Once again, New York Judge Arthur Engoron has reinstated the gag order on former president Donald Trump (R). This marks the third time the judge has imposed a gag order on Trump in his $250 million civil fraud trial.
Trump's lawyer, Christopher Kise, called the appeals court ruling a “tragic day for the rule of law”. “Hard to imagine a more unfair process and hard to believe this is happening in America.”
Despite Kise's summation of the law, Trump's words have caused havoc for the staff of Engoron. The New York judge stated that Trump's repeated attacks have resulted in several threats being made toward his staff.
The gag order, which Engoron stated will be enforced "rigorously and vigorously", does not prevent Trump from attacking the judge nor New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The civil fraud trial has resulted in various reprimands of the disgruntled defendant. Having been previously warned to not violate the gag orders, Trump has been fined a total of $15,000 for disobeying the judge's orders.
After hearing his former attorney Michael Cohen's testimony, Trump made statements, both in-person and on social media, claiming that someone very "partisan" was sitting next to the judge. These accusations put the former president in trouble as he ran the risk of receiving a financial penalty for his words.
Judge Engoron found Trump's comments to be directed at his law clerk, which he deemed to be unacceptable. Trump, however, claimed that his comments were not targeted at the judge's law clerk, but at Cohen.
Engoron awarded him his second penalty of $10,000 and gave him a stern warning to not do it again.
Trump has repeatedly defended himself from accusations that he inflated his net worth.
“I’m worth billions of dollars more than the financial statements,” said Trump. He continued to accuse the state lawyer, saying “You go around and try and demean me and try and hurt me, probably for political reasons.”
