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New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Donald Trump of trying to cover up lies by seeking a mistrial in the fraud case against him.
"Once again, Donald Trump is trying to dismiss the truth and the facts, but the numbers and evidence don't lie," she said in a statement, after Trump's lawyers filed the mistrial motion on Wednesday. "Trump is now being held accountable for the years of fraud he committed and the incredible ways he lied to enrich himself and his family. He can keep trying to distract from his fraud, but the truth always comes out."
Her lawyers are expected to announce on Thursday whether they will file a rebuttal to Trump's mistrial motion.
The trial judge, Arthur Engoron, only briefly mentioned the motion on Wednesday, while asking James' lawyers if they planned to respond. They said the decision on whether to reply would be reached by Thursday, and that if they do so, it will be with a proposed schedule of how long the mistrial legal arguments should take.
Trump's lawyers filed the 30-page motion on Wednesday, claiming that Judge Engoron is biased and can be seen reading notes from his clerk before making major rulings in the case.
Engoron has twice fined Trump for commenting publicly about his clerk, Allison Greenfield, but Trump is free to criticize in legal submissions.
The motion names Greenfield eight times, and refers to the "Principal Law Clerk" 44 times. Two photos of Engoron and Greenfield together on the bench, taken during the trial, were also included.
In the submission, Trump's lawyers say Greenfield is "co-judging" the case.
"Before the court rules on most issues, the court either pauses to consult with her on the bench or receives from her contemporaneous written notes," the motion states.
This follows a heated exchange between Engoron and Trump's chief lawyer, Christopher Kise, in which Kise accused him of reading Greenfield's notes on witnesses during the trial.
On Nov. 2, defense attorney Kise said that Greenfield was passing notes to the judge when Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez was questioning a witness.
"Every time Mr. Suarez was making a point and there was a dialog, there would be notes passed to you," Kise said. "When the Attorney General was speaking, there would be no notes passed to you."
Engoron pounded the table in anger, and noted for the record that he was doing so.
"That's — I'm going to pound the table — confidential communications from my principal law clerk. I have an absolute right to it and you don't have any right to see it or question it," Engoron said.
Engoron then barred Trump's attorneys from referring to the notes in oral arguments, but they are still free to mention them in written submissions.
Newsweek sought email comment on Thursday from Trump's attorney.
Trump, the frontrunner in the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, testified on November 6. He has denied any wrongdoing and has called the trial politically motivated.
In September, Engoron ruled that Donald Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. had committed fraud in their property evaluations.
The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims. Engoron himself will rule on the charges, as Trump's legal team didn't opt for a jury trial.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more