Ivanka Trump deposed in lawsuit alleging misuse of funds at Donald Trump's inauguration

Ivanka Trump, the United States president's daughter and adviser, sat for a deposition on Tuesday as part of a civil lawsuit alleging misuse of non-profit funds for Donald Trump's inauguration four years ago.

The court filing, as reported by CNN on Wednesday, mentions that Ivanka was interviewed by investigators from the Washington D.C. attorney general's office.

Attorney general Karl Racine's office sued the Trump organisation and Presidential Inauguration Committee in January this year, alleging misuse of non-profit funds for Donald Trump's inauguration in 2017. "District law requires non-profits to use their funds for their stated public purpose, not to benefit private individuals or companies," Racine had said earlier this year.

The office has filed a lawsuit alleging the abuse of more than $1 million, raised by the non-profit, by ''grossly overpaying'' to the president's Washington DC hotel during the week of the inauguration. The lawsuit seeks to recover the $1 million that was allegedly funnelled directly to the Trump family business.

The depositions of the witnesses have been going on over the past few weeks. Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee, was also deposed last month.

The filing further mentioned that the attorney general's office has also subpoenaed records from Barrack, Ivanka Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Rick Gates, the former inaugural committee deputy chairman.

The committee's own event planner, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who released an explosive memoir about Melania earlier this year, will be deposed next week. The lawsuit states that Wolkoff had advised against the transaction telling the committee that the charges were at least twice the market rate.

"The Inaugural Committee accepted the contract anyway," it claims.

Meanwhile, Alan Garten, general counsel for the Trump Organization, told the outlet that Ivanka's only involvement was connecting the parties and instructing the hotel to charge a "fair market rate." However, the District of Columbia's attorney general is still insisting that Donald Trump's real estate business misused non-profit funds to enrich the Trump family.

The lawsuit also claimed that the non-profit paid 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 the inauguration evening.