Lawyers for former President Trump on Thursday requested that the judge presiding over his civil fraud trial recuse himself from the case, citing allegations that he improperly discussed the case with outside parties.
“Allegations have arisen that this Supreme Court may have acted in a manner fundamentally incompatible with its responsibilities to sit in black robes,” Trump lawyers Alina Hubba and Clifford Roberts wrote in a 24-page motion to vacate the bench.
On February 16, the day Judge Arthur Engoron awarded Trump a multimillion-dollar judgment, a prominent New York real estate lawyer He said in an interview with NBC New York. He said he approached the judge about three weeks ago to offer unsolicited advice on the case.
“I saw him in the corner. [at the courthouse] “I told my client, ‘I’ve got to go,’ and I walked over to him and we started talking. … I wanted him to know what I thought and why I thought it… I wanted him to make the right decision,” his lawyer, Adam Reitman Bailey, told NBC New York on February 16.
Bailey later said “the words Donald Trump” never came up in the conversation, NBC New York reported, but when asked if it was clear they were discussing the Trump incident, the lawyer replied, “Well, we obviously weren’t talking about the Mets.”
At the time, court spokesman Al Baker told the outlet that Engoron’s decision was “his own, was made after much consideration and was in no way influenced by Mr Bailey”, and denied there had been any separate discussion where the case was discussed without all the parties involved being present.
In an email to The Hill, Bailey said his comments to NBC New York were “off the record” and that he had “only discussed the judge’s September summary judgment decision” with Engoron, who holds Trump and his co-defendants liable for fraud.
““I did not think it was wrong in any way to speak to Judge Engoron about my own personal views on his already published judgment,” he said.
“I have been deceived and tricked. I am devastated that this is happening. This is wrong,” he continued. “I am devastated and hurt that Judge Engoron is about to retire and yet he still has to deal with this because of a statement I made privately.”
The conversation between Bailey and Engoron triggered a state judicial conduct investigation last month.
“The New York State Code of Judicial Conduct exists to ensure that litigants receive a fair and impartial trial,” Haba said in a statement. “However, Judge Engoron’s communications with Attorney Adam Reitman Bailey about the facts of this case are in direct violation of this Code and demonstrate Judge Engoron’s inability to function as an impartial arbitrator.”
“It is clear that Judge Engoron should resign immediately,” she said.
Judge Engoron in February found that Trump, the Trump Organization and executives conspired to manipulate the former president’s net worth for tax and insurance purposes, and awarded him $464 million plus interest. Trump is appealing the ruling.
Updated at 7:48pm ET.
