Former President Donald Trump was issued a gag order Tuesday after a day of wild ranting and social media posts made during his Manhattan civil fraud trial.
The four-time indicted ex-chief executive could face 30 days in jail if he’s found to violate the order, handed down after Trump charged the trial was “rigged” and fumed over everything from New York Attorney General Letitia James to his Florida home Mar-a-Lago.
On the second day of Trump’s latest trial, the embattled 45th president appeared to try and flip the script by attempting to use the legal process as his own soap box from which he cried injustice.
From just before 10 a.m. to late into the afternoon, Trump repeatedly passed through the hefty wooden doors to the Paul G. Feinman Ceremonial courtroom inside of 60 Centre St. to plead his case in the court of public opinion to a legion of awaiting press photographers and journalists.
“This trial is a rigged trial, it’s a fraudulent trial. The attorney general is a fraud, and we have to expose her as that,” Trump claimed before an array of camera flashes.
The trial first opened on Monday and sees New York Attorney General Letitia James arguing that Trump warped business deals by vastly inflating asset valuations on financial statements, including his real estate properties. The attorney general has brought a $250 million suit against Trump, claiming that he inflated the assets knowingly and purposefully.
“Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida being worth $18 million when in fact it is much closer to $1.5 billion,” Trump claimed in a bizarre tirade. “Because it is a fraudulent number she is given—many of which, Mar-a-Lago is just one example that, we have other examples that are almost as good and, in some cases, might even be better—this case should be dismissed and she [James] she probably be dismissed also.”
But Trump’s series of tongue-lashings came back to bite the former president.
When the court broke for lunch, Trump was called back before the bench after he posted a disparaging post on Truth Social regarding Judge Arthur Engoron’s clerk, alleging that the worker is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s “girlfriend.”
“You saw what was just put out about Schumer and the principal clerk, that is disgraceful,” Trump said just before lunch.
But Judge Engoron took umbrage with the post, who hit Trump with a gag order. The post itself was subsequently deleted upon the judge’s order.l
The order forbids Trump from “posting, emailing or speaking publicly” about members of the New York City court’s staff, according to Politico.
“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them in any circumstances,” Engoron said, per Politico.
If the order is not followed, Trump could face 30 days in jail.
When amNewYork metro reached out to Attorney General James office for comment regarding his harsh criticism of her, a spokesperson forwarded a previous statement.
“In this country, there are consequences for this type of persistent fraud, and we look forward to demonstrating the full extent of his fraud and illegality during trial. No matter how rich or powerful you are, there are not two sets of laws for people in this country. The rule of law must apply equally to everyone, and it is my responsibility to make sure that it does,” part of the statement from James read.
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