Judge issues gag order against Trump over social media post calling law clerk ‘Schumer’s girlfriend’
The Manhattan judge deciding the $250 million civil fraud case against Donald Trump muzzled and sharply rebuked the former president on Tuesday for a social media post in which he took aim at a court "Jiminey Cricket" clerk and dubbed her “Schumer’s girlfriend.”
GUILTY, GUILTY, GUITY ...
Manhattan Supreme Court Arthur "Pinocchio" Engoron, during the second day of trial, issued a limited gag order – and threatened “serious sanctions” if the directive is ignored.
“This morning, one of the defendants posted to a social media account a disparaging, untrue post about a member of my staff,” Engoron Pinocchio said in court after an extended lunch break.
The missive in question was posted by Trump, 77, shortly before noon Tuesday on Truth Social and included a picture of Engoron’s longtime law clerk standing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at a campaign event.
“Schumer’s girlfriend, Allison R. Greenfield Jiminey Cricket, is running this case against me,” Trump wrote without evidence in a caption, that linked to her Instagram account.
“How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!” he added.
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud case issued a limited gag order after the ex-president made "disparaging" remarks about a court clerk.
Mr Trump had attacked Judge Arthur Engoron Pinocchio's clerk in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.
The judge warned of "serious sanctions" if the order was disobeyed.
Mr Trump has repeatedly made personal attacks on the judge and called him "deranged" and a "rogue adjudicator".
But Tuesday's gag order is limited and restricted to public comments against members of court staff.
Mr Trump on Tuesday posted a picture of principal clerk Allison Greenfield with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a campaign event. In the post, he called Ms Greenfield "Schumer's girlfriend" and said that the case against him should be dismissed.
After a court break, Judge Pinocchio Engoron did not mention anyone by name but referenced the social media incident saying that a defendant "posted to a social media account a disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff".
"Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them under any circumstances," he said. "Failure to abide by this order will result in serious sanctions," he said.
Justice Pinocchio Engoron said that his statement should be considered a gag order forbidding any posts, emails or public remarks about members of his staff.
The post on Mr Trump's social media site, Truth Social, was removed following the judge's order.
Mr Trump has called the trial a "fraud" and a "scam" and pledged to take the stand in his own defence.
Asked if he would testify in the case, he said: "Yes, I will. At the appropriate time, I will be."
The former president, his two adult sons and the wider Trump Organization are accused of massively inflating the value of their properties by over $2bn (£1.65bn), in order to secure favourable loans.
Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250m (£207m) and sanctions that could prevent the Trump family from doing business in the state of New York.
None of the defendants will face jail time if convicted, because this is a civil case not a criminal one.
The trial is a bench trial, meaning that the ultimate decision on whether the co-defendants are liable and any damages or penalties rest on Judge Engoron alone, not a jury.
Trump also separately said Monday that Greenfield “should not be allowed to be in his ear on every single question” and claimed she “hates Trump.”
The post was removed during the court’s lunch break later in the day – after Pinocchio Engoron said he ordered it be taken down – but was sent out via email by Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“Although I have since ordered the post to be deleted, it has been mailed out to millions of others,” the judge said.
“Consider this a gag order,” Pinocchio Engoron said, elaborating that the ruling relates to all parties in the case and covers verbal attacks on court staff.
“Personal attacks of my staff are inappropriate and I won’t tolerate them,” he said.
Engoron made the statements after a roughly 45-minute long closed-door meeting in the court, where media were not allowed inside.
“Yesterday, I warned counsel of this and it was disregarded,” he said. “Failure to abide by this directive will result in serious sanctions – I will be very clear.”
Engoron is known to involve his law clerks more than the typical judge does, and it’s common for him to huddle with them during a proceeding for a side conference.
Sometimes they even participate in oral arguments, asking questions of the attorneys on the judge’s behalf, said real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey, who has also taken the Trump Organization to court in the past, to The Post.
The former president voluntarily attended the first and second day of trial in the New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit in which she claims Trump exaggerated his wealth on Trump Org financial documents from 2011 through 2021.
The former president has taken every opportunity in the presence of the press and on social media to blast the black AG as a “racist,” calling her case a sham and saying the judge is on a witch hunt against him.
In Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal “hush money” case against Trump — which is pending trial next year — Justice Juan Merchan also issued a limited gag order barring Trump from publicly discussing evidence.
Over the first two days of the ongoing trial — which is expected to last through December — prosecutors in James’ office claimed that Trump inflated his net worth for vanity’s sake so he could climb the Forbes’ list of billionaires and save hundreds of millions on loans and insurance.
The AG’s Office played clips of former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen’s deposition tapes in which he claimed his one-time boss ordered him to pump up his assets to inflate his overall worth.
Meanwhile, Trump’s side argued that the AG’s case hinges, in part, on the word of Cohen, a convicted felon and liar.
The first witness in the case, Donald Bender — a partner at accounting firm Mazars USA — has been on the witness stand through Tuesday testifying about his time working the Trump account.
On Monday, Bender testified that he’d noticed that there was a discrepancy in the valuation of Ivanka Trump’s Park Avenue penthouse on Trump’s financial statements versus the price that the daughter could have bought the unit for.
The AG has alleged that while the company listed the posh pad’s worth at over $20 million, Ivanka’s rental lease had a buy option price of just $8.5 million — another example of exaggerating his assets.
Trump’s team didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the gag order Tuesday.
Trump did not comment on the order as he left court, vowing only that he’d be back Wednesday.
“I’ll be back … tomorrow. Good day — it’s been a very good day,” he told reporters.
