NEW YORK – The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial ordered his daughter Ivanka on Friday to testify in the case.
Ms Trump, 41, was initially named in the lawsuit against Trump and his two eldest sons brought by New York’s Attorney-General but was eventually dropped as a defendant.
The former US president and his sons Donald Jr and Eric are accused of inflating the value of the real estate of the Trump Organisation for years to obtain more favourable bank loans and insurance terms.
Judge Arthur Engoron dismissed an attempt by Trump’s attorneys to quash a subpoena issued to Ms Trump by Attorney-General Letitia James but gave her until Nov 1 to appeal against the decision.
Ms Trump served as a senior adviser to her father, the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, while he was in the White House but has kept a low profile since he left office.
She abandoned her roles in the Trump Organisation in January 2017, when her father became president and she and her husband, Jared Kushner, both took up posts in his administration.
Prior to that, Ms Trump was an executive vice-president in the Trump Organisation and was notably in close contact with one of the group’s biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank, according to the Attorney-General’s Office.
The 77-year-old Trump and his sons are also expected to testify at some point during the trial held in Manhattan.
He does not risk going to jail, but Ms James is seeking US$250 million (S$342 million) in penalties and the removal of Trump and his sons from management of the family real estate empire.
Trump has repeatedly denounced the trial as a Democratic witch hunt intended to derail his 2024 White House bid. AFP
