The New York attorney general's office said Friday it's postponing the depositions of former President Donald Trump and two of his children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, because of the death of Ivana Trump.
The three were set to answer questions under oath next week in New York Attorney General Letitia James' long-running civil tax fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.
“In light of the passing of Ivana Trump yesterday, we received a request from counsel for Donald Trump and his children to adjourn all three depositions, which we have agreed to," James' office said in a statement. "This is a temporary delay and the depositions will be rescheduled as soon as possible. There is no other information about dates or otherwise to provide at this time.
“We offer our condolences to the Trump family.”
Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump and mother of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, was found dead on the spiral staircase of her New York City home on Thursday. She was 73.
City officials said there was no indication of foul play and that the medical examiner’s office would determine the cause of death.
The former president recalled his first wife as "a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman," while Ivanka Trump said she was "heartbroken" by the sudden loss of her mother. "I will miss her forever," she said in an Instagram post.
Funeral services, which are yet to be formally announced, are expected to take place next week, when the three Trumps were scheduled to be deposed by investigators. The family had repeatedly fought in court to block James' subpoenas, but lost their final legal bid last month.
The civil investigation stems from allegations that Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, inflated financial statements. James’ office has said in court filings that its probe “uncovered substantial evidence establishing numerous misrepresentations in Mr. Trump’s financial statements provided to banks, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service.”
Investigators are expected to to ask Trump about the statements, which James alleges were inflated by hundreds of millions of dollars and signed off on by the former president.
Investigators also want to ask Ivanka Trump, a former executive at the company, and Trump Jr., its executive vice president, about the company’s financial operations. Eric Trump, also an executive at the company, was deposed in the probe in 2020. The attorney general's office has said he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination over 500 times.
The company has denied any wrongdoing, and the former president has called James’ probe a “witch hunt.”
Trump announced Friday that he's postponing a rally in Arizona that was scheduled for Saturday out "of love and respect for Ivana." The rally will now take place on July 22.
