Ivanka Trump Drops Appeal in Civil Fraud Trial, Required to Testify Next Week

Ivanka Trump has withdrawn her appeal following a judge's order to testify at her father's civil fraud trial next week. Her request to pause her testimony was rejected by an appellate court. Ivanka is expected to be in court on Wednesday.

Ivanka Trump's testimony follows her recent removal as a co-defendant in the New York case involving former President Donald Trump, two of his adult sons, and their company. Despite several efforts by her legal team to postpone her testimony, these requests have been rejected. A recent decision by an appeals court denied Ivanka Trump's request to delay her testimony until her lawyers could present arguments stating that her appearance was unnecessary. Additionally, she had also sought to halt the entire fraud trial.

The eldest daughter of the former president had asserted that she would face "excessive difficulty" if required to testify during the school week due to residing in Florida with three underage children. Additionally, her legal team contended that the New York civil court lacks the authority to compel her testimony as she is no longer a defendant in the litigation and does not reside in New York state. These arguments were previously dismissed by Judge Arthur Engoron of New York. However, on Friday, her attorneys abandoned the appeal, stating that it is now irrelevant as she is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before presenting her legal arguments.

Ivanka Trump's brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, made a court appearance this week. They played active roles in managing the Trump Organization during their father's presidency. The trial, which started in October, followed a ruling by Engoron in September, holding Trump and his co-defendants responsible for consistent and repetitive fraudulent conduct. The former president is scheduled to give his testimony on Monday.

Ivanka Trump was dismissed as a co-defendant in June by a New York appeals court. The court determined that the claims against her were too old since she was not involved in the August 2021 agreement between New York Attorney General Letitia James' office and the Trump Organization to extend the statute of limitations. This report includes contributions from CNN's Jeremy Herb, Laura Ly, and Lauren del Valle.