Ex-special master in Giuliani case named watchdog of Trump Organization

Crown Equity Holdings

14/11/2022 22:34

By Luc Cohen
       NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Barbara Jones, a retired
U.S. federal judge who also served as a special master in a case
involving Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, was
appointed on Monday by a New York judge as a watchdog of the
former U.S. president's company. 
    New York state Attorney General Letitia James on Nov. 3 won
a court order to appoint an independent monitor for the Trump
Organization as part of her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit
accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of overvaluing assets
and Trump's net worth. 
    Both the attorney general's office and lawyers for Trump
proposed Jones, a current partner at law firm Bracewell LLP who
previously served as a federal judge in Manhattan for 16 years,
as a candidate for the role in court papers filed on Thursday. 
    Arthur Engoron, the Manhattan-based New York state supreme
court judge overseeing the case, wrote in a court filing on
Monday that Jones had confirmed in a telephone call that she
will accept the appointment.
    Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    In June 2021, Jones was selected as a court-appointed
"special master" to review evidence seized from Giuliani as part
of a probe into his business dealings in Ukraine. Jones had
previously performed the same role in a criminal investigation
into Michael Cohen, another former Trump lawyer, which ended in
Cohen pleading guilty and serving prison time.
    Giuliani has not been charged with a crime and denies
wrongdoing. Also on Monday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan
said the probe had concluded and no charges were forthcoming.
    In his Nov. 3 order, Manhattan trial court judge Engoron
called appointing a monitor the best way to "ensure there is no
further fraud or illegality" at the Trump Organization, which
operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the
world.
    Trump is appealing Engoron's order, which he has called
"ridiculous." He has said James' lawsuit is
politically-motivated and denied wrongdoing. 
    The other candidates recommended by the Attorney General's
office were Aaron Marcu, a former prosecutor and current partner
at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer who has served as an
independent monitor in a number of cases, and Frances McLeod,
the founder of Forensic Risk Alliance, a firm focusing on
compliance monitorships.
    Trump and the Trump Organization had also recommended Kelly
Donovan, a managing director at accounting firm KPMG and former
lawyer with the New York state attorney general's office, as a
possible candidate.
 (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((luc.cohen@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 361 1622; Reuters
Messaging: Twitter: @cohenluc))