Appeals court reinstates Trump gag order in New York fraud trial

A New York appeals court on Thursday reinstated a gag order on former President Donald Trump pertaining to his business fraud civil trial in New York. The order prevents him from criticizing or verbally attacking courtroom staff. An appellate judge had previously suspended the gag order while Trump’s appeal against it played out. New York state Attorney General Letitia James accuses Trump and his company of inflating his net worth on paperwork used in business deals. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled that Trump and other defendants in the case defrauded banks and insurers. The ongoing proceedings concern six other charges.

Why did the appeals court reinstate it? A court security official testified that after Trump posted a derogatory comment about Judge Engoron’s law clerk, the clerk received enough threatening voicemails to fill a 275-page single-spaced transcript. Trump’s lawyers denounced the threats but argued Trump shouldn’t be muzzled as a result of other people’s actions.

Dig deeper: Listen to Clara York’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about several of Trump’s co-defendants pleading guilty in Georgia.