In anticipation of Ivanka Trump being ordered to testify at her father's trial, Forbes dug up an old interview with Trump, Ivanka, and Allen Wisselberg about the Trump Doral deal. Via Forbes:
Later in the conversation, one of the Forbes journalists pointed out that there was a $106 million mortgage against the property, contradicting Ivanka’s earlier claim. “That might be right,” her father conceded, failing to mention the fact that there was a second tranche of $19 million in debt that made the total liabilities against the property $125 million.
“You know what we’re paying in interest on that mortgage?” Donald Trump said. “Two percent.”
Weisselberg chimed in: “Less.”
“1.75%,” Ivanka said.
Her father confirmed: “Yeah, 1.75%.”
In fact, the mortgage rate on the property was 1.75% plus LIBOR, a benchmark that brought the total interest rate to 2.1% in 2015, according to a Trump Organization income statement later obtained by Forbes.
Why twist such small details? Because real estate valuations are composed of a million tiny inputs—square footage, acreage, mortgage balances and so on—that collectively determine what someone like Donald Trump is worth. Ivanka Trump, a devoted daughter, surely knew her father cared to his core about how much money other people thought he had.
All three of his oldest children are expected to testify this week, with Junior slated to take the stand Wednesday, followed by Eric on Thursday and Ivanka on Friday.
It will be interesting. Ivanka Trump, who by all accounts was deeply involved in Trump's real estate practices, will have to choose between the wrath of her father -- or a perjury charge.
