Envelope with white powder sent to judge in Trump fraud trial prompts brief security scare

An envelope that contained a white powder was sent to the judge who imposed a $454 million judgment against former President Donald Trump, causing a brief security scare Wednesday at a New York courthouse.

A person familiar with the matter said the business-sized envelope was addressed to Judge Arthur Engoron but never reached him. The powder was quickly determined to be harmless in preliminary testing. Further testing is being done at a lab. 

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department said a court officer opened an envelope and white powder fell onto the officer's pants. There are no apparent injuries, and the incident is under investigation, sources said.

Court staff opened the envelope at approximately 9:30 a.m., according to Al Baker, a spokesperson for the state's Office of Court Administration.

"The operations office where the letter was opened was closed and the affected staff were isolated until Emergency Services tested the powder," Baker said, confirming that Engoron was not exposed to the letter or the powder and that preliminary testing indicated the powder was not harmful.

Engoron ruled on Feb. 16 that Trump and others must pay nearly half a billion dollars to New York State — the proceeds of $354 million in fraud, plus interest — for a decade-long scheme revolving around falsely portraying Trump's wealth and his property values to banks and insurers.

Trump and his co-defendants, who include his company, two of his sons and two executives, have appealed. They've asked a higher New York court to consider whether Engoron "committed errors of law and/or fact, abused [his] discretion, and/or acted in excess of [his] jurisdiction."

Engoron's 92-page ruling was one of the largest corporate sanctions in New York history. The judge found that Trump and others were liable for a decade of frauds that "leap off the page and shock the conscience."

"Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological," Engoron wrote. "They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again."

The ruling concluded an unusually contentious monthslong trial in which Trump raged nearly every day against the judge and New York Attorney General Letitia James, lashing out at them in courthouse hallways, on social media, at campaign rallies and while testifying on the stand.

Graham Kates

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at [email protected] or [email protected]