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The court clerk in Donald Trump's fraud trial exposed herself to vile threats because of her partisan politics and by allowing herself to be photographed in public, Trump's lawyers have said in court filings.
Last week, a court security officer told an appellate court he transcribed 275 pages of death threats and abusive phone calls left for Judge Arthur Engoron and law clerk Allison Greenfield. She has been targeted by Trump supporters after Engoron placed the former president under a gag order and fined him $15,000 for twice commenting about Greenfield while a gag order about her remained in place. Newsweek sought email comment from Trump's legal team on Tuesday morning.
Trump, his two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization, are co-defendants in the $250 million civil fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. She is accusing the former president of inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to obtain benefits such as better bank loans and reduced tax bills.
The former president has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly said that the litigation was politically motivated to derail his 2024 presidential campaign, given he is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination.
In September, Engoron ruled that Trump, his adult sons, their businesses and executives committed fraud in their property valuations. The court will decide on six other accusations, including falsifying business records, insurance fraud and conspiracy claims.
In their filing Monday, Trump's attorneys said that Greenfield "allowed herself to be voluntarily photographed, videotaped, and identified by name in the national and international media, despite the prior existence of purported security concerns."
"Additionally, the purported security concerns are disingenuous given the Principal Law Clerk's voluntary public, partisan posts and political activities and her insistence in remaining as a constant and unprecedented presence on the bench, allowing herself to be filmed and then viewed by an audience of millions since the underlying, extraordinarily high-profile trial commenced," Trump's legal team wrote.
The attorneys wrote that the threats, "while vile and reprehensible, do not constitute a clear and present danger of imminent harm."
An appellate court has temporarily lifted Trump's limited gag order, and his lawyers filed court documents on Monday requesting that the gag-order suspension remain in place.
They said that, while the daily threats made against the judge and his clerk are "vile," they don't justify limiting Trump's right to free speech.
The former president, as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, must be able to "critique, without fear of reprisal, the court" that is presiding over the fraud trail, Trump's lawyers wrote.
Before the appellate court temporarily lifted the gag order, Engoron said in court that the gag order should remain in effect because of a deluge of threats made against him and Greenfield.
Engoron had ruled that Trump and his lawyers couldn't publicly comment about the court's staff after the Republican posted a photo of Greenfield with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Trump called her "Schumer's girlfriend" and said she was running the trial against him.
Engoron fined Trump $15,000 after ruling that he had twice violated the gag order by publicly commenting on Greenfield.
Since then, her personal cell phone number and email address have been compromised, due to "daily doxing." This is according to an affidavit filed to the appellate court last Wednesday by Court Officer Captain Charles Hollon, with the Judicial Threats Assessment Unit.
"She has been subjected to, on a daily basis, harassing, disparaging comments and antisemitic tropes," Hollon wrote, adding that Greenfield daily receives 20 to 30 calls and 30 to 50 social-media messages.
"The threats against Justice Engoron and Ms. Greenfield are considered to be serious and credible and not hypothetical or speculative," Hollon wrote.
He also transcribed several highly explicit and threatening voicemails left for Engoron and Greenfield. "You should be executed," one message reads.
"Trust me when I say this," reads another. "I will come for you. I don't care. Ain't nobody gonna stop me either."
In their submission on Monday, Trump's lawyers said that the threatening messages submitted by Hollon contain no date or time and that his claim that Greenfield's phone and email have been compromised is "hearsay evidence".
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more