Ivanka Trump's testimony in her father's civil fraud trial was "damning" and could threaten his "house of cards," Mary Trump said.
In a post on her Substack blog, The Good in Us, Donald Trump's estranged niece analyzed the former president's daughter's testimony.
Ivanka Trump was initially a defendant, but she is now a witness in a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2022, alleging that Donald Trump and top executives at The Trump Organization conspired to increase his net worth by billions of dollars on financial statements provided to banks and insurers to make deals and secure loans. He has denied all wrongdoing.
In September, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a partial summary in the trial, stating that they had committed fraud and ruling that Donald Trump grossly inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. The rest of the trial will determine how much in damages the Republican will pay, as well as rule on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims.
During her testimony, Ivanka Trump, who was an executive vice president of her father's company until she joined him in the White House as an adviser in 2017, alleged her father took money from her and her siblings to inflate the appearance of his net worth so he would qualify for loans with Deutsche Bank in 2011.
In emails shown to her in court, she acknowledged that as part of the lending agreement that her father made with Deutsche Bank, he had to sign a personal guarantee that he could cover all the principal and interest on the loan and that he could attain a net worth of at least $3 billion in exchange for very low interest rates. Ivanka Trump denied her family misled the bank and repeatedly told the court "I don't recall" when asked about the emails.
"They pledged assets of their own that helped them satisfy the guarantee, which, according to Deutsche Bank, was his and his alone," MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin said, reacting to her testimony. "He was borrowing money from his kids' piggy banks, and I'm not sure the impact of that struck everyone in the courtroom. My jaw almost dropped. I almost dropped my phone on the floor. I was just astonished by the proof that Donald Trump was robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to speak."
Mary Trump, a critic of her uncle, wrote: "It seriously threatens the house of cards Donald has built."
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, she added that the testimony was "damning."
🚨 DAMNING: Ivanka revealed under oath that Donald took money from his own kids. Why?
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) November 29, 2023
So he could falsely inflate his net worth to get a bank loan.
The admission was buried in her testimony, so the media largely missed it.
Worse for Donald is how Ivanka and Jared paid for… pic.twitter.com/9Ms7PSCuvq
Ivanka Trump was removed as a defendant from the case earlier this year because her involvement in the alleged financial fraud fell outside the statute of limitations.
The former president has moved to have the case dismissed for the fourth time, but Judge Engoron rejected the motion.
Newsweek has contacted representatives for Ivanka Trump by email to comment on this story.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
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