Judge issues order to prevent Trump from hiding money after he started “Trump Organization II”

The New York judge who doomed several of Donald Trump’s key businesses in a summary judgment last week issued an order in the Trump family’s civil fraud case Thursday to ensure the former president doesn’t secretly move money around to save his real estate empire, the Daily Beast reports. According to the order, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron diected the Trumps to identify any corporations they have and disclose any plans to shift around their assets in attempts to conceal or maintain their wealth.

The case’s defendants — Trump, sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and two other top executives in Trump businesses — were ordered to inform the court of “any other entities controlled or beneficially owned” by them, any “creation of a new entity to hold or acquire the assets,” and “any anticipated transfer of assets.” Engoron also authorized a court-appointed monitor, former federal judge Barbara Jones, to oversee this process until someone can be appointed to dissolve Trump’s companies. 

Engoron’s aggressive and preemptive move, issued on the fourth day of trial in the case, is intended to undermine the underhanded tactics Trump has pulled out so far during the three-year investigation. It follows the tumultuous first three days of the proceedings, in which the judge issued a limited gag order because of Trump’s online attack on his clerk, the former president complained about the trial in the courtroom and Trump’s defense aggravated the judge with delay tactics. Trump was previously accused of seeking to quietly transfer his assets after he formally started a “Trump Organization II” on the same day that the lawsuit was filed.