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MSNBCNov 27, 2023
Trump's Lawyers Request Mistrial in N.Y. Fraud Case
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The Facts
Former Pres. Donald Trump and his family are requesting a mistrial be declared in his New York civil case, claiming that Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk are biased against the defendants. Trump's lawyers filed the request for a new trial on Wednesday.
Attorneys for Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump organization, and its top executives argue that "the evidence of apparent and actual bias" in the case is “tangible and overwhelming.” A 30-page filing in the Manhattan Supreme Court cites instances of Engoron and his clerk demonstrating their bias against the GOP frontrunner for the 2024 US presidential nomination.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Donald Trump and his attorneys are trying to pull out every trick in the book to avoid responsibility for the defendants' decades of fraud. In his typical bullying fashion, Trump has attacked Judge Engoron and his principal law clerk while riling up his violent MAGA base. The former president continues to obstruct justice to save his business empire and avoid responsibility for his actions.
Republican narrative
The evidence of Judge Engoron and his law clerk's overt political bias against former Pres. Donald Trump is overwhelming, and a mistrial is necessary to redeem any semblance of fairness in a so-called "justice" system that has lost the public's trust. Outside of the rabid anti-Trump base that wants the former president sidelined at all costs, most Americans recognize the political witch hunt that Trump is enduring.