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Judge issues gag order on Trump in business fraud case

Former President Donald Trump appears in court for a civil fraud case at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York on Tuesday.
Dave Sanders
/
AP
Former President Donald Trump appears in court for a civil fraud case at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York on Tuesday.

Judge Arthur Engoron issued a gag order on former President Donald Trump and his legal team on Tuesday as a result of a social media post featuring one of the judge's staffers.

The gag order limits posting or publicly speaking about any member of the judge's staff, he said during remarks on the second day of a trial that will determine if Trump is liable for fraud committed by the Trump Organization. Engoron added that there would be sanctions for not complying.

Throughout the first two days of this trial, Trump has lobbed insults on social media and in front of cameras at the judge and Attorney General Letitia James, who is suing Trump for allegedly inflating the value of his assets in order to land deals.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom on Monday and Tuesday, Trump accused the pair of being corrupt and politically motivated. He has also called James "racist."

On Tuesday Trump also told reporters he will testify in this proceeding – one of four he faces in New York – "at the appropriate time." Trump is on both the attorney general's and the defense witness lists, though it could be several weeks before he is called to take the stand.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Ximena Bustillo
Ximena Bustillo is a multi-platform reporter at NPR covering politics out of the White House and Congress on air and in print.