Trump Appeals Order Appointing Court Monitor to Oversee Trump Organization in New York Lawsuit

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in Dallas on Aug. 6, 2022. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has appealed a judge’s order that restricts The Trump Organization from certain activities and places it under the supervision of a court monitor to oversee compliance with the order.

Trump’s attorneys filed a notice of appeal on Nov. 7 in the New York courts. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said the legal team had asked the mid-level state appellate court to halt the order from New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron.

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

Lawyers for The Trump Organization argued in court papers that Engoron’s decision essentially handcuffed the company, restricting its ability to freely make deals, sell assets, and change its corporate structure, putting “immediate and unlawful prejudgment restraint” on what they said was nearly $5 billion in assets.

The appeal comes in a civil lawsuit, filed on Sept. 21 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat. The lawsuit (pdf) seeks at least $250 million in “restitution” for the people of New York and alleges that Trump, The Trump Organization, three of his children, and others were involved in “years of financial fraud to obtain a host of economic benefits.”

Trump has criticized the lawsuit, calling it a politically motivated attack.

In mid-October, James asked (pdf) Engoron to block Trump from moving his assets to a new holding company formed amid the pending lawsuit. She expressed concerns that Trump was moving assets out of New York to evade her reach. The Trump Organization had registered a similarly named new company called “Trump Organization II LLC” on the same day that she filed her civil lawsuit. She also asked Engoron to appoint an independent court monitor.

Engoron, in his 11-page Nov. 3 order (pdf), granted James’s request and barred The Trump Organization from selling, transferring, or disposing of any noncash assets without having 14 days of written notice to James’s office and to the court. He also stipulated that the company provide at least 30 days before any planned restructuring.

The judge said The Trump Organization must provide to the independent court monitor a full accounting of the company’s finances and structure, as well as any new financial disclosure that The Trump Organization makes to banks and insurers.

The court monitor would be appointed at a later date, he noted.

Engoron wrote 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.

Trump pushed back on Nov. 3 against Engoron’s order.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “Today’s ridiculous ruling by a politically-motivated, hand-picked judge makes it even more vital for courts in both New York and Florida to do the right thing and stop this inquisition. We have to fight back against radical tyranny and save our Country!”

A day prior—on Nov. 2—Trump filed a lawsuit in Florida State Circuit Court against James, alleging that she has contravened both New York and Florida law in engaging in a “war of intimidation and harassment” against him, his family, his business interests, and his associates. The suit is seeking to bar James from obtaining records from a trust that holds ownership of The Trump Organization.

The complaint (pdf) noted that James started to make threats against Trump even before she was elected as New York’s attorney general, “at a time when she possessed no actual information or insight into President Trump’s business.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.