Ivanka Trump has officially separated from her brothers and father in the New York Attorney General’s Fraud Trial into the Trump family.
Last fall, New York Attorney General Letitia James named former President Donald Trump and his three oldest children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump — in a $250 million civil fraud case.
The lawsuit seeks back pay for alleged fraud at the Trump Organization, as well as wants the removal of all four Trumps from their roles in the business and barring them from future leadership positions in the state.
All of the Trump children have hired Clifford Robert and Michael Farina as their legal representatives.
However, Ivanka Trump hired her own legal team in Washington to work with Robert and Farina.
That changed in a recent legal maneuver by Ivanka Trump, who withdrew her family’s legal representation and hired attorney Bennet Moskowitz last week in their stead.
Moskowitz told the court last week that the lawyers who previously represented Ivanka Trump are no longer involved in her defense.
Ivanka Trump’s attempt to distance herself from her family in a legal battle is not unheard of in a case “involving multiple, but related, defendants,” according to Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor, and former state prosecutor.
However, in reporting by Newsweek, McAuliffe revealed that with a high-stakes fraud case, Ivanka Trump likely decided she required legal representation dedicated solely to her legitimate interests.
However, he noted the timing of the switch is unusual. The deposition period of the trial, when both sides can take evidence, is ending, and evidence is “largely identified and developed.”
