'Self-serving hyperbole': Trump lawyer launches attack on court monitor over 'bombshell' report

A Donald Trump attorney Monday "in an indignant court filing" alleged former Judge Barbara S. Jones' recent report on the Trump Organization is "an absolute lie, a cheap attempt to justify her government-mandated job, and a last-minute ploy to bolster the New York Attorney General’s bank fraud case" against the MAGA hopeful, according to The Daily Beast.

Per the report, "In the run-up to the AG’s trial against the Trumps for lying about real estate values, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron ordered that a court monitor watch over the sprawling family company to ensure it doesn’t shift or hide assets ahead of a potentially huge judgment that could cripple the business empire. Since then, Jones has issued nearly half a dozen reports indicating that, for the most part, all is well."

Trump family lawyer Clifford S. Robert also took aim at the more than $2 million the family has paid Jones in the filing, writing, "The monitor has thus far been paid over $2.6 million in the past 14-months to ‘uncover’ seven immaterial disclosure items, three irrelevant inconsistencies and five clerical errors. The court therefore must and should end this abusive and costly process."

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The Beast notes Robert called Jones' year-long probe "self-serving hyperbole" and "nothing more than a costly exercise in hunting for minor mistakes that don’t amount to anything."

The Trump attorney emphasized, "Further oversight is unwarranted and will only unjustly enrich the monitor as she engages in some ‘Javert’ like quest," — a reference "to the fictional French law enforcement officer in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, who’s defined by his obsessive pursuit and lack of empathy."

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The Daily Beast's full report is here (subscription required).