OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
6:10 PM – Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York fraud trial, issued a limited gag order for all parties after Trump blasted the judge’s law clerk on Truth Social during the second day of the trial.
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On Tuesday, Engoron was bothered by Trump’s social media post shared on Truth Social, where he reportedly made disparaging comments about the clerk.
This was brought up through a photo of the clerk posing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). where Trump called the clerk “Schumer’s girlfriend” and accused her of “running this case against me.”
“How disgraceful!” Trump wrote in the Truth Social post. “This case should be dismissed immediately!!”
The 45th president brought up Schumer and the clerk’s name again during a break in the proceedings later that day when he claimed that the trial was “rigged” and “fraudulent.” However, he later deleted the post.
The gag order was issued after the session’s second day of the fraud trial, which Trump has been attending.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump, two of his older sons, the Trump Organization, and top executives of fraudulently valuing real estate properties in order to receive more favorable loan and insurance terms, as well as tax benefits.
Prosecutors have also pushed the case against Trump and his company for what they claim are years of “fraudulently inflating” the value of some of his most famous real estate properties.
“Consider this a gag order on all parties with respect to posting or publicly speaking about any member of my staff,” Engoron said on the second day of Trump’s civil trial.
As a result, the judge issued the gag order excluding Trump and any party in the case from sharing posts or speaking publicly about staff members. The former president posted “personally identifying information” about the principal clerk on the social media platform while the hearing was ongoing, she claims.
The trial judge, without naming Trump, addressed the court on the subject, saying “one of the defendants” posted a “disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post” about staff.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are not appropriate, and I will not tolerate it under any circumstance,” Engoron declared.
The judge also stated that he warned the counsel about the former president’s comments, however, “the warning was ignored.”
Trump’s fraud trial is expected to last until December.
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