Ivanka Trump must testify in her father's civil fraud case, judge rules

Ivanka Trump will have to testify in the civil fraud case against her father, Donald Trump, her brothers and their family business, a judge has ruled.

Friday's ruling comes weeks into the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit against the former US president, his sons Donald Jr and Eric, and the Trump organisation.

Ms James' lawsuit accuses Donald Trump of exaggerating his personal wealth for years on financial statements that were given to banks and insurers to help secure loans and business deals.

All of the defendants deny the allegations, and Mr Trump has called the trial a politically motivated "sham".

Lawyers for Ms Trump had argued that she should not be called to testify as she had been dismissed as a defendant for the case, no longer lives in New York, and had left her position in the family company six years ago.

But Judge Arthur Engoron sided with representatives for the state of New York, who said Ms Trump, as a former executive vice president to the Trump organisation, is privy to relevant information.

Judge Engoron also explained his decision by citing documents showing that Ms Trump continued to have ties to some businesses in New York and still owns apartments in Manhattan.

He added that she would not testify before Wednesday November 1 to allow her lawyers the opportunity to appeal.

Ms Trump announced ahead of her father's presidential inauguration in 2017 that she was stepping away from the Trump organisation.

She went on to become an unpaid senior adviser in the Trump White House and, after her father's term ended, she moved to Florida.

Earlier in October, Donald Trump was fined $5,000 (£4,100) for failing to remove a disparaging post on his campaign website about a court clerk involved in his civil fraud trial.

He had previously been told to delete it weeks beforehand but failed to, with his lawyers blaming the "very large machine" of his campaign to return to the White House as opposed to the 77-year-old himself.

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