Trump’s trial fraud judge, Arthur Engoron, is “under investigation” for allegedly receiving unsolicited advice from a high-profile lawyer before fining the former president $454 million.

A well-known New York City real estate attorney has reportedly prompted New York State to investigate Judge Arthur Engoron after he claimed to have given him unsolicited advice.

Engoron ordered former President Donald Trump in March to pay a $454 million judgment after 30 lenders turned him down.

Trump, who frequently referred to Engoron as “crazy” and “corrupt,” posted $175 million in bail before the deadline to avoid asset seizure while he appeals the ruling.

Adam Leitman Bailey, a New York real estate attorney, said publicly at the time of the ruling that he spoke to Judge Engoron three weeks before the ruling and told him to “do it right.”

An Engoron spokesperson denied the story and said Bailey was “not totally influenced,” but the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is reportedly investigating whether he violated any rules, according to NBC New York.

Bailey said in mid-February, the day of the ruling, that he had spoken to Engoron three weeks earlier.

‘I saw him on the corner [at the courthouse] and I told my client: ‘I have to go.’ And I walked over and we started talking… I wanted him to know what I think and why… I really want him to do it right.’

Bailey claims he is not a Trump fan and is in no way connected to any of the lawsuits or cases against the president, but says he has litigated in front of Engoron “hundreds of times.”

He claims he told Engoron to get the ruling right because a ruling imposing such a large fine against Trump could hurt New York’s economy.

Bailey even claimed that Engoron “had a lot of questions, you know, about certain cases” when they spoke.

Engoron, through a spokesperson, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

‘No ex parte conversation on this matter took place between Judge Engoron and Mr Bailey or anyone else. “The decision that Judge Engoron issued on February 16 was his alone, was deeply considered and was not influenced at all by this individual,” said Al Baker.

‘Ex parte’ means a conversation between a lawyer and a judge without the presence of the rest of the staff in a case.

“A judge shall not initiate, permit or consider ex parte communications, nor consider other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties or their attorneys,” the New York State Rules of Judicial Conduct state.

There is an exception for obtaining “disinterested expert advice.”

According to multiple sources familiar with the case, the state judicial conduct commission will consider whether Engoron violated any rules.

Christopher Kise, who worked on Trump’s defense team and has been a frequent critic of Engoron, says that if the allegations are true, they would cast doubt on the entire case.

“The code doesn’t provide an exception for ‘well, this was a small conversation’ or ‘well, it didn’t really impact me’ or ‘well, this wasn’t something that I, the judge, found significant.'” Kise said. ‘No. The code is very clear.”

Bailey said in a follow-up interview that while Trump’s name was not mentioned, “we were obviously not talking about the Mets.”

The investigation could take anywhere from months to more than a year.

Trump posted $175 million bail in April in his civil fraud case in New York, halting collection of the more than $454 million he owes.

The deposit deposited also prevents the State from seizing your assets to satisfy the debt while he appeals his case for inflating the value of companies, according to a court file.

A New York appeals court had given the former president ten days to come up with the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to cut the amount needed to stop the law enforcement clock.

The bond Trump is now presenting to the court is essentially a placeholder, intended to guarantee payment if the sentence is upheld.

If that happens, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the full sum, which grows with daily interest.

If Trump wins, he will not have to pay anything to the state and will get back the money he has contributed now.

Until the appeals court intervened to reduce the required bail, New York Attorney General Letitia James was prepared to launch efforts to collect on the judgment, possibly seizing some of Trump’s most important properties.

James, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the state.

She had said that if Trump had not complied with a $454 million court judgment against him by then in his fraud trial in New York, she would begin seizing property, noting that Trump’s prized Art Deco skyscraper at 40 Wall Street could be in your sights.

He also appears to be eyeing Trump’s golf club in Westchester and the Seven Springs property, recording judgments in Westchester County.

The former president was furious on the Internet at the possibility that the State could act against him. He wrote a series of fundraising speeches in which he asked New York to “keep its dirty hands off Trump Tower.”

The court ruled after Trump’s lawyers complained that it was “a practical impossibility” to get an insurer to approve bail for the $454 million, plus interest, he owes.

Trump is fighting to reverse a judge’s finding of February 16 that he he lied about his wealth while fostering the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency.