The first daughter is complaining of 'harassment' as investigators circle in on her family's alleged illegal behavior.
First daughter Ivanka Trump on Thursday complained about being deposed as part of a lawsuit that alleges the Trump Organization and Donald Trump's inaugural committee misused funds for the inauguration.
The lawsuit, which was brought by the Washington D.C. attorney general, alleges that Presidential Inaugural Committee "grossly" overpaid for space in Trump's Washington, D.C., hotel for event space used for the inauguration — to the tune of $1 million, CNN reported.
In a lengthy tweet, Ivanka Trump complained that she had to spend "5+ hours in a deposition" for what she claimed was "another politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness & waste of taxpayer dollars."
Legal experts, however, said her defense — in which Ivanka claimed she told the hotel to charge the inaugural committee a "fair market rate" — is not actually very good, as the rate it charged the inaugural committee was at least twice the market rate other hotels in the city were charging, according to the lawsuit.
"The crux of the corruption in question is why a hotel owned by the incoming president determined that the 'fair market rate' to stay there during his inauguration was so much higher than comparable hotels in DC," Susan Hennessey, a CNN legal analyst and executive editor of the Lawfare blog, tweeted in response to Ivanka's comment.
Ultimately, it's the second time in as many weeks that Ivanka Trump complained about investigations surrounding her family.
On Nov. 20, she said New York state's investigations into Trump and the Trump Organization are "harassment."
Ivanka Trump herself is caught up in those investigations, as tax records show she was paid money as a consultant even though she was an employee of the Trump Organization — which helped the company get some tax write-offs it didn't deserve to get.
This all comes as Trump allies are urging Trump to pardon himself and his family before he's evicted from the White House on Jan. 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in.
However, the legal peril Trump and his family faces cannot be pardoned, as it's in state court. Presidents can only pardon federal crimes.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
