Former President Donald Trump's attorney in the civil fraud case, Christopher Kise, was forced by New York Judge Arthur Engoron to apologize to a pair of female attorneys he disparaged, reported Law360 on Thursday.
The interaction came during a sidebar after Engoron called lawyers up to discuss a filing from state Attorney General Letitia James about Trump's alleged failure to turn over records.
"According to sources familiar with the off-the-record sidebar, Trump attorney Chris Kise brushed off the judge's Principal Law Clerk Allison Greenfield and questioned the intelligence of Colleen Faherty of the attorney general's office," reported Frank Runyeon.
"Kise waved off the clerk, saying he was talking to the judge, not her, and that he only wanted to speak to the judge, according to the sources. Kise then appeared to question Faherty's intelligence, saying that she wasn't able to connect the dots on something they were discussing, the sources said."
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Per the report, Faherty replied, "Be more respectful," to which Kise said, "No." Later, the judge recalled the attorneys to the bench and ordered Kise to apologize to the two women, the report said.
James is arguing in the trial that Trump and his two adult sons systematically lied about the valuation of Trump Organization properties to get fraudulent loan deals. She is seeking $250 million in fines and the dissolution of the Trumps' business in the state of New York.
Engoron has already ruled in summary judgment for James on the merits, and the current trial is purely about assessing the damages for which Trump and his sons are liable.
