Trump attacks corporate fraud watchdog after reporting mistake

Attorney Clifford Robert said Jones raised more than $2.6 million in 14 months of work. New York Attorney General Letitia James asked Engoron to order Jones to maintain oversight of the Trump Organization for at least five years as part of his ruling in the case.

But Roberts wrote that Jones' findings “do not merely support or provide an evidentiary basis for continued surveillance.”

Mr. Robert made this claim three days after Mr. Jones filed a report with Engoron accusing the Trump Organization of providing incomplete, contradictory or inaccurate information regarding its financial disclosures.

In a footnote to his report, Jones said he identified loans between Trump himself and Trump Chicago Tower affiliates that were later found to not exist. She was told that the total loan amount was believed to be $48 million, but no agreements had been signed to commemorate it.

“However, recent discussions with the Trump Organization have indicated that we have determined that this loan did not exist,” and will be removed from future filings, Jones wrote.

Roberts said in Monday's letter that this was a “patternly falsehood.”

“Of course, President Trump's group never said the loan didn't exist,” he wrote. “Rather, they provided a copy of an internal memorandum that reflected only that there were 'no outstanding debts or obligations' under the loan at the time.”

“The monitor's deliberate misrepresentation casts further doubt on her competency and veracity,” he added, “does not support continued surveillance.”

Jones did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on Robert's letter.

Jones' report alleges that Trump, his two adult sons, his company and its executives fraudulently inflated the value of Trump's assets to increase his net worth and obtain financial benefits. The announcement was made just days before Engoron was expected to issue a verdict in James' case.

Mr. James is seeking to permanently ban Mr. Trump from participating in New York's real estate industry or serving as an officer or director of any company in the state. He also suspended Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who took over the Trump Organization after his father became president in 2017, for five years under similar terms. I'm looking for it. The attorney general is also seeking fines of more than $370 million.

Jones, a former federal judge who has been involved in several Trump-related cases, was chosen as Trump and James' top choice to serve as an independent monitor in the civil fraud case in November 2022.

But Mr. Roberts also slammed Mr. Jones in Monday's letter, insisting that Mr. Jones “continue to receive the exorbitant fees” paid by Mr. Trump and his co-defendants in the latest report. He was accused of publishing a book.

Robert also accused the monitor's report of containing errors that called into question her competency and calling it “misleading and dishonest.”

Roberts said Jones' “bad faith” efforts “rehash long-settled issues” and that the Trump Organization made mistakes that resulted in inaccurate financial information being sent to third parties. The monitor accused him of being “shamelessly selfish” for reporting that he might continue. .

Referring to the misguided law enforcement officers in the musical “Les Misérables,” Roberts said, “More surveillance is unwarranted and unfairly enriches monitors engaged in Javert-like investigations into defendants.” Just let it happen,” he wrote.

Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kiss, said in a statement that Jones' report was “absolutely a joke.” He characterized her overall findings as no more than a handful of unimportant clerical errors and inconsistencies.

“In fact, it's shocking that President Trump had to pay monitors millions of dollars to prove what he said in the first place. That means there was no wrongdoing or wrongdoing in the financial reports, just this There is no basis for the abusive process to continue, Kise wrote.

A spokesperson for Ms. James addressed the issues found by Ms. Jones, calling her statements “patently false,” and, as requested, disclosing $40 million that had previously been kept private to her. It said it also included cash transfers.

Engoron said he would try to rule on the case by Wednesday, but said there was no guarantee when he would do so.

A judge had ruled before the two-month trial began that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraudulently misrepresenting the value of various assets on key financial statements. The trial was held to determine damages and resolve other claims of misconduct in Mr. James' case.

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