FIRST ON FOX: A New York Court assigned a new judge to preside over the civil fraud case against President-elect Trump brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The case and the trial had been handled by Judge Arthur Engoron, who was accused by Trump allies of acting with bias against the president-elect, his family, and his company.
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Sources familiar with the move told Fox News Digital that the court has assigned New York County Supreme Court Justice Judith McMahon of Staten Island to the case.
Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on November 13, 2023. (ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The case is currently pending on appeal. After the appeals court issues its decision, the case will be remanded back to the lower court, which Engoron presided over during the trial.
McMahon will replace him for further proceedings once the appeals court reaches its decision, sources said.
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Engoron, after a weeks-long non-jury civil fraud trial which began in October 2023, ruled last year that Trump and defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”
President-elect Donald Trump, left, and New York Judge Arthur Engoron (Fox News)
But before the trial began, Engoron issued a summary judgment against Trump, making the subsequent trial a case over the penalty to be paid.
Notably, during the case, Engoron allowed the value of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago to be listed at $18 million. President Trump disputes that valuation, saying the property is worth 50 to 100 times more than Engoron’s estimation. And real estate insiders and developers argued the property could list at more than $300 million.
And in his ruling in the case last year, Engoron took a shot at Trump, criticizing him for his participation in the trial, stating that he “rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.”
Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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“His refusal to answer the questions directly, or in some cases, at all, severely compromised his credibility,” Engoron wrote.
Over the course of the trial late last year, Trump, Trump allies, Republicans, and legal experts repeatedly criticized Engoron — who throughout his career has exclusively donated to Democrats — over his handling of the case.
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)
Engoron is also reportedly subject to a probe over unsolicited advice he received on the case.
Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.
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Trump appealed the $454 million judgment. The appeal is pending before the New York Appeals Court.
Judges on the New York appeals court appeared receptive last year to the possibility of reversing or reducing the $454 million civil fraud judgment.
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The president’s attorneys called Engoron’s ruling “draconian, unlawful, and unconstitutional.”
Trump attorney D. John Sauer, who is the incoming Solicitor General, argued that James’ lawsuit stretched New York consumer protection laws and said there were “no victims” and “no complaints” about Trump’s business from lenders and insurers.
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Sauer said the cause “involves a clear-cut violation of the statute of limitations,” pointing to transactions used in the non-jury civil fraud trial that dated back more than a decade.
Sauer said that if the verdict is not overturned, “people can’t do business in real estate” without fear.
