NY judge weighs sanctions against Trump lawyers in fraud lawsuit

A Manhattan judge says he’s considering sanctions against the lawyers representing Donald Trump and the Trump Organization in a $250 million lawsuit against the family real estate company — blasting their filing as “frivolous.”

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron on Wednesday emailed Trump lawyers warning them about their legal arguments that the court had “previously rejected,” court papers show.

The judge says he’s now “considering imposing sanctions for frivolous litigation,” the papers state.

Law firms Habba Madaio & Associates, Continental, and Robert & Robert — which rep Trump’s camp — had argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ suit should be dismissed because she doesn’t have legal standing to sue, and that her litigation is part of a political “witch hunt.”

Engoron said Trump lawyers couldn’t use this argument since he already rejected it when he ruled in favor of James’ bid for a preliminary injunction and approved the appointment of a monitor to oversee Trump’s side as the case continues.

On Thursday, Trump lawyers defended their filing, saying it was simply preserving their argument — and that they didn’t have any “intention to prolong or delay” the case.

“There is no basis to impose any sanctions on the defendants or counsel for simply making and preserving the record,” Trump’s lawyers argued.

They also claimed they didn’t intend “to disregard or disrespect the court or its rulings.”

The AG’s Office on Thursday sided with Engoron, asserting that “the form of the rehashed arguments here appears calculated to delay the proceedings and needlessly divert the parties’ and court’s resources,” AG lawyer Kevin Wallace wrote in a letter.

Later Friday, Engoron rejected the Trump camp’s bid to toss the AG’s case.

“Once again, Donald Trump’s attempts to evade the law have been rejected,” James said in a statement. “Today’s decision makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law and must answer for his actions in court.”

Trump lawyer Alina Habba responded: “We look forward to receiving a full and proper review of our arguments on appeal.”

In her case, James claims the former president inflated company assets to obtain loan, insurance and tax benefits.

The AG filed a 2020 suit against Trump and his kids claiming they were stonewalling her investigation that was launched in 2019 in the wake of incriminating congressional testimony from the former president’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.

In that earlier case, Engoron found Trump in civil contempt, fining him $10,000 a day for failing to respond to subpoenas from James’ office. The order was lifted in May, with Trump paying $110,000.

In a separate criminal case, the Trump Org was found guilty of tax fraud and faces up to $1.6 million in fines at its Jan. 13 sentencing.

Trump’s lawyers didn’t immediately return a request for comment.