Ivanka takes the stand: What to expect as Trump daughter heads to court for fraud trial

NEW YORK -- She could be the calm after the storm.

Ivanka Trump -- the former president's oldest daughter and close confidante -- is slated to testify Wednesday in a high-stakes New York civil fraud trial. The results of the case could permanently block her father and brothers from doing business in the nation's financial capital and could cost the Trump family empire a whopping $250 million in penalties.

The testimony from Ivanka -- a former top White House advisor -- comes two days after Donald Trump turned State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's Manhattan courtroom into a fiery soapbox for the real estate mogul's claims that he's been unfairly targeted by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Speaking from the witness chair on Monday, the former president called James a "fraud" and a "political hack," and described the case against him as a "witch hunt" and "a disgrace." At one point, he left the courtroom for a break with his legal team after Engoron urged defense lawyers to "control him" or risk Trump being booted early from the stand. Trump even lashed out at the judge in the case: “he called me a fraud, and he didn’t know anything about me!”

Ivanka, who has made poise part of her personal brand, and who marketed herself as a voice of reason in the Trump White House, may provide more measured testimony.

Unlike her father, as well as her brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Ivanka is no longer a defendant in the case. An appeals court ruled in June that too much time had passed since her direct involvement with the Trump Organization.

In September, Engoron rocked the family business by ruling that Trump and other defendants had fraudulently inflated the value of billions of dollars in assets to obtain favorable terms on bank loans. He said parts of the Trump empire would forfeit their New York business certificates – a finding Trump called “the corporate death penalty."

Engoron’s decision only settled a portion of James’ 222-page fraud complaint. The ongoing trial is addressing other allegations, including that Trump, his adult sons, and Trump Organization executives falsified corporate financial statements and committed insurance fraud. The testimony will inform Engoron’s decision about what further punishment, if any, to impose.

James wants Engoron to permanently ban Donald, Don Jr., and Eric Trump from running a New York corporation, and to force the three men as well as other defendants to forfeit an estimated $250 million in allegedly ill-gotten financial benefits.

Engoron ruled that Ivanka must testify.

Related: 'Fantasy world': Donald Trump faces New York trial Monday for damages after judge finds fraud in real estate empire

Ivanka familiarity with documents 'extensive,' state says

Like her father and brothers, Ivanka Trump will likely be questioned over her father's financial statements, which the judge has already ruled were fraudulently inflated. New York officials are now trying to prove that the numbers were intentionally exaggerated.

James' office has has alleged that Ivanka Trump had "extensive familiarity" with the statements, to the extent that she made financial presentations to the U.S. General Services Administration in 2011 and used the Trump Organization's statements to obtain loans from Deutsche Bank in 2012 and 2013.

"Ms. Trump maintained responsibility for those loans, which required annual submission of the Statements and confirmation that there had been no material changes in Mr. Trump’s net worth," the attorney general's office charged.

Because Ivanka Trump is no longer a defendant, James' prosecutors may focus their questioning on what she can say about how plugged-in her father and others were to the true value of Donald Trump's assets.

Distancing herself?

It's not the first time the former fashion entrepreneur has been embroiled in her father's legal troubles. Ivanka testified before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In that investigation, Ivanka rejected her father's election fraud claims, saying she accepted a statement by then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr that the Justice Department hadn't uncovered sufficient evidence of fraud to overturn the 2020 election. When Donald Trump announced his 2024 reelection campaign, Ivanka Trump begged off, posting on social media that she "will always love and support" her father, but was “choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family."

Whether Ivanka also distances herself from the former president's fight for his business empire or defends his alleged fraud remains to be seen.

Testimony is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ivanka Trump testified in real estate fraud trial: What to expect