Ivanka Trump Deposed By Attorneys Accusing Donald Trump's Inauguration Committee Of Misusing Donor Funds

Lawyers accusing Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee of misusing donor funds deposed Ivanka Trump on Tuesday. A new court filing reveals that the presidential daughter, who is also a senior White House adviser, was interviewed on Tuesday by Washington, DC attorneys at the attorney general’s office.

The Washington DC attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit claiming that Donald Trump’s inauguration committee had wasted funds and made more than $1 million in improper payments to Trump’s hotel in Washington DC during the week of his 2017 inauguration.

According to the lawsuit, the inaugural committee had expended over $1 million to book a ballroom at the Trump International Hotel in Washington as part of a scheme to “grossly overpay” for party space and benefit the Trump family business in the process.

Attorney-general Karl Racine of the District of Columbia claimed the committee had misappropriated the committee’s funds to enrich the Trumps. He said the committee even coordinated with the Trump hotel’s management and the Trumps to arrange state events and paid them using funds raised from donors.

“District law requires nonprofits to use their funds for their stated public purpose, not to benefit private individuals or companies,” said Racine. “In this case, we are seeking to recover the nonprofit funds that were improperly funneled directly to the Trump family business,” he added.

Trump’s inauguration committee raised roughly $107 million in 2017 to host a series of events celebrating Trump’s inauguration in January of that year. Since then, the committee’s funds and how they were spent have drawn intense scrutiny from legal experts and other organized groups.

The office ordered records from Ivanka Trump, Melania Trump, and Thomas Barrack, Jr. as part of the suit. Barrack, who chaired Trump’s inaugural committee, was deposed in November.

Meanwhile, a representative of Ivanka Trump defended her, saying she had little involvement in the inauguration committee’s dirty scheme. “Ms. Trump’s only involvement was connecting the parties and instructing the hotel to charge a fair market rate,” said Alan Garten in a statement.