Stefanik files ethics complaint against Judge Engoron in Trump fraud trial
By: NBC News
I'll be damned...............
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Nov. 10, 2023, 11:00 AM UTCBy Katherine Doyle
WASHINGTON — Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, has filed a judicial ethics complaint against the judge presiding over the New York civil fraud case against Donald Trump, accusing Judge Arthur Engoron of "weaponized law fare" against the former president, and calling on the judge to recuse himself.
Engoron had exhibited "clear judicial bias" against Trump, including by telling Trump's attorney that the former president is "just a bad guy" whom New York Attorney General Letitia James "should go after," Stefanik, R-N.Y., said in a letter to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. She said the judge had failed to honor Trump's due process rights, concerns thatshe said are exacerbated by the former president's position as the frontrunner for the presidential nomination.
Engoron is presiding over the bench trial of a $250 million lawsuit, meaning the judge will also determine guilt and sentencing in the case. Stemming from a lawsuit James filed last year, it charges Trump with inflating asset values for financial gain. Trump testified angrily on Monday in the high-stakes case and has complained and clashed with the judge for weeks.
Engoron issued a partial gag order on Trump last month after he made disparaging remarks about a law clerk on social media and to reporters. He was fined twice for violating the gag order. The judge expanded the gag order last week to include the former president's lawyers.
"I filed an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron for his inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance in New York's disgraceful lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization," Stefanik said in a statement to NBC News. "Americans are sick and tired of the blatant corruption by radical Leftist judges in NY. All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump."
Stefanik said in the letter to accompany the complaint that Engoron had illegally gagged Trump's protected political speech, violated political giving rules with financial contributions to Democrats as recently as 2018, and ignored a decision on the appropriate statute of limitations in the case. At the start of the trial, Engoron "infamously smiled and posed for the cameras," she noted.
"If Judge Engoron can railroad a billionaire New York businessman, a former President of the United States, and the leading presidential candidate, just imagine what he could do to all New Yorkers," Stefanik writes. "Judge Engoron's lawlessness sends an ominous and illegal warning to New York business owners: If New York judges don't like your politics, they will destroy your business, the livelihood of your employees, and you personally. This Commission cannot let this continue."
"All Americans, including political opponents, must receive due process and equal protection under our U.S. and New York Constitutions," Stefanik wrote. "Judge Engoron's disdain for President Trump and his politics are evident, and the Commission must take corrective action to restore a just process and protect our constitutional rights. Judge Engoron must recuse from this case."
Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union argued that the federal judge presiding over Trump's criminal case over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election had violated his First Amendment rights when issuing a gag order.
Stefanik was the first member of Republican leadership to endorse Trump's bid for another run at the White House and is a close ally of the former president. The top New York Republican in the House, Stefanik is also suing Gov. Kathy Hochul over a mail-in voting expansion.
Trump faces a demanding trial schedule from his civil and criminal cases, with the lawsuit in New York, and indictments in Georgia, Florida, Manhattan, and Washington, D.C. Four members of the Trump family, including Trump, have testified in the New York case, which could cripple their business.
Overnight, Trump lashed out at the judge in New York on social media, accusing Engoron and James of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct by using "Valuations so LOW that they are Fraudulent." James has charged Trump with allegedly overstating his family business's real estate assets.
Katherine Doyle
Katherine Doyle is a White House reporter for NBC News.
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How about the whole of Leticia James' bullshit in the first place?
The theory that people like Elise Stefanik are operating on is that by the fact Trump leads a political cult, and that cult wants him to be elected as president again, he can never be held responsible for any wrong doing.
Trump's lies about his wealth and the value of his properties long precedes 2016. I read an article about it in 2015 when I first starting looking for articles about him. He overvalues his properties when he wants to borrow money off them , and undervalues the same properties to tax authorities. If the state of New York says that is against the law it is against the law. Is Trump above the law?
New York is evidently some kind of fucked up and brings this shit upon themselves.
Here, in NC at least, there are tax assessors who TELL you what your property is worth NOT depend on you to give them that figure. You can dispute it and have it revalued but that does not always work.
On the other hand, banks and lending institutions employ the services of appraisers to establish the value of real property prior to any loan papers or agreements being proceeded with. Just went through that with an HELOC. The fact that this whole case is predicated on Trump, supposedly, being the final word(s) where his property is concerned only prompts the call for some sort of reform in NY laws.
An alleged “crime” that had apparently never has been prosecuted in New York.
As this farce has gone on even a child can see how partisan it is. Fox is busy showing the old videos of James’s infamous rants against Donald Trump. She appears daily at the trial and makes a statement each day on X. The biased judge is now more frustrated than ever issuing gag orders and pounding on the table. There has been nothing quite like it. Anyone who pretends this is justice looks foolish.
That is not speculation Vic, it is fact. If he didnt want to do the time in the courtroom he shouldnt have committed the crime. Donald trump is not above the law just because his cult wants him to be.
No good John. You just described what just about everybody does. Why hasn't anyone else in the rough & tough NYC real estate world been prosecuted for this? This is an obvious farce.
Show us the proof no one else has ever been prosecuted for it.
There is no proof either way. The question has been raised many times. The fact that the answer cannot be found on leftist Google tells us that nobody has ever been charged with it.
Yes, other individuals and entities have also been prosecuted for overvaluing their properties to banks. This is considered a form of fraud, and it’s not uncommon in the real estate industry 1 . The penalties for making false statements or overvaluing a property when dealing with a financial institution can be severe, including fines up to $1 million, up to 30 years in prison, or a combination of both imprisonment and a criminal fine 2 . However, the exact number of prosecutions would require a detailed search of court records. It’s worth noting that high-profile cases often receive more public attention 3
Bing AI
LOL.
You knew that before you asked.
Google refuses to post it and NYC authorities refuse to disclose it.
And Trump's support keeps growing.
"Feared by the bad, loved by the good .... Donald Trump, Donald Trump!"
Got any in New York? THAT was the question........................
Loved by the fearful.
So you love him? It is you and yours that are fearful he may win another term.
It is too bad that people don't have enough integrity to let the voters decide.
You undoubtedly would "let the voters decide" after he shot someone in the middle of 5th avenue.
He hasn't shot anyone. (except for Qasem Soleimani)
The idea that voters should decide whether or not someone has committed business fraud is absurd.
Evidently, you and a few others here don't believe in elections.
Don't trust the people?
And yesterday I spit on the sidewalk!
Before or after you poured concrete?
And the assessor's office prevailed. Again, why is NY so fucked up and no assessor was the final say? They invite this shit evidently.
Meh, gonna go nowhere.