This post has been updated since it was originally published on 05/07/2023.
A New York appeals court dismissed Ivanka Trump on Tuesday from the civil fraud lawsuit brought against father Donald Trump and his company in 2022 by the state attorney general.
In May, the New York Attorney General’s office alleged that the Trump family was withholding emails during the case’s discovery phase—and one of the most “significant issues” was an “unexplained drop-off in emails for Ivanka Trump.” However, as the claims against Ivanka have now been dismissed, it’s uncertain which direction the case will go in next.
Ivanka Trump Dismissed From Trump Fraud Lawsuit
The lawsuit against former president Donald Trump alleges that the entrepreneur mislead banks, insurance companies, and other institutions by overstating his net worth (by billions of dollars) and the value of his assets. Trump's three eldest children, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric, were listed by New York Attorney General Letitia James as co-defendants in the suit, along with members of the Trump Organization.
The Appellate Division of New York's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to dismiss the claims against Ivanka Trump due to the fact that they were barred by the state's statute of limitations—according to the court, Ivanka had ceased involvement in the Trump Organization after the period following February 2016, which is the main focus of the trial.
James' office has stated they still plan to continue to pursue the case against the other defendants.
Email Discrepencies Subject Of NY AG's Court Complaint
Along with Donald Trump, sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization, Ivanka was initially singled out for apparent stonewalling due to the fact that her volume of emails dropped from 1,200 per month in 2014 to 37 in 2016. "Not only have defendants failed to offer any substantive response to this inquiry, but there have been no documents produced by Ms. Trump," noted the NY Attorney General's office in the April 25th letter.
The suit alleges that the family participated in a fraud scheme by "falsely [inflating Trump's net worth] by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich [Trump] and to cheat the system," according to New York Attorney General Leticia James' press statement.
Ivanka Requested To Separate Her Case From Father's And Brothers'
According to The Independent, Ivanka's attorneys alleged in court documents that the fraud complaint filed by the New York Attorney General's office did "not contain a single allegation that Ms. Trump directly or indirectly created, prepared, reviewed, or certified any of her father’s financial statements." Her lawyers added, "Other individuals were responsible for those tasks."
Some have noted that this statement seemed to awkwardly imply that her father and brothers did indeed commit fraud at the Trump Organization, and even felt that it represented Ivanka "throwing her father and siblings under the bus."
Ivanka's legal representatives also asked for her case to be separated from her family's. The AG's office, however, claimed that all three Trump children "knowingly participated" in the scheme, along with Donald—but, it seems, Ivanka ended up evading blame in the suit after all. It remains to be seen whether brothers Don Jr. and Eric will remain as defendants in the case, or also be dismissed by the court.
