Ivanka Trump likely cooperated with the government in her father's NY fraud case: legal expert

A prominent attorney says Ivanka Trump's inclusion on a list of potential prosecution witnesses in her father's New York fraud case would "usually indicate some form of cooperation," Newsweek reported.

Ivanka was listed as a witness in documents submitted to the Superior Court of New York County by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday. Donald Trump, his adult sons, and 28 others could also be put on the stand and are listed as defendants in the case.

They are accused of conspiring to inflate Trump's wealth by up to $2.2 billion in order to gain favorable business transactions. A partial summary judgment handed down this week has already found that Trump fraudulently manipulated the value of his assets – which narrows what will be heard at the trial, scheduled to start Monday.

Michigan-based attorney Jamie White tells Newsweek that it's likely Ivanka cooperated at some level.

"Letitia James is potentially hoping for the best, and perhaps Ivanka might be cooperating to some level," said White. "I don't think it's a frivolous subpoena. But we can't rule out that Trump may have told his daughter, do what you've got to do."

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"This is a unique turn of events, and as a general matter, we know experienced prosecutors do not bring people to be witnesses only for the purposes of having them take the fifth. The fact that she was originally a defendant and is now being called as a witness — that usually indicates some form of cooperation."

"Maybe Trump has grown a soul, and has given his daughter the green light to tell the truth as she interprets it," said White. "We've seen no indication of that kind of empathy from him previously, but it's possible that's part of the spectrum.

"The idea that they're just calling her randomly, it would be unusual and a waste of prosecutors' resources if she takes the fifth. That's because there's no jury to impress, no media to impress — they simply have to establish damages at this point in the proceedings. That's the only real question, and she may have that information."

Read more at Newsweek.