Attorneys for President Trump made an attempt to have Judge Arthur Engoron removed from the NYC civil fraud prosecution New York Attorney General Letitia James had brought.
Following the revelation that the judge had an “improper” chat regarding the civil fraud case with a real estate lawyer just prior to issuing a verdict requiring Trump to pay a $454 million penalty, Trump’s attorneys suggested that Engoron should disqualify himself.
In a February interview with NBC New York, real estate lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey disclosed that he spoke with Engoron regarding the Trump issue. “I know he respects my real estate knowledge,” Bailey said. “So I gave it to him. I gave him everything I knew. He had a lot of questions, you know about certain cases. We went over it.”
Attorneys for Trump contended that Judge Engoron could have been swayed by Adam Leitman Bailey.
Bailey’s communication with Engoron was the subject of an investigation launched last month by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (NYSCJC).
