.
In the emails, Ivanka appeared to share details about Trump Organization loans with her businessman husband. In return, he told her how to get better deals
The 42-year-old said she has not worked for her father’s business empire since 2017 and detailed her involvement in a $150 million golf course in Miami in a calm and collected appearance on the stand in the New York fraud trial on Wednesday.
She was quiet and polite during her testimony after the judge made a joke as she was sworn in, in stark contrast to her father’s combative demeanor in the same court Monday
State’s Attorney Louis Solomon showed her emails and documents that tied her to multiple projects she worked on while she was an executive at the Trump Organization.
One of these was a 2011 email in which she asked Deutsche Bank executive Rosemary Vrablic to lower the net worth her father needed to get a loan for Trump Doral, a golf complex in Miami that she bought for $150. million had bought.
Trump’s 2011 financial statement stated his net worth was over $4 billion, but Ivanka suggested $2 billion, and they ended up with $2.5 billion.
“You are the best Rosemary,” Ivanka wrote in response.
She also bragged about the terms of the deal to former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg and other executives, saying, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Ivanka denied any knowledge of her father’s personal financial statements at the heart of the case, insisting her work focused on the Trump Organization.
When confronted with one of the documents related to the old post office in Washington DC, she told Solomon, “You bring back a lot of memories.”
In the first part of her testimony, Donald Trump’s lawyers repeatedly objected to questions posed to Ivanka by the New York district attorney as she gave calm and collected answers in the case that could sink the business empire in the Big Apple .
Trump attorney Christopher Kise said some of the evidence presented was too broad, claiming the judge gave “tremendous leeway” when the former first daughter was asked about obtaining loans for the family business accused of widespread fraud.
State’s Attorney Louis Solomon showed her emails and documents tying her to multiple projects she worked on while she was an executive at the Trump Organization
Ivanka arrives at court for testimony in the $250 million lawsuit against her father and brothers that could sink their business empire
The former first daughter smiled as she walked out of her Park Avenue apartment, anticipating her impressive testimony that could make or break the fraud case
She gave careful answers during testimony that could make or break Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accusing her real estate mogul father and brothers of deliberately inflating values.
At least a dozen times she said “I don’t remember” and claimed she could not remember details of deals with bankers dating back to 2011.
She started her big day in court smiling as she left her Park Avenue apartment in a blue Carolina Herrera coat, Jimmy Choo heels and a Chanel bag.
Surrounded by officers and photographers, she then entered the packed courtroom in a dark suit and white shirt to be sworn in as a witness.