A New York appeals court denied Ivanka Trump's request that she not testify next week in the civil fraud trial involving her father, former President Donald Trump and The Trump Organization.
The New York Appellate Division, First Department late Thursday rejected a motion to stay Ivanka Trump's testimony as a full appeal proceeds, CNBC reported.
Ivanka Trump's legal team has argued that compelling her to testify at the ongoing civil trial would be outside of Attorney General Letitia James' jurisdiction. But Judge Arthur Engoron, who's overseeing the trial, rejected those arguments.
Ivanka Trump, the former president's oldest daughter, wanted to avoid testifying while her appeal of Engoron's decision proceeds. She had argued she would face undue hardship testifying "in the middle of a school week."
"Application for interim stay pending decision on the motion is denied," the brief ruling read.
While her full appeal remains unresolved, she's scheduled to testify on Wednesday.
Ivanka Trump's brothers Donald Jr. and Eric testified Thursday. They both said that they had no involvement with documents that a judge has ruled were fraudulently manipulated to inflate the value of their father's business.
Donald Trump is scheduled to testify in the case Monday.
"OUR COUNTRY IS UNDER THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THREAT EVER, AND YET ALL THE DOJ & FBI WANT TO DO IS GO AFTER DONALD TRUMP AND HIS FAMILY. SAD!!!" Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Friday.
James has accused Donald Trump, his two adult sons and various Trump business entities of fraudulently manipulating the values of their most famed properties for tax and loan benefits.
Ivanka Trump originally was named as a defendant until she succeeded in dismissing the claims against her on appeal under the statute of limitations because she left the Trump Organization to work with her father in the White House in 2017, The Messenger reported Wednesday.
Thursday's ruling came shortly after Ivanka Trump's attorney, Bennet Moskowitz, argued for a temporary stay pending their challenge of Engoron's order rejecting her request to avoid the witness stand.
Moskowitz said Engoron does not have jurisdiction to compel Ivanka Trump to testify because she's no longer a New York resident and no longer does business with The Trump Organization. He also argued the subpoena to testify was not properly issued to her and that it was "overly broad and sought irrelevant information."
James also dismissed the notion that a mandatory court appearance would subject Ivanka to undue hardship.
"Ms. Trump's mere need to attend trial for a single day to testify truthfully is not itself a serious harm that warrants emergency relief," the attorney general wrote, CNBC reported.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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