Recently, Rep. Elise Stefanik filed a formal ethics complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron. In a letter to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the New York Republican expressed concerns about the judge, denouncing what she called “inappropriate bias.” Stefanik claimed Engoron’s behavior “has no place in our judicial system.”
“I write today to express my serious concerns about the inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance shown by Judge Arthur F. Engoron in New York’s lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization,” Stefanik said in her letter. “This judge’s bizarre behavior has no place in our judicial system, where Judge Engoron is not honoring the defendant’s rights to due process and a fair trial,” the letter added.
Stefanik further suggested that Judge Engoron’s behavior is an example of a “politicized” weaponization of our judicial infrastructure against the Trump campaign. Many Republicans have criticized the Biden administration in recent years, alleging it has politically persecuted former President Trump and other political opponents.
“These serious concerns are exacerbated by the fact that the defendant is the leading candidate for President of the United States, and it appears the judicial system is being politicized to affect the outcome of the campaign,” Stefanik wrote.
The New York Representative continued criticizing Engoron, calling out a recent move to issue a gag order against Trump and his legal counsel. Stefanik claimed the move was a violation of Trump’s First Amendment rights. She noted the nature of the case further merits that Trump should be able to utilize his right to freedom of speech.
“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 said. “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.”
Stefanik explained that Engoron shouldn’t even be handling the case, claiming other “expert judges” should preside over it. The GOP representative added that Engoron has made an embarrassment of the New York judicial system. “This is yet another example why Judge Engoron demonstrated bad judgment by keeping this case, instead of sending it to the expert judges in the Commercial Division where it belongs,” she said. “Judge Engoron’s bizarre and biased behavior is making New York’s judicial system a laughingstock.”
Rep. Stefanik recently slammed Judge Engoron’s gag order as “unconstitutional” and “illegal.” She slammed Egoron as a “far-left judge,” acting with a bias in favor of the Democrat party. “It’s unconstitutional and illegal to put a GAG order on President Trump and his legal team. The Far Left Judge’s clerk is a major Democrat donor and operative who has apparently donated more than the yearly limit for a New York Judge’s staff member,” she stated.
“It is illegal and un-American for the Leftist Judge in NY to order that President Trump and his legal team can’t raise issues about the Judge’s biased law clerk — especially when it is very obvious that she is playing an integral role in this case,” she added.
Featured image credit: Office of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Trump_Signs_Stefanik_Initiatives_into_Law_at_Fort_Drum.jpg
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