The liberal imagination is teeming with all kinds of vindictive fantasies as Donald Trump faces the possibility of financial ruin - with one journalist predicting that Trump will tear his own daughter "to shreds" to protect himself. 

David Cay Johnston, author of The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family, shared the dark prediction with CNN, Newsweek reported.

Trump turns?

Trump is in New York this week to face civil charges of fraudulent business activity. The judge has already ruled, without a jury, that Trump defrauded banks by overvaluing his assets.

Trump has said the case is a "continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time." The case is personal for Trump as it threatens control of his famed real estate empire - and the witnesses include his own children.

With all of this pressure, the possibility of Trump's family breaking apart has the lunatics on the left delighted.

Trump is known to be ruthless with those who turn against him, like his former lawyer Michael Cohen. But he maintains a close connection with his children, who have shared many of the same burdens he has since his entry into the politics set off an unprecedented witch hunt against his family.

It is particularly difficult, to say the least, to imagine Trump going scorched earth on Ivanka Trump - his favorite child. But the left is pretty convinced that Trump is just that evil.

Should Ivanka testify, her father's lawyers would tear her "to shreds," Johnston predicted.

"I would expect Donald and his sons and likely Ivanka called to take the Fifth Amendment," Johnston said. "If, however, Ivanka testifies in any way that's damaging to her father or her brothers' interests, then Donald's lawyers are going to rip her to shreds and do everything they can to go after her."

Reality check

Ivanka Trump was dropped as a defendant from the fraud case after it was ruled that claims against her fell outside the statute of limitations.

It's true that Ivanka Trump has distanced herself from her father's political ambitions, but this appears to be another example of liberals projecting their own wishes onto reality.

Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney, told Newsweek there is an "extremely low" chance of Ivanka testifying against her father in any damaging way.

"She is much more likely to plead bad memory or the fifth amendment to questions even though the claims against her were dismissed based on the statute of limitations under state law. In theory, some federal fraud statutes might still apply," McAuliffe told Newsweek.