Officials forced way in to Stephen Moore home after failure to pay ex-wife debts

Authorized 2013 break-in began process of selling property owned by Trump Fed pick to raise money owed after divorce

Jon Swaine in New York and David Smith in Washington
Fri 5 Apr 2019 23.17 BST Last modified on Fri 5 Apr 2019 23.27 BST

A court official accompanied by four police officers had to break into the home of Stephen Moore, Donald Trump’s pick for the Federal Reserve board, after he repeatedly failed to pay debts to his ex-wife.

The group forced its way into Moore’s house in Virginia in May 2013, to begin the process of selling the property in order to raise $330,000 Moore owed after his divorce, according to court filings.

When the court official telephoned Moore to ask where he wanted the new key to his home to be left, Moore “was very argumentative” and “denied that we were in his house”, she said in a June 2013 motion.

The court records were reopened to the public by a judge on Friday, in response to legal action by the Guardian and other media. They were temporarily sealed this week following the publication of reports, by the Guardian and other outlets, about Moore’s past financial and legal problems.

Six days after the authorized break-in at his house, Moore made a long overdue payment of $150,000 to his ex-wife, Allison, the records show. She then asked the court to halt the action to sell Moore’s home.

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