Wednesday was not a great day for Donald Trump, legally speaking.
First, Trump was scheduled to appear for a deposition in Manhattan in the defamation lawsuit brought against him by writer E. Jean Carroll. Then, in a different New York courtroom, a judge denied a motion from Trump’s legal team to have New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against the Trump Organization reassigned to a new judge.
James is suing the Trump Organization for alleged fraud, but the former president seems more bothered by his history with the judge assigned to the case, Arthur Engoron. Administrative Judge Adam Silvera said in a Wednesday filing that state Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron was properly assigned the case. Engoron has a history of ruling against Trump, but only because he ruled based on facts.
NEW: A New York judge has denied Trump's motion to reassign the NYAG's lawsuit — and take it from NY Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. Engoron was the judge who decided all of the pre-suit disputes over discovery, including whether the Trumps had to be deposed. 1/
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) October 19, 2022
And between this ruling, today's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll case; and a CA court's holding that yet more John Eastman communications are evidence of Trump's crimes (and therefore have to be turned over to 1/6 committee), this is another *not good* legal day for Trump. FIN
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) October 19, 2022
Sponsored Links
“Consistent with court procedure, the General Clerk’s Office appropriately assigned this action to Judge Engoron, on grounds that plaintiff identified it as “related” to the Special Proceeding,” Silvera wrote in his ruling.
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Trump loses again. He tried to get the NYS AG's $250 million lawsuit assigned to a different judge than the one who had previously held him in $10K/day contempt for discovery deficiencies. He accused Letitia James of judge-shopping. His request for reassignment has been DENIED.
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) October 19, 2022
On the same day last month that AG James filed the lawsuit accusing Trump, his three eldest children, and two corporate executives of “staggering” fraud that she claims “grossly inflated” Trump’s net worth, the Trump Organization quietly registered a new entity, Trump Organization II, according to a recent court filing. Investigators suspect that the disgraced ex-president could move assets from his family real estate business to the new entity in an attempt to evade liability posed by the lawsuit, according to the attorney general’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
Imagine being such a narcissist that you name your secret company Trump Organization II, and think Letitia James isn’t going to catch on?
— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@NotHoodlum) October 14, 2022
According to the lawsuit, Trump’s representations about his wealth, like so many of his claims, may be no more than outright lies. James’ office brought the charges of fraud and misrepresentation based on years of alleged financial wrongdoing, in a case that could be lethal to the real-estate mogul’s empire. (In response to James’ allegations, Trump’s lawyer stated Wednesday that “no wrongdoing has taken place.”)
Follow Tara Dublin on Twitter @taradublinrocks.
