As per usual, the “Trumps” – as in the Trump Organization, dad and children as executive officers – are riding the perilous edge of disaster by withholding discovery in New York’s suit for fraud (which could turn criminal against the individuals. The Organization itself has already been convicted. If the Trumps would like to limit convictions to just the company, they might want to be a bit more careful because it looks like they’re hiding documents from the state, no one more so than Ivanka. From Forbes:

The refusal to provide material goes back to the investigation into the Trumps’ business practices that preceded the lawsuit, the letter notes. In May 2022, the former president paid a $110,000 fine after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump in contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena from the attorney general’s office. “For years, Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization have tried to thwart our lawful investigation, but today’s decision makes clear that no one can evade accountability,” Attorney General Letitia James said when a judge ordered Trump ordered to pay the fine last year.

Judges have a lot of “inherent authority” to do whatever is necessary to get the case in front of them going “by the rules,” which – in civil cases, means giving the other side what they ask for if ordered by the judge.

It appears that Ivanka has a lot to hide.

The letter notes a significant decline in emails turned over from Ivanka Trump, dropping from an average of 1,200 emails per month in the first nine months of 2014 to just 37 emails a month in 2016. The attorney general’s office asked Ivanka’s lawyers about the issue and was unimpressed by their response. “Not only have defendants failed to offer any substantive response to this inquiry, but there have been no documents produced by Ms. Trump,” the attorney general’s office told the judge on Friday.

Ivanka Trump recently replaced the attorneys representing her in this lawsuit, although some of them continue to defend Don Jr. and Eric.

So, interesting. It sounds like, though of course, I’m speculating, that the attorney for the entire group was A) Following the rules, and B) Wasn’t looking out for Ivanka in particular. Now she has her own lawyer and, perhaps, he or she is refusing to just hand over evidence that will incriminate her or make liability that much easier.

Stay tuned, the heat is on and not just on Donald (How many damned suits? Cases?), but now it’s really on Ivanka, because “I decided to just do more phone calls” isn’t a sufficient answer.

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jmiciak@yahoo.com, @JasonMiciak, with Nicole Hickman