Former President Donald Trump expressed strong criticism for Judge Arthur Engoron after the judge denied a motion in the $250 million civil fraud case filed against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Upset by the ruling that required his Monday testimony to proceed, Trump stated that the judge should be “thrown off the bench.”
Trump asserted on his Truth Social platform that they had completely proven their case. He also criticized his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, calling him the attorney general’s “sole witness” and demanding his prosecution for alleged lies.
“Trump wrote: We have totally proven our Case against the Corrupt, Racist, New York Attorney General, Letitia “Peekaboo” James. The Banks, Insurance Companies, virtually everybody said we were “GREAT,” PERFECT LOANS, NO VICTIMS! Their sole Witness has been completely discredited, and admitted he lied about everything. He was the only Witness they had, and should be prosecuted for his lies. The Judge and the A.G. falsified the value of Mar-a-Lago and other Assets to make me look as bad as possible, and got caught. For anyone else, what they did would be considered FRAUD, and they would be thrown off the “bench” and out of office….”
Trump’s legal team submitted a motion to Judge Arthur Engoron, requesting a delay in his Monday testimony as they appeal a gag order imposed by the judge several weeks ago. According to the Washington Examiner, Trump has been subject to a gag order since the initial weeks of his trial, starting in October, because of social media posts referencing Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and his staff. The Examiner reported that Trump’s filing was listed on the New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department docket on Monday, indicating his plan to appeal the lower court’s decision to the state’s highest court.
“Engoron contends his principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, has sustained harassing and antisemitic messages ever since Trump posted a picture of her with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and referred to her as his ‘girlfriend’ on Oct. 4, the second day of the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization,” the outlet explained.
“Trump was ordered to delete the social media post and entered a gag order against him that day. Engoron has ruled Trump has violated the order twice and fined him a total of $15,000 so far, a fee Trump has already paid out,” the report continued. “The order has since been expanded to block Trump’s attorneys from commenting about his communications with the clerk, who sits next to Engoron during the trial.”
Meanwhile, alongside the federal and state charges confronting Trump, the former president is grappling with legal challenges aiming to prevent him from appearing on the 2024 ballot in multiple states.
A broad coalition, including more than a dozen attorneys general from Republican-controlled states, has submitted briefs in a legal dispute questioning the constitutional eligibility of Donald Trump to be listed on Colorado’s 2024 ballot.
Following a recent ruling that dismissed claims by six voters asserting that Trump’s role in provoking the January 6th attack on the U.S. lacked merit, the Colorado Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the case this week. The presence of an insurrection clause from the Civil War, barring him from the Capitol, is cited in the challenge, as reported by Colorado News.
In the November 17th ruling, Judge Sarah B. Wallace declared that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits someone from holding office again if they engage in insurrection after taking an oath to support the Constitution, does not apply to the presidency. Despite finding that Trump “engaged in insurrection” based on that provision, the judge asserted its inapplicability to the presidency. The case is now under appeal in the Colorado Supreme Court, awaiting a forthcoming decision.
Notably, courts in other states, including Arizona, Minnesota, and Michigan, have rejected similar arguments from the plaintiffs.
