Judge in Trump’s civil fraud case says he won’t recuse himself over ‘nothingburger’ encounter

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York judge who ordered Donald Trump to pay a nearly $500 million civil fraud judgment said Thursday he won’t step aside from the case, rebuffing concerns that the verdict was influenced by a brief conversation he had with another lawyer as a “nothingburger.”

Judge Arthur Engoron’s eight-page order came in response to Trump’s attorneys’ request that he recuse himself based on a claim by real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey that the two had discussed the state law at the heart of the case prior to the verdict.

In the ruling, Engoron vehemently disputed the attorney’s description of their February encounter. He wrote that Bailey had accosted him in a courthouse hallway, then followed him down the stairs and onto the street while “droning on” about his interpretation of the law.

“I did not initiate, welcome, encourage, engage in, or learn from, much less enjoy, Bailey’s tirade,” Engoron wrote, adding that the “unpleasant occurrence” lasted about 90 seconds.

Bailey claimed in an interview published by NBC New York in May that he’d discussed the case with Engoron shortly before the verdict was issued and given him his take on a relevant portion of the law.

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