'That whole approach is getting old': Engoron issues 'scathing' response to Trump lawyer
As he nears issuing a final decision in former President Donald Trump's civil fraud case in New York, Judge Arthur Engoron rebuked one of Trump's attorneys in a Thursday email.
The letter, which Courthouse News Service described as "scathing," was in response to Trump lawyer Clifford Robert's assertions that Engoron was acting in a biased manner. Robert made the accusation following the judge's suggestion that he may throw out former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg's testimony based on a New York Times report that Weisselberg was preparing to plead guilty to perjuring himself in Engoron's courtroom.
"You and your co-counsel have been questioning my impartiality since the early days of this case, presumably because I sometimes rule against your clients," Engoron wrote. "The whole approach is getting old."
READ MORE: 'Lied under oath in my courtroom': Judge Engoron email suggests massive penalty for Trump
In the previous email, Engoron wrote that should Weisselberg ultimately plead guilty, he wouldn't rule out invoking "falsus in uno [falsus in omnibus]," which is Latin for "false in one thing, false in everything." Doing so would mean Weisselberg's remarks on the stand would be dismissed in their entirety as a lie.
“When I sent my straightforward, narrow request for information about possible perjury by Allen Weisselberg in the subject case, I was not seeking to initiate a wide-ranging debate with counsel,” Engoron wrote Thursday. “However, your misleading response grossly mischaracterizes the letter that I wrote, and I feel compelled to respond.”
"I take seriously my obligation to find the facts and determine the truth," he added. "To that end, I find it appropriate to have reached out to counsel for Mr. Weisselberg, who is a defendant in this case, to inquire as to her knowledge of this serious allegation."
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million in "disgorgement" penalties against the Trump Organization for allegedly submitting fraudulent statements to the state that artificially inflated the value of Trump's real estate assets. She also aims to ban the former president from conducting business in the Empire state for at least the next five years. Engoron is expected to issue his ruling before the end of the month.
READ MORE: NY appeals court upholds Judge Engoron's ruling that Trump committed 'widespread fraud'
