NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Donald Trump is lashing out at the judge handling the New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit against him and his company, calling him 鈥渧icious, biased, and mean鈥 in a social media post just days before the case鈥檚 first court hearing.
The former president, who has been on the losing side of , coupled Friday鈥檚 criticism with complaints that 鈥 as a politician 鈥 he shouldn't be forced to deal with legal action until after the midterm elections on Nov. 8.
In a separate case, opening statements are set for Monday in the Trump Organization鈥檚 criminal tax fraud trial following the completion of jury selection on Friday.
Trump, who has been laying groundwork for a possible comeback run for president in 2024, grumbled in a post on his Truth Social platform about having to deal with simultaneous court action on the eve of an election that could put Republicans back in control of one or both houses of Congress.
鈥淚n breaking with a long standing and powerful tradition where cases involving politicos are not to be brought or tried just prior to, or during, a major Election (the Midterms), I have THREE, all run and inspired by Democrats, who absolutely refused to move the date,鈥 Trump wrote. 鈥淭hey demanded it be now. So much for tradition and unwritten rules and laws!!!鈥
There are currently three active cases involving Trump or the Trump Organization in New York courts.
The company鈥檚 , which involves allegations that senior executives received , could last into December. Six alternate jurors were picked Friday to complete the panel needed for the trial.
On Monday, jury selection is scheduled to begin in the Bronx in a civil lawsuit brought by protesters who say they were by Trump鈥檚 security guards.
Trump鈥檚 outburst about Engoron came in the third case, a civil lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James, after an administrative judge refused Tuesday to have the matter reassigned to another judge.
Engoron, a Democrat, repeatedly had ruled against Trump in disputes over subpoenas, and for being slow to turn over documents and 鈥 testimony in which Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination .
On Truth Social, Trump said the only person worse than James was Engoron.
鈥淗is name is Arthur Engoron & he is a vicious, biased, and mean 鈥榬ubber stamp鈥 for the Communist takeover of the great & prosperous American company that I have built over a long period of years," Trump wrote.
A court spokesperson said Engoron, a judge since 2003, had no comment.
James' lawsuit, the product of a three-year investigation into Trump's business practices, alleges that he and the Trump Organization and misled banks and others for years about the value of assets, including golf courses, hotels and his Mar-a-Lago estate.
James, a Democrat, is seeking $250 million and a permanent ban on Trump, a Republican, doing business in the state.
At a hearing scheduled for Thursday, Engoron will weigh James' request for an independent monitor to oversee the Trump Organization鈥檚 activities after , such as incorporating a new entity named Trump Organization II.
At the same time, the FBI is continuing to investigate Trump鈥檚 storage of , a special grand jury in Georgia is investigating whether Trump or others and, last week, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection issued a .
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