The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday again barred former US President Donald Trump from commenting on court personnel after he humiliated a clerk during a civil fraud trial in New York.
The decision came a fortnight after an appeal judge suspended the non-disclosure order during the appeal process. Judge Arthur Engoron, who imposed the restriction, stated that he now plans to enforce it “rigorously and vigorously.”
Trump’s attorney Christopher Kise called it “a tragic day for the rule of law.” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, argued that the gag order was “nothing but attempted election interference, which is failing terribly.”
Engoron imposed the non-disclosure order on October 3 after Trump posted a derogatory comment on social media about the judge’s secretary.
Trump’s lawyers sued Engoron, challenging his non-disclosure order as an abuse of power. Government lawyers supported the restriction, claiming it was a reasonable step to protect Engoron’s staff. A lawyer for the judiciary linked Trump’s comments to a rise in nuisance calls and messages to the judge and clerk.
A court security captain reported that clerk Allison Greenfield received enough abusive voicemails to fill a 275-page single-spaced transcript, and that about half of the abusive and derogatory messages directed at her were anti-Semitic.
Trump’s lawyers then argued that while the messages and calls were “‘vile and reprehensible,” he should not be silenced by the misbehaviour of others. Trump never called for violence against Greenfield, nor did he and his lawyers ever encourage or condone harassment or threats, the lawyers wrote in a court document.
As the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and as a citizen on trial, President Trump is well within his rights to comment on what he perceives as bias.
Although the non-disclosure order was suspended, Trump went public about Greenfield on Wednesday, referring to the judge’s “very disturbed and angry law clerk.”
Prior to the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were engaged in fraud and ordered the receiver to take control of some of Trump’s properties, putting their future oversight in question. However, the appeals court has suspended enforcement of that order for now.
The lawsuit concerns remaining charges of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James demands more than $300 million in fines and a ban on Trump from running a business in New York.
Trump is scheduled to testify for the second time on December 11, after which the testimony process is expected to conclude. Both sides are then set to submit documents and make closing arguments in January, according to the schedule outlined Thursday.
Engoron, who stated he hoped to reach a decision by the end of January, will deliver a verdict in the non-jury case.
