The Manhattan judge who decided the $250 million civil fraud case against Donald Trump gagged and harshly reprimanded the former president Tuesday for a social media post in which he targeted a court clerk and baselessly dubbed her “the bride.” of Schumer.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, during the second day of the trial, issued a limited gag order and threatened “serious sanctions” if the directive was ignored.
“This morning, one of the defendants posted on a social media account a derogatory and false post about a member of my staff,” Engoron said in court after a lengthy lunch break.
The letter in question was posted by Trump, 77, shortly before noon Tuesday on Truth Social and included a photo of Engoron’s former legal assistant alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a campaign event.
“Schumer’s girlfriend, Allison R. Greenfield, is bringing this case against me,” Trump wrote without evidence in a caption linked to his Instagram account.
“That shameful! This case should be dismissed immediately!! she added.
Judge Arthur F. Engoron rebuked Donald Trump, threatening sanctions and issuing a gag order after the former president mocked the judge’s clerk on social media.Steven Hirsch
A Schumer spokeswoman on Tuesday called Trump’s post “ridiculous, absurd and false” and said the senator does not know Greenfield.
“As is well known, Senator Schumer attends countless events in every corner of the state where tens of thousands of constituents take photos with him, like this one, which was taken at a stop at an annual brunch in Manhattan,” it reads. in the statement. saying.
Trump also said separately on Monday that Greenfield “should not be allowed to be in his ear on every single question” and claimed that he “hates Trump.”
Trump, on the second day of his $250 million civil fraud trial, posted a photo of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron’s clerk standing next to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.realDonaldTrump /TruthSocial
The post was removed during the court’s lunch break later that day, after Engoron said he ordered it removed, but was emailed by Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“Although I have since ordered the post removed, it was mailed to millions of people,” the judge said.
“Consider this a gag order,” Engoron said, explaining that the ruling relates to all parties in the case and covers verbal attacks on court staff.
“Personal attacks on my staff are inappropriate and I will not tolerate them,” he said.
Engoron made the remarks after a roughly 45-minute closed-door meeting at the courthouse, where the media was not allowed.
“I warned the lawyer about this yesterday and it was ignored,” he said. “Failure to comply with this directive will result in serious penalties; I will be very clear.”
He did not provide further details on what the sanctions would be.
Greenfield is an experienced clerk who has worked with the judge for several years, according to a real estate attorney who has argued more than 100 cases before Engoron.
Engoron is known to involve his law clerks more than the typical judge, and it is common for him to meet with them during a proceeding for a side conference.
They sometimes even participate in oral arguments, asking questions of attorneys on behalf of the judge, real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey, who has also taken the Trump Organization to court in the past, told The Post.
This means that what Trump observed in his civil fraud trial is routine practice for Engoron and not a specific treatment.
Trump’s post was removed after Engoron ordered it removed, judge said.Steven Hirsch
The former president voluntarily attended the first and second days of trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit in which she claims Trump exaggerated his wealth in Trump Org financial documents from 2011 to 2021.
The former president has taken every opportunity in the presence of the press and on social media to brand the black attorney general as “racist,” calling his case a farce and saying the judge is on a witch hunt against him.
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In Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case against Trump, which is pending trial next year, Judge Juan Merchan also issued a limited gag order barring Trump from publicly discussing the evidence.
During the first two days of the ongoing trial, which is expected to last until December, prosecutors in James’ office claimed that Trump inflated his net worth out of vanity so he could climb Forbes’ billionaire list and save hundreds of millions in loans. and sure.
The Attorney General’s Office played clips of former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen’s deposition tapes in which he claimed that his former boss ordered him to increase his assets to inflate his overall value.
Meanwhile, Trump’s camp argued that the attorney general’s case hinges, in part, on the word of Cohen, a convicted felon and liar.
The first witness in the case, Donald Bender, a partner at the accounting firm Mazars USA, has been on the stand as of Tuesday testifying about his time working on the Trump account.
On Monday, Bender testified that he had noticed there was a discrepancy in the valuation of Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue penthouse in Trump’s financial statements versus the price for which the daughter could have purchased the unit.
The attorney general has alleged that while the company listed the value of the posh property at more than $20 million, Ivanka’s lease had a purchase option price of just $8.5 million, another example. of exaggeration of their assets.
Trump’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the gag order on Tuesday.
Trump did not comment on the order as he left the court, only promising to return on Wednesday.
“I’ll be back tomorrow. Good day, it’s been a very good day,” he told reporters.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn