Ivanka Trump's Emails Reveal Fatal Error She Made

Ivanka Trump was questioned about potentially damaging emails in court on Wednesday because she was using a company email server, a New York attorney has said.

Under normal court rules, any communication from one spouse to another is legally privileged and cannot be used in court.

However, Ivanka Trump wrote to her husband, Jared Kushner, on a Trump Organization email account. A judge ruled on Wednesday that her emails were admissible in the New York fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his two adult sons.

Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump's daughter, leaves New York State Supreme Court after testifying at his civil fraud trial on November 08, 2023 in New York City. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Ivanka Trump's emails to her husband, Jared Kushner, could not be considered private. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The emails show that Ivanka Trump was involved in the purchase of the Old Post Office building in Washington D.C., which would later become the Trump International Hotel. The New York Attorney General's office claims the loan for the Old Post Office was obtained using Donald Trump's highly exaggerated statements of his own net worth.

New York-based attorney Colleen Kerwick told Newsweek that, under New York law, once someone writes to their spouse through a company computer server, a judge has to apply a four-step test to assess if their communication is too personal to be admitted into court.

That four-step test comes from a case involving the former CEO of Marvel Entertainment, who was allegedly writing to his wife on company email.

Against the objections of Donald Trump's lawyer, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Wednesday that Ivanka Trump's emails to Jared Kushner were not private and that lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James could ask her about them.

Newsweek sought email comment on Wednesday from Ivanka Trump's attorney.

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Donald Trump, his two eldest sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and The Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the civil case brought by James, who accuses the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills. Trump, frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, denies wrongdoing.

Ivanka Trump is not a defendant in the case.

Kerwick said that Ivanka Trump "invoked the spousal privilege with respect to her email communications with Jared Kushner. However, the Hon. Judge Engoron held that because emails between the spouses were on a company server that any spousal privilege was waived."

"As such, those communications were allowed into evidence and Ivanka was questioned about them. The issue of emails on a company server waiving privilege was previously before an Appellate Court in Peerenboom v Marvel Entertainment," Kerwick said.

In the Marvel Entertainment case, a four-step test was adopted to determine whether spousal emails on a company server were privileged or not.

The case involved an unsuccessful defamation action against Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, which was taken by his neighbor in Palm Beach, Florida. In that case, the neighbor, Harold Peerenboom, wanted to introduce emails between Perlmutter and his wife that were allegedly routed through a Marvel Entertainment server.

"The cornerstone of the Marvel Entertainment test is whether the emails are confidential or not. If they are not confidential then privilege would be waived," said Kerwick.

"I would hazard a guess that if Judge Engoron had not conducted an examination into the nuances of confidentiality, Team Trump may spin it into one of many building blocks for a mistrial."

Over an objection from Trump's attorneys claiming spousal privilege, Ivanka Trump was questioned by Louis Solomon, a lawyer for the New York attorney general's office, about an email exchange she had with Jared Kushner about potential funding from Capital One for the purchase of the Old Post Office in Washington D.C, which was renovated and opened as the Trump International Hotel in 2016.

Kushner said he could discuss the deal with investment bank Natixis because he thought they'd give the Trump Organisation better terms.

"I don't remember this exchange," Ivanka Trump said of the email. "But it is not uncommon that I would ask my husband's perspective on something I was working on."

On its website, the Trump Organization notes that "In 2012, The Trump Organization was selected by the General Services Administration [GSA] to redevelop the Nation's Old Post Office in one of the most competitive selection processes in the history of the agency."

James' office firmly places Ivanka Trump at the centre of that purchase and claims she used inflated asset evaluation to secure a loan.

"Mr. Trump and Ivanka Trump participated personally in the bidding process in 2011," the attorney general's office wrote in a 220-page complaint against Donald Trump and The Trump Organization in September 2022. "In particular, Ivanka Trump was involved in crafting communications to the GSA in connection with the bid and in responding to deficiency comments raised by the GSA."

Kerwick said that, overall, Ivanka Trump "was well prepared for her testimony as a non-party witness under subpoena. She did not speculate as to any details she could not recollect with certainty."

Last month, Engoron ruled that Donald Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, committed fraud in their property evaluations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud, and conspiracy claims. Engoron himself will rule on the charges, as Trump's legal team did not opt for a jury trial.