House GOP leader files complaint against Judge Engoron: 'Weaponized lawfare against President Trump'

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) — the chair of the House Republican Conference — submitted an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron on Friday, accusing the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's civil fraud trial of "inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance."

"Americans are sick and tired of the blatant corruption by radical Leftist judges in NY," Stefanik tweeted. "All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump."

In her letter to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Rep. Stefanik wrote that Engoron "has displayed a clear judicial bias against the defendant throughout the case, breaking several rules in the New York Code of Judicial Conduct," adding that the longtime judge "has made it crystal clear he doesn’t care what the defendant or his attorneys have to say" in the case.

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Notably, Stefanik's letter echoes arguments the former president himself has made on his Truth Social account pertaining to Engoron's gag order. Even though Engoron's order is narrowly confined to remarks about his staff — following Trump's attacks on law clerk Allison Greenfield — Stefanik said even those comments shouldn't be subjected to a gag order.

"Judge Engoron has gone on to gag and fine President Trump for merely criticizing Judge Engoron’s law clerk, which is core political speech protected by the First Amendment," Stefanik argued. "If anyone in America must have the constitutional right to speak out against the judge, his staff, the witnesses, or the process, it’s a defendant going through a process he believes is politicized and weaponized against him."

"To gag a defendant is un-American," she added.

Engoron has held Trump accountable twice for violating his gag order by fining him twice: The first fine was for $5,000, and he fined Trump $10,000 for the second offense. Even though the former president could technically be jailed in contempt of court for multiple violations of a gag order, Engoron has refrained from imposing that punishment.

READ MORE: Why Judge Engoron was smart to let Trump 'simply throw tantrums' in court: analysis

The prosecution rested its case against the 45th president of the United States this week after compelling both Trump and his immediate family members to the witness stand. Because the proceeding is a bench trail rather than a jury trial, Engoron will ultimately decide the verdict.

Read Elise Stefanik's full letter here.