A New York appeals court judge will rule on Thursday temporarily lifted a gag order preventing former President Donald Trump from commenting on court staff in his civil fraud case.
Trump was silenced last month by Judge Arthur Engoron and later fined $15,000 for misdemeanors after trash-talking the judge’s chief clerk on social media.
On Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers filed a lawsuit against the judge, arguing that Engoron had abused his power. In response to the request, Interim Appeals Court Judge David Friedman scheduled an emergency hearing Thursday afternoon around a conference table in a state courthouse just a few miles from Engoron’s courtroom, where he granted their request.
Thursday’s ruling during an emergency hearingFriedman questioned Engoron’s authority to monitor Trump’s speech outside the courtroom – such as his frequent complaints about the case on social media and in comments made to TV cameras in the courthouse hallway.
Friedman said that while it is true that judges often issue gag orders, they are mainly used in criminal cases where there is a fear that comments about the case could sway the jury. There is no jury in the civil trial against Trump.
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise said this after Friedman ruled the appellate judge “made the right decision and allowed President Trump to take full advantage of his constitutional First Amendment rights to talk about bias in his own process, what he sees and what he witnesses in his own process – which, honestly, everyone needs to see.” –AP
“I see no reason for restrictions as Ms. James continues to discredit my client,” Trump attorney Alina Habba said, referring to NY Attorney General Letitia James, who is prosecuting the case.
By following the order, Trump can now freely comment on the court and its staff as the appeals process plays out.
Separately, Trump’s legal team on Wednesday urged Engoron to immediately drop the case, arguing that his appearance of bias “threatens both the rights of the defendants and the integrity of the judiciary as an institution.”
“These constitutional protections are at their peak, where the speech in question is a core political speech delivered by the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, regarding perceived partisanship and bias during a lawsuit in which he is being subjected to hundreds of millions of dollars to penalties and the threatened ban on his legal business activities in the state,” the filing continues.
In short, the entertainment factor at Trump’s trial in New York just increased immeasurably.
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