Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) filed a judicial complaint against New York Judge Arthur Engoron, accusing him of using “weaponized lawfare” against former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud trial.
In a letter posted on X, formerly Twitter, Stefanik said Engoron “displayed a clear judicial bias” and has broken several rules under the New York Code of Judicial Conduct.
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“Judge Engoron’s bizarre and biased behavior is making New York’s judicial system a laughingstock,” the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference wrote in the letter released Friday.
Stefanik is a longtime ally and supporter of Trump and has been floated as a vice presidential pick.
???????????? I just filed an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron for his inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance in New York’s disgraceful lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 10, 2023
Americans are sick and tired of the blatant… pic.twitter.com/5HRzSle2LV
"All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump," she wrote on X.
The trial began in downtown Manhattan one month ago, and this week, Trump took the witness stand. After a series of heated clashes, Engoron threatened to remove the former president from the stand and urged his attorney to control him.
Last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against Trump, accusing his family business and his sons of manipulating financial statements and assets to defraud banks and insurers.
Stefanik cited that last year, Engoron told Trump attorney Alina Habba that the former president is “a bad guy” whom James “should go after as the chief law enforcement officer of the state.”
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“If Ms. James has a thing against him, OK, that’s not in my understanding [of] unlawful discrimination. He’s just a bad guy she should go after as the chief law enforcement officer of the state,” Engoron said in a hearing last year, while Habba argued Trump was unfairly being singled out by James.
Engoron is the presiding judge over the $250 million lawsuit and will also determine the sentencing in the case. This week, Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of the former president, tested in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial. Eric Trump, his son and co-defendant, has already taken the stand. Engoron and Trump have clashed multiple times since the start of the trial. Most recently, the former president accused the judge of falsely valuing his Mar-a-Lago property at $18 million. Trump said the Florida estate is worth 50 to 100 times more than the judge's $18 million valuation.