New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference on Sept. 21, 2022, in New York.
Engoron wrote in an 11-page order that Trump and the Trump Organization “demonstrated propensity to engage in persistent fraud” and that appointing an outside monitor “is the most prudent and narrowly tailored mechanism to ensure there is no further fraud or illegality” pending the resolution of the lawsuit.James, a Democrat, is seeking $250 million and a permanent ban on Trump, a Republican, doing business in the state.
“Our goal in doing this is not to impact the day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization,” said Wallace.“The Trump Organization has a persistent record of not complying with existing court orders,” Wallace said. “It should not be incumbent on the court or the attorney general to spend the next year looking over their shoulder, making sure assets aren’t sold or the company restructured.”
Trump Organization lawyer Christopher Kise responded that the company has “no intention” to divest those properties, which together he says conservatively have a value of at least $250 million. The “Trump entities are not going anywhere,” he added.