CNN
—
Judge Arthur Engoren condemned Donald Trump The former president barred parties from making any future comments about his staff after he attacked his secretary in a social media post on Tuesday.
“This morning one of the defendants (a) published a defamatory false and personally identifying post about one of my employees on a social media account. Even though I ordered the post to be removed, and apparently it was, it was emailed to millions of other recipients,” the judge told the court.
“Personal attacks by my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them,” the judge said.
Trump made eye contact with the judge as he issued the order.
The judge then said that all parties should not talk publicly about the court staff.
“Consider this statement a restraining order by all parties from posting, emailing or speaking publicly about any member of my staff,” Engoron said. “Failure to comply … will result in severe sanctions.”
Trump attacked Engoron’s clerk at the Truth Social on Tuesday, saying she was the “girlfriend” of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and showed a picture of the two of them together.
“How disgraceful!” Trump wrote. This case should be dismissed immediately.
It wasn’t immediately clear that Engron’s clerk and Schumer had a connection beyond the photo shoot. CNN has reached out to Schumer’s office for comment.
During the lunch break before the judge’s admonition, there was unusual activity outside the courtroom, with Trump walking in and out during the break. There was also some delay in convening the court for the afternoon session.
For the past two days, Trump has voluntarily attended a New York civil trial, where the New York attorney general Letitia James It brought a $250 million lawsuit alleging Trump and co-defendants repeatedly committed fraud by inflating properties to get better terms on commercial real estate loans and insurance policies.
The New York attorney general is trying to block Trump from doing business in the state. Last week, the judge ruled that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for “continuous and repeated” fraud, one of seven claims the attorney general is trying to prove.
On Monday, Trump followed the clerk in his comments outside the courtroom, though he did not name them.
“This rogue judge is a Trump hater. The only person who hates Trump more is his partner over there,” Trump said. She screams in his ear every time we ask a question. A shame. It’s a shame.”
A photo of Schumer and the clerk was posted last week on X by an obscure account known as Twitter, which as of Tuesday had fewer than 200 followers.
The post, which Trump included as an image on his own Truth Social post, did not allege that the clerk was Schumer’s girlfriend, and that the two were “hanging out.” Trump added unsubstantiated “girlfriend” claim.
Earlier Tuesday, Engoron reminded Trump’s lawyers that it was not the place for a judge to hold a hearing on matters that had already been ruled on.
“That’s why we have appeals,” Nkoron said.
Engoron clarified his comments on Monday that testimony regarding the 2011 financial statements was a “waste of time.” He asked Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, to get his opinion after three hours of testimony from the former Trump accountant.
“Mr. Wallace promised to connect the dots,” Engoron said.
An appeals court ruled that the statute of limitations applies to 2014, and Trump’s lawyers moved to dismiss allegations of deals that took place before then.
Engoron, however, said he did not change last week’s ruling and that his comments in court Monday afternoon only addressed evidence and testimony admissible in the trial.
The judge noted that the attorney general is prosecuting Trump not over the underlying transactions, but over the financial statements that refer to them, which occurred after 2014 and are included in James’ claims.
“Every use of false financial statements in business starts the statute of limitations running again,” Nkoron said. “I understand that the defendants strongly disagree with this and will appeal on that basis.”
Trump, leaving court on Monday, falsely claimed that the judge had agreed that 80% of the attorney general’s case was thrown out because of the statute of limitations.
Last week, Engron ruled that Trump and his co-defendants were liable for fraud. It’s one of several charges in the attorney general’s civil suit against Trump, but it could lead to stiff penalties for his business.
Speaking outside the courtroom during a break in the case, Trump said he would testify in his civil trial.
“Yes I will. I will be there at the right time,” he testified and answered when asked.
Trump is expected to testify at a later hearing and is on the witness list for both the government and his own legal team. Trump’s attorney had previously said the former president was eager to testify in his own defense.
This story has been updated with additional updates.
