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Amid the sad news that First Lady Melania Trump’s mother has passed away, President Donald Trump’s lawyers requested that his closing arguments be postponed for his civil business fraud trial.
Not only did Judge Arthur Engoron refuse to delay the closing arguments, but he rescinded President Trump’s ability to deliver his own closing arguments, per Fox News.
This decision is being criticized for denying him proper bereavement.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., called Engoron’s decision “despicable.”
ACT for America Founder and Chairman Brigitte Gabriel noted on X, “Judge Arthur Engoron is a disgraceful human being. Requiring President Trump to leave the side of his beloved and grieving wife Melania is heartless.”
She decried his “wicked persecution” and added, “The Democrats have crossed the line.”
Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., stated, “It is incredibly routine to postpone court proceedings when a party or lawyer is sick or has a death in the family.”
“Judge Engoron denying President Trump’s request for a brief pause while he grieves with his wife after the death of her mother is a new low,” he concluded.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., wrote, “As a NY lawyer and daughter of a long time serving NYS Supreme Court Justice, judges universally accommodate parties and/or their lawyers for unavoidable personal issues especially the death of a family member.”
She called Judge Engoron’s decision “contemptible” and decried it as “another instance of hostility and bias against President Trump.”