Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner do not spend much time in New York these days, after becoming persona non grata in the city they once called home on account of their decision to work for one of the worst presidents in US history, i.e., her dad. And now, the former first daughter can add New York attorney general Letitia James to the list of people she’s seemingly pissed off up north, if a letter singling out the first daughter for being particularly evasive regarding James’s fraud lawsuit against the Trumps and their company is any indication!
In a letter submitted in court last week, the AG’s office blasted the family and the Trump Organization for failing to turn over emails and other documents as part of the discovery phase of the fraud lawsuit. The letter notes that in September of 2022 James’s team told Ivanka’s lawyers that there was a “significant drop in the number of emails produced for Ms. Trump starting in or around October 2014”—according to prosecutors, the volume of her emails dropped from an average of 1,218 a month in the first nine months of 2014 to just 37 in 2016. The AG said in the letter sent April 25 that “not only have Defendants failed to offer any substantive response to this inquiry, but there have been no documents produced by Ms. Trump.” James’s office called the Ivanka problem a “significant” issue.
In response, Alina Habba, an attorney representing Donald Trump, told Judge Arthur Engoron: “Simply put, there has been no lack of diligence and no ‘stonewalling.’” Another Trump attorney, Christopher Kise, told Forbes, “There is simply no real controversy here.” Ivanka Trump does not appear to have commented on the matter.
Engoron has told the Trumps they must submit affidavits explaining how they have complied with discovery requests thus far, and set a May 12 deadline turn over all documents.
James’s office is seeking $250 million in damages and to permanently ban the ex-president, Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump from ever running a business in New York again, among other penalties. The family and the Trump Organization have denied all wrongdoing.
Bess Levin
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