WASHINGTON — Fourth-ranking House Republican Elise Stefanik accused Judge Arthur Engoron of "bizarre behavior" and "clear judicial bias" Friday in the ongoing civil fraud case against former President Donald Trump.
Stefanik (R-NY) asked the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct to review what she labeled Engoron’s "inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance."
The upstate lawmaker insisted that "Judge Engoron is not honoring the defendant’s rights to due process and a fair trial" and is "breaking several rules in the New York Code of Judicial Conduct" while considering allegations that Trump inflated the value of his properties to secure bank loans.
Trump, 77, is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and is leading President Biden, 80, in most recent polls.
He testified in the fraud case Monday and clashed repeatedly with Engoron from the witness stand.
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"At the start of the trial, Judge Engoron infamously smiled and posed for the cameras. After the defendant won an appellate ruling against Judge Engoron on the appropriate statute of limitations in this case, the judge simply ignored the ruling," Stefanik wrote in the four-page complaint.
"Judge Engoron entered summary judgment against the defendant before the trial even began, without witnesses, other evidence, and cross-examination," added Stefanik, a possible Trump running mate.
"This, despite the fact there’s disputed material evidence — and there’s no victim of the defendant’s supposed fraud. Indeed, as the trial evidence has made clear, the defendant paid back the sophisticated Wall Street banks, on time, in full, with interest, as agreed."
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She added: "Last year, Judge Engoron told President Trump’s attorney that the former president is 'just a bad guy’ who Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James 'should go after as the chief law enforcement officer of the state.'"
Stefanik also cited political donations to Democrats from Engoron’s staff members and the judge’s partial gag order against Trump.
A verdict against Trump in the case brought by James could bar him and his Trump Organization from doing business in New York.
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Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian told The Post in response to Stefanik’s complaint, "All matters before the Commission on Judicial Conduct are confidential according to law, unless and until a judge is found to have committed ethical misconduct, and a decision to that effect is issued."
Engoron could not be reached for comment.
The former president faces criminal charges in four other legal cases, with trials set to begin next year.