Staff Reports
Ivanka Trump took the witness stand on Wednesday in her father’s fraud trial in New York City, but it seems like her memory was a bit foggy. CNN compiled a list of “highlights” from her testimony, and it mostly consisted of “I don’t remember.” To be fair, Ivanka isn’t on trial with her father because the statute of limitations for any potential accusations against her has expired. In other words, the events in question happened so long ago that it’s understandable if her memory is a bit fuzzy.
One instance during her testimony involved questions about whether she forwarded statements about her father’s financial position to Beal Bank or if she simply “offered” them. Ivanka Trump couldn’t recall. The attorney general’s case alleges that Donald Trump committed fraud by inflating his net worth on those statements to get better loan terms from Deutsche Bank for the purchase and development of the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Florida, as well as other properties.
Ivanka Trump said she had a foggy recollection of her role in negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars in loans at the center of the New York fraud case against her father and his business empire https://t.co/IVWN5FYvQ7 https://t.co/IVWN5FYvQ7
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 8, 2023
According to CNN, an expert witness testified that Trump saved $168 million in interest payments by obtaining these preferred loan terms. At the time, the Doral property was in bankruptcy proceedings.
While Ivanka struggled to recall some details, she did remember being nine months pregnant with her first child when she received a call about the matter. She also remembered aspects of statements she made to the attorney general’s office 18 months ago. When asked about whether a $20.8 million purchase offer was included in her father’s net worth statement, she stated, “As I had told you a year-and-a-half ago, I wasn’t involved in his statement of financial condition, so I can’t say what it took into account or didn’t take into account.”
Ivanka Trump’s testimony also mentioned a meeting in 2011 about the Trump Organization’s attempt to secure a lease on the Old Post Office building from the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. When asked if she recalled discussing financial statements during that meeting, she replied, “No, I don’t recall that.” She explained that the meeting was too high-level for such granular details.
It will be interesting to see how the defense responds to Ivanka Trump’s testimony and what evidence they present in their case. One thing is for sure, CNN’s reporting failed to explain how any of her testimony was indicative of fraud or attempted fraud. It’s highly likely that the defense will focus on the fact that there were no actual victims of the supposed crimes, as the bank loans were all repaid and Deutsche Bank actually wanted to do more business with the Trump Organization.
