A New York judge issued a limited gag order in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial on Tuesday (October 3). Judge Arthur Engoron made the decision after Trump attacked the judge’s law clerk on social media.
“Personal attacks of any member of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them,” the judge said.
Trump claimed a clerk named Allison Greenfield was “running this case against me” on his Truth Social platform. The former president posted a photo of Greenfield with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and referred to her as “Schumer’s girlfriend” on Tuesday.
Judge Arthur Engoron ordered the post to be deleted. He called it “disparaging, untrue and personally-identifying.”
“Consider this statement an order forbidding all parties from posting, emailing or speaking publicly about any members of my staff,” the judge announced in court. “Failure to abide by this … will result in serious sanctions.”
Trump is on trial for alleged real estate fraud. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused him and his company of inflating their assets to obtain favorable loans and insurance policies.
The former president’s trial began on Monday (October 2). The civil case only scratches the surface of Trump’s legal issues as he’s also facing 91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions.