Donald Trump’s lawyer was told off by the judge in his civil fraud case, after he referred to a member of his staff.
The former president is facing a trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James accusing the Republican and a number of others, including his sons, of fraudulently inflating the value of assets. James is seeking at least $250 million in damages and a permanent ban on Trump and his sons running a business in the state of New York.
In September, the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, issued a partial summary judgment, stating that the defendants committed fraud. He ruled that Trump grossly inflated the value of his assets to obtain more favorable terms from lenders and insurers. Trump has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in the case.
As the trial continues, there have been a number of tense exchanges, with one such exchange taking place on Thursday between the judge and Trump’s legal team.
Photo by SHANNON STAPLETON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
As reported by MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin. who posted updates from the trial on X, formerly Twitter, the former president’s attorney Chris Kise referred to Engoron’s clerk, Allison Greenfield, during the trial.
Engoron responded, claiming that Kise’s apparent obsession with his clerk seemed misogynistic to him.
Kise refers to his principal law clerk, and now Engoron, while calm, is furious, noting that the obsession with his clerk seems misogynistic to him. Any further reference to my principal law clerk will result in my expanding the order to the attorneys, Engoron says.
— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) November 2, 2023
“Do not refer to my staff again,” he said, according to Adam Klasfeld, senior legal correpondent with The Messenger.
“She’s a civil servant.”
“Sometimes I think there’s a bit of misogyny in you referring to my female principal law clerk.”
He reportedly added: “I have an absolute unfettered right to get advice from my principal law clerk. There is no First Amendment value to talking about her.”
Trump attorney Alina Habba said Kise’s objections were not because of misogyny.
“I assure you that’s not the issue,” she said.
Kise is reported as also responding: “I am not a misogynist. I am happily married. I have a 17-year-old daughter.
Trump is facing a gag order meaning he cannot comment on key figures in the trial. He was last week fined $10,000, his second fine, after the former president hit out at a “very partisan” individual “sitting alongside” the judge, appearing to reference law clerk Greenfield. He was previously fined $5,000 after falsely suggesting Greenfield was in a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a now-deleted post on his Truth Social website.
Engoron said he would extend the gag order to his lawyers if they continued to refer to his staff.
“If there’s any further reference to anyone on my staff… I will consider expanding the gag order to include the attorneys, to include yourself,” he said.
It is not the first time Engoron has appeared to lose his cool during proceedings. The judge rebuked Trump’s prosecutors in the trial last week, saying that the questioning of one of the Trump’s ex-lawyers had become a “game of gotcha”.
Engoron interrupted state attorney Louis Solomon while he questioned Sheri Dillon, a tax lawyer who worked with Trump between 2005 and 2020, about development restrictions on two of his properties.
Engoron said: “I feel we are two or three elements away from anything that is relevant. It seems to me this is becoming a game of gotcha.”
Newsweek has contacted Engoron by email to comment on this story.
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