The warning came in response to allegations that Trump violated a gag order issued at the onset of a civil fraud trial initiated by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Judge Engoron expressed his displeasure towards Trump's defense team during his opening remarks. The allegations against Trump revolve around his failure to remove a social media post that ridiculed the relationship between the judge's clerk and Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer. This was the primary reason for the issuance of the gag order on the second day of the trial.
"In this current volatile environment, inflammatory remarks have, in some instances, resulted in severe physical harm and worse. I now invite the defendants to justify why this flagrant breach of the gag order should not lead to severe penalties, including financial sanctions and/or possible imprisonment," Engoron addressed Trump's lawyers, as reported by NBC News.
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In defense, Trump's attorney, Christopher Kise, attributed the failure to remove Trump's post from the campaign website to an error committed by Trump's campaign team. He emphasized that the former president had already removed the post from his Truth Social account.
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"There was no intention to evade or bypass or ignore the order. I assure you of that. I understand that this is a massive operation, and this is one of the reasons, frankly, why I don’t use social media," Kise stated. "However, that post has been removed. And we have not made any other... there were no subsequent postings."
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The gag order against Trump was issued by Engoron after the former president publicly questioned the judge's legal clerk, Allison Greenfield, and her alleged connections to Chuck Schumer. Throughout the trial, Greenfield has been a constant presence in the courtroom, typically seated next to Judge Engoron.
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“Why is Judge Engoron's Principal Law Clerk, Allison R Greenfield, socializing with Chuck Schumer?” Trump questioned on social media, attaching a photograph of Greenfield with Schumer and a link to her Instagram account.
Despite the defense team's explanation, the judge maintained that Trump was responsible for the content on his website, even if there was no deliberate intent to violate the order. He assured the defense team that he would consider their response, but refrained from further comments regarding potential sanctions or future actions.
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