Former First Daughter Ivanka Trump couldn’t convince an appeals court that testifying at former President Donald Trump’s fraud trial would be an “undue hardship.”
Judge Arthur Engoron — who is presiding over the trial in the fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James — recently ruled that former First Daughter Ivanka Trump must testify in person. Ivanka’s big day was originally set for this week, but was moved to next Wednesday, while former co-First Sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. took the stand this week.
Ivanka tried to get out of testifying by filing a motion for a stay to the New York Court of Appeals Thursday, arguing through an attorney that “Ms. Trump, who resides in Florida with her three minor children, will suffer undue hardship if a stay is denied and she is required to testify at trial in New York in the middle of a school week, in a case she has already been dismissed from, before her appeal is heard.”
AG James countered in a filing (from CNBC):
“Ms. Trump’s arguments are based on the false premise that witnesses with relevant, firsthand knowledge may be called to testify only if they are ‘a primary actor’ in the case,” James told the appeals court.
Ivanka Trump “has firsthand knowledge of issues that are central to the ongoing trial,” James wrote. “And staying her testimony may well serve to delay the fair and orderly resolution of a trial that has now been proceeding for over almost a month, in which OAG is nearing completion of its case in chief.”
James added: “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.”
On Thursday night, the motion for a stay was denied. The underlying appeal is still active.
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