Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) called for the resignation of former President Trump and accused the judge supervising his civil fraud trial of displaying “inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance” toward him in a judicial ethics complaint she filed on Friday.
In a letter to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Stefanik claimed that Judge Arthur Engoron had violated “several rules” in the state’s judicial conduct code and shown “clear judicial bias” against Trump.
“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,” Stefanik wrote in her complaint.
The letter summarizes a number of points raised by Trump’s legal team throughout the trial, such as the claim that Engoron wrongly misrepresented the case and that there were “no victims” of the former president’s business operations.
Engoron declared that Trump, the Trump Organization, and a number of executives—including Trump’s adult sons—were all guilty of fraud prior to the start of the trial.
Though a New York appeals court postponed the termination of the business licenses until after it hears Trump’s case, the ruling revoked Trump’s company licenses and put several of his famous properties in jeopardy.
Over the course of the ongoing seven-week trial, Engoron has emerged as a new opponent for Trump. When the former president took the stand in his fraud case the two clashed.
The attorney general’s office in New York has asked for a prohibition on Trump and other executives conducting business in the state as well as $250 million in financial penalties.
On Wednesday, the state withdrew its complaint, and on Monday, Trump’s legal team is anticipated to start its main case.
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