With her time as White House adviser coming to a close by January, Ivanka Trump along with other members of the Trump administration have now come under heavy scrutiny. Following Ivanka’s public comments about undergoing a recent deposition, the attorney general for Washington DC has spoken up.
In an interview on MSNBC, Washington DC attorney general Karl Racine said that Ivanka’s public comments about the recent deposition were very “misleading” and that he did not agree with her side of the story. Ivanka made the comments on social media, blasting the deposition that was part of an investigation into the alleged misuse of inauguration funds back in 2017. The White House adviser described the deposition as “politically-motivated” and a waste of taxpayer money.
“With all due respect to Ivanka Trump, what she put out today was highly misleading and at best, part of the story,” said Racine.
Racine filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization and the Presidential Inauguration Committee back in January. The lawsuit alleged that both groups misused $1 million in funds to supposedly overpay for the space rented at the DC Trump hotel during the inauguration in 2017. According to Ivanka, she shared a screenshot of an email sent back in December 2016, indicating that she instructed the hotel’s managing director Mickael Damelincourt to negotiate and reach a “fair market rate.”
However, Racine revealed that Melania Trump’s former aide Stephanie Winston Wolkoff raised concerns about how much the hotel planned to charge the committee. Wolkoff was on the inauguration planning team and suggested price caps on the rental fee.
Ivanka’s recent comments are in line with her newfound efforts to push back against her critics. According to people familiar with the matter, Ivanka has reportedly acknowledged that her time in Washington is now numbered and her posts on social media over the recent weeks suggest that she is ready to speak up. Ivanka has reportedly taken on a more aggressive stance similar to that of her father when it comes to responding to critics.
Prior to her comments during the deposition, Ivanka also blasted the investigations into her father’s tax returns. The White House adviser described the investigations as “harassment.”