The MeidasTouch Podcast - FED UP Judge SHUTS DOWN Trump Lawyer’s SURPRISE Witness Demand

Episode Date: November 27, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Judge Arthur Engoron denying Donald Trump’s lawyers attempt to call the financial monitor, retired federal judge Barbara Jones, as a witness.  Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://TryMiracle.com/MEIDAS and use the code MEIDAS to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF. Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge bet mgm operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming ontario besides being untimely your request is entirely inappropriate that is what judge Arthur Ngoran told Donald Trump's lawyer during a fiery exchange as Ngoran denied a request by Donald Trump and Trump's lawyers in the New York Attorney General civil fraud case to try to call as a witness the financial monitor appointed last year by Judge Arthur Ngoran in connection with a emergency preliminary injunction motion filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. I'm Ben Micellis from the Midas Touch Network. The defense case, if you even want to call what they're trying to put on a defense in the New York Attorney General civil fraud case, is continuing. And on Monday, Donald Trump's lawyers called to the witness stand somebody by the name of Mark Hawthorne, who is the chief accounting officer for the Trump hotels. During the testimony by Mark Hawthorne, he tried to say that the financial monitor, retired federal judge Barbara Jones, praised the Trump organization

and was very complimentary of how he was conducting business. Hawthorne described his relationship during testimony with retired judge Barbara Jones as being very professional and that she was impressed by the organization, which is completely contradicted by one of the prior reports prepared by retired Judge Barbara Jones, which she submitted to the judge presiding over the case, Judge Arthur Ngoran, as part of her duties as a financial monitor. If that's a little bit confusing, let me try to break it down for you. The New York Attorney General, of course, filed the civil fraud case over a year ago after there was a preliminary investigation that took place for a number of years. The case was then filed. And then New York Attorney General Letitia James moved for an emergency preliminary injunction, citing that Donald Trump, the Trump organization, and the various defendants were engaged in ongoing fraud.

Judge Ngoran last year found that Donald Trump put forward not a scintilla of evidence, no declarations, no affidavits to rebut this allegation of a continuing fraud and thus granted the injunctive relief, which appointed retired federal judge Barbara Jones, who serves in certain cases as a financial monitor, in some case as a special master. She was appointed as a financial monitor to prepare periodic reports to the court, to Judge Ngoran. In one of the last reports that retired Judge Barbara Jones prepared after working with Donald Trump's internal financial people, and Judge Barbara Jones sent to Judge N'Goran before Judge N'Goran made that ruling on the summary judgment, finding

that Donald Trump, the Trump organization, and the various defendants were liable. This is what Judge Barbara Jones wrote in her letter. Since my appointment, I have reviewed material financial and accounting information submitted by the Trump Organization. As part of my review, I have made preliminary observations regarding certain current financial disclosures with respect to the Trump organization's reporting of financial information. Specifically, I have observed that information regarding certain material liabilities provided to lenders, such as intercompany loans between or among trust entities and Donald J. Trump, certain of the trust's contingent liabilities, as well as

refundable golf club membership deposits, has been incomplete. The trust also has not consistently provided all required annual and quarterly certifications attesting to the accuracy of certain financial statements. Judge Jones went on to say, in addition, annual audited financial statements for certain entities prepared by an external accounting firm list depreciation expenses. However, interim internally prepared financial statements

provided to third parties for the same entities inconsistently reports the depreciation expenses. So Judge Barbara Jones did not prepare a flattering report to Judge Ngoran about the finances of the Trump organization after the lawsuit was filed and before the trial and before Judge Ngoran issued his summary judgment ruling. But after Mark Hawthorne took the stand, and this was obviously contrived by Donald Trump's lawyers as like a publicity stunt so that they could have another talking point where they can say, the judge wasn't allowing the evidence in, the judge wasn't allowing this, the judge wasn't allowing this.

