Stefanik Files Formal Complaint Against NY Judge In Trump Case
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has filed a formal judicial complaint against Manhattan Justice Arthur Engoron with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct over his “clear judicial bias” against former President Donald Trump.
Stefanik announced the decision in a statement, writing: “I filed an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron for his inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance in New York’s disgraceful lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization.”
“Americans are sick and tired of the blatant corruption by radical Leftist judges in NY. All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump,” the New York congresswoman added.
Stefanik explained the reasons behind the move in a four-page letter accompanying the complaint.
“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,” she wrote, pointing out that the fact that Trump is the “leading candidate for President of the United States of America” exacerbates the concerns, and noting that “it appears the judicial system is being politicized to affect the outcome of the campaign.”
She went on to accuse Engoron of breaking “several rules in the New York Code of Judicial Conduct” — citing a Breitbart News report about the judge’s top clerk, Allison Greenfield, who has allegedly made political donations in excess of the $500 per calendar year limit for judicial employees as established in Section 100.5 of the Judicial Conduct code.
“Allison Greenfield has served as Judge Engoron’s principal law clerk since 2019. In both 2022 and 2023, Greenfield donated in excess of $500 to political campaigns. In 2022 alone, Greenfield donated ‘$3,335 in political donations to Democrat candidates and causes,’” Stefanik explained in the letter, adding: “She’s already given more than $1,000 in 2023 to campaigns.”
This doesn’t just implicate Greenfield in impropriety, as Engoron has repeatedly defended his clerk and refused to even address the matter — even going so far as to bar Trump’s team from discussing the subject.
“When President Trump’s attorneys notified Judge Engoron, Judge Engoron responded by issuing an illegal gag order against President Trump’s legal team,” Stefanik wrote.
Engoron himself has also made political contributions in defiance of the law, donating exclusively to Democrats over the past 25 years, according to a Daily Wire report cited by Stefanik. The Republican congresswoman went on to point out that Section 100.5 of the Judicial Conduct code “says that judges ‘shall refrain’ from ‘making a contribution to a political organization.’”
“New York’s campaign finance database shows Engoron has contributed over $5,000 to candidates and committees, including most recently in 2018 to the Manhattan Democrats,” the Daily Wire report explained.
Stefanik also referenced Engoron’s recent outburst in the courtroom, in which he attacked Trump for refusing to answer a complicated question in a ‘yes or no’ fashion on the stand.
“We are not here to hear what he has to say,” the judge said. “We are here to have him answer questions.”
Trump’s attorney Alina Habba attempted to challenge Engoron, pointing out that the matter was more complicated, but he shouted: “I am not here to hear what he has to say, now sit down!”
Both Habba and another Trump lawyer, Christopher Kise, have been gagged from discussing “confidential communications” between Engoron and his staff. Several reports have indicated that Trump’s counsel had complained about frequent note-passing between Greenfield and Engoron before the order.
“Judge Engoron has made it crystal clear he doesn’t care what the defendant or his attorneys have to say,” Stefanik argued.
