Former President Donald Trump was flagged by the watchdog overseeing the Trump Organization's finances for transferring $40 million in cash that was not previously disclosed to the court.
Former U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Jones, who was assigned to oversee the financial statements of Trump's company last fall as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million lawsuit against the former president, wrote in a letter to New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Wednesday that three separate transactions were identified by the court between January and October that had not been properly disclosed.
According to the letter, which was shared online by The Messenger, The Trump Organization is required to disclose all transfers of assets exceeding $5 million to the court. The transactions include a transfer of $29 million to Trump, which Jones said was used for tax payments. The other transfers in question were used for insurance premiums, as well as a $5.5 million payment related to the civil suit brought against Trump by E. Jean Carrol—Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages by a judge in May after a New York City jury found Trump liable for sexual assault.
"We have discussed with Defendants why these transactions were not previously disclosed and I have not clarified (and Defendants have agreed) that all transfers of assets out of the [Trump] Trust exceeding $5 million must be reported," Jones wrote.
Trump was found liable for business fraud in September in connection to James' lawsuit that accuses the former president and his company of fraudulently inflating the value of his properties and other assets to secure financial benefits. Engoron, who is overseeing the case, is presiding over the ongoing trial regarding the remainder of James' lawsuit.
Jones also flagged instances where tax returns for entities related to the Trump Organization were not "promptly disclosed" to the court, although she noted in the letter that after her request, "Defendants provided the tax returns and acknowledged that their exclusion was an oversight."
"Defendants have agreed to enhanced monitoring given the matters described in this report," Jones wrote in her concluding paragraph. "Defendants continue to cooperate with me and are generally in compliance with the Court's orders, and have committed to ensure that all required information, including tax information and cash transfers, are promptly disclosed to the [court]."
"My review of the Defendants' submissions of financial information is ongoing and I appreciate the parties' cooperation," Jones added.
Newsweek reached out to Chris Kise, a defense lawyer for Trump, via email for comment.
Trump has maintained that he and his co-defendants listed in James' lawsuit, which includes his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are innocent of the accusations against them, claiming that the trial is another politically-motivated "witch hunt" with intentions of disrupting his reelection campaign.
Update 11/29/23 6:17 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional details and background information.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrK6enZtjsLC5jq2prqWgYrOtrcagnJ1lZGV6rrXLpaCopl2qu6W10pyjqKuVmXqkrdKhZK2qkaPAp7HRrGRqcGRtfnmF