Topline
The New York judge who ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $454 million in damages after finding him liable for fraud denied Trump’s request for him to recuse himself from the appealed case Thursday, arguing a disputed conversation he had with a real estate lawyer prior to the ruling did not impact his ability to judge the trial.
The case is being appealed by Trump’s lawyers. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Key Facts
Judge Arthur Engoron was accused by Trump’s lawyers of having a conversation with real estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey about the merits of the case, citing an interview Bailey had with NBC in which he said he tried to give Engoron advice on how to apply the law.
Bailey told Forbes last month he was “devastated” Engoron had to deal with the motion for recusal and said he cited case law to the judge, “showing him why as a real estate expert I disagree with him.”
Engoron characterized his conversation with Bailey as a “90-second, unsolicited diatribe about a law…by a non-party and non-expert who conveyed no facts,” according to a filing, adding he was accosted by Bailey about Executive Law 63(12)—a law providing New York’s attorney general with broad powers to investigate cases of alleged fraud.
Engoron said the conversation did not affect his adjudication of the case and that he is “supremely confident” in his ability to do his job impartially.
The judge, who was reportedly under investigation by New York’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, said he has not been contacted by the commission and is unaware of any probe, noting an “unsubstantiated allegation of an investigation cannot require disqualification.”
Lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
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What To Watch For
Trump’s legal team has challenged the merits of the case through an appeal—one that accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of seeking to “unwind and penalize complex, highly successful transactions between Appellants and sophisticated Wall Street banks” that left all parties satisfied. Trump’s lawyers are pushing for reduced damages of $113.5 million, arguing the correct statute of limitations related to seven loan transactions disputed in the case “eliminates $350,980,057 of the $464,576,229 judgment,” according to NBC News.
Key Background
Trump and his privately owned conglomerate, The Trump Organization, were found liable for fraud after misstating the values of company assets in multiple financial filings. Engoron ordered Trump in February to pay $454 million in damages including interest, tacking on to legal bills for separate cases such as E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against the former president, for which Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million. The damages in the civil fraud trial also add on to $15,000 in fines issued for Trump after violating a gag order two times in the case.
Further Reading
Trump’s New Attack On Judge Behind His $454 Million Fraud Penalty Explained (Forbes)
Trump appeals civil fraud judgment against his company in New York case (NBC News)
