New York judge issues limited gag order after Donald Trump's social media post

(AP) — Rebuking Donald Trump, a US judge imposed a limited gag order Tuesday in the former president's civil business fraud trial and ordered him to delete a social media post that publicly maligned a key court staffer.

Judge Arthur Engoron told all participants in the case not to smear court personnel, warning of “serious sanctions” if they do.

“Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate, and I will not tolerate them,” Engoron said after complaining — without naming names — about a defendant's "disparaging, untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff.”

A few hours earlier, Trump had posted a photo of Engoron's principal law clerk, Allison Greenfield, posing with Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Chuck Schumer, at a public event. Trump, the Republican front-runner for president in 2024, has repeatedly cast the trial as a political attack by New York's Democratic attorney general, Letitia James.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that it was “disgraceful” that Greenfield was working with the judge in the courtroom, adding to complaints he'd made outside court Monday.

The post apparently sparked a series of closed-door courtroom discussions, involving Trump and lawyers for both sides, during what's usually a lunch break. By the time the gag order was issued, Trump had deleted the post — as Engoron ordered, according to the judge.

As for Schumer, a spokesperson called the post “pathetic” and said the senator doesn't know Greenfield and is in photos with thousands of constituents.

Aside from that sideshow, James' attorney questioned an accountant Tuesday in an effort to build the state's case that Trump and others at his company had full control over the preparation of misleading and false financial statements at the heart of their case.

The state's lawsuit alleges that Trump and his business chronically lied about his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and others.

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