Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million civil fraud trial against Donald Trump, delivered strong condemnation of remarks the ex-president made during a break Wednesday, warning him: “I don’t want anybody killed.”
“Judge Engoron just tore into Trump, accusing him of having potentially violated the gag order again with comments he made outside the courtroom,” Politico’s Erica Orden reported. “Judge said he is under the impression Trump again disparaged his law clerk. Trump lawyer Chris Kise argued Trump was referring to [Michael] Cohen.
“I stated the last time that any future violations would be severely punished,” Engoron said, according to Orden. “Why should there not be severe sanctions for this blatant, dangerous disobeyal of a court order?”
The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld reports Trump had said: “If we had a jury it would have been fair, at least—even if it was a somewhat negative jury—because no negative jury would vote against me. But this judge will. Because this judge is a very partisan judge, with a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is.”
Video of Trump’s remarks can be seen below.
“It’s easy for the public or anyone to know who that is,” Engoron told Trump and his attorney, Chris Kise, The Hill reported. The judge was “suggesting that Trump was commenting on his principal law clerk, who sits next to the judge on the bench.”
“I’m very protective of my staff, and I believe I should be; I don’t want anybody killed,” Judge Engoron warned.
“Engoron took the matter ‘under advisement,'” Klasfeld adds.
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Just five days ago, Judge Engoron had berated Trump for violating the gag order he had imposed on the ex-president, again warning him his courthouse staff was off-limits. Engoron issued the gag order after Trump targeted Engoron’s principal law clerk. On Friday he imposed a $5000 fine on Trump and threatened jail time if Trump violated it again.
The Messenger repeats that Engoron had “warned Trump in writing on Friday that ‘future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him.'”
Before levying the $5000 fine last week, Engoron wrote, “Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it,” CNN reported “Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is not longer appropriate; this Court is way behind the ‘warning’ stage.’”
Watch Trump’s remarks below or at this link.