New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron threatened Donald Trump’s attorneys with the same gag order he imposed on the ex-president in a heated exchange over what the judge suggested were attacks on his law clerk. Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Judge Engoron’s law clerk, which led to the gag order and two fines totaling $15,000.
Judge Engoron, who has been on the bench for two decades, is presiding over the State of New York’s $250 million civil business fraud case against Donald Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization. Late on Thursday the judge took Chris Kise, one of Trump’s attorneys “to task for disparaging his law clerk, Allison Greenfield. The judge says he thinks it may be a problem of misogyny and ask[ed] Kise not to mention his court staff again,” The New York Times reported.
“If there is any further reference to anyone on my staff, I would consider expanding the gag order to include the attorneys,” Engoron threatened, as Politico’s Erica Orden noted.
READ MORE: GOP ‘Seriously Contemplating’ Subpoena for Hunter Biden in Move Toward Impeachment: Report
Kise continued “to complain about the clerk, saying she is passing notes to the judge,” Orden added. “‘That’s right!’ he shouted. ‘Confidential communications for my record. Absolute right to it. You don’t have any right to see it.'”
“Engoron pounds the table in asserting his right to protect his clerk. ‘It’s not a security issue,’ Kise says. He says he has to make a record if he sees potential bias,” The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld reported.
The Times added that Engoron and Kise were “arguing about Greenfield’s role. Kise says that she appears to be co-judging the case. ‘I am not a misogynist,’ Kise says, noting that he’s happily married and has a daughter.” Engoron said “that he has an ‘absolute unfettered right’ to get advice from Greenfield. He again expresses concerns about the safety of his staff and says that Kise’s points are not well taken.”
“Do not refer to my staff again,” Engoron warned Kise, The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld added.
“Engoron pounds the table in asserting his right to protect his clerk,” Klasfeld also reported. “‘It’s not a security issue,’ Kise says. He says he has to make a record if he sees potential bias.”
Trump’s other attorney, Alina Habba, also got involved.
READ MORE: Johnson: Trump Impeachments a ‘Sham’ but GOP ‘Coming to a Point of Decision’ on Biden
Habba complained “about Greenfield having improper influence on the judge, talking to him during proceedings. Habba says Greenfield’s conduct is a part of the record and the case. ‘I’m not going to stand by and allow it to happen,’ Habba says, asserting that because she is a woman, she is no misogynist.”
MSNBC’s Lisa Rubin said on “Deadline: White House” that it’s possible Trump’s attorneys were “trying to distract” from a “damning” line of questioning and testimony ” and “set us off on a different line entirely.”
Rubin said it’s very possible Engoron does expand his gag order.