Friday depositions of Donald Trump, daughter Ivanka and son Don Jr. was postponed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The state attorney general agreed to a request by the family to postpone their testimony in light of Ivana Trump’s death Thursday.
“This is a temporary delay and the depositions will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” spokeswoman Delaney Kempner said in a statement. “We offer our condolences to the Trump family.”
Ivana Trump, 73, was married to the former president from 1977 to 1992 when he was a real estate developer. She was the mother of Trump’s three oldest children: Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
She was found at the bottom of a staircase in her East 64th Street home and is believed to have suffered cardiac arrest, according to a New York Post report citing police sources. The report noted the cause of death has not yet been determined.
“I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,” Trump announced. “She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life.”
Ms. Trump was born Ivana Marie Zelníčková in Zlin, a factory town in then-communist Czechoslovakia, according to a People Magazine report. Ivana skied competitively as a child, becoming a member of the national ski team that led to her meeting her first husband. It also provided metaphors for imparting life lessons.
“When you are going down a mountain at 80 miles an hour, you cannot count on Mama or Papa,” she reportedly told People. “You have to count only on Ivana.”
After divorcing her first husband, she moved to Montreal, Canada, and eventually became a model. On a modeling shoot in New York City, she met the brash real estate billionaire in 1976 and they married within a year, according to the People report.
While married to the former president, she managed some hotel properties for him in the five boroughs and in Atlantic City, N.J. Among her other pursuits, she wrote often over the years. Ms. Trump was an advice columnist and the author of several books including a 2017 memoir, “Raising Trump.” She also designed fashion and jewelry.
“It wasn’t easy to raise three kids as a full-time working mother, even with nannies,” she remarked in her memoir. “No matter how busy I was, I had breakfast with my children every day. I sat with them at dinner every night and helped them with their homework (I loved algebra) before going out in a Versace gown to a rubber-chicken charity event.”
“The kids and I celebrated, traveled, and grieved together,” she added. “Our bond was, and is, our most valuable possession.”
Her daughter, Ivanka, spoke similarly about her in a 2016 interview with People.
“My mother is my inspiration,” Ivanka said. “She was the ultimate role model. It was always clear to us that we were her priority, but that doesn’t mean we got her 24 hours a day.”
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