Ivanka Trump‘s four hours of testimony on Wednesday could be summed up in three words: “I don’t recall”.
The former president’s eldest daughter testified as the fourth family member in a civil fraud case filed by the attorney general of New York, who charged Mr. Trump with inflating his net worth in order to secure advantageous bank loans.
The three Trumps who came before her, Donald Jr., Eric, and his father, Mrs. Trump, took a variety of approaches, from blustery to lighthearted to obviously agitated.
On the stand, however, Ms. Trump presented a different image than the others because she is not a co-defendant.
Even as the 42-year-old’s and the attorneys’ tempers started to flare, she maintained a cool, collected demeanor. Always courteous, she grinned broadly at the judge and other court personnel while responding to inquiries in a calm, occasionally monotone voice.
Cal Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said that this was in “sharp contrast” to her father’s experience earlier in the week. “She’s not jousting alongside Judge Engoron or the attorney general’s counsel, refraining from political statements, as well as is respectfully addressing the judge.”
Ms. Trump’s testimony did not seem to recall much about the pertinent issues, despite the fact that her style may have been different from her brothers’.
When asked if Ms. Trump was aware of her father’s financial statements, which are at the center of this case, prosecutor Lou Solomon mainly received “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” responses.
“Did you have any roles in getting ready Donald J Trump’s assertions of financial condition?” Solomon enquired.
“Not anything that I’m aware of,” Ms. Trump retorted.
“Did you ever examine any of Donald J Trump’s statements of financial condition prior to they were finalized?” asked the prosecutor.
“I don’t remember,” she uttered.
Expert on white-collar crime and professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio Eric Chaffee said the tactic is common in business cases where executives can claim they handle a wide range of issues, interact with many people on a daily basis, and sign a variety of documents.
Mr. Chaffee stated, “I believe that the use of this defense is significant.”
He continued, “It probably is a smart thing to do, legally,” given that Ms. Trump’s repeated claims that she can’t remember specific incidents and documents might “end up being truthful,” while also serving to defend the defendants’ interests and preserve Ms. Trump’s reputation.
And time is another factor that supports Ms. Trump’s strategy. She has a perfectly reasonable excuse for not remembering things because many of the cases and records that were mentioned in court were from ten or more years ago.
During an early exchange of questions, she made a joke about not being able to recall a call since it happened over a decade and a half ago, when she was just nine months pregnant with her first child.
The BBC was informed by experts that Ms. Trump’s testimony is unlikely to have a significant overall impact on the trial.
Ty Cobb, an attorney who has since spoken out against Mr. Trump and represented him during his early days in office, told the BBC he believed Ms. Trump would have “zero impact” on the final result.
“Her testimony included not a single fact, so far as I can tell, apart from she received one call whereas she was nine months pregnant,” he stated.
In fact, Mr. Cobb stated, her taking the stand—something she battled arduously to avoid—might work against the prosecution in the eyes of the public.
“I think that’s a little bit of a risky decision by the attorney general, in the way that it plays with the Trump theme of it’s just a political witch hunt,” Mr. Cobb stated.
“Her being forced to testify, considering the absence of any seemingly pertinent testimony, sadly plays into Mr Trump’s fantasies,” said Trump.
The attorney general’s office called Ms. Trump as the last witness. The defense will then have the opportunity to call its own witnesses.
The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, Mr. Trump, and his two sons have already been found guilty of fraud. Everyone has refuted any misconduct.
The penalties the defendants will receive will be determined by this trial.
Attorney General Letitia James of New York, whose office brought the lawsuit, is requesting severe limitations on the Trump business’s operations in New York in addition to fines totaling $250 million (£204 million).