Trump seeks NY fraud mistrial, citing judge's 'demonstrable bias,' law clerk's 'co-judging'

Former President Donald Trump requested a mistrial in a high-stakes New York civil fraud case that could cost the GOP frontrunner $250 million and strip him of his ability to do business in the state, decrying what he called the judge’s “ample bias” and a law clerk’s “co-judging.”

Given “the demonstrable partisan bias present on the bench at trial, the only way to maintain public confidence in a truly independent and impartial judiciary and the rule of law is to bring these proceedings to an immediate halt,” Trump and several co-defendants said Wednesday.

The former president, his two oldest sons, and several other people and entities tied to the Trump business world are fighting a lawsuit by state Attorney General Letitia James that seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and to take away different avenues for Trump to conduct business in the state.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September that Trump had fraudulently inflated the value of his assets and that some entities will lose their state business certificates.

The ongoing trial is focused on further allegations, including that the defendants issued false financial statements and committed insurance fraud, as well as on the possible extent of financial damages in the case.

Law clerk given 'unprecedented status and input,' defense says

Trump himself has attacked the judge on social media as a "disgrace to the legal profession!" In explosive testimony earlier this month, he railed against Engoron's September ruling.

"He called me a fraud, and he didn’t know anything about me!” the former president said from the witness stand.

The new filings on Trump’s behalf target several instances that the defense says show actual bias or the appearance of bias by Engoron. The Trump team said Engoron acted “beyond the pale” by posting links that it said disparaged Trump and members of the defense to his high school alumni newsletter on several occasions between 2020 and 2022.

The Trump team expressed special indignation over Engoron’s main law clerk, Allison Greenfield, and Engoron’s prohibition against parties and lawyers in the case publicly commenting on court staff. The judge said his chambers had received “hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters, and packages” since the trial began, and said the need to protect his staff from threats and physical harm outweighed the free speech rights of the defendants and their lawyers to comment on courtroom personnel.

After an exchange with the defense team in court earlier this month, Engoron specifically said the defense wouldn't violate the gag order by making a written motion raising the issue in support of a mistrial.

Engoron instituted the gag order after Trump attacked Greenfield in social media posts, including one falsely describing her as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s “girlfriend.” Trump was twice fined for violating the order, and the judge expanded it to include the former president’s attorneys.

In addition to the high-stakes New York civil case, Trump faces federal criminal charges in Washington, DC, and Miami over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election and over his alleged hoarding and mishandling of classified documents. He has been charged in Georgia with election interference, and in Manhattan with filing false business records to hide alleged hush money payments to an adult film actress.

In Wednesday’s call for a mistrial in the civil fraud case, the Trump team said Engoron had given his clerk “unprecedented status and input into these proceedings,” including by allowing her “to preside on the bench with him to his right-hand side.” They included images showing the clerk seated next to Engoron in court.

"At a minimum, the appearance of 'co-judging' is manifest, and the public (and litigants) may conclude fairly that an unelected staff member has, as is evident from the above images, a direct role in presiding over the trial," the Trump defense said.

The defense team also alleged Engoron violated a code of judicial conduct by allowing his main law clerk to contribute thousands of dollars to Democrat candidates and organizations in 2022 and 2023, including while a proceeding leading up to the case was pending and after the case was filed.

"Thus, only the grant of a mistrial can salvage what is left of the rule of law," the defense argued.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump requests mistrial in NY civil fraud case, decrying judge's 'ample bias'