After Trump mocks the court clerk on social media, the judge orders a limited gag order

In retaliation against Donald Trump, a state court judge on Tuesday issued a restricted gag order in the former president’s civil business fraud case and ordered him to take down a social media post that openly disparaged a significant court employee.

Judge Arthur Engoron warned all parties involved in the case against disparaging court employees and threatened them with “serious sanctions” if they did.

Engoron complained — without mentioning names — about a defendant’s “disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff.” “Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate, and I will not tolerate them,” Engoron stated.

A few hours earlier, Trump had published a picture of Allison Greenfield, the lead legal assistant for Engoron, smiling with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, at a public gathering. Trump, the leading Republican candidate for president in 2024, has often portrayed the trial as a political assassination of Letitia James, the Democratic attorney general of New York.

Trump added to criticisms he’d made Monday outside court by writing on his Truth Social platform that it was “disgraceful” that Greenfield was cooperating with the judge there.

During what is often a lunch break, the tweet is said to have spurred a series of exchanges between Trump and attorneys for both sides in a closed-door courtroom. Trump had removed the tweet by the time the gag order was imposed, as Engoron had requested, the court said.

Regarding Schumer, a spokesman referred to the post as “pathetic” and said that the senator is in pictures with hundreds of his constituents despite not knowing Greenfield.

Aside from the farce, James’ counsel questioned an accountant on Tuesday to support the state’s claim that Trump and others at his organization had complete authority over the creation of the fraudulent and deceptive financial statements that were the foundation of their case.

According to the state’s complaint, Trump and his company routinely misrepresented Trump’s wealth on financial documents provided to banks, insurers, and other institutions.

Also on Tuesday, Engoron clarified an assertion made by the former president that he considered a significant accomplishment.

The court had hinted on Monday that the hearing about Trump’s 2011 financial statement would go into the case’s 2014 deadline for claims. Trump’s legal team has contended that the majority of the accusations are barred by the time restriction.

Although Engoron determined last week that all of the claims were admissible under the statute of limitations, he made it plain on Tuesday that the trial isn’t “an opportunity to relitigate what I have already decided.” He said that given the early stage of the trial, he is inclined to grant both parties a great deal of latitude in tying historical facts to the accusations made in the complaint.

Trump has repeatedly called the investigation “a scam” and has denied any wrongdoing.

He and his attorneys claimed that his financial accounts accurately reflected the value of his luxury homes, which were elevated in value as a result of their connection to him. The defense also focuses on the fact that the financial statements had disclaimers stating that they had not been audited and that others “might reach different conclusions” on his financial situation if they had access to further information.

On Tuesday, accountant Donald Bender began his testimony about the years he spent creating such statements using data provided by Trump’s business.

He said that while certifying in letters to the accounting firm that it had supplied all financial records and hadn’t “knowingly withheld” important information, there were certain years when the Trump Organization did not supply all the papers required for creating the statements.

Bender stated that “they were not giving all of the documents that we needed,” adding that “there were certain appraisals out there for a number of years that we had never seen.”

Bender admitted under cross-examination that he was mistaken about the size of the former president’s apartment at Trump Tower.

Taking advantage of it, defense attorney Jesus M. Suarez informed Bender that Trump was watching the trial while his business and workers were “going through hell” because “you missed it.”

Bender said that he was faultless.

“We didn’t make a mistake. We missed a mistake committed by the Trump Organization, he said.

Following another behind-closed-doors conversation between Trump, James, and their attorneys to conclude the meeting, Trump announced that he would return for a third day on Wednesday.

Trump doesn’t have to be present at the trial right now since he intends to testify later on. He has spoken to the awaiting cameras in a courtroom corridor while complaining that he would rather be on the campaign road.

When Democrat Engoron ruled last week that Trump had committed fraud by inflating the size of his Trump Tower apartment, claiming the value of his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida was as high as $739 million, and placing similar inflated valuations on office buildings, golf courses, and other assets, James scored an early victory.

The six unresolved allegations in the case and any potential fines that Trump may due are the subject of the non-jury trial. In addition to $250 million, James wants to stop Trump from doing business in New York. Trump’s businesses should be shut down as retribution, the court has already ordered.