Letitia James

Former President Donald Trump received a check on his quest to challenge his $464 million civil fraud ruling Friday by an exasperated lawyer who accused him going on a "fishing expedition."

Trump has sought to yank Justice Arthur Engoron from the New York City case — in which he was found liable of defrauding investors by falsely inflating Trump Organization assets — by arguing the judge had inappropriate conversations with lawyer Adam Leitman Bailey, court records show.

On Thursday, Bailey's own lawyer John Desiderio filed a motion to quash a subpoena demanding his client hand over a slew of documents to Trump. ...

Former President Donald Trump moved for New York Justice Arthur Engoron to recuse himself on Thursday after claims the judge took advice from somebody not involved in the case.

NBC New York reported that Trump's attorneys filed a 24-page motion asking Engoron to step down from the case because a man claiming to be a whistleblower said he gave the judge his unsolicited opinion about it.

"[It] had been his intention to advise Engoron about the law in the Trump case and why harsh penalties would be bad for business in New York," WNBC reported. ...

Donald Trump raged about his own conviction on 34 felony counts hours after Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony gun charges.

The former president was found guilty himself last month for falsifying business records to cover up other crimes, including violations of campaign finance laws, and he lashed out once again late Tuesday against the prosecutor who brought the charges.

"Corrupt Soros backed Manhattan D.A, Alvin Bragg, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden and his DOJ, has always known that there was NO CRIME in the Case he filed against me," Trump posted on Truth Social. "He didn’t even want to bring this 'Zombie Case,' but when forced to attack me for Election Interference purposes, Bragg attempted to make it look as bad as possible by 'stacking the counts' - A TOTAL SCAM."...

Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg answered Rep. Jim Jordan's (R-OH) request to come to Washington and testify before Congress. And for now it is a strong maybe.

Days after declaring that the jurors "have spoken" when they rendered a unanimous guilty verdict of all 34 counts of falsifying business records against Donald Trump, Bragg responded to the Judiciary Committee Chairman's formal request.

Leslie Dubeck, counsel for Bragg, wrote in a letter that there is a willingness to appear. ...

Some have publicly clashed with him, others won't likely move the needle for him, and one is downright dull.

The Washington Post on Friday outlined what analyst Aaron Blake said were the pros and cons for each betting favorite to become former President Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 general election. The list featured four senators, a pair of congress members and one governor, who Blake called "the most compelling sleeper pick," and who happens to be the betting favorite.

Trump is expected to decide on a vice president candidate in about a month to replace former running mate Mike Pence, and Trump has reportedly sought documents from at least eight potential candidates. ...

Steve Bannon's trial tribulations may have only just begun as he readies himself for prison and the district attorney who secured former President Donald Trump's criminal conviction prepares to take him to court in New York, a former federal prosecutor said Thursday night.

Glenn Kirschner appeared on MSNBC to discuss with Lawrence O'Donnell a Washington D.C. federal judge's decision to put Bannon in a federal prison for four months for ignoring a congressional subpoena from the Jan. 6 investigative committee.

"Ironically," Kirschner said, "a four-month prison term might end up being the least of Steve Bannon's problems."...

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) suggested over the weekend that a Trump administration official may have quietly contacted a federal appeals judge to stall a contempt inquiry, and the legal analyst interviewing him declared that if so, “people are going to jail.”

In a clip flagged by political video aggregator Acyn Torabi from the Legal AF podcast, Whitehouse laid out a hypothetical involving D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee.

“If some MAGA official communicated to Judge Rao or her chambers and that resulted in the administrative stay that held the door open and kept the facts from the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation and stalled investigation into misconduct by the DOJ,” Whitehouse began, “ask any judge how big a deal that is.”...

President Donald Trump cut off reporters and walked away after they repeatedly demanded evidence for his claim of widespread mail-in voting fraud in California.

Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House on Monday as he prepared to board Marine One for campaign events.

The midterm elections are less than a month away, on Nov. 3....

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) bragged about a road salt win at a Maine Senate debate, and her challenger's comeback had observers cheering.

On Tuesday, Collins faced Democratic challenger Troy Jackson in a debate weeks before the midterms. Asked what she would do about President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canada, Collins pointed to a specific victory.

"I was successful at getting road salt removed from the tariff list," Collins said. Jackson responded by pouncing on the answer....