Donald Trump Demands Mistrial in $250 Million Civil Fraud Case, Accuses Judge of Being Biased
Nov. 15 2023, Published 1:04 p.m. ET
Former President Donald Trump's legal team has filed for a mistrial in the civil fraud trial brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Trump argued that Judge Arthur Engoron, and his principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, had shown bias throughout the trial.
In his motion, Trump's lawyers claimed that "the Court's own conduct, coupled with the Principal Law Clerk's unprecedented role in the trial and extensive, public partisan activities, would cause even a casual observer to question the Court's partiality."
The ex-president's team argued that the outcome of the trial had already been decided and that the court was merely going through the motions before handing down a predetermined punishment.
The motion said that the taint of the proceedings is both "obvious and irreversible." They accused the court of abrogating its constitutional responsibility to ensure a fair trial free from even the appearance of impropriety and impartiality.
Trump's lawyers argue that the only way to maintain public confidence in an independent and impartial judiciary is to bring the proceedings to an immediate halt.
This is not the first time that Trump and his team have accused Engoron and his staff of bias.
In response to their attacks on Greenfield, the judge enforced a gag order that prevented Trump and his lawyers from further attacking her.
The mistrial motion comes amid a growing number of legal challenges faced by Trump since leaving office. In fact, according to recent polls, the outcome of this trial could have significant implications for Trump's future political endeavors.
According to NPR, GOP voters were asked if they would vote for Trump, and 71% favored him in a general election. However, those same likely voters were asked if they would vote for Trump if he were convicted of a crime, and they dipped 8 points down to 63%.
Even though most Republican voters would still support the ex-prez, a dip of this size could prove disastrous in an election where the two likely nominees appear neck and neck in 2024.
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