Judge Arthur Engoron, who ordered Donald Trump to pay a $454 million judgment, is under investigation for allegedly receiving unsolicited advice from a prominent real estate lawyer, Adam Leitman Bailey, prior to the ruling. Bailey claims he urged Engoron to “get it right” but denies any influence or connection to Trump’s cases. The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is reportedly looking into the matter.
BREAKING: New York's judicial oversight body has initiated an investigation into claims that Judge Arthur Engoron met with a high-profile attorney, Adam Leitman Bailey, who allegedly offered unsolicited advice on the Trump case prior to a major ruling. Bailey stated in an NBC New… pic.twitter.com/HzVkI38Gn4
— @amuse (@amuse) May 9, 2024
Engoron ordered former President Donald Trump in March to pay $454 million
Adam Leitman Bailey said he spoke to Engoron three weeks before the ruling
He said he wasn’t a fan of Trump and he encouraged Engoron to ‘get it right
A well known New York City real estate lawyer has reportedly prompted the state of New York to investigate Judge Arthur Engoron after he claimed to have given the judge unsolicited advice.
Engoron ordered former President Donald Trump in March to pay a $454 million judgement after 30 lenders turned him away.
Trump – who frequently referred to Engoron as ‘crazed’ and ‘corrupt’ – posted $175 million in bond before a deadline to avoid asset seizure as he appeals the ruling.
Adam Leitman Bailey, a New York real estate attorney, said at the time of the ruling in public that he spoke to Judge Engoron three weeks before the ruling and told him to ‘get it right.‘
A spokesman for Engoron denied the story and said he was ‘wholly uninfluenced’ by Bailey, but The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct reportedly is looking into whether he violated any rules, according to NBC New York.
Bailey said in mid-February, the day of the ruling, that he’d spoken to Engoron three weeks earlier.
‘I saw him in the corner [at the courthouse] and I told my client, ‘I need to go.’ And I walked over and we started talking … I wanted him to know what I think and why…I really want him to get it right.’
Bailey claims he’s not a fan of Trump and is in no way connected to any of the lawsuits or cases against the president but says he’s litigated in front of Engoron ‘hundreds of times.’
He claims he told Engoron to get the judgement right because a ruling levying such a heavy fine against Trump could damage New York’s economy.