Trump legal team asks Judge Arthur Engoron to recuse himself from civil fraud case – NBC New York

Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed a motion Thursday calling on New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself from Trump's civil fraud case.

The 24-page filing says Judge Engoron should step down in light of an investigation into state judicial conduct launched last month. Sources close to the investigation said the investigation focused on whether Engoron had an inappropriate conversation about the matter with a lawyer with expertise in real estate law three weeks before issuing his $454 million fine decision.

That lawyer is Adam Leitman Bailey, who unexpectedly revealed his alleged interaction with the judge during two taped television interviews with NBC New York in February.

A New York real estate lawyer whose license was suspended said he contacted the judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud case to offer unsolicited advice on a law at issue in the case. affair. The state's judicial watchdog has opened an investigation into the alleged interaction. The I-Team's Melissa Russo has the exclusive story. NBC New York's Melissa Russo reports.

“I wanted him to know what I think and why I really want him to get it right,” Bailey said, repeating that he had intended to advise Engoron on the law in the Trump case and why harsh sanctions would be bad for business in this country. New York. Bailey later said that he and the judge “never mentioned the word Donald Trump,” but when asked if it was clear what case they discussed, Bailey responded, “Well, obviously, We weren’t talking about the Mets.”

In their motion, Trump's legal team said WNBC's reporting on Bailey's public statements raised questions about outside influence on the judge.

“When, as here, the impartiality of this Court could reasonably be called into question in the circumstances, it must recuse itself. Indeed, there is no other way of dispelling the shadow which now hangs over the impartiality of this Court,” the filing states.

Read the full report below:

When reached for comment, court spokesman Al Baker said “we have no further comment on this matter.” WNBC also reached out to Bailey for a response, but has not yet received a response.

Bailey is a top lawyer who has co-edited textbooks on New York real estate law. His law license has already been suspended in part for insulting opposing litigants. Bailey told News 4 he had a long-standing professional relationship with Engoron. So he approached him at the courthouse to explain that a fraud statute at issue in the case was not intended to be used to shut down a large company, especially in a case. without clear victims.

“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 looked into it.”

A statement from a court spokesperson in February did not deny that a conversation took place between the judge and the lawyer, but suggested that the interaction was insignificant.

“No ex parte conversation regarding this matter took place between Judge Engoron and Mr. Bailey or any other person. The decision rendered by Judge Engoron on February 16 was his alone, was deeply considered and has absolutely no was not influenced by this individual,” said Al Baker, spokesman. for the New York State Office of Judicial Administration, in a written statement.

After Bailey's on-camera claims to WNBC and the judge's broad written denial, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (NYSCJC) opened an investigation last month, according to sources familiar with the matter.

And a few weeks later, the commission questioned Bailey under oath about his claims. In a statement, NYSCJC Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said “the Commission on Judicial Conduct is subject to strict confidentiality laws and has no comment on this matter.”

The commission is gathering evidence to determine whether Engoron violated ethics rules, the sources said. These rules generally prohibit judges from discussing pending cases with outside parties or accepting any expert opinions unless they are disclosed to the parties to the case, who must be given an opportunity to respond.

Ethics experts emphasize that the rules do not prohibit abstract discussions of the law and that judges have discretion in deciding which contacts should be disclosed.

In their filing, the Trump team said Engoron “failed to inform them” of Bailey's alleged contribution, accusing the judge of three months of “cover-up.”

Trump's motion calls for a separate evidentiary hearing before a different judge to call witnesses, including Bailey, if Engoron does not agree to recuse himself. Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, said they are also issuing their own civil subpoenas seeking communications between Bailey and Engoron.

Sources close to the judicial conduct investigation say the Commission has already asked Bailey to turn over any emails and texts he may have exchanged with Judge Engoron.

Bailey suggested he was texting Engoron for information about his sanction decision, hours before it was released.

“What is he thinking?” Bailey asked, as he appeared to be typing on his phone during his on-camera interview with WNBC. “I should text him.” He's probably bombed, I'll text him. I want to make this decision.

The court spokesperson declined to tell NBC New York whether Engoron received text messages from Bailey inquiring about his Trump ruling before it was issued that day.

Since February, the court spokesperson has not responded to any specific additional questions from WNBC about the length and nature of the interaction between Engoron and Bailey. For example, did the judge argue with Bailey or try to end the conversation?

According to Trump's motion, the judge's responsibility to avoid any appearance of impropriety is heightened “in a case that has received worldwide attention.”

Several ethics experts and former judges contacted by News 4 say it will likely be up to the judge to decide whether to recuse himself from the Trump civil case. But they note that the existence of an investigation into judicial conduct does not in itself require a recusal.

Former President Trump repeatedly accused Engoron, a Democrat, of bias. The Trump team unsuccessfully requested a mistrial in November and criticized the judge's decisions, currently under appeal.

Under the rules of professional conduct for a lawyer, a lawyer must not “state or imply the ability” to unduly influence a judge, nor assist a judge in violating his or her own rules. But Bailey emailed WNBC several hours after Engoron issued his sanction decision on Feb. 16:

“I guess I convinced the judge to change his mind and reverse his decision on the certificates and the sale of DT (Donald Trump) assets in New York. This is crazy,” Bailey wrote, without provide evidence.

But by the time Bailey addressed the judge, other forces were at play. An appeals court had already stayed Engoron's initial decision to revoke Trump's business certificates.

It is not clear why Bailey would disclose in a television interview an attempt to advise a judge that could land him in trouble, according to legal ethics experts consulted for this report. When NBC New York pressed Bailey about the ethics of the conversation he described, he said he did nothing inappropriate. So far, it is unclear whether Bailey is under an ethics investigation for his alleged actions.

Bailey stopped responding to News 4 in February after learning his interaction with the judge might become the subject of our story. In his last email to WNBC in February, he wrote:

“If you report on my conversation about the law with the judge, you will damage my reputation with the judge and others. Why is this news?”

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