(Headline USA) Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed an ethics complaint this week against the judge overseeing the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump.
In the complaint, which was filed with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Stefanik accused Judge Arthur Engoron of exhibiting “bias” and “bizarre behavior” in the courtroom.
“I write today to express my serious concerns about the inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance shown by Judge Arthur F. Engoron in New York’s lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization,” Stefanik reportedly wrote. “This judge’s bizarre behavior has no place in our judicial system, where Judge Engoron is not honoring the defendant’s rights to due process and a fair trial.”
The civil case against Trump, which was brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, is over whether the Trump Organization and its top officials knowingly misrepresented the value of multiple real estate holdings over the years. Trump and his three adult children have all testified in Engoron’s court.
Trump’s allies have accused Engoron of displaying bias against him from the start of the trial, when cameras caught him smiling as Trump and the other defendants were brought into the courtroom.
When Trump took the stand as a witness, Engoron chided the former president and demanded that his lawyers “control” his answers.
“This is not a political rally,” Engoron claimed.
He also imposed a limited gag order on Trump and his lawyers, claiming he has received multiple threats since the trial started.
“Judge Engoron has gone on to gag and fine President Trump for merely criticizing Judge Engoron’s law clerk, which is core political speech protected by the First Amendment,” Stefanik said. “If anyone in America must have the constitutional right to speak out against the judge, his staff, the witnesses, or the process, it’s a defendant going through a process he believes is politicized and weaponized against him.”
