After the former US president allegedly disparaged one of his law clerks, Judge Arthur Engoron issued a gag order against him. The law theoretically also applies to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Donald Trump “posted to a social media account a disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff,” Engoron stated, noting that “personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate.”
The 45th president accused Engoron’s law clerk Allison Greenfield of being a “girlfriend” of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, in a since-deleted post on his Truth Social platform.
“How disgraceful!” Trump stated. “This case should be dismissed immediately!!”
In a New York City court, James filed a legal complaint against Trump, saying that his family and the Trump Organisation committed fraud by misrepresenting the worth of their real estate assets in order to receive better financing. The former president and his counsel have contended that all of the loans in question have been fully repaid and that no one has been harmed, and that the prosecution is a politically driven “witch hunt” designed to keep him out of the 2024 presidential election.
Engoron issued a summary judgement in favour of the prosecutors last month, ruling that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida was worth $18 million rather than the $1 billion that the Trump Organisation claimed.
Trump is now facing local charges in New York for suspected hush money payments to a porn star, as well as federal accusations for top-secret government secrets and his alleged involvement in a riot at the US Capitol on January 6. He is the first former president to be charged with a federal crime. He has characterised all of the cases as politically motivated and designed to derail his presidential ambition in 2024.
The 45th president continues to cast doubt on the 2020 election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden with a historic record number of votes and the same Electoral College split as Trump’s 2016 victory over odds-on favourite Hillary Clinton.
