The judge in Donald Trump's trial for fraud decided to call Ivanka Trump to testify in court. The former president's daughter will have to appear in the civil trial against her father, her brothers and the family business. Specifically, it concerns the lawsuit filed by Letitia James against former President Donald Trump and the Trump empire.
Ivanka Trump is not expected to testify before Nov. 1, so her lawyers will have time to appeal.
The decision was made by Judge Arthur Engoron because prosecutors believe that Ivanka Trump, who was vice president of her father's business organization, may have valuable information concerning the case. However, the former president's daughter left her position in the family business in 2017. Additionally, an appeals court dismissed the charges against her in June as they were past the statute of limitations.
“Ms. Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York,” Engoron said in remarks first published by the AP.
Judge Engoron cited documents showing that Ivanka Trump still has ties to some businesses in New York and owns apartments in Manhattan. "The ex-president and his sons are expected to testify at some point. ... In a surprise appearance on the witness stand, Donald Trump ended up briefly testifying Wednesday to answer Engoron's questions about an out-of-court comment," the AP detailed.
