If former first daughter Ivanka Trump is made to take the stand at former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial, and if she testifies in a way that injures her father, his lawyers will put her in a world of hurt.
That's the view of Trump biographer David Cay Johnston, who broke down the upcoming proceedings on Thursday's edition of CNN's "OutFront."
"The context here, of course, in the New York fraud trial is that he's got days until that happens now, right?" said anchor Erin Burnett. "So they failed in their effort to get that delayed. Now you've got this trial that could jeopardize everything that defines Trump and gives him purpose in life, right, his money. All of it is at stake. And his attorneys have released a list of 127 potential witnesses for the trial. Trump's attorneys have. That includes his own sons ... and so the state also wants to hear from them. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump as witnesses."
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"Also Ivanka Trump, and I do want to note she was initially a defendant," said Johnston. "A lot of people asked why wasn't she charged. Apparently a New York appeals court said the claims brought against her were outside the statute of limitations. It's a technicality, as opposed to some sort of substantiative thing. How do you think Donald Trump will react to Ivanka Trump testifying here?"
"I would expect Donald and his sons and likely Ivanka called to take the Fifth Amendment," Johnston continued. "If, however, Ivanka testifies in any way that's damaging to her father or her brothers' interests, then Donald's lawyers are going to rip her to shreds and do everything they can to go after her."
"This creates quite a challenge inside the family, but of course Ivanka has largely removed herself from the family," added Johnston. "You haven't seen her with her father. She's made a few perfunctory statements on his behalf. That's about it."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
David Cay Johnston says Ivanka Trump could be ripped to "shreds" on the standwww.youtube.com
