Donald Trump Pushes Judge Engoron Too Far

Donald Trump was hit with his first gag order on Tuesday, after a personal attack against a court clerk was a step too far for Judge Arthur Engoron.

The former president is facing a civil fraud trial in New York, the result of a long-term investigation by the office of the state's Attorney General Letitia James, which found that he had routinely overstated his own personal wealth and the value of several of his assets, in order to obtain more favorable loans and deals. Last week, Engoron ruled that the information presented by James was sufficient, and ruled that Trump's behavior constituted fraud.

In a since-deleted post to Truth Social, made shortly before a lunch break Tuesday, Trump shared a photo of one of Engoron's clerk, attorney Allison Greenfield, in which she appeared with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The former president argued that this was grounds for the case to be dismissed. He also suggested, without evidence, that Greenfield and Schumer were romantically involved.

"Schumer's girlfriend, Alison R. Greenfield, is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!" Trump wrote.

In response, Engoron issued a gag order against Trump and his legal team, barring them from publicly discussing members of his staff. Violation of the order would result in "swift and meaningful sanctions," according to reporter Ana Cabrera.

"Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable and inappropriate, and I won't tolerate it," Engoron said. "Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting emailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's office via email for comment.

This marks the first gag order that Trump has faced in his mounting legal battles. Over the past year, in addition to the ongoing civil trial, he has been criminally indicted four times, twice at the federal level, for alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and for mishandling classified documents, and twice at the state level in New York and Georgia.

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith has requested a gag order against Trump from Washington, D.C., Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the federal case against the former president for his alleged efforts to overturn the last election. Smith's request argued that Trump's demonstrable habit of making "public statements about witnesses" could taint the potential jury pool and "materially prejudice a fair trial."

Trump's legal team fired back, accusing the Biden administration, without evidence, of ordering the request from Smith in order to hamper the former president's 2024 reelection bid. Trump has recently taken to accusing most of the legal cases mounting against him of being election interference.

Updated 10/3/23, 4:21 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.