Former President Donald Trump lashed out on Truth Social after a judge agreed to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization.
Prosecutors in New York Attorney General Letitia James' office warned last month that the Trump Organization may try to avoid accountability by transferring financial assets out of state, noting that the company formed a "Trump Organization II" in Delaware on the same day that she filed a $250 million fraud lawsuit.
"The appointment of an independent monitor is the most prudent and narrowly tailored mechanism to ensure there is no further fraud or illegality," said New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Thursday.
Engoron also prohibited the Trump Organization — as well as the former president, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump — from transferring any non-cash assets without providing at least two weeks' notice to the court and James' office.
Trump swiftly responded to the news with a rant on his social media site, Truth Social.
"A Radical Left Lunatic Judge in New York City, who controls a newspaper dedicated largely to defaming me, who was appointed, & is controlled by, my worst political enemies, & whose purpose was to just do preliminary motions & preparatory work on a case brought by the corrupt and highly partisan Attorney General of New York State prior to being routinely sent to the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, is refusing to let go of the case," he wrote in the post. "[Engoron] is a partisan disaster. A Rigged & Corrupt System!"
James responded in a statement of her own, noting that "time and time again, the courts have ruled that Donald Trump cannot evade the law for personal gain."
"Today's decision will ensure that Donald Trump and his companies cannot continue the extensive fraud that we uncovered and will require the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee compliance at the Trump Organization," she said.
Trump spent Thursday evening raging over the ruling on both Truth Social and at a rally.
"The New York State Court System is being ridiculed all over the World! You have a Corrupt, Racist, Weak on Crime Attorney General, Letitia 'Peekaboo' James, who campaigned on 'I will get Trump, even though she knew NOTHING about me,'" the former president wrote on Truth Social.
"Then you have a highly political, biased Judge, who is totally controlled by my worst enemies. His rulings and manner are SICK," Trump added. "He gave his quick hearing, & ridiculous decision, right before Midterms - A No No! He's worse than Peekaboo, and a real 'Trump Hater.'"
Trump during a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday night also claimed Engoron's decision is a form of "communism," and an example of the "weaponization" of the Justice Department.
"Just moments ago, a radical left lunatic judge in New York City who is totally controlled by my worst enemies in the Democrat Party—who was given his position at the request of the out-of-control attorney general who has led violent crime in New York rage in the state, including murders, robberies, rape and drugs and levels never seen before—started a process of property confiscation that is akin to Venezuela, Cuba or the old Soviet Union," Trump said to the crowd.
"It's communism, what's going on around our country," he claimed. "They're weaponizing the Justice Department. They've weaponized things that were not supposed to be weaponized."
MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin disputed these assertions, explaining that Engoron's ruling "doesn't hand over anything Trump owns to the government."
What Trump calls "communism looks to others of us like justice," she wrote on Twitter. "The AG is not redistributing his wealth; she's preventing Trump from faking it--and now from transferring it--without accountability."
