Ivanka Trump deposed in civil lawsuit

Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and adviser, acknowledged on Twitter Thursday that she was questioned under oath this week in connection to a civil lawsuit that alleges misuse of nonprofit funds for President Donald Trump’s inauguration four years ago.

The deposition was part of a lawsuit from the District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine which claims Donald Trump’s real estate business and other entities misused nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family.

According to the suit, a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation called the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee coordinated with the Trump family to grossly overpay for event space in the Trump International Hotel in Washington.

This includes the nonprofit paying more than $300,000 to hold a private reception at the Trump hotel for the president’s three oldest children – Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric – on January 20, 2017, the evening of the inauguration.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Ivanka Trump posted a picture of an email from 2017 which – she wrote – shows that she instructed the Trump hotel to charge a fair market rate. Adding that, "This 'inquiry' is another politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness & waste of taxpayer dollars."

Racine's lawsuit seeks to recover the $1 million that was allegedly funneled directly to the Trump family business.

Campaign finance laws restrict the size of campaign contributions, but inauguration committees can accept unlimited donations, including from corporations.

The $107 million raised by Trump’s inaugural committee, chaired by real estate developer and investor Thomas Barrack, was the largest in history, according to Federal Election Commission filings.