Judge Engoron warned by legal expert over 'pushing the envelope' in fraud trial

In a column for MSNBC, former U.S. House Judiciary Committee counsel Michael Conway implored Judge Arthur Engoron to be careful with the language he uses as he oversees the $250 million financial fraud civil suit filed against Donald Trump and his Trump Organization.

Using the trial of the so-called “Chicago 7" as a jumping-off point, the attorney reminded Engoron that the defendants in that notorious case went out of their way to antagonize Judge Julius Hoffman which seems to be Donald Trump's strategy in a case where Engoron has already found evidence of fraud.

According to Conway, in the early days of the Trump Org trial, Engoron went toe-to-toe with the lead defendant and his legal team and used intemperate language that will likely be highlighted in an inevitable appeal by the former president's lawyers.

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"In New York, Engoron has used strident language in rejecting Trump’s legal positions, terming them 'pure sophistry, 'risible,' 'bogus arguments and 'egregious' in his summary judgment opinion. He sanctioned five Trump attorneys $7,500 each for the 'borderline frivolous' arguments in their briefs," Conway wrote before advising, "Harsh language isn’t a problem if it’s justified. But the more Engoron pushes the envelope, the more he risks an appellate court disagreeing with his assessment. And Trump’s lawyers can and will argue the judge’s rhetoric is evidence of judicial bias."

He added, "there are other examples of Engoron seemingly overreacting in response to relentless complaining from Trump’s lawyers," before elaborating, "He needs to take all necessary steps to ensure that a New York appellate court cannot overturn his decision. And that means not reacting to Trump’s hate-filled speech, or to his lawyers’ baiting and provocation. It’s simply not worth it.”

You can read more here.