Former President Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on Judge Arthur Engoron, who recently ruled against him in a fraud lawsuit, alleging bias and fraud on the part of the judge.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Engoron found Trump and his company liable for fraud, backing the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who accused them of inflating asset values to secure loans and insurance.
The judge took decisive action, ordering the cancellation of New York business certificates for all Trump-related companies, including those of his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. This effectively prevents them from operating their real estate business within the state. Engoron also sanctioned Trump’s legal team for presenting frivolous arguments rejected twice before.
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Trump, vowing to appeal the verdict, lashed out at Engoron on social media, branding him “vicious, biased, and mean.” He accused the judge of attempting to tarnish his image and asserted Engoron’s lack of understanding of the real estate business.
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Trump alleged that Engoron was “engaging in fraud” by accepting campaign contributions from James and other Democrats. He insisted that the appeals court must overturn the decision and reinstate his business licenses.
Meanwhile, Letitia James celebrated the ruling as a “big win” for the people of New York. She claimed that Trump and his company had consistently lied on financial statements, deceiving banks, insurers, and the public. James announced her intention to seek $250 million in damages from Trump and his associates when the trial begins on October 2. She dismissed Trump’s accusations against Engoron as “baseless” and “desperate.”
Judge Engoron, appointed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2012, refrained from responding to Trump’s personal attacks. In his comprehensive 35-page ruling, he emphasized that the case was centered around concrete documents revealing Trump’s fraudulent activities. Engoron cited examples of Trump’s manipulations, such as overstating his New York apartment size by more than two-thirds. He dismissed Trump’s defenses as rooted in a “fantasy world, not the real world,” asserting that the case transcended politics, focusing on “truth and justice.”
This ruling compounds Trump’s legal challenges, as he faces multiple investigations in New York and beyond. The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., is pursuing a criminal investigation into Trump for alleged tax evasion, bank fraud, and other crimes. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing, dismissing all investigations against him as a “witch-hunt.”
