Key takeaways:
- Judge Arthur Engoron angrily pounded the table and chastised attorneys for the Trumps for making “on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks” about his principal law clerk.
- Engoron imposed a partial gag order on members of the former president’s legal team, prohibiting Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba from making any public statements that refer to any confidential communications between the judge and his staff.
- Last month, Engoron imposed a gag order on the defendants that bars them from making public comments about any member of the judge’s staff.
A heated exchange occurred in the fraud trial of former President Donald Trump in New York on Thursday, as Judge Arthur Engoron angrily pounded the table and chastised attorneys for the Trumps. The judge accused them of making “on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks” about his principal law clerk.
In response, Judge Engoron imposed a partial gag order on members of the former president’s legal team. The order prohibits Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications between the judge and his staff.
The female clerk has been sitting alongside Engoron throughout the five-week trial to provide advice when asked. When attorney Chris Kise mentioned the clerk Thursday, Engoron told him off. “Do not refer to my staff again,” he said, according to The Messenger.
This is not the first time that Judge Engoron has imposed a gag order on the defendants. Last month, after Donald Trump criticized the clerk on social media, Engoron imposed a gag order on the defendants that bars them from making public comments about any member of the judge’s staff.
The $250 million civil fraud trial is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how the judge’s order will affect the proceedings. It is clear, however, that Judge Engoron is determined to protect the integrity of his court and the members of his staff.
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