Appeals Court Rules Trump Gag Orders in N.Y. Fraud Case Must Stay

The New York attorney general’s office stated on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump should continue to be prohibited from publicly discussing court staff in his civil fraud trial.

Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the case, implemented a gag order on Oct. 3 after Trump shared on social media a photo of the judge’s law clerk posing with U.S. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and falsely called her Schumer’s girlfriend.

The court received numerous threats from Trump supporters in response to the post, as stated by Engoron.

In November, Engoron extended the order, preventing the lawyers of the involved parties from commenting on the clerk’s communications with the court.

Trump filed an appeal last month, arguing that the orders violated his constitutional right to free speech. The Appellate Division, a mid-level state appeals court, initially paused the orders on Nov. 16, but a full panel reinstated them two weeks later.

The New York attorney general’s office made a filing on Wednesday stating, “The court issued the orders in response to extraordinary and dangerous personal attacks made against the court’s staff by both petitioner Donald J. Trump and petitioners’ counsel during trial.”

The filing also mentioned that Trump and his lawyers “repeatedly made baseless, highly inappropriate, and personally identifying attacks against the court’s principal law clerk,” despite multiple warnings.

Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused in the case brought by New York’s attorney general of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to deceive lenders and insurers.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has accused New York Attorney General Letitia James, an elected Democrat, of being politically biased against him.

Trump is expected to testify as the final defense witness on Dec. 11.

James has alleged that Trump, his adult sons, and 10 of his businesses manipulated financial statements to deceive banks and insurers into providing more favorable loan and insurance terms.

The trial primarily concerns damages, as Engoron has already determined that Trump’s financial statements were fraudulent.

James is seeking $250 million in penalties and wants Trump banned from New York state’s real estate business.

Trump is facing four unrelated federal and state criminal indictments, including two concerning his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

He has pleaded not guilty in all of these cases, but his lead in the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat President Joe Biden in the next November’s election remains strong.