Ivanka Trump trying to save Jared Kushner from giving evidence—attorney

Ivanka Trump is trying to save her husband Jared Kushner from giving evidence in Donald Trump‘s fraud trial, a federal attorney has said.

Ivanka Trump’s lawyers are attempting to avoid a subpoena in the New York fraud case against her father, while Kushner is embroiled in controversy about his financial activities since leaving the White House.

Federal attorney Colleen Kerwick, who practises in New York, told Newsweek the New York court would eventually rule that Ivanka Trump has been served with the subpoena.

She may then plead her 5th Amendment right to silence rather than discuss allegations that Kushner benefited from the Trump presidency through a $2 billion investment from a Saudi government fund.

Kerwick believes that if Ivanka Trump testifies about what she and her husband gained, it will open the door to Kushner being called to testify about his connections in Saudi Arabia.

Ivanka Trump was originally named as a defendant in New York attorney general Letitia James’ lawsuit, which accuses the former president, some of his children and the Trump Organization of inflating the value of their assets on financial documents to obtain more favorable business deals and thereby increase his net worth.

Donald Trump has denied the accusations, describing them as politically motivated.

An appeals court dismissed Ivanka Trump from the case in June, saying the claims against her were barred by the statute of limitations.

Her lawyers argued in court submissions last week that she is no longer a defendant in the case and should therefore not have to give deposition testimony.

“Ms. Trump is not a party in this action. Nor is Ms. Trump a New York resident. It is black-letter law that, given those two facts, Ms. Trump is beyond the jurisdiction of this court,” the lawyers said.

Donald Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, testified on Tuesday that he understood Ivanka Trump had been involved in valuing some properties, but had not personally witnessed this.

Kerwick said Ivanka Trump’s legal team “is claiming that the New York court lacks personal jurisdiction over her because she was not served properly” and that these “jurisdictional motions are routinely granted” to the person seeking to avoid service.

However, New York state attorneys can then ask the court to rule that she has been served.

“Should the state seek to serve her properly now and should she evade service, the New York court may order that ‘substituted service’ be made on her,” Kerwick said.

“Ivanka claims that the New York State Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction over her as she is not a New York resident. This argument is less likely to be successful as all the state has to show is ‘substantial contacts’ with New York.”

“Ivanka is likely to continue to try to move to quash the subpoena or, at the very least, limit the scope of the subpoena. When that fails, she could answer every question by pleading the 5th Amendment.”

Kerwick said Ivanka Trump may plead her right to silence because “anything she says has the potential to open the door to questioning about her and her husband’s business dealings with the Saudis.”

Kushner has been embroiled in controversy over his private equity fund, which was set up six months after he left his role as a White House adviser, and the $2 billion it received from Saudi Arabia.

In September, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the funding would not be affected by a possible second Trump presidency. In an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News, the crown prince defended the decision of the government-controlled Public Investment Fund (PIF).

“It’s a commitment that the PIF has, and the PIF [has] commitments with any investor around the globe to keep it,” he said.

Newsweek has requested comment from attorneys representing both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.