New York attorney general Letitia James is asking to contact Donald Trump’s court-appointed monitor to get more information about his $175 million bond posting.
James asked Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron on Thursday to confirm that her office can contact Barbara Jones, whom the New York Supreme Court Justice appointed to oversee the finances of Trump’s parent company, The Trump Organization.
James filed a proposed order to Engoron in which James’ office would be allowed to communicate with Jones’ office without Trump’s lawyers being present.
The New York Superior Court rejected Trump’s $175 million bond this week due to the paperwork from the insurance company issuing the bond not providing sufficient information about its financial status.
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Wednesday’s New York County Supreme Court notice read:
“The court has returned the documents listed below for the following reasons: Please include a current financial statement and Power of Attorney. Additionally, please list the name of the Attorney-in-Fact under the signature line on the Undertaking. Please use the ‘Refile Document’ link for Doc. No. 1707 to resubmit the corrected filing. Thank you and have a great day.”
The company has refiled its paperwork as a result.
Trump needs the bond posted to prevent James from being able to take enforcement proceedings and possibly seize Trump’s property after Engoron ruled in that New York civil fraud case that Trump must pay $454 million in fines for fraudulently inflating the value of his assets.
Trump is currently appealing Engoron’s decision in the case, which was brought by James’ office.
The process all stems from Engoron’s February ruling against Trump; his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump; and others associated with The Trump Organization. They were accused in the lawsuit by James of inflating the former president’s net worth and the value of his properties to obtain better loan and insurance terms.
Trump has denied all accusations in this and other cases, saying that they are all part of a political witch hunt against him.
Newsweek sought email comment from Trump’s attorney on Friday.
James’ attempts to find out more about Trump’s $175 bond is two fold—she is seeking permission to communicate with Jones and she also filed a motion to Engoron seeking his permission to obtain the bond information from the Trump team.
Under the monitoring system that Engoron imposed, The Trump Organization must inform Jones of all bonds it posts in court and the financial backing it put in place to obtain those bonds. There have been questions raised about the collateral Trump put up to obtain the bond.
MSNBC legal analyst, Lisa Rubin, wrote on X, formerly Twitter on Thursday that unrestricted access to Jones could be a powerful way for Jones to find out how Trump’s bond was secured.
“Why would it matter if the AG’s team has the unfettered right to speak to retired federal judge Barbara Jones without Trump’s team present? Because, as I detailed last night, under the monitorship order, Jones is entitled to information about the bond that is not yet public,” Rubin wrote.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.