A New York City real estate attorney claimed he had a conversation with and gave advice to the judge who hit Donald Trump with a $455 million judgment in the recently completed fraud trial, sparking an investigation by a state commission on judicial conduct, NBC New York reported.
Attorney Adam Leitman Bailey told NBC New York that he spoke with Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron three weeks before the judgment against Trump, telling the outlet he wanted Engoron "to get it right."
"I actually had the ability to speak to him three weeks ago," Bailey told NBC New York in an on-camera interview on Feb. 16, the day of Engoron's decision. "I saw him in the corner [at the courthouse] ... I walked over and we started talking. … I wanted him to know what I think and why … I really want him to get it right."
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct will look into the claims and consider whether rules were violated, according to NBC New York.
Retired Presiding New York Appellate Justice Alan Scheinkman told NBC New York that Bailey's claim is "very troubling" and that the conversation should have been disclosed by Engoron.
"The fact that this lawyer made these statements — unprompted — during a recorded TV interview should raise serious concerns," Scheinkman told NBC New York.
Through a court spokesman, Engoron acknowledged the conversation but said he was "wholly uninfluenced" by Bailey.
Regardless, former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told Newsmax on Thursday that the episode requires "much more inquiry as to whether or not the judge was completely corrupted by outside influences."
Bailey told the outlet that the fraud statute that Engoron was considering against Trump should not be used to shut down a company, especially in a case without clear victims, an argument that Trump's lawyers made during the trial. Bailey told the outlet he had appeared before Engoron "hundreds of times" in litigation.
In a second interview with NBC New York, Bailey stood by his story and added that he and Engoron only talked about the law and that Trump's name never came up. However, Bailey said Engoron knew what and who they were talking about.
"Well, obviously we weren't talking about the [New York] Mets," Bailey told NBC New York.
Trump attorney Christopher Kise said the encounter raises questions about integrity.
"The code doesn't provide an exception for, 'Well, this was a small conversation' or, 'Well, it didn't really impact me' or, 'Well, this wasn't something that I, the judge, found significant," Kise told NBC New York. "No. The code is very clear."
Trump's legal team is appealing Engoron's judgment.
Bailey had his law license suspended for four months in 2019 over two separate matters, according to the report. In one, he used his cellphone to take photos of witnesses during a hearing.
In another, Bailey was caught on tape in 2017 telling a tenant of a building, "I think you should commit suicide," the New York Post reported. A subsequent lawsuit against Bailey was dismissed in 2018 but the Attorney Grievance Committee and an appeals court suspended his license, according to the report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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