Attorneys for former President Donald Trump Demand Mistrial in New York Fraud Case
Attorneys for former President Donald Trump are demanding a mistrial be declared in his New York fraud case, claiming the judge and his clerk have subjected the defendants to "tangible and overwhelming" bias and unfair treatment.
The motion for a mistrial makes good on a promise Trump's attorneys made to file it the day he testified in the case on Nov. 6. The announcement capped off an intense day of examination in which Trump — who has frequently criticized New York Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk — even lashed out at the judge on the witness stand, pointing at him and calling him a "fraud."
In the filing, Trump's attorneys claim that "the Court has abrogated its constitutional responsibility to ensure each Defendant, including President Trump, receives a fair trial free from even the appearance of impropriety and impartiality."
The trial began Oct. 2 and is expected to last through mid-December. Trump, two of his sons and their company are accused of perpetrating a decade of fraud and benefiting by at least $250 million, by submitting inflated valuations of his properties and net worth to banks and insurers.
Trump and his attorneys have repeatedly accused the judge of favoring New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat. Engoron is also a Democrat. He was appointed by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the New York Supreme Court, 1st Judicial District, in 2013, after previously serving as a judge on New York City's civil court. He ran unopposed for the position in 2015, and is serving a 14-year term.
"Indeed, left unchecked, the introduction of such demonstrable pro-Attorney General and antiTrump/big real estate bias into a case of worldwide interest involving the front-runner for the Presidency of the United States impugns the integrity of the entire system," wrote the attorneys for Trump, who is leading polls ahead of the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.
The mistrial motion also accuses Engoron's law clerk, Allison Greenfield, of bias and "co-judging" the case. Greenfield, who is also a Democrat, typically sits next to the judge. During pretrial hearings, she often questioned attorneys for the two sides herself. She and lawyers for Trump have had many heated exchanges over the course of the case.
Trump and his campaign have twice violated a limited gag order put in place Oct. 3, after Trump made a derogatory social media post about Greenfield. He's paid $15,000 in fines related to the gag order violations.
Allegations of Bias in Court Proceedings
A defense attorney has accused Judge Engoron of bias during a recent trial, claiming that his law clerk, identified as Greenfield, was passing "notes" to the judge. The defense attorney, Christopher Kise, expressed his concern over the perceived bias when a member of his team was questioning a witness, stating that notes were only being passed when he was making a point.
Judge Engoron vehemently defended the actions, asserting that the notes were confidential communications from his principal law clerk, and that he had an absolute right to them. He even pounded the bench with his fist to emphasize his point.
In response to the allegations, Judge Engoron later prohibited the attorneys from referring to the notes during the trial. The defense's motion, which includes the clerk's name and references to her social media accounts, also includes two photos of the judge and his clerk together on the bench.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office dismissed the allegations, stating that Donald Trump is attempting to distract from the truth and the evidence.
The defense's mistrial motion has been made during the first week of their own witness testimonies in the case. This includes testimony from Donald Trump Jr., who has already testified twice. The defense's presentation began after more than five weeks of testimony from the state's case.
Judge Engoron had previously indicated that he would deny the mistrial request and had urged counsel not to file it. The civil trial, now in its seventh week, is continuing in Manhattan.
During court proceedings on Wednesday, the judge briefly acknowledged the mistrial request and asked the government if they planned to respond. New York prosecutors stated that they would respond by Thursday and provide a proposed schedule order indicating how long the judge might take to rule on the matter.
The Trump legal team continued their direct line of questioning of expert witness Jason Flemmons, a forensic accountant and former deputy chief accountant at the SEC. Flemmons was asked a series of questions regarding Trump's financial statements and the supporting data used by accounting firm Mazars, and whether their methods were consistent with accounting standards.
Flemmons testified there were "quite a few" disclosures made in Trump's financial statements related to departures from generally accepted accounting principles. The testimony bolstered the Trumps' defense that they were transparent in compiling the documents, didn't hide departures from accounting standards, and properly advised banks and insurers to perform their own due diligence.
