Trump attacks New York judge overseeing Letitia James' $250m lawsuit against him
Trump attacked the New York state judge, Arthur Engoron, in an angry post on his Truth Social web site, railing against the judge who held him in contempt of court and fined him $110,000 for failing to give a deposition.
Former President Donald Trump on Friday tore into the judge overseeing the $250 million suit New York prosecutors brought against him and his business seeking damages.
Trump attacked the New York state judge, Arthur Engoron, in an angry post on his Truth Social web site, railing against the judge who held him in contempt of court and fined him $110,000 for failing to give a deposition.
That ruling came in the long-running investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump's attack comes a week after a state administrative judge denied Trump's push to move the case to another courtroom.
'The only person who may be worse than weak on violent crime A.G. Letitia 'Peekaboo' James, is the Judge we have on her ridiculous & highly partisan case against me & my family,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
'His name is Arthur Engoron, & he is a vicious, biased, and mean 'rubber stamp' for the Communist takeover of the great & prosperous American company that I have built over a long period of years,' Trump wrote. 'He was appointed by my worst enemies. Case was to go to a new Judge, but he demands to keep it. I have no jury or Civil Rights!
Engeron, who attended Columbia University and New York University Law School, was elected to his post on the states Supreme Court First Judicial District in 2015.
Engeron earlier fined Trump $110,000 and forced him to sit for a deposition in the case. When Trump finally sat for it, he repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment.
James sued Trump last month after a three-year probe, accusing Trump of engaging in 'numerous acts of fraud.'
In addition to seeking to claw back cash she alleges Trump defrauded taxpayers out of, James is seeking to rip away his ability to do business in the state for years.
Prosecutors in the civil suit accuse Trump and his three adult children of pumping up property far beyond their actual valuations when seeking lending to expand his real estate empire. James accused Trump of inflated the value of assets by billions and using those faulty assessments to gain favorable loans.
'Claiming you have money that you do not have does not amount to the 'Art of the Deal. It's the art of the steal,' she said.
Trump's legal team objected to Judge Engoron's involvement in the case. They accuse James' office seeking to 'judge shop' by citing Engoron's experience with the case.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba late last month filed a letter with a state administrative judge asking the case to be moved to the court's Commercial Division, which handles complex litigation, and away from Engoron.
Last week she blasted the government's motion in the matter, calling it 'nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to keep this case with Justice Engoron rather than have it transferred to the Commercial Division where it belongs.'
Trump's own team is accused of filing suit in Florida related to the FBI search for government documents at Mar-a-Lago in a court venue where Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump and confirmed weeks before he left office, sits on the bench.