TAKING THE REINS

Judge Gives Trump Organization’s Babysitter ‘Enhanced’ Control

Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge, now has the authority to review the company’s “day-to-day operations,” internal records, and financial accounting.

The Trump Organization will now be under even more control of a former federal judge who has been monitoring Donald Trump’s eponymous family company, following a court order on Thursday that punishes the former president for committing bank fraud.

Barbara S. Jones, who has been babysitting the real estate company for more than a year, was granted enhanced powers by New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron—the same judge who ordered Trump to pay $464 million for lying about his wealth for years.

While the company previously had to notify Jones anytime it shifted more than $5 million or engaged in business deals, she now has the right to essentially do whatever she deems necessary to keep the Trump Organization from engaging in dirty business practices.

At a recent three-month bank fraud trial, Justice Engoron determined that Trump had faked personal financial statements by vastly inflating the value of his buildings and assets—enriching the company by giving it access to loans and insurance policies on false pretenses.

Jones, a former federal judge who’s a lawyer in private practice, was given the authority to review the entire company’s “day-to-day operations,” internal records and financial accounting. She can also hire any outside contractors she wants to keep the company honest—and put it on Trump’s dime.

Engoron’s new order called it “a productive and enhanced monitorship.”

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Jose PaglieryPolitical Investigations Reporter

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