New York City Judge Arthur Engoron issued another gag order on former President Donald Trump, preventing his legal team from discussing his “confidential communications” with staff.
According to reports, Engoron ordered, “All counsel are prohibited from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me.”
NEW: The judge presiding over Trump’s $250 million civil fraud trial expands his gag order to include Trump’s lawyers after he said they made "on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks" about his clerk. pic.twitter.com/RbWOwlPYJ9
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 3, 2023
The judge went on to warn that “serious sanctions” will be brought against Trump’s legal counsel should they violate the order.
“Defendants’ attorneys have made long speeches alleging that it is improper for a judge to consult with a law clerk during ongoing proceedings, and that the passing of notes from a judge to a law clerk, or vice-versa, constitutes an improper ‘appearance of impropriety’ in this case. These arguments have no basis,” Engoron continued.
Engoron has been relentless in cracking down on the 45th president. He previously issued a gag order against Trump after he insulted Engoron’s principal law clerk in a Truth Social post. The order forbids “all parties from posting, emailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff.”
The offending post has since been removed, but the judge complained in his filing that it remained on a Trump 2024 campaign website for 17 days, until the court asked recently that it be taken down.
The judge has also drawn criticism when he mugged for television cameras and shrugged in front of the courtroom audience during the first of Trump’s real estate appeal trial. Some claimed that Engoron’s gesture indicated that he already saw the result as inevitable.
Trump, meanwhile, blasted Engoron in a series of posts on the social media platform Truth Social, calling him “crazy” and “unhinged” for overseeing his case.
“Judge Engoron is a political hack who ruled against me before the trial even started. He is doing the dirty work for the Democrat Party,” the president wrote, claiming Engoron, “fought us, sanctioned us for no reason, fined us big money, never gave us even a one day delay. This is his big chance, and he was not going to let it go.”
“He fines me at levels never seen before. The A.G.’s people are thrilled, but can’t believe it is happening,” he continued in a second post. “Engoron is crazy, totally unhinged, and dangerous – Our Judicial System has gone to HELL.”
