New York v. Trump on Day 19: Ivanka Trump’s Birthday Reprieve, the Value of Mar-a-Lago and ‘Movie’ Time 

Former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump turned 42 years old on Monday, and for entirely unrelated reasons, received a few days’ reprieve on her birthday in her long-anticipated testimony for her father’s civil fraud trial.

In order to accommodate her schedule, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron agreed to bump her testimony until next Wednesday, Nov. 8, from its previously anticipated date of this coming Friday. Her brothers, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are expected to take the stand on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. 

The trial will now be in recess on Friday, and the former president is expected to take the witness stand on Monday. 

Next Tuesday, Nov. 7, New Yorkers head to polls for municipal elections, an event that will leave the trial adjourned that day. Ivanka Trump is expected to testify during the following day or two, depending on the length of her questioning. 

Other than that brief shakeup to the court’s calendar, here’s what else went down at Trump’s civil fraud trial on Monday.

NYAG’s counsel confronts Trump Org VP on the value of Mar-a-Lago

In late September, The Messenger was the first to report on a seeming inconsistency in Trump’s messaging about the value of Mar-a-Lago. 

Trump has sought to discredit a judge’s order seeking to dissolve his New York business empire by noting that the ruling cited Palm Beach County appraisals of his “Winter White House” Mar-a-Lago ranging from $18 million in 2011 to $21 million in 2021. The former president claims that these valuations are far too low, and the property is likely worth more than $1 billion.

But in 2020, Trump’s tax representative affirmed that his client “agrees” the property is worth $26.6 million, according to records unearthed by The Messenger, shortly before the trial began.

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s counsel Andrew Amer confronted the Trump Organization’s vice president of acquisitions and development Raymond Flores with that document on Monday. 

In a separate document, Amer noted that tax representative Michael Corbiciero also checked off a box listing Mar-a-Lago as a “Commercial” property rather than a residential one. The distinction is important because the attorney general alleges that Trump valued Mar-a-Lago as though it were a residence, despite signing a deed swearing off its use as anything but a private club. The arrangement decreased its value, while providing Trump with tax benefits. 

On Nov. 17, 2021, Corbiciero wrote Flores an email explaining the distinction, bearing the subject line “Mar-a-Lago Homestead Exemption.” 

"Last year, we briefly discussed the possibility of filing for a homestead exemption on the Mar-a-Lago property since President Donald Trump had legally declared Palm Beach and the Mar-a-Lago property as his personal residence," Corbiciero informed Flores some two years ago. 

He added that Trump would have to "meet certain requirements" to qualify, like transferring ownership from his company to himself individually. 

Big picture, New York's attorney general alleges that the Trump Organization submitted fraudulent statements of financial condition to banks and insurers for financial benefits.

The judge credited those allegations in a pre-trial ruling on the top count, and the ongoing trial on the remaining claims of the lawsuit will determine how much Trump may have to pay to disgorge “ill-gotten gains.” Engoron may also decide to bar Trump, two of his sons, and two of his business associates from serving as directors of New York corporations. 

Trial proceedings end on Monday with a 'movie'

As trial proceedings gear up for the Trump family taking the witness stand, testimony for others has become brief and rather technical. 

Two live witnesses wrapped up their testimony on Monday: Flores and David Cerron, the assistant commissioner for business development and special events at the New York City Parks Department. The latter witness’s testimony focused on Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, the 18-hole course in The Bronx that came under scrutiny — and was later sold — after New York City officials tried to terminate its contract in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. 

The attorney general’s questioning of Cerron focused more on the Trump Organization’s representations about the former president’s net worth, rather than his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. In a letter dated Dec. 21, 2011, Trump’s accountants said: “This compiled financial statement showed a net worth in excess of $4,000,000,000, and cash and marketable securities in excess of $250,000,000.”

New York’s attorney general has claimed that Trump actually had a net worth of less than $2 billion in 2011 and 2012.  

The last witness of the day, Zurich North America’s senior underwriter Claudia Mouradian (née Markarian) had her video deposition played in court in lieu of live testimony because she’s nine months pregnant. 

“Let’s watch the movie,” Engoron announced wryly.

It ended on a cliffhanger: The attorney general stopped the tape for the day, after Mouradian was shown a separate deposition by the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg. 

Asked if he recalled telling a Zurich underwriter that valuations in Trump’s statements of financial condition were made by appraisers, Weisselberg responded: “I don’t recall saying that, no.”

Shown that question and answer, Mouradian indicated: “It’s not consistent with what he told me at the meeting.” She says that information would have been "material" to her consideration of whether to underwrite the Trump Organization. Her video deposition continues on Tuesday.