Donald Trump’s lawyers have launched an attack on the judge currently overseeing his fraud trial, accusing him of committing “errors” and acting above the law.
Attorneys Chris Kise, Clifford Robert and Michael Farina reached out to the New York appeals court, urging it to rule that Judge Arthur Engoron was wrong when he fined them for making frivolous arguments in pre-trial hearings.
Each lawyer was fined $7,500 after repeating arguments that the judge had told them were “ridiculous.” They included claims that nobody was hurt in the Trump Organization's scheme to inflate its value.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
Engoron has already found Trump and his associates liable for fraud after they inflated their company's value in order to secure loans and insurance. The ongoing trial in New York is largely to decide damages.
"When I first heard those arguments, I thought that was a joke," Engoron said last month as he expressed frustration that the lawyers kept repeating the claims, despite him ordering they stop
"The rule on sanctions is if you've been warned, don't do it. You were warned," he said.
After fining the lawyers, he said, "Sanctions are the only way to impress upon defendants' attorneys the consequences of engaging in repetitive, frivolous motion practice after this Court.
But, in their filing made late Monday, the lawyers hit back that Engoron’s ruling was erroneous and overstepped his power.
They are asking an appeals court to rule if Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact, abused its discretion, and/or acted in excess of its jurisdiction."
Trump is expected back in court Tuesday where his former lawyer Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify against him.
