Lawyers representing former President Donald Trump have filed a motion requesting that Judge Arthur Engoron recuse himself from the New York civil fraud case. The motion alleges that the judge engaged in an improper conversation about the case with an outside lawyer, Adam Leitman Bailey, prior to handing down a multimillion-dollar judgment against Trump. Bailey had approached the judge to offer unsolicited advice about the case, although the word “Donald Trump” was reportedly not mentioned during their conversation. The court spokesperson denied any ex parte communication that would have influenced the judge’s decision. However, the incident sparked a state judicial conduct investigation. The ruling found that Trump, the Trump Organization, and top executives conspired to alter the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance benefits, resulting in a combined $464 million judgment plus interest. Trump has appealed the ruling.
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via justthenews:
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump filed a motion on Thursday for New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw Trump’s civil fraud trial, to recuse himself after a lawyer allegedly offered the judge unsolicited advice on the Trump trial.
Engoron ruled against Trump in his civil fraud trial in February, and ordered the former president to pay $355 million in penalties, plus interest, as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud case against him.
Trump attorneys Alina Habba and Clifford Robert called for his recusal in a 24-page motion, after lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey told NBC-4 that he spoke with Engoron about the case. But Bailey never mentioned Trump by name, according to The Hill.
“Allegations have surfaced revealing this Court may have engaged in actions fundamentally incompatible with the responsibilities attendant to donning the black robe and sitting in judgment,” the attorneys said in the motion.
The conversation reportedly took place in February, a couple of weeks before Engoron handed down his verdict.
“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 told NBC New York in February.
A spokesperson for the New York State’s Office of Court Administration has denied that the conversation between Bailey and Engoron influenced the judge’s final decision in the civil fraud case.