New York Attorney General Letitia James initially listed Ivanka Trump as a defendant in her lawsuit.
It accuses former President Donald Trump, his children and the Trump Organization of falsifying financial records to misrepresent the value of their assets in order to obtain better business terms and increase the former president’s wealth.
Ivanka Trump’s Fifth Plea Could Backfire, Ex-Lawyer Says
The leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Trump, has denied any wrongdoing and said the lawsuit was politically motivated.
Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade has warned that Ivanka Trump could cause serious legal problems for her family if she invokes the Fifth Amendment during her father Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York.
A legal expert told Newsweek that even if Ivanka ignores a subpoena to testify, she may soon have to appear in court.
McQuade said a defendant in a civil case would not be protected by the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination in an interview with Charles Coleman Jr. on MSNBC on Sunday.
In June, an appeals court ruled that the statute of limitations had time-barred the claims against her, and the court dismissed Ivanka from the case.
Ivanka’s lawyers argued in court last week that because she is no longer a defendant in the case, she should not be required to provide a deposition.
Although a witness in a civil action can invoke the Fifth Amendment to protect himself from a criminal charge, McQuade noted that the judge in the civil case has the right to negatively infer from the witness’s silence in making a decision.
McQuade said, “Anything they say under oath could be used against them in a later criminal case.” »
She added: “If they believe they are exposed, they can invoke it. [the Fifth Amendment]. But what is different between a civil case and a criminal case is that in this case, Judge Arthur Engoron could use this invocation to draw an adverse inference against the witness. So if they refused to answer a question, he can assume the worst about what the answer would have been. »
Ivanka Trump is trying to avoid being subpoenaed in the New York fraud case, while her husband, Jared Kushner, is facing controversy over his financial gains from the Trump presidency.
Despite efforts to prevent it, the New York court will ultimately rule that Ivanka Trump was subpoenaed, according to federal attorney Colleen Kerwick, who practices in New York, spoke to Newsweek.
Then, instead of revealing how Kushner allegedly benefited from Donald Trump’s administration through a $2 billion investment from a Saudi government fund, Ivanka Trump can assert her Fifth Amendment right to silence.
According to Kerwick, “Ivanka will likely continue to attempt to quash the subpoena or, at the very least, limit its scope. If that fails, she could answer all questions by invoking the Fifth Amendment. »
He further added that Ivanka Trump could plead the Fifth “because anything she says could open the door to questions about her and her business dealings with the Saudis.”
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