Trump insists he has NEVER attacked the judge in his fraud trial (even though he called him ‘crazy’ and ‘unhinged’) and demands an end to the gag order – as it’s revealed he’ll take the stand AGAIN in his own defense

• Trump is set to testify in his defense December 11
• His team wants to keep in place a stay on a judge’s gag order 
• Court officials said there had been a ‘deluge’ of threats following Trump posts 

Lawyers for Donald Trump are accusing New York Judge Arthur Engoron of ‘brazen and unmitigated violations’ of the Constitution for imposing a gag order, and say he can’t be held responsible for threats that others have directed to his staff.

Trump’s team argues that the former president cannot be held responsible for what court officials says are a ‘deluge’ of attacks on Judge Engoron’s chief law clerk.

Trump went after the judge and the clerk by name, calling her Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s ‘girlfriend’ and linking to her Instagram account in an online post that helped prompt Engoron to impose a gag on comments referencing court personnel.

‘At base, the disturbing behavior engaged in by anonymous, third-party actors towards the judge and Principal Law Clerk publicly presiding over an extremely polarizing and high-profile trial merits appropriate security measures,’ Trump’s team wrote in a new filing Monday.

‘However, it does not justify the wholesale abrogation of Petitioners’ First Amendment rights in a proceeding of immense stakes to Petitioners, which has been compromised by the introduction of partisan bias on the bench.’

Former President Trump’s lawyers say a New York judge’s gag order violates his constitutional rights, and says he is not responsible for threats leveled against the judge’s clerk since his postings about her

The  filing calls the clerk ‘openly partisan’ and says the gag serves to shield Judge Engoron from scrutiny ‘essential to maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and ensuring a fair trial.’

It comes days after court officials in a filing revealed that the clerk had been subjected to hundreds of threatening messages and emails. 

‘She has been subjected to, on a daily basis, harassing, disparaging comments and antisemitic tropes,’ according to the filing, which puts the number at 20 to 30 calls a day to her personal cellphone and up to 50 emails and social media posts.  

Trump can’t be held responsible for threats or harassment, according to his legal team, which includes Alina Habba, Clifford Robert, and Chris Kise.

‘However, none of the contemptible dross reflected in those messages can be attributed to President Trump or his counsel. Nor have President Trump or his counsel ever made a statement referencing the Principal Law Clerk’s religion, appearance, or private activities,’ they wrote.

Judge Arthur Engoron has imposed a gag on Trump which is under a court stay. Trump’s team wants to keep it from being enforced

Judge Arthur F. Engoron consults with his law clerk Allison Greenfield during the Trump Organization civil fraud trial in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Trump has appeared in the Manhattan courthouse where his fraud trial is being adjudicated, and has repeatedly called it a part of a ‘witch hunt’ against him.

He is set to take the stand on December 11, according to lawyer Chris Kise.

Prosecutors have been grilling Trump family members and executives about ‘statements of financial condition’ that New York AG Letitia James say vastly inflated the value of company holdings. 

A Trump Organization executive testified Monday that the company is no longer producing the statements, which prosecutors say were used to obtain favorable loans.

The filing itself goes after the clerk, saying prosecutors don’t dispute that she ‘sits on the bench with Justice Engoron, has been repeatedly photographed at Justice Engoron’s side with his permission, rolls her eyes at remarks by Petitioners’ counsel, and constantly whispers and passes notes to Justice Engoron in response to Petitioners’ counsel while the parties are on the record.’ 

Trump is also fighting a gag order in his D.C. January 6 case, with a federal Appeals Court expected to rule soon. 

The filing, to a New York appeals court, calls communications against the clerk, Allison Greenfield, ‘vile and reprehensible.’

But it says they don’t justify the gag, and blame the clerk for putting herself in the spotlight, saying she ‘allowed herself to be voluntarily photographed, videotaped, and identified by name in the national and international media.’

Trump has already been fined $15,000 for violating the gag order imposed during the fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James

‘Respondents’ sole cognizable justification for the Gag Orders is that an unknown third party may react in a hostile or offensive manner to Petitioners’ speech. This should be rejected. Since before the trial began and continuing thereafter, certain individuals, to whom there is no indication Petitioners have any connection or exercise any control, have engaged in behavior that Petitioners do not condone,’ they write.

They say the threats ‘do not constitute a clear and present danger of imminent harm as required under established precedent.’ 

Trump has been using his legal battle – including his mugshot at the gag orders against him – to raise money for his campaign, including through the sale of Christmas wrapping paper with his mugshot. 

Trump earlier this month went after the ‘Trump Hating Clerk’ after the partial gag was lifted.

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