Trump Attacks Judge Engoron on His Way to Court

Former President Donald Trump speaks in New York State Supreme Court on December 7, 2023, in New York City.

Donald Trump attacked Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the former president’s New York civil fraud case, on social media while on his way to court on Thursday.

Trump, who is currently the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, is tangled up in legal troubles. The former president and his real estate company, The Trump Organization, among other defendants, have been sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James for $250 million. Trump has maintained his innocence, saying that he did “nothing wrong” and claiming that the case is politically motivated.

Engoron has already ruled that Trump misled banks and insurers by inflating the value of his properties in financial statements for years, in order to get more favorable loans and insurance terms. A trial is currently underway to determine how much Trump will pay in damages.

On his way to court on Thursday, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to disparage Engoron and James.

He wrote, “Heading to a Witch Hunt with a Crooked Judge and a Bats..t CRAZY (and Racist!), A.G. This case was decided against me before it even started. WE WON AT THE APPELLATE DIVISION, BUT HIGHLY POLITICAL AND DISRESPECTFUL JUDGE ENGORON REFUSES TO HONOR THEIR ORDER!”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s lawyers on the case and Engoron’s office via email, as well as James via online form for comment.

Trump is attending court on Thursday as a spectator while accounting expert Professor Eli Bartov of New York University testifies. Trump is scheduled to take the stand on Monday.

Trump said on his way into the courtroom on Thursday that he has “one of the greatest experts in the country,” referring to Bartov. However, Lisa Rubin, former litigator and MSNBC legal analyst, criticized Bartov’s lack of experience in the U.S.

Rubin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that Bartov “was a CPA in Israel, where they used GAAP [Generally Accepted Accounting Principles], before becoming an academic in the U.S. Clearly, the point is to show that his eight years of non-U.S. accounting experience translates to his work now and his expertise in accounting for this case.”

Speaking to reporters outside of the New York courtroom on Thursday, Trump said Engoron “ruled against me before the case even started. The case hadn’t started. He knew nothing. And he ruled against me.”

“We won at the appellate division and this judge refuses to honor that victory or that decision or that demand,” Trump insisted.

Towards the beginning of the trial in early October, Trump was put on a limited gag order after he shared a post on Truth Social of Engoron’s principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, posing with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and falsely claimed that she was Schumer’s girlfriend. A second gag order was later issued to expand the restrictions to Trump’s legal team.

The gag orders were temporarily lifted in mid-November by New York appellate judge David Friedman after Trump’s attorneys filed an emergency lawsuit with the appellate court, asking for Engoron’s orders to be overturned. Immediately after the gag order was lifted, Trump started attacking Engoron and his staff. Last week, the appellate court reinstated the gag orders.

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