New York Judge Arthur Engoron has expanded the gag order against former President Donald Trump to also cover his attorneys, reported Forbes on Friday.
The move came after Engoron said the court has received "hundreds" of threats as Trump has attacked him, state prosecutors and the court clerk.
Trump has already been fined $15,000 for two separate cases of violating the gag order — both of which involved the judge's clerk, who the former president claims is "partisan." On the second occasion, Trump tried to claim his comments were actually directed at his former attorney Michael Cohen, then a witness in the trial. Engoron did not buy his explanation.
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On Thursday, he suggested he was mulling banning lawyers after Trump attorney Christopher Kise made another comment about the clerk.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has alleged in the trial that Trump and his two adult sons have systematically lied about the value of their business, the Trump Organization, and even the square footage of their properties in order to fraudulently obtain better loan deals and other financial considerations.
Trump's sons have claimed they did not have involvement in those valuations, while Trump has defended them as good-faith subjective estimates and said that the loans were all repaid, making it a moot point.
James is seeking $250 million in fines and a ban on the Trump's from doing business in the state of New York.
Engoron has already ruled in summary judgment that the Trumps did engage in a pattern of fraudulent behavior, making the current trial primarily a matter of assessing damages against the Trump family.
