Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over the Trump Organization trial in New York, has issued a limited gag order to maintain decorum in the courtroom. This order comes amid the second day of the non-jury civil trial involving Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization.
BREAKING: Limited gag order placed on Donald Trump in civil case barring him talking about Judge or court staff
— ALX 🎃 (@alx) October 3, 2023
The gag order aims to prevent all parties involved from engaging in verbal attacks against court staff. As outlined by Engoron, the order applies equally to the defense team and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ legal team. It specifically pertains to verbal attacks against court staff members.
“This morning one of the defendants posted to his social media account a disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff,” said Engoron, while addressing the matter.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I will not tolerate them under any circumstances,” he added.
Although the judge refrained from naming the former president directly, it is clear that he was referring to a now-deleted post by Trump on his Truth Social account. In the post, Trump alleged a relationship between Allison Greenfield, the judge’s law clerk, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Schumer’s girlfriend, Alison (sic) R. Greenfield, is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!” Trump exclaimed.
The post also included a photo of Schumer and Greenfield.
Engoron had reportedly cautioned Trump “off the record” about making such comments, but his warnings went unheeded. Consequently, when Trump posted the material online, Engoron promptly ordered its deletion. The post vanished from Trump’s account during the lunch recess.
In response to these events, Engoron issued a clear directive: “Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting, emailing, or speaking publicly about any of my staff. Failure to abide by this order will result in serious sanctions.”
Violating the gag order could mean a 30-day jail time for the presidential candidate.
The trial originates from a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James, which alleges that Trump inflated his assets and engaged in fraudulent activities while building his business empire.
