Yesterday, Donald Trump and his lawyers faced a setback in their attempts to lift the gag order tied to Trump’s New York civil fraud case. Their appeal came in four days after a four-judge panel reinstated the ban on mentioning Justice Arthur Engoron’s law clerk, a delay that has rendered any subsequent ruling functionally moot, as it may only be delivered after the conclusion of the trial.
Trump’s legal counsel, led by Chris Kise, the former Florida solicitor general, struggled to navigate the complex New York court system, leading to numerous interlocutory appeals. They attempted to transfer the case to the Commercial Division and fought for its dismissal due to lack of jurisdiction, but their arguments were overruled by the court. Justice Engoron expressed his frustration about the repeated frivolous arguments and sanctioned the defense team.
The Trump team has been unable to prevent their client from making public attacks against Justice Engoron’s law clerk. These attacks escalated to a point where the attorneys began framing these offensive remarks as a First Amendment issue. The legal team also used these incidents to push for a mistrial, claiming an undue influence of the law clerk over the presiding judge.
The team experienced a temporary victory when First Department Justice David Friedman issued an interim stay on the gag orders. However, following the submission of proof of antisemitic attacks and death threats against the clerk and the judge, an appellate panel reinstated the gag order on November 30 without commenting on the issue. Trump’s legal team attempted to challenge the reinstated gag order, but their appeal for a speedy review of the November 30 ruling was rejected by Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels.
Spectators witnessed a bewildered Chris Kise realizing that the court wouldn’t bend its regulations to accommodate for their lack of planning. The original case continues, focusing now on the actual allegations of fraud.