The judge who cut a broad swath through Donald J. Trump’s personal and corporate coffers on Friday, ordering him to pay a penalty in his civil fraud trial that will exceed $450 million, was both cutting and colorful in his characterization of the former president’s conduct.
The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, an unconventional jurist who presided over the trial, wrote a detailed 92-page legal decision that wove lyrical descriptions of Mr. Trump’s statements and actions into the legal analysis that supported his decision.
There’s Bernie Madoff.
And there’s even an 18th-century poet.
A former cabdriver and music teacher, the judge is an unlikely antagonist for Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced him as a Democratic stooge and criticized his family and his law clerk.
Persons:
Donald J, Arthur F, There’s Bernie Madoff, Trump
Organizations:
Democratic