MANHATTAN (CN) — The judge in Donald Trump’s Manhattan fraud case on Thursday ordered further inspection into the former president’s finances, barring the defendants from moving assets without first disclosing it to the court.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron appointed an independent monitor, former federal judge Barbara Jones, that Trump and his co-defendants must provide with “advanced notice” prior to “any anticipated transfer of assets or liabilities to any other entity.”
They also must alert Jones if they plan to apply for any new business certificates, modify any existing contracts, create a new entity that isn’t a defendant or distribute rights from Trump’s entities. Engoron didn’t mention the order in the courtroom at all on Thursday; it was merely uploaded to the New York Supreme Court’s e-filing system.
It’s an aggressive step by the judge, aimed at keeping Trump from quietly shifting around his cash during a trial already scrutinizing his finances.
The former president has already faced some severe business repercussions as a result of the case. Last week, Engoron ruled that Trump and his co-defendants committed fraud when he overinflated his assets to get more favorable bank loans and insurance premiums. Engoron canceled their New York business certificates as a result.
Thursday marked the first day that Trump didn’t appear in court at all. He left Manhattan Wednesday afternoon after days of berating Engoron, the judge’s staff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case against Trump. The attacks continued on Thursday, even after Engoron issued a gag order earlier this week.
“The ridiculous A.G. case against me in New York, brought by the Racist and Incompetent Peekaboo James, is being studied and mocked all over the World,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Thursday. “Companies are Fleeing! It, and the highly political, Trump Hating Judge, are DESTROYING the Image and Reputation of the New York State Legal System & Courts.”
But with the former president no longer in attendance, Thursday’s proceedings were far less lively than the first three days of the trial. The hordes of press fighting for seats became just more than a dozen reporters comfortably spaced throughout the courtroom.
The web of barricades lining Foley Square outside the courthouse were gone, as were most of the Secret Service agents once peppered throughout the building.
Some things remained the same. After three straight days of testimony, former Trump Organization accountant Donald Bender returned to the witness stand Thursday, where defense lawyers continued to try to pin the financial inaccuracies found on Trump’s financial statements on Bender.
Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez pressed Bender’s mental fortitude on Thursday, claiming that throughout the former accountant’s testimony, Bender answered “I don’t know” or “I don’t recall” 89 times. Suarez asked if there were any “mental health” issues that precluded him from testifying.
Bender said no.
Engoron eventually pressed Suarez to wrap things up with Bender, leaving ex-Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney as the next witness. His testimony on Thursday included line-by-line explanations of Microsoft Excel files, detailing the costs of property assets within the Trump Organization, such as Trump’s infamous Manhattan triplex.
McConney will continue under direct examination by the Attorney General’s Office on Friday, with his testimony expected to last the entirety of the shortened trial day. With courts closed on Monday, the trial will continue Tuesday with Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, slated as the next witness.
Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr., Weisselberg and the Trump Organization are all listed as defendants in Attorney General James’ $250 million fraud lawsuit. James filed the lawsuit last September, claiming Trump and his allies used widespread fraud to help build his family’s real estate empire.
The former president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, calling the trial a political witch hunt in numerous interviews and social media posts. Despite his legal woes, Trump is still the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race and has a campaign stop in Iowa this weekend.
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