‘Very friendly’ Ivanka Trump smiles at fraud trial judge after being ‘dragged’ in to testify | US News

Ex-President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump smiled at the judge in her father’s civil fraud trial while leaving the courtroom she was ‘dragged’ into to testify.

The former first daughter flashed a smile at Judge Arthur Engoron as she left the witness stand late afternoon Wednesday, a sharp contrast to the defiant testimonies of her dad and brothers Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump.

Ivanka, a former Trump Organization employee, was previously dismissed as a defendant in the $250million civil fraud trial and is testifying as the final witness for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. James alleges that Trump, his three eldest children and executives of the Trump Organization inflated the value of their assets to obtain more favorable loans.

Since Ivanka is not a defendant, unlike her father and brothers Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump who already testified, Ivanka avoided courtroom photos.

Ivanka wore a blue Carolina Herrera coat and dark suit, white blouse, Jimmy Choo heels, a Chanel bag and wavy hair as she left her Park Avenue apartment in New York City in the morning. She was surrounded by cops as she walked toward New York Supreme Court.

Some protesters chanted ‘crime family’ as she arrived at the courthouse, but dispersed after she entered. She did not make comments to reporters on her way in.

Ivanka entered the courtroom smiling and took the witness stand shortly after 10am.

‘The people call Ivanka Trump’, said the court clerk as she walked up from the defense table.

‘Who’s she?’ joked Judge Arthur Engoron, drawing laughter from the gallery.

Unlike her father who lashed out at the Engoron and James during his testimony on Monday, Ivanka held a calm demeanor and was so soft-spoken that the judge asked her twice to speak louder and closer to the microphone.

Speaking softly and politely, Ivanka repeatedly said ‘I don’t recall’, when asked about emails and letters she wrote while working for her family’s real estate company.

Ivanka distanced herself from knowing about the inflated value of a Manhattan penthouse apartment she leased from her dad.

Prosecutor Louis Solomon from James’ office presented emails in which Ivanka proposed lowering the required net worth for her father in a loan with Deutsche Bank.

Solomon grilled Ivanka on business transactions from more than 10 years ago, prompting Trump lawyer Christopher Kise to ask why Ivanka was ‘dragged’ to court and being questioned.

Solomon argued that Ivanka negotiated Trump Organization deals ‘from top to bottom’.

After a short morning break, Ivanka testified that she did not have a hand in her dad’s financial statements, which are at the center of the fraud case.

‘I would assume he would have personal financial statements for accountants but those were not statements I was privy to,’ she said.

Pressed on if she had ‘any role’ in the statements, Ivanka replied, ‘Not that I’m aware of’.

Ahead of Ivanka’s testimony, Trump called her ‘my wonderful and beautiful daughter’ and slammed James and Engoron as ‘Fraudulent’ and the case as ‘Election Interference’.

‘Now they are trying to bring Ivanka into the case, despite the Court of Appeals ruling that she cannot be charged,’ wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform. ‘Sad!”

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