Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Trump FINANCIAL MONITOR Issues DISTURBING Report

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

According to Trump’s court appointed independent financial monitor, Trump’s continues to run his companies with “significant deficiencies” in its business records that will result in “material misstatements”. Michael Popok of Legal AF breaks down the monitor’s call to have an auditor firm appointed as an Independent Compliance Officer to help her catch future fraud. Lumen: Head to https://Lumen.me/legalaf and use code: LEGALAF to get 15% off your lumen today! Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join the Legal AF Patreon: https://Patreon.com/LegalAF Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Michael Popak, Legal AF. The wheels of justice continue to roll, and we've got a new financial monitor report by the former retired federal judge, Judge Barbara Jones, about Donald Trump's business operations in New York. And she has finally made her recommendation after about four or five months to the judge about who she wants to be appointed

the independent director of compliance, the IDC. She wants that to be an accounting firm that she's worked closely with, with that of Stout, Recius, and Ross. Now, let me back up a minute. This all arises out of the New York Attorney General, $465 million judgment that she obtained on behalf of the people of the state of New York four or five months ago related to the persistent fraud in the operation of Trump Organization and all of its subsidiary parts. And so the judge installed a monitor

that's been there for over two years to keep an eye and he expanded the powers of the monitor after he entered the judgment. Now you might've heard from Donald Trump and others that the appellate court looked at some of these issues. It did, but it kept the monitorship in place. It reduced the amount of the bond that Donald Trump had opposed, reduced it down to about $175 million from $465 million, but did not change the monitorship issue at all.

Now we've got Barbara Jones, who's appointed that monitor, has asked to have this monitor appointed to be the independent director of compliance. That's a person who sits within the company, or it could be an outside person, who's responsible to make sure the company complies and all of its financial controls and systems and programs and personnel all comply with the law, regulations, and in this case, generally accepted accounting and auditing principles. She notes that this particular outside firm who worked with them before has already identified, continued, and this is on page 11, significant deficiencies in the Trump organization's internal controls that have to be addressed because they relate to year end monthly reconciliation processes, segregation

of duties of people that work there and the basis of accounting. And as a result would lead to material misstatements even today in the Trump Organization financial documents and records. She goes on to say on page 11, Judge Jones, that that was consistent with her observations. So the Trump Organization and Trump are not out of the doghouse yet. They're not out of suspension or detention. And the judge is recommending here, Judge Jones recommending to Judge Angoron that she stay on the monitor ship, now stretching over two years. But now that this other position, the independent compliance officer, the ICO who asked to get paid out of the Trump. People might ask,

who's paying for all this? Who's paying for Barbara Jones? Trump. Who's paying for all the people, Barbara Jones employees at her law firm and outside experts and outside professional consultants? Trump. Who's going to pay for the independent compliance officer, ICO? Trump. This is all self-funded by Donald Trump, not the taxpayers, because that would add insult to injury. Lumen is the world's first handheld metabolic coach. It's a device that measures your metabolism through your breath.

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lumen.me slash LegalAF for 15% off your purchase. Thank you Lumen for sponsoring this episode. So what's the big takeaway? We're already late in July. This case was filed two years ago. The case was tried and reached a judgment five, six months ago. Barbara Jones has been on the scene for almost two years and there's still serious deficiencies

in the operation of this company. I mean, it's mind boggling that even when facing a half a billion dollar judgment and almost having the death penalty imposed on the company with the liquidation of all of its assets and dissolution of all of its certificates to operate as businesses in New York and to have each person, Trump, Don Jr., and Eric Jr., and others barred and banned for life or up to five or 10 years from ever serving as officers and directors of a company, they're still conducting a business

with serious deficiencies. I mean, this is almost a 14 page letter. Let me read to you from the recommendations. To carry out these duties and responsibilities, this is on page 13 of 14. The monitor, Judge Jones, recommends the following procedures that at the independent director, I'll call him the independent compliance officer, the ICO's discretion, they shall meet with the finance management of Trump Organization to review and discuss the preparation, validation, and presentation

of periodic financial disclosures. And during this meetings, the financial management shall also review draft financial disclosures and discuss the status of requirements of each disclosure with this new officer that the judge has recommended to Judge Angoron. And then she says that she wants that new compliance position to review, pardon me, along with accompanying supporting documentation, everything necessary in order for the compliance officer to be able to make comments and observations about the financial

plan and the financial report and have complete and full access to all of the financial records. And then she goes on and continues with her proposal. Look, I think the takeaway from this hot take is we're two years into this. He's already been a judge to be running Trump, a persistently fraudulent company, under New York law, under 63-12 of the executive law of New York. Yet even at this late moment, he can't avoid having an independent compliance officer, an ICO appointed, because he's still got serious deficiencies in the operation of the company. They've already lopped off the heads of the people that ran the financial department for Donald Trump in the past. Alan Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer who admitted he was not a certified public accountant, was not a CPA,

a bookkeeper at best that Donald Trump inherited from his father. He's been in jail twice over working for Donald Trump. He's currently there. Jeff McConney, who was the controller under the chief financial officer, he almost went to jail only because he testified twice successfully against Donald Trump. Donald Trump's companies were convicted of 17 counts of tax evasion and business record fraud just two years ago. And I still have to report that there is a former federal judge who believes that this company is not capable at the present time of generating a proper financial report to anybody. In order to avoid the problem that was rampant and endemic to the original case of fraudulent financial statements, fraudulent statements of financial conditions, SFCs. The Trump Organization has just eliminated

giving SFCs to any bank. They no longer give a statement of financial condition. They just give whatever the bank really wants or needs in order for the bank, whatever bank that is, to feel secure and continuing to lend and continuing to manage and monitor Donald Trump's loans because it's an admission that they know they can't generate a statement of financial condition, especially with Donald Trump hanging around, that's not fraudulent. That's the only way to read that. And so, we're going to continue to report on this case. There's an appeal. Donald Trump's going to try to argue that he shouldn't pay anywhere near $465 million, that there were no victims. Banks weren't victimized. Insurance companies weren't victimized. Everybody loved

him. His properties are like the Mona Lisa. I can already hear the arguments ringing in my ear. But we'll see what the appellate court, the first level appellate already hear the arguments ringing in my ear. We'll see what the appellate court, the first level appellate court is the appellate is the first department appellate division in Manhattan. Then if he doesn't like the result there and he won't, he'll have to take an appeal to the Court of Appeals in New York. There's no United States Supreme Court that's going to bail him out of a persistent fraud case in New York. It has nothing to do at all with any immunity whatsoever, and even he can't argue that. And we'll follow that right here on the Midas Touch Network. Tune in on Wednesdays

and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Eastern time for Legal AF the podcast and then on audio podcast platforms of your choice. Give me a comment and a thumbs up here. It keeps the content on the air, if you will. Helps with the ratings, helps us build this network without outside investors completely independently. And then you can look for me, Michael Popok. Go over to the Midas Touch YouTube channel where you're already at. Free subscribe and look for me under contributors or playlist Michael Popok. There's about 1,300 videos just like this one that can get you all caught up on all

the issues at the intersection of law and politics. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Popak reporting. Heary, heary. Legal AF Law Breakdown is now in session. Go beyond the headlines and get a deep dive into the important legal concepts you need to know and we discuss every day on Legal AF. Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, all for the price of a couple of cups of coffee. Join us at patreon.com slash Legal AF. That's patreon.com slash Legal AF.