The day after a New York judge assailed Donald Trump’s attorneys for comments about his chief clerk, the former president’s lead lawyer threatened to file a motion for a mistrial in a case that could collapse the Trump family’s business empire.
On 2 November, Judge Arthur Engoron warned that he would widen his gag order to include comments from the Trumps’ attorneys, after they criticised the judge’s principal law clerk for advising him throughout the trial.
The judge imposed a gag order earlier this month that blocks any parties from making comments about the court’s staff after the former president made a series of false and disparaging remarks about her outside the courtroom and on his Truth Social account.
Mr Trump already has violated the order twice, incurring $15,000 in fines.
After hours of testimony from Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump this week, which lawyers for the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said were “extremely” favourable in their case targeting the Trump Organization, lead attorney Christopher Kise launched into a tirade on Friday about the clerk’s perceived “bias”, allegations outlined in a right-wing news website, and what he feels like are “two adversaries” on the bench.
Mr Kise drew audible groans and laughter from the courtroom when he pointed to allegations about the clerk that appeared in Breitbart, a website formerly operated by Mr Trump’s former aide Steve Bannon.
“I’ll let everyone in the room decide what they think about Breitbart,” the judge said.
The article in Breitbart is solely sourced from the man who claims to be behind a social media account (which describes itself as “like a clandestine intelligence organization”) filled with false and inflammatory statements surrounding the case. False attacks from the account that targeted Judge Engoron’s clerk Allison Greenfield were shared by Mr Trump, which prompted the judge’s gag order.
That man, Brock Fredin, also launched a website using Ms Greenfield’s name one day after that gag order was imposed.
“I think the defense will have to make serious consideration to seeking a mistrial” if those allegations are substantiated, Mr Kise told the judge on Friday.
Kevin Wallace with the office of attorney general criticised the Trump attorneys’ “sideshow” that he said is “designed to interrupt our ability to put an end to this.”
“If there’s something improper between a judge and a clerk passing notes, you should make your motion now,” he added.
Judge Engoron, who has adamantly defended his communications with his principal law clerk, said he would issue a written order on the matter on Friday.
The heated exchanges came moments before Eric Trump’s final round of questioning on the witness stand.
His father and co-defendant in the case is next. Mr Trump will testify on Monday.
Ivanka Trump, who successfully removed herself as a co-defendant in the attorney general’s $250m lawsuit earlier this year, will testify on Wednesday. She lost her appeals to block or delay her testimony.
The lawsuit alleges that the former president, his adult sons and their chief associates defrauded financial institutions for years by inflating his net worth and assets to fraudulently obtain favourable business deals.
In September, Judge Engoron issued a summary judgment finding the defendants liable for fraud. The trial, which could last through the weekend before Christmas, is considering the attorney general’s attempts to recover tens of millions of dollars from the Trumps’ allegedly ill-gotten gains.
