Trump appeals NY court order appointing monitor for company

Former President Trump on Monday appealed a judge’s order that set limits on his company’s activities and placed the business under the supervision of an independent monitor.

Manhattan-based Judge Arthur Engoron last week granted a request from New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) to restrict the company’s ability to sell assets or alter its corporate structure. He also tapped a third-party watchdog to ensure compliance with his order.

In response, the former president’s attorneys on Monday filed a notice of appeal in the New York courts.

James said she requested the court-ordered restrictions to halt what she described as ongoing “fraudulent and illegal business activity” at Trump’s company. She also expressed concerns that the business sought to move assets out of New York to evade the attorney general’s reach.

Trump, for his part, has claimed that James’s investigation was motivated by political animus.

Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said the legal team had asked the appeals court to halt the judge’s order.

“The preliminary injunction imposed by the court is overly broad, overreaching, and unenforceable on its face,” Habba said. “We trust that the Appellate Division will reign in the Attorney General’s unbridled desire to exert control over the Trump Organization.”

In his 11-page order last week granting James’s request, Engoron said the Trump Organization must provide the monitor — to be named later — a full accounting of the company’s finances and structure.

He also ordered the business to provide James’s office and the court two weeks notice before selling or transferring any noncash assets and provide the monitor at least 30 days before any potential restructuring.

James has said her civil investigation into potential fraud at the Trump Organization has uncovered serious misconduct, including evidence that the company misrepresented the value of its assets in the years before Trump was elected.

—Updated at 5:39 p.m.