Court appoints new judge in Trump’s civil fraud case before reassigning previous judge hours later

FIRST ON FOX: A New York court assigned a new judge to preside over the civil fraud case against President-elect Trump brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, ostensibly replacing Judge Arthur Engoron, but hours later, the court put him back on the case, sources close to Trump’s legal team. he told Fox News Digital.

The case and trial were handled by Judge Arthur Engoron, who was accused by Trump allies of acting with bias against the president-elect, his family and his company.

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Sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that the court sent an automated email around 12:45 p.m. Thursday, notifying the parties that it had assigned New York County Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon of Staten to the case. Island.

But several hours later, at 4:12 p.m., lawyers in the case received another automated message from the court system notifying them that Judge Arthur Engoron had been reassigned to the case.

A source close to Trump’s legal team told Fox News Digital they are concerned about the back-and-forth.

The case is pending appeal. After the appeals court issues its decision, the case will move to a lower court, which Engoron presided over during the trial.

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Engoron, after a weeks-long nonjury civil fraud trial that began in October 2023, ruled last year that Trump and the defendants were responsible for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsification of business records” , “issuance of false financial statements”. conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”

But before the trial began, Engoron granted summary judgment against Trump, turning the subsequent trial into a sentencing case.

Notably, during the case, Engoron allowed the value of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to be listed at $18 million. President Trump denies that valuation, saying the property is worth 50 to 100 times more than Engoron’s estimate. And real estate experts and developers argued the property could fetch more than $300 million.

In his ruling on the case last year, Engoron took a shot at Trump, criticizing him for his involvement in the trial, saying he “rarely answered the questions that were asked and that he often interjected into lengthy speeches and irrelevant on matters far beyond the scope of the trial”.

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“His refusal to answer questions directly, or in some cases, seriously compromised his credibility,” Engoron wrote.

During the trial late last year, Trump, Trump allies, Republicans and legal experts repeatedly criticized Engoron, who throughout his career has given exclusively to Democrats, about your case management.

Engoron is also under investigation for unsolicited tips he received about the case.

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, and the former president said his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that their financial statements had disclaimers and made clear to the banks that they would have to conduct their own assessments.

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Trump appealed the $454 million judgment. The appeal is pending before the New York Court of Appeals.

New York appeals court judges last year were receptive to reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud trial

The president’s lawyers called Engoron’s sentence “draconian, illegal and unconstitutional.”

Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, the incoming attorney general, argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York’s consumer protection laws and said there were “no victims” and “no complaints” about the Trump business by lenders and insurers.

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Sauer said the case “involves a clear violation of the statute of limitations,” pointing to the transactions used in the nonjury civil fraud trial dating back more than a decade.

Sauer said that if the verdict is not overturned, “people cannot do business in real estate” without fear.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect new information.