Alina Habba slammed as she issues ultimatum to Judge Arthur Engoron to recuse himself from Donald Trump's civil fraud case
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: During an appearance on Fox News' 'Hannity' on Friday, June 21, Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba demanded that Judge Arthur Engoron recuse himself from the former president's New York civil fraud case, voicing frustration over the Office of Attorney Ethics' delay in taking action.
Trump's legal team contends that Judge Engoron should step down from the case due to an alleged "appearance of impropriety," claiming that the judge received unsolicited advice from New York real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey while the trial was still underway.
Alina Habba alleges impropriety in Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial
During her appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News show, Habba restated the grievances of the Trump team.
She said, "I just want to be really clear for the listeners on what happened here. This attorney Mr Bailey went on TV bragging about the fact he had spoken with the judge that was sitting on our case, Judge Engoron."
"The judge had not issued his final decision on this case and this attorney who has sued Trump more than six times has now gone up to a judge sitting on an active case and spoken to him about the case. That is not allowed," asserted the Trump attorney.
She added, "He never notified the parties ... Not allowed. This goes way beyond anything else we already know and it gave us another reason to say yet again, 'You need to step down, you need to take the robe, your code of judicial conduct, seriously.'"
An attorney recently flaunted on TV that he discussed our case with Justice Engoron in the midst of trial prior to the final decision. An attorney who sued President Trump multiple times.
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) June 21, 2024
It's imperative that judges uphold their code of conduct and maintain the highest… pic.twitter.com/fJiPLmHRsW
In a court filing on June 20, Trump's team demanded Judge Engoron's recusal, stating, "The integrity of this tribunal and President Trump's right to a fair and impartial trial have been ineluctably imperiled. Under these circumstances, recusal is mandatory and essential to the preservation of the rule of law."
Judge Arthur Engoron fined Donald Trump $454 million in the New York civil fraud trial
Back in February, Judge Engoron, a New York State Supreme Court judge, imposed a $454 million fine, including interest, on Trump. He found the former president guilty of civil fraud for allegedly inflating the value of his assets to obtain bank loans.
Moreover, in his ruling, the judge prohibited Trump from holding any directorial positions in New York for three years. During this period, the Trump Organization is also barred from securing loans from companies in the city.
Trump continues to deny any wrongdoing in the legal proceedings and is appealing the civil verdict.
On Fox News, Habba mentioned that the incident is under investigation by the Office of Attorney Ethics but emphasized that Trump's team "cannot wait here any longer for these judges to sit here and make the right decision."
As a result, Habba stated that they are "going to continue to push and push" and have subpoenaed Bailey to access his communications.
Regarding the verdict, she added, "If this was influenced, if we do find out about it, absolutely there are grounds to vacate the decision for a reversal."
Alina Habba's ultimatum to Judge Engoron sparks major backlash
Habba drew flak as she pushed Judge Engoron to recuse himself from Trump's civil fraud case.
A netizen expressed, "As usual, Trump isn't trying to prove his innocence, he's desperately trying to have prosecutors and judges removed with the same boring accusations over and over."
In a similar vein, another chimed in, "This is not really about recusal, this is about further delaying all aspects of everything related to tRumps criminal mis deeds- this is about bringing into question, even the slightest bit, the validity of the ruling, which would then give tRumps SC justices grounds to vacate the rulings based ..."
"Team Trump is in desperation mode. For some reason, they think they are in control. Go figure," highlighted a person.
Someone else said, "Haha! Sure. If that's a reason he has to recuse himself, then half of the SCOTUS justices must be disrobed and publicly flogged given that they're either married to, take money and gifts from, or go to speaking engagements at the behest of, right wing politicians or right wing donors. Sorry, but getting unsolicited advice from someone is insufficient grounds for recusal."
A comment emphasized, "Someone comes up to a judge and starts talking is grounds for the judge to recuse himself?? I don't get it....If some random comes up to Ally Baba and starts talking, does she have to recuse herself?"
"It become more apparent with every passing day that Hubba Hubba wasn't hired for her knowledge of how the judicial system works," quipped one more.
This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online
