Judge Arthur Engoron has defended his $10,000 sanction against Donald Trump after the former president violated the gag order barring public comments about members of the judge’s staff. Engoron rejected another appeal by Trump’s attorneys to drop the fine, stating that he would watch the video of Trump’s comments to reporters and reconsider. The sanction against Trump stemmed from his comments in the hallway of the courthouse during a break in the trial, where he referred to Engoron’s clerk and made a subsequent comment about Michael Cohen. Trump’s legal team intends to appeal the latest sanctions against him.
Engoron had put a gag order in place after Trump had posted on social media attacking his clerk. In a written order, the judge expanded on his ruling, stating that Trump’s public statement was “unmistakably clear” and intentionally violated the gag order. Trump’s attorney argued that if Trump was referring to the clerk, he was within his right to comment on his personal perception of bias in the trial. Engoron pushed back, asserting that the trial was not political and that First Amendment protections have limits, especially when the gag order is meant to protect his staff.
During the proceedings, Kise asked Engoron to write the gag order in a formal court order, as it is currently only memorialized in the court transcript. Engoron agreed to put the gag order in a court order and joked about sitting in the witness box for a photo. Meanwhile, Trump continued to attack Engoron on social media, calling him a “Radical Left Judge” and criticizing his handling of the case. Trump is not present in court as he has returned to Florida.
