Lawyers for former President Donald Trump and the New York attorney general’s office both proposed that retired Judge Barbara Jones serve as the monitor to oversee the Trump Organization’s financial statements.
Attorneys for both camps were required to submit their nominations of who should serve in the monitor position by Thursday after Judge Arthur Engoron granted the New York attorney general’s request for a monitor to stop the Trump Organization from continuing to engage in allegedly fraudulent practices.
In separate filings, both teams of lawyers suggested Jones, who has served as a special master overseeing privilege review of materials obtained through FBI search warrants in high profile investigations, including Michael Cohen and Rudy Giuliani.
The matching proposal could speed up the judge’s decision and it comes as Trump is still appealing the order authorizing the monitor.
A New York appeals court judge on Wednesday denied Trump’s request to stay the order so a monitor could be put in place this month. The judge set an expedited schedule for the full bench of judges to hear the appeal with briefing due later this month.
The attorney general’s office also suggested two other people to serve as monitor: Aaron Marcu, a former federal prosecutor who as a defense lawyer has represented financial institutions and served as a corporate monitor and Frances McLeod, a compliance specialist who is currently serving as a monitor in two Justice Department matters.
In addition to Jones, Trump’s attorney also put forward Kelly Donovan of KPMG, the global accounting firm. Donovan previously worked in the New York attorney general’s office as the executive deputy attorney general for criminal justice where she oversaw numerous investigations.
Each side has until next week to lob objections to the others’ picks.
Source: www.cnn.com