They had Mark Hawthorne, the accounting officer for the hotel, say, no, Judge Barbara Jones said that we were doing a great job and that it was very professionally handled. And then Christopher Kice and Donald Trump's other lawyers, Cliff Roberts and others said, well, we now want to call the, now because Hawthorne said it, we now want to call the financial monitor. Barbara Jones should be a witness. We are making a request that she be a witness. That's where Judge N'Goran says, no, you are untimely. You

did not put her on the witness list. You did not make the request as part of the rules of court when witnesses are supposed to be disclosed. And even if you did do that, I would still reject it because Judge Barbara Jones is a financial monitor. She's not a percipient witness. She is an extension of the court. And by having her as a witness, that would create a conflict of interest. Did you know that your temperature at night can have one of the greatest impacts on your sleep quality? If you wake up too hot or too cold, I highly recommend you check out Miracle Maid's bed sheets. Inspired by NASA, Miracle Maid uses silver-infused fabrics and makes temperature-regulating bedding

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Upgrade your sleep with Miracle-Maid. Go to trymiracle.com slash Midas and use the code Midas to claim your free three-piece towel set and save over 40%. Again, that's trymiracle.com slash Midas, T-R-Y-M-I-R-A-C-L-E dot com slash M-E-I-D-A-S to treat yourself, a friend or loved one this holiday season. or kind of slip this in is if you got Judge Barbara Jones to testify and she's essentially serving as an extension of the court as a financial monitor, then would the Trump organization try to harass, for example, the judge's principal law clerk and try to call her to the stand? What's next? Do you call the judge to the stand? It's not that Judge N'Goran saying that Judge Barbara Jones is a financial monitor should not have to report to the court. Of course, she needs to report to the court.

But what she needs to report to the court is part of a process of the duties of a financial monitor. She essentially becomes inextricably intertwined with court staff through her reports. And that is the presentation that happens. And she engages in ex parte individualized communications with the Trump organization. She's appointed her duties are then to take that information, call through all of the data, prepare a report, submit them in periodic basis. That's her job. She's not a fact-finding witness. She's not a percipient witness. Her job is to monitor that. And so for those reasons, Judge N'Goran said, that's denied.

I'm not going to allow her to be a witness here. And then what happened after that? Well, then Christopher Kice later on, this was the issue that they all kind of latch onto the same way they want to attack the law clerk, the same way they attack the judge, the same way that they misquote the judge and say, oh, Judge Angor, and you said, I'm not here to hear what Donald Trump has to say. I'm here to, well, what the judge actually said is I'm here to listen to his answers. I'm not here to hear him ramble, but the lawyers are just performing for the media, Trump's lawyers. So they just go, the judge says, I'm not here to hear Trump with leaving out the fact that the judge says, I'm here to listen to his answers. So this is what Christopher Kai said. Aha,

I'm going to harp on this issue that you are now not allowing the financial monitor to be called as a witness. So Kice says, they're the only ones in the courtroom jumping up and down, claiming there's fraud, referring to the New York Attorney General. The bank isn't claiming fraud. Even the financial monitor isn't claiming fraud. And Judge N'Goran tells him, every time you talk, Mr. Kis, it's like a campaign speech. I previously rejected this request. That's my order.

You need to sit down right now, Mr. Keis. And so, of course, that's another contrived issue that Donald Trump and his lawyers are going to say. You didn't let the financial monitor testify as a witness. Well, number one, make a timely disclosure of the financial monitor if you want to make the financial monitor testify as a witness? Well, number one, make a timely disclosure of the financial monitor if you want to make the financial monitor a witness. Number two, the financial monitor is not a percipient witness, not a fact witness. The financial monitor works for the court, prepares reports for the courts, and the financial monitor can speak for herself.

This is a retired federal judge that you're trying to thrust into these proceedings. And by the way, I'm sure Judge Barbara Jones is not happy with the way she's been mischaracterized by Donald Trump's accounting officer for his hotels. It is utter, utter garbage. It is utterly ridiculous. But I want to give you the dynamic of why Judge Ngoran rejected it, why I think the plan by Trump's lawyers was to use that to then try to take testimony from other court witnesses, why there would be a conflict of interest, because Judge Barbara Jones is appointed to work for the court as a financial monitor, not as a witness. And just think about the slippery slope that would set for all financial monitors. And Judge Jones does testify through her reports and her presentations in an orderly

process. But this is, again, how Trump and his lawyers try to deconstruct processes and procedures, deconstruct the judicial process, and then say, oh, we're the victim, we're the victim. Anyway, it's absurd. I'm Ben Micellis from the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. We're on our way to 2 million subscribers thanks to your support. And check us out at patreon.com slash Midas Touch and have a great day.

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