Judge Arthur Engoron is standing firmly behind a gag order he recently imposed in the ongoing fraud trial in New York City against former President Donald Trump and others close to him. The case, which is civil in nature, originates with state Attorney General Letitia James.
And after Trump called out a clerk for the judge on Truth Social by name and directed followers to a social media account evidently belonging to this individual, Engoron ordered no further public attacks on court staff. Yet, Trump seemed to do just that on Wednesday, complaining outside the courtroom about a supposedly partisan individual who he identified as close to the judge. Trump’s team tried to argue he was talking about Donald’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, who’d been testifying, but Engoron wasn’t impressed. And he denied a push for reconsideration on Wednesday, imposing a $10,000 fine on the former president and continuing to dangle the possibility of further punishment.
“The focal point was he’s dishonest, not that he’s some sort of partisan Democrat,” Engoron observed of the arguments made against Cohen, as reported by NBC News. The judge added: “The ruling stands. You’re fined $10,000. Don’t do it again, or it will be worse.” The last portion of those remarks was directed at the former president, who though he’s not been required to show up for any of the proceedings has been sometimes joining the defense in the courtroom… often taking the opportunity of the associated attention to make angry (though familiar) comments to reporters.
Trump begged this week for intervention in the case by the governor of the state, though it’s not entirely clear how the process that the former president was imagining would even work. Still, she predictably said “no” — well, she communicated the gist of that message through a post on her official X (Twitter) account. Trump has also been trying to defend himself from James’ accusations of inflated asset valuations… by claiming it’s somehow actually legitimate to characterize, for instance, Mar-a-Lago in Florida as worth likely billions of dollars, for which there’s no supporting evidence. If somehow true, Trump’s claims of value would make the beachside bronzer hotspot among the most valuable properties in the world!